Is Avatar Forums (AF) down?

[Raiden]

Yeah, I don't think you guys (former A-F members) know about this, but Tree-of-Souls split off of A-F due to a disagreement about the direction A-F was going in. Eltu and HumanNoMore were (if I recall) in mod/admin positions at A-F before things began falling apart.

Many of us expected that A-F would eventually fail, because Lon is an incompetent idiot who was looking to make money. He overloaded the site with too many features, and he allowed people to upload far too many photos. I saw new photos uploaded daily that really had little to do with Avatar (as in photos uploaded to the forum member albums, not photo threads). That stuff costs a lot of money; not to sound brash or arrogant, but Tree-of-Souls has never had to worry about ads nor have we ever shoved the donation thing in user's faces.

[Eltu]

Originally Posted by Raiden

Yeah, I don't think you guys (former A-F members) know about this, but Tree-of-Souls split off of A-F due to a disagreement about the direction A-F was going in. Eltu and HumanNoMore were (if I recall) in mod/admin positions at A-F before things began falling apart.

Many of us expected that A-F would eventually fail, because Lon is an incompetent idiot who was looking to make money. He overloaded the site with too many features, and he allowed people to upload far too many photos. I saw new photos uploaded daily that really had little to do with Avatar (as in photos uploaded to the forum member albums, not photo threads). That stuff costs a lot of money; not to sound brash or arrogant, but Tree-of-Souls has never had to worry about ads nor have we ever shoved the donation thing in user's faces.

Mostly correct! Me and HNM (along with a few others) were not in any special positions on AF whatsoever, other than very dedicated members

But indeed, ToS originated as a result of dissatisfaction among the at-the-time AF userbase, though the disagreements themselves we have long left behind. Honestly, looking back at the entire split there were definitely unjustified actions on the behalf of both communities, but it hardly matters today - and it did result in two distinctly different and in their own way great forums.

Even though I may disagree with Lon's way to run a community, the actual people of AF have always been amazing

[Wameyn]

Originally Posted by Eltu

Mostly correct! Me and HNM (along with a few others) were not in any special positions on AF whatsoever, other than very dedicated members

But indeed, ToS originated as a result of dissatisfaction among the at-the-time AF userbase, though the disagreements themselves we have long left behind. Honestly, looking back at the entire split there were definitely unjustified actions on the behalf of both communities, but it hardly matters today - and it did result in two distinctly different and in their own way great forums.

Even though I may disagree with Lon's way to run a community, the actual people of AF have always been amazing

Was the split around the same time AF got its makeover? I remember people were not happy about that at all. I think the few of us who were with AF at the end can definitely understand your feelings from when you split. We didn't publicly speak about it on AF but behind closed doors many of us were unhappy with how things were being handled.

I loved the people and it truly was my home on the web so I never wanted to permanently leave but hey that choice was made for us. I do regret that my original Avatar home is gone, however when the owners only interactions with members is to donate and to post new threads about random movies to generate hits then well perhaps it was time. I would love to see AF in the hands of a passionate Avatar loving owner but I really don't see that happening for the price that's being asked.

[Wind12]

Originally Posted by Wameyn

Was the split around the same time AF got its makeover? I remember people were not happy about that at all. I think the few of us who were with AF at the end can definitely understand your feelings from when you split. We didn't publicly speak about it on AF but behind closed doors many of us were unhappy with how things were being handled.

I loved the people and it truly was my home on the web so I never wanted to permanently leave but hey that choice was made for us. I do regret that my original Avatar home is gone, however when the owners only interactions with members is to donate and to post new threads about random movies to generate hits then well perhaps it was time. I would love to see AF in the hands of a passionate Avatar loving owner but I really don't see that happening for the price that's being asked.

Srane, I wasn't on AF because of the features or its design, I was there because it was my internet home with my eylan. I too wish that Lon would just come down on his price so a real fan could get it back, but I'm not holding my breath on that one sadly . I joined AF after the split so I never really knew what it was about, but now things are more clear.

[Raiden]

Originally Posted by Eltu

Mostly correct! Me and HNM (along with a few others) were not in any special positions on AF whatsoever, other than very dedicated members

But indeed, ToS originated as a result of dissatisfaction among the at-the-time AF userbase, though the disagreements themselves we have long left behind. Honestly, looking back at the entire split there were definitely unjustified actions on the behalf of both communities, but it hardly matters today - and it did result in two distinctly different and in their own way great forums.

Even though I may disagree with Lon's way to run a community, the actual people of AF have always been amazing

I knew I was close.

For some reason, I thought I remembered that you were mods or some higher rank than a normal forum user.

[Ja'k Dawsiin]

Originally Posted by Eltu

Mostly correct! Me and HNM (along with a few others) were not in any special positions on AF whatsoever, other than very dedicated members

But indeed, ToS originated as a result of dissatisfaction among the at-the-time AF userbase, though the disagreements themselves we have long left behind. Honestly, looking back at the entire split there were definitely unjustified actions on the behalf of both communities, but it hardly matters today - and it did result in two distinctly different and in their own way great forums.

Even though I may disagree with Lon's way to run a community, the actual people of AF have always been amazing

i just now saw this post from the above quote, and want to say thanks for that last line of your comment. i found the start of my new Hometree.