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Post by VanWoman84 on Nov 14, 2020 18:01:07 GMT
Is there an ETA on the closure? I suspect people who don't visit often might not know until they try to login.
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Post by itinerantchild on Nov 14, 2020 18:08:44 GMT
He said that he will keep it open a while for people to share contact details and the likes,but from what I can see it will be this month as he will not want to be buying into another months hosting costs.
If there is any update I shall let you know xx
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Post by itinerantchild on Nov 14, 2020 19:19:39 GMT
An official statement is up on the site -
4.jpgANNOUNCEMENT
This website started in late 2005 as a joint venture, with the idea of providing a much needed space for the 'alternative' (AKA hippy) community in the UK.
We served our purpose, but after fifteen years it's time close the doors for good.
The Internet is not the same as it used to be; social media wasn't a thing back then and smart phones were still in their infancy -- the way people use the net has changed, and as such, the last few years have witnessed a massive decline in our popularity and usefulness.
This has been inversely matched with a rise in our running costs -- even people locked down during a pandemic has not given us the popularity boost we needed; people seem to prefer the social media giants and we cannot compete. We tried a lot of things; software changes, faster hosting, mobile compatibility, even changing the domain for a while, but it simply has not worked.
If you are still a member, you will be able to log in for a little while, to collect messages or reminisce, but within the next few days we will pull the plug for the very last time.
Eventually the database and all member information will be removed and destroyed, and as such I will not be able to retrieve or use anyone's information in the future -- if I ever decide to start a new website project, it will be from scratch.
I'm glad to have been a part of this; to have used my skills, time and energy into creating something that was mostly a force of good -- I didn't always get it right, but I did my best and for now I wish you all well for the future, and maybe our paths will cross elsewhere.
All the best
Paul
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Post by VanWoman84 on Nov 14, 2020 19:26:23 GMT
I presume that means threads too?
Has anybody had an email about the closure? As I said before, a lot of people won't be aware until they try to login, and the forum has gone.
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Post by parrotandcrow on Nov 14, 2020 19:43:20 GMT
If they log in so infrequently I’m sure that they won’t be too bothered if they try and it’s gone. A lot of folk have migrated from forums to farce book. I don’t think that you need to worry, Vannie, after all this time I doubt that there is anybody who has used Paul’s site who does not know that this one exists. 😊
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Post by VanWoman84 on Nov 14, 2020 19:56:50 GMT
Oh well, even now if you Google UK Hippy we come up number four.  |
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Post by VanWoman84 on Nov 14, 2020 20:07:03 GMT
To be honest I didn't see this coming. Though I did say already I haven't been on UK Hippy for about a year.
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Post by valdez on Nov 14, 2020 21:52:41 GMT
not been on the other site much lately just because nothing really appealed to me, was really good of him to put that link on
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Post by patchypete on Nov 15, 2020 8:19:45 GMT
Wonder if we will get an influx of new members now ?
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Post by VanWoman84 on Nov 15, 2020 11:35:53 GMT
Maybe, just had our first one now.
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Post by valdez on Nov 15, 2020 22:33:51 GMT
would have thought there will be a fair few join up
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Post by itinerantchild on Nov 16, 2020 5:39:52 GMT
I have put up a link for this site over there people can keep in touch with old friend and come and make new ones. Paul has early this morning sent this message out to ukhippy members - Hi everyone, After fifteen years online, UKHippy.com will shortly be closing its doors for the last time -- potentially within the next few days. At our peak from around 2008-2013 we had millions of hits, thousands of visitors, hundreds of people logging in regularly, and an abundance of posts and topics -- the rise of social media and smart phones slowed things down significantly, and in recent months activity has declined to fewer than twenty users a day and only a handful of posts. We served our purpose for a while, but the way people use the Internet has changed, and as such we need to move with the times. I have posted a brief explanation in the thread linked below, but will update this with something a little more substantial as soon as I get time to do so. ukhippy.com/forum/thread/75052-this-is-the-end/If you wish to exchange details with any of your old friends, then this is the last chance to do so. I wish all of you the very best for the future. Paul |
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Post by itinerantchild on Nov 16, 2020 6:02:29 GMT
I have seen a few members names that I have not seen in the members online section in ages on the site over there and it is still early. When I last looked there were also 818 guests on line !!
A lot of people did enjoy ukhippy and I imagine quite a few will pop in for a last look to see an old friend on its way,and thats what it does feel like an old friend that is leaving.
It has been friendship,entertainment,education and help to many people for a lot of years so I can understand people wanting to pay their last respects !!
Hopefully some of the good people will make their way over here now that there are a few links posted for ukhippies. :-)
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Post by VanWoman84 on Nov 16, 2020 12:47:03 GMT
Before I got to the forum, I thought there might have been an email sent out. The members have to thank paul for that. I have just approved 11 new members.
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Post by itinerantchild on Nov 17, 2020 21:07:19 GMT
Ladies and gentlemen and others who do not fit into that I am saddened to announce that since a couple of minutes ago UKHIPPY.COM has closed its doors :-(
Here is pauls final word that you will get if you try and access the site -
UKHippy.com 2005-2020
After fifteen years online, UKHippy.com has closed its doors for the last time.
First of all, thank you so much for all the kind words — I’ve been reading the messages, but not had time to respond to everything. I do, however, appreciate all the love you’ve sent me. <3
Anyway…
At our peak from around 2008-2013 we had millions of hits, thousands of visitors, hundreds of people logging in regularly, and an abundance of posts and topics on just about every subject imaginable — we had a community; connections and relationships were formed. People used us as an important resource to enhance their lives — and I personally am grateful that I had the opportunity to be a part of that.
However, in recent years, with the rise of social media and smart phones, things slowed down significantly, and in recent months activity declined to fewer than twenty logged in users a day, and only a handful of posts.
This was not only financially unsustainable, it just wasn’t serving a worthwhile purpose — the hours of maintenance needed to keep it up to date and thriving was proving to be a little too much.
We served our purpose for the time we were needed, but the way people use the Internet has changed, and as such we need to move on
A little website history
Way back in the autumn of 2005, a few of us were hanging out on a larger, more nebulous forum based in the USA — and in our discussions we explored the idea of a place focused solely on the UK ‘scene’ with its rich history of festivals, pagan tradition, new age travellers and so on — the word ‘hippy’ in the UK invoked a slightly different feeling to the word ‘hippie’ in the USA — we had Hawkwind and Stonehenge, they had Burning Man and The Grateful Dead. We were related, but we were different.
In typical hippy style, we lunched out and did nothing — until one weekend there was a ‘falling out’ with the admin (apparently, but I wasn’t there) and we decided it was time to act! I chatted with another member and together we decided on the name — I would do most of the techie stuff, he would manage the community, and as a result of that I created the entire platform in a handful of days before we went live.
As it transpired, I ended up helping to manage the community more than I expected — which worked well for a number of years — but since about 2014 I did pretty much everything on my own — with the help of a handful of moderators who had always been with us; the last of who vanished mysteriously in about 2017 (I still have no idea what happened) — from then it was just me, plodding on behind the scenes, experimenting with ways to make this website work. In that time I tried changing the software, rebranding the site for a while, making social media connections and so on — but largely to no avail.
Community
However, that’s just the background history — the real story is the members, and there have been so many of you that it’s difficult to summarise 15 years in a few short paragraphs — I’m sure everyone who was a part of this has their own story to tell.
From the relationships that formed, to the many gatherings and meetups, from the Travelling Scrapbook to to the rebellions and break away sites — there are plenty of tales that could survive long after this website has turned to dust, and I believe those stories are still being made.
Wherever you go next, whoever you are, I wish you all well – and I extend that to anyone I’ve fallen out with too; as I said elsewhere, I didn’t always get it right and I didn’t always keep everyone happy, but for me it’s time to move on.
The future
The database and all usernames and contact details are not going to be kept or archived — they take up too much space and, because many of the threads are irrelevant to today’s world, there is no point in keeping the vast majority of content.
The domain name will eventually expire — I’m not going to pass the site over to someone else to manage, because I’ve put so much of my personality into it that I don’t want to see it become something I never intended. To be honest, the backend is a bit of a mess; it needs updating and is bloated and cluttered with redundant code, so God help anyone who would consider it over!
Finally
I personally may start another project at some point in the future, and if you wish to be informed of that then please add your email to the mailing list below — I will only send mail related to either this or a new website. I don’t exactly know what I’ll do, and it may not have anything to do with hippies – we shall see.
If you wish to contact me on any other matter, then please use the contact form below to send me a message (please be nice) — although I may be slow responding as I need a rest!
The October bill has been paid, but if you donated money this month and want a refund then please contact me — donations are logged, but I’ll leave it to you to decide. Inversely, if you wish to buy me a coffee, then please click here because I’m bloody knackered and boy do I need one! 🙂
That’s all folks — and remember, in the words of the great Bill Hicks “It’s all just a ride”. 🙂
Paul
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