Sploder Forums no longer actively maintained - join the Discord Server

[7grant2]

EDIT: Please contact lordelar for discord link queries.

Forums,

To all the people still logging in and chatting, it’s good to see you all. Sadly, I come with news about the forums. Most of the staff have jumped ship onto the Discord Server. The forum, albeit with plenty of history, is no longer actively maintained by anyone. Geoff updated the forums and database so that it should be stable till the end, but really it’s moreso a monument of what Sploder was in the likes of Ozymandias.

If you aren’t on the Discord, it’s time to hop on. PM me for a link on for a way to get on the server. As of now, I’m sort of cleaning up the stickied threads and cleaning up the clutter of the forums. Some staff here are still running some main site stuff, but obviously there isn’t much to do.

Some quick answers to common questions.

1. Will Geoff ever update the site again.
No. The website is built on deprecated technology. All updates would eventually result in more breaks, and patching a few holes out of hundreds will not stop a sinking ship. He will likely fix issues that cause the site to crash; otherwise, it’s into the sunset we go.

2. Will Geoff hand off the site to anyone?
No. If the site were able to be maintained and fixed up to still be usable, he would have done so. At this point of time, it is easier to recreate Sploder from scratch if one wished too.

3. If he doesn’t update the site, does he still care about it?
Yes. He spent a lot of time and dedication to making this place as amazing as it was. But not everything is meant to last forever. He has a full time gig else where and Sploder just hasn’t kept up with the modern trends of mobile gaming and moving away from flash. He keeps the site running so that long time users can squeeze out whatever final interests they may have. After all, Sploder was Geoffs major creation, and he is also sad to see it go.

4. What happens next?
Discord. The exodus has already happened for most people, and with the forums database error tanking most recent threads, it definitely was a wake up call for many to just head to the Discord.

5. What’s on the Discord?
It’s a lot more banter and relaxed conversation. There are dedicated channels to art and creations, even a main site channel.

6. Will there be another forum?
People have strayed from forums in recent years. With our dwindling community, we don’t have enough activity to have the need for such a style of communication. Although backup forums were made in the past, I believe most people just was casual conversation and to hang out. Very few need the format of a forum at this point.

7. So what do we do here in the forum then?
I suppose make of it as you wish. Back up threads if you care about them. Chill with whatever user logs on. We will be checking to make sure there aren’t major rule breaking incidents, but other than that it’s just a slow forum.

8. Are you accepting new users?
Yes, but I expect almost no real users joining (all have been bots up to this point). Join the Discord at this point of time, as hats where the active community is.

9. When does the site officially go offline?
Whenever Geoff pulls the plug, we haven’t an official date.

10. When does flash end?
Dec 31st, 2020. I expect Sploder to be shut down at that time.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4520411/adobe-flash-end-of-support

[Ethan2009]

"Even a mainsite channel" it literally took me months of spamming to get that channel; no one there cares about the mainsite...

[marcvider]

[7grant2]

"Even a mainsite channel" it literally took me months of spamming to get that channel; no one there cares about the mainsite...

Sploder is legacy. It is clear the community has drifted away from the origin of what Sploder is: making flash games on the Sploder engine. Sploder was a great thing in its day of age, but doesn’t really compete with any modern gaming. Platformers are easily made in the Super Mario Maker game for example.

If you still care about the main site, kudos to you. The forum is at your disposal for continuing that. But the community is now looking at other avenues of creation (art, music, etc) that Sploder can no longer satisfy for an aging audience. A lot of members are now 16+ and even older, such as myself, where we are looking for a greater challenge and avenue for growth.

If you wish to remain a part of the community, I highly encourage anyone to join the Discord. If you would rather focus on making Sploder games, then the website is going to stay running until it can’t anymore, in which you’re free to continue as you were. The intention is that if you want to hang out with the community at this time, Discord is where it will be.

[Bolsillos]

8. Are you accepting new users?
No.

What?

So, in other words, you won't let the forums get more active?

[bestatgames9]

unfortunate :/

[7grant2]

What?

So, in other words, you won't let the forums get more active?

To be transparent, there are currently 858 applicants that have yet to be accepted (all appear to be spam from what I’ve soon). This is partial to the deletion of some data, but it looks like it’s been that case for a while.

Id like to reiterate the only people joining this forum would be stragglers from the main site. If you’re expecting this forum to magically become active by me accepting a few random users, I’m afraid you may be mistaken. The main traffic we get nowadays are merely bots scraping the forum. In fact, after I cleanup the current log, I expect only spam accounts to be registered.

I’ll try my best to check the log, but I’m going to be the only person doing so. Again, the staff have jumped ship and are not actively maintaining this forum.

—--

EDIT: Also, do not blame me for the inactivity. This site has been on a downward trend of activity for a very long time. This website will never be active again, no matter how much effort we pump into it. It’s a shame to say that, but all good things must come to an end. I’m just doing some janitorial work here on the forums and setting the expectations of what gonna happen.

[Demonxz95]

So it's at this point that the old ship has officially started being dismantled.

[7grant2]

So it's at this point that the old ship has officially started being dismantled.

Id say a better analogy is that the ship is flying fine for now, but there isn’t much of a crew to manage it.

[Bolsillos]

To be transparent, there are currently 858 applicants that have yet to be accepted (all appear to be spam from what I’ve soon). This is partial to the deletion of some data, but it looks like it’s been that case for a while.

Id like to reiterate the only people joining this forum would be stragglers from the main site. If you’re expecting this forum to magically become active by me accepting a few random users, I’m afraid you may be mistaken. The main traffic we get nowadays are merely bots scraping the forum. In fact, after I cleanup the current log, I expect only spam accounts to be registered.

I’ll try my best to check the log, but I’m going to be the only person doing so. Again, the staff have jumped ship and are not actively maintaining this forum.

I see.

EDIT: Also, do not blame me for the inactivity. This site has been on a downward trend of activity for a very long time. This website will never be active again, no matter how much effort we pump into it. It’s a shame to say that, but all good things must come to an end. I’m just doing some janitorial work here on the forums and setting the expectations of what gonna happen.

I don't blame you.

Id say a better analogy is that the ship is flying fine for now, but there isn’t much of a crew to manage it.

I'm willing to became part of the "crew".

I've been a Sploder member for over 10 years and am available every day.

[7grant2]

A captain of an empty ship isn’t much of a captain, Bolsillos. I appreciate the optimism, but there’s nothing much to do moderation wise on the forum anymore. There are no contests, no more events, and nothing that requires staff intervention.

[lordeldar]

There are no contests, no more events,

I'm going to disagree here and say this is not necessarily the case. If it's something that anyone actually cares about, then it's still a possibility of small events happening here and there. You can't expect it to be huge like the old days, but it could still bring the few together who still are interested. I mean even Konni was talking about running one or two events the other day. I feel like telling people that nothing will ever happen again doesn't really help, and it's just a way of filtering people out of the community

[7grant2]

I'm going to disagree here and say this is not necessarily the case. If it's something that anyone actually cares about, then it's still a possibility of small events happening here and there. You can't expect it to be huge like the old days, but it could still bring the few together who still are interested. I mean even Konni was talking about running one or two events the other day. I feel like telling people that nothing will ever happen again doesn't really help, and it's just a way of filtering people out of the community

What I mean to say is that I don’t see any staff making leaps and bounds to do much. I stand corrected if a some staff or etc will make and run events. What I should really say is that it’s entirely community driven, where the staff aren’t necessarily going to be active. If some users here wish to make events and etc, then sure it’ll happen, but I there is not active development at this time.

[Bolsillos]

A captain of an empty ship isn’t much of a captain, Bolsillos.

While it's true that the forums have nowhere near as many active members as it used to be, it still has some.

I appreciate the optimism, but there’s nothing much to do moderation wise on the forum anymore.

Well, once in while I see people breaking the rules by cussing and talking about minor sexual stuff (mostly the former) outside of the Barracks. And while it's true that most people here are fine with that, there are still some that aren't and the rules still haven't changed.

no more events

I have something planned; something I've had planned since 2016.

Sadly, no one has helped me make it come to fruition.

[Ethan2009]

Why though... "There will be no more events" or whatever you said... thats not really a staff choice though, anyone can make their own events...
And about accepting people to forums I don't see why you can't, its the staff's job to see which is spam and which isn't...

[Bolsillos]

Why though... "There will be no more events" or whatever you said... thats not really a staff choice though, anyone can make their own events...
And about accepting people to forums I don't see why you can't, its the staff's job to see which is spam and which isn't...

Yes to both.

[7grant2]

Why though... "There will be no more events" or whatever you said... thats not really a staff choice though, anyone can make their own events...
And about accepting people to forums I don't see why you can't, its the staff's job to see which is spam and which isn't...

I updated my answer. Again, the events are no longer staff driven. Whoever is on this forum is free to make whatever event they wish. And again, I will sift through applications, but I’ve only ever seen spam, and I’m not actively going to do so.

The entire point of this thread is a warning that “hey, the staff aren’t paying attention to this place much anymore”. It is not our job - my job pays bills. Our effort is all volunteer.

[Bolsillos]

The entire point of this thread is a warning that “hey, the staff aren’t paying attention to this place much anymore”. It is not our job - my job pays bills. Our effort is all volunteer.

I'll do what you won't. It's better than nothing being done.

[7grant2]

I’m currently discussing a means so that whoever is active here can start doing more work in creating and editing the forum a bit. It won’t be a crazy role, but for anyone still active it should suffice in letting you guys do what you need to.

[Bolsillos]

I’m currently discussing a means so that whoever is active here can start doing more work in creating and editing the forum a bit. It won’t be a crazy role, but for anyone still active it should suffice in letting you guys do what you need to.

So, letting everyone be able to edit the forum? How would that work?

[marcvider]

So, letting everyone be able to edit the forum? How would that work?

Start using VPN since people will see your IP address.

[Bolsillos]

Start using VPN since people will see your IP address.

lol

[Ethan2009]

I updated my answer. Again, the events are no longer staff driven. Whoever is on this forum is free to make whatever event they wish. And again, I will sift through applications, but I’ve only ever seen spam, and I’m not actively going to do so.

The entire point of this thread is a warning that “hey, the staff aren’t paying attention to this place much anymore”. It is not our job - my job pays bills. Our effort is all volunteer.

I feel like it was highly implied that I didn't mean literal job.

[7grant2]

So, letting everyone be able to edit the forum? How would that work?

No, not everyone. Likely the core group of active users. It’s not 100%, but it does make sense to let the community drive some basic decisions and the ability to make their own events. No official mod powers would be given (account deletion isn’t gonna be given), but it should be enough to organize events and whatever. It’s also impossible to manage account requests without the ability to nuke the forum, so that will still be done by me for now.

Since there are realistically less than 5 active users on this forum, might as well make it your playground.

Start using VPN since people will see your IP address.

That permission wouldn’t be given out.

[Bolsillos]

No, not everyone. Likely the core group of active users. It’s not 100%, but it does make sense to let the community drive some basic decisions and the ability to make their own events. No official mod powers would be given (account deletion isn’t gonna be given), but it should be enough to organize events and whatever. It’s also impossible to manage account requests without the ability to nuke the forum, so that will still be done by me for now.

Since there are realistically less than 5 active users on this forum, might as well make it your playground.

I see.

[kingtrent333]

I don’t like the discord because too many people ignore me there.

[thepatient]

if you never post you arent gonna get much attention are you lmao

[geoff]

Thanks @7grant2 for your service. You are spot-on and I encourage everyone to join the Discord. Sploder will live on in all the things you all create!

[7grant2]

Thanks @7grant2 for your service. You are spot-on and I encourage everyone to join the Discord. Sploder will live on in all the things you all create!

Part of my service was accidentally banning everyone too! Hah. Thanks for clearing that up.

Ps. I followed you on LinkedIn as Grant. If you ever take applications, I’d be stoked to see if I match the role!

[kingofdanerds]

I have created an Instagram SF group chat. If anyone wants to join follow me and message me.

My instagram is @realkylerfriend