Site Administration

Site Administration

withthelove's picture

 

Hi,

I've been holding this post back for a while now because, well I love OGA, and I just don't want to be on here complaining about it, but I think we've reached a point where something needs to be said.

Still just to be clear, this is NOT a complaint, it's an expression of concern and an offer to help.

I think it should be pretty clear to all that OGA is no longer getting the administrative attention in needs.

Search is broken.  It doesn't return results past January of this year.  The issue was reported in February, it's now June.  A year ago search broke in the same fashion.  It took four months to get fixed, and then broke again just a few months later.  

The main page hasn't had a 'news' post since the fix for a spam attack was announced last Novemember.  That post itself is not peppered with obvious spam posts.

Furthermore, unless there's something going on that hasn't been announced publicly, I think it's pretty clear that development on the site has basically stopped.

I think the admins are doing an admirable job keeping up with montioring posts for legal issues, etc. and fortunately, artists and developers still seem to be finding and using the site.  This is a real testament to the strength of the community and the technology already set up for the site.

However, it doesn't take a Nostadamus to see that over the long run, if the site doesn't get day to day administration or future development, it's going to die.  It'll either slowly fizzle out as artists and developers turn away from it because they find it's not working, or one day it'll just crash or disappear and no one will know why or how to bring it back.

Again, this is not a complaint, it's an expression of concern.

I have nothing but love and respect for Bart and what he's created here with OGA.  But it's clear whoever is currently handling the admin for this site simply doesn't have the time or inclination for it anymore.  I am totally ok with that.  For Bart personally, if he wants or needs time away from the site, by all means he should take it.  He's certainly paid his debt and then some.  If it were up to me, he'd be able to retire happily to the Bahamas anytime he wants.  But there must be some process whereby adminstration and development responsibilities for the site can be passed on or even just shared or temporarily delegated to some person or persons who do have the time and interest to do it.

I am offering myself up as one such person, but even more importantly, I'd like to get the process and the conversation started.  What can we do to ensure that OGA endures past the current difficulties and beyond?

Scott