Maybe I am naive, but I do not fully understand the explanation for taking down the site.
This site was owned by a larger company, that company decided to shut down a number of community fan sites for several games, not just Magic: the Gathering.
I am only speculating here, but there are several possibilities about why they no longer wanted to support these sites. One possibility is that the company decided that it was no longer interested in being in the business of owning / supporting those sites and because of technical / engineering reasons it would be difficult to simply sell those properties onto another company (ie. a lot of proprietary under-the-hood resources that they did not want other companies to get access to).
Another possibility is that this section of the company was losing money, not from every individual owned / supported site, but as a whole. So the company decided to cut their losses and stop supporting all of them since resources dedicated to supporting 3 profit-turning sites, for example, would not make sense compared to supporting, say, 10 profit-turning sites.
Another possibility is that, while the section of company was profitable, it cost X amount of dollars to support while generating a certain amount of profit and the company decided that they could make more money from that same X amount of dollars by doing something else. This is similar to what happens when decently viewed TV shows are cancelled. The idea is that while this show is doing OK, it will never be a huge hit and another show could be a huge hit.
MTGSalvation was and continues to turn a profit. It just isn't the profit that our parent corporation feels is enough to justify maintaining this site (the same goes for the other Curse-owned sites which are being shut down). This is quite simply the best answer we can give, because it is the whole answer. The admins and staff all view the site as a labor of love and it is for that reason that we have chosen to make the new site something that we had always hoped we could turn MTGS into if we had the proper support we were promised and failed to receive during the initial Curse purchase.
MTGSalvation was and continues to turn a profit. It just isn't the profit that our parent corporation feels is enough to justify maintaining this site (the same goes for the other Curse-owned sites which are being shut down). This is quite simply the best answer we can give, because it is the whole answer. The admins and staff all view the site as a labor of love and it is for that reason that we have chosen to make the new site something that we had always hoped we could turn MTGS into if we had the proper support we were promised and failed to receive during the initial Curse purchase.
Oh wow, I just realized that a new website means I probably won't have to click subscribe exactly 3 times to find out when people comment in a thread. Sweet!
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Zedruu: "This deck is not only able to go crazy - it also needs to do so."
So if you haven't seen the latest article, there was an 11th hour purchase of the site and it will remain open. To head off any questions....
Yes, the site which Airi and I have been discussing is still moving forward as planned.
I will let other staff members speak for themselves, but I believe there is great promise in what we are doing, and based on my experiences on staff as well as an admin I do not foresee being able to deliver that here.
As for any users here, I encourage and welcome everyone who helped to make this site the great community it has become to at the very least sign up and check us out.
Provided the venue the MTGS staff is creating isn't completely terrible (and I have no reason to believe it will be), the closing of MTGS meant forum-goers had a very clear direction. They could either migrate over to the new place, or they could find someplace else entirely, be that Reddit, Facebook groups, whatever. Now that the figures that be have announced MTGS will stay open, it isn't clear what folks will do. Some people will migrate. Some people won't. ****. This community is small enough as it is. We don't need an even greater schism. I mean, yes, some folks were inevitably going to break away, but they didn't have to make a decision between "do nothing" and "move." Now the new site won't have nearly as many users as it might have had.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
WUBRGMr. Bones' Wild RideGRBUW Trap your friends in an endless game with this 23-card combo!
Yeah, what a weird situation. Nobody wins - staying here may be convenient, but at the same time the core that helps keep the community going is pursuing the independent project. So you get a new site with fewer users than you'd otherwise get, and at the same time this place will likely wilt away because of the staff exodus.
Yeah, I'm really unsure what to do. My threads are all here, and you can't really begrudge people for staying for an audience/community they already have. But I also really like the concept of what Cryo and Airi are offering, so...what do you do?
To be fair I've talked some absolute BS on my deck threads in the past, so there's something appealing in starting over and looking a lot more impressive on the second pass
I just want to say, that it's been an honor being both a moderator for our lovely EDH community, as well as an admin. And I'm also sorry to you all that in a lot of ways, I've failed you in that role, by not being able to secure the resources that we as a community deserve. That being said, I wouldn't be stepping down and moving to our new project if I didn't truly believe it will be a resource that the MTG and especially the EDH community truly does deserve.
I certainly can't fault anyone who chooses to remain on MTGS. It has been most of our home for many years, and for me at least, it will always hold a special place in my heart. However, I do hope that those of you who are interested, or are maybe even just on the fence, will be willing to at least give us a chance. I won't be available here, but I am absolutely always open to suggestions for ways to improve your experience, and that's a front I largely have failed in being able to provide here. But I intend to change that going forward, and my inbox there will always be open.
So with that said, to those of you I will see going forward, I can't wait. And to those who will be staying here, it's been an absolute honor.
My plan is to spend time on MTGS and the new forum, taking part in what conversations draw me in as I have on MTGS over the years. If there ends up being good community in both places, why not lurk both places? I do think it sucks how they pulled this in the final hour when most people had gone through the process of planning what to do next, but I'm happy for those who want to stay on MTGS and happy for those who are looking to a new vision of what a user-run forum would look like.
Really want to recognize Cry and Airithne and the others with skin in the game who've worked so hard to make the best of this. It's that attention to community that draws community, which is one of the main reasons I'll definitely be lurking on the new site when it's up!
edit - just looked at my join date, holy cow, 8 years.... tis a bit of time
Personally, I will be devoting the majority of my time on the new site as one of the Commander moderators, but this place has been my home and I cannot walk away from it while there are still users and friends here. I will be stepping down from the staff and I truly wish the next generation of staff here the best of luck and success, along with the desire that they continue to make this a welcoming environment for everyone (trust me, it pays off in the long run).
I have to say that the new owner barely having a functional website doesn't seem like a good sign. I'm much more interested in seeing what Airi and cryo are coming up with.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
[Pr]Jaya | Estrid | A rotating cast of decks built out of my box.
Well, that's a rough plot twist. Being completely honest, MTGS getting to close with dignity was kind of appealing. MTGSalvation has gotten dragged down over the years by people with old grudges, the weird Curse and Twitch account connections, a sometimes offensive mobile experience based on the ads, (being blocked at my work), and significant degradation of the technology. God knows how many things have broken here on what I'm now hearing is unworkably proprietary software. It's unclear whether new ownership would fix any of those issues or potentially make them worse, but a new website to migrate to seems well positioned to fix all of them. Certainly, porque no los dos, but I still anxiously await the new experience.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Zedruu: "This deck is not only able to go crazy - it also needs to do so."
What a plot twist! I know that I will be happily moving over to the new site and the developments that Airi, Feyd, and Cryogen have been working feverishly on. I wish no ill will on the new owners and hope that they can improve the site in the ways that it needs.
However, if you're looking for a new MTG site that's formatted similarly to MTGSal...
One that caters to your desires for actual articles and meaningful content...
A place where you can post threads, Primers, and comments in the same way that you currently do with MTGSal...
With the majority of the Staff who have created the positive atmosphere and are committed to your development as a player and person...
I warmly invite you to come over to the new site. The features available to users and the permissions available to the Mods are, frankly, exciting. It will be a new chapter in MTG for me and I can't wait to see all of you
Huh. Talk about your Near-Death Experience. (God, I've been waiting a long time for the opportunity to use that pun). Idk what to think, the fact that Curse was nonchalantly ready to wash their hands of the site only to introduce some flyby night last minute site I've never heard of to take ownership...what? Doesn't scream to me like a lot of forethought and planning went into this. Pretty hard to put my faith behind a management team like that. And what happens when they bow out? Then we go through all this again? I'm tendering a [temporary] vote of no confidence in that entity until we know anything about them.
I can't help but feel a stronger future with the Airli/Cryo project.
Huh. Talk about your Near-Death Experience. (God, I've been waiting a long time for the opportunity to use that pun). Idk what to think, the fact that Curse was nonchalantly ready to wash their hands of the site only to introduce some flyby night last minute site I've never heard of to take ownership...what? Doesn't scream to me like a lot of forethought and planning went into this. Pretty hard to put my faith behind a management team like that. And what happens when they bow out? Then we go through all this again? I'm tendering a [temporary] vote of no confidence in that entity until we know anything about them.
I can't help but feel a stronger future with the Airli/Cryo project.
Some google research suggests to me that the buyer is someone from the Hearthstone equivalent Curse property who helped build that site, and then I got sucked into a black hole cause there's something really nostalgic about forum drama dumpster fires, and they've got a s'more worthy fire going right now.
Comparatively, Minecraft Forum was apparently also a part of this transaction, where the response was basically: "oh... neat."
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Zedruu: "This deck is not only able to go crazy - it also needs to do so."
Huh. Talk about your Near-Death Experience. (God, I've been waiting a long time for the opportunity to use that pun). Idk what to think, the fact that Curse was nonchalantly ready to wash their hands of the site only to introduce some flyby night last minute site I've never heard of to take ownership...what? Doesn't scream to me like a lot of forethought and planning went into this. Pretty hard to put my faith behind a management team like that. And what happens when they bow out? Then we go through all this again? I'm tendering a [temporary] vote of no confidence in that entity until we know anything about them.
I can't help but feel a stronger future with the Airli/Cryo project.
In all fairness, the new owner isn't a fly by night company. It is one of the reps that worked with the Admin team that was in place during the initial transition to Curse, and it is because this individual will be able to maintain the software better than we ever could have dreamt of is why the idea was even entertained. The lack of name recognition is likely because a LLC was created to maintain the acquired forums.
That said, I can only hope that they hire a mod team which cares about the site and treat this site as more than a business investment and like the community that it is.
Some google research suggests to me that the buyer is someone from the Hearthstone equivalent Curse property who helped build that site, and then I got sucked into a black hole cause there's something really nostalgic about forum drama dumpster fires, and they've got a s'more worthy fire going right now.
Comparatively, Minecraft Forum was apparently also a part of this transaction, where the response was basically: "oh... neat."
I do not appreciate this stupid company toying with my emotions like this. "We're dead! Sayonara!"......"We're back! You now belong to this other mindless conglomerate, and we'll see how far their give-a-***** takes you before you're back to step 1. Good luck and enjoy that twitch account we forced upon you all!"
I'm personally out. MTGS is home, sure, but **** am I ready to move out. I haven't really been enthused any of the changes made in the last few years (don't care for twitch or the deckbuilder), so I'll take the leap. Worst come to worst, I'll be back if the new site nosedives. But unless you make me subscribe to another totally unrelated service just to use the new platform, I doubt I shall return.
P.S. to those designing the new site, pleasepleaseplease don't make me jump through stupid hoops like Curse did. I don't want to attach my nonexistant Facebook to my account or integrate any other crap into a process that should not extend beyond email-> username-> password-> confirmation email code.
I do not appreciate this stupid company toying with my emotions like this. "We're dead! Sayonara!"......"We're back! You now belong to this other mindless conglomerate, and we'll see how far their give-a-***** takes you before you're back to step 1. Good luck and enjoy that twitch account we forced upon you all!"
I'm personally out. MTGS is home, sure, but **** am I ready to move out. I haven't really been enthused any of the changes made in the last few years (don't care for twitch or the deckbuilder), so I'll take the leap. Worst come to worst, I'll be back if the new site nosedives. But unless you make me subscribe to another totally unrelated service just to use the new platform, I doubt I shall return.
P.S. to those designing the new site, pleasepleaseplease don't make me jump through stupid hoops like Curse did. I don't want to attach my nonexistant Facebook to my account or integrate any other crap into a process that should not extend beyond email-> username-> password-> confirmation email code.
We hated that stuff as much as you did. We are not owned by a corporation, so we will be making this as much of a user-friendly experience. At worst we will have to comply with any applicable laws governing privacy information (such as the EU fiasco somewhat recently), but that's something any site should require.
This site was owned by a larger company, that company decided to shut down a number of community fan sites for several games, not just Magic: the Gathering.
I am only speculating here, but there are several possibilities about why they no longer wanted to support these sites. One possibility is that the company decided that it was no longer interested in being in the business of owning / supporting those sites and because of technical / engineering reasons it would be difficult to simply sell those properties onto another company (ie. a lot of proprietary under-the-hood resources that they did not want other companies to get access to).
Another possibility is that this section of the company was losing money, not from every individual owned / supported site, but as a whole. So the company decided to cut their losses and stop supporting all of them since resources dedicated to supporting 3 profit-turning sites, for example, would not make sense compared to supporting, say, 10 profit-turning sites.
Another possibility is that, while the section of company was profitable, it cost X amount of dollars to support while generating a certain amount of profit and the company decided that they could make more money from that same X amount of dollars by doing something else. This is similar to what happens when decently viewed TV shows are cancelled. The idea is that while this show is doing OK, it will never be a huge hit and another show could be a huge hit.
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg
Dragonlover
Lathliss Dragon Queen - All dragons all the time!
Mono-White Mono-Legends
Ruhan of the Fomori
Molimo, Maro-Sorcerer
Storrev, Devkarin Lich
So if you haven't seen the latest article, there was an 11th hour purchase of the site and it will remain open. To head off any questions....
Yes, the site which Airi and I have been discussing is still moving forward as planned.
I will let other staff members speak for themselves, but I believe there is great promise in what we are doing, and based on my experiences on staff as well as an admin I do not foresee being able to deliver that here.
As for any users here, I encourage and welcome everyone who helped to make this site the great community it has become to at the very least sign up and check us out.
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg
Provided the venue the MTGS staff is creating isn't completely terrible (and I have no reason to believe it will be), the closing of MTGS meant forum-goers had a very clear direction. They could either migrate over to the new place, or they could find someplace else entirely, be that Reddit, Facebook groups, whatever. Now that the figures that be have announced MTGS will stay open, it isn't clear what folks will do. Some people will migrate. Some people won't. ****. This community is small enough as it is. We don't need an even greater schism. I mean, yes, some folks were inevitably going to break away, but they didn't have to make a decision between "do nothing" and "move." Now the new site won't have nearly as many users as it might have had.
Trap your friends in an endless game with this 23-card combo!
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg
To be fair I've talked some absolute BS on my deck threads in the past, so there's something appealing in starting over and looking a lot more impressive on the second pass
I certainly can't fault anyone who chooses to remain on MTGS. It has been most of our home for many years, and for me at least, it will always hold a special place in my heart. However, I do hope that those of you who are interested, or are maybe even just on the fence, will be willing to at least give us a chance. I won't be available here, but I am absolutely always open to suggestions for ways to improve your experience, and that's a front I largely have failed in being able to provide here. But I intend to change that going forward, and my inbox there will always be open.
So with that said, to those of you I will see going forward, I can't wait. And to those who will be staying here, it's been an absolute honor.
My Helpdesk
[Pr] Marath | [Pr] Lovisa | Jodah | Saskia | Najeela | Yisan | Lord Windgrace | Atraxa | Meren | Gisa and Geralf
Really want to recognize Cry and Airithne and the others with skin in the game who've worked so hard to make the best of this. It's that attention to community that draws community, which is one of the main reasons I'll definitely be lurking on the new site when it's up!
edit - just looked at my join date, holy cow, 8 years.... tis a bit of time
WUBRG Some of these decks can actually win games...WUBRG
How I know I should build a deck:
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg
However, if you're looking for a new MTG site that's formatted similarly to MTGSal...
One that caters to your desires for actual articles and meaningful content...
A place where you can post threads, Primers, and comments in the same way that you currently do with MTGSal...
With the majority of the Staff who have created the positive atmosphere and are committed to your development as a player and person...
I warmly invite you to come over to the new site. The features available to users and the permissions available to the Mods are, frankly, exciting. It will be a new chapter in MTG for me and I can't wait to see all of you
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
I can't help but feel a stronger future with the Airli/Cryo project.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Some google research suggests to me that the buyer is someone from the Hearthstone equivalent Curse property who helped build that site, and then I got sucked into a black hole cause there's something really nostalgic about forum drama dumpster fires, and they've got a s'more worthy fire going right now.
Comparatively, Minecraft Forum was apparently also a part of this transaction, where the response was basically: "oh... neat."
In all fairness, the new owner isn't a fly by night company. It is one of the reps that worked with the Admin team that was in place during the initial transition to Curse, and it is because this individual will be able to maintain the software better than we ever could have dreamt of is why the idea was even entertained. The lack of name recognition is likely because a LLC was created to maintain the acquired forums.
That said, I can only hope that they hire a mod team which cares about the site and treat this site as more than a business investment and like the community that it is.
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg
Yeah.... they didn't take the news quite as well.
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg
UW Ephara Hatebears [Primer], GB Gitrog Lands, BRU Inalla Combo-Control, URG Maelstrom Wanderer Landfall
I'm personally out. MTGS is home, sure, but **** am I ready to move out. I haven't really been enthused any of the changes made in the last few years (don't care for twitch or the deckbuilder), so I'll take the leap. Worst come to worst, I'll be back if the new site nosedives. But unless you make me subscribe to another totally unrelated service just to use the new platform, I doubt I shall return.
P.S. to those designing the new site, pleasepleaseplease don't make me jump through stupid hoops like Curse did. I don't want to attach my nonexistant Facebook to my account or integrate any other crap into a process that should not extend beyond email-> username-> password-> confirmation email code.
We hated that stuff as much as you did. We are not owned by a corporation, so we will be making this as much of a user-friendly experience. At worst we will have to comply with any applicable laws governing privacy information (such as the EU fiasco somewhat recently), but that's something any site should require.
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg