About 14 hours ago, I finally heard about what will probably be termed the ‘Second Shutdown’ for Uru Live. I had planned to spend time here venting about that, but I’m too drained emotionally to consider it. Probably for the best; There’s enough of that going around already.
Even right now, at what’s probably the lowest ebb for the community, I still feel that this could work. However, it’s now probably best done from a ‘ground-up’ re-write to fix the scalability/network factor, and that’s probably something that Cyan should best shelve for now if they want to continue to be solvent.
Perhaps the Writers and Maintainers can work it out instead; If so I plan to keep an eye on that, finally get Blender fired up again, and do something with those Ahra shells (I may consider a change of venue though, closer to the link-in point if possible – I finally want a permanent home for my old Memorial Gardens from Second Life).
Again, my hat’s off to you Rand; Despite everything that’s occurred, you’ve persevered and tried – Thank You. My original answer to your 2004 post back at the Ubi forums is still valid: This concept is a very unique one, and should be kept alive in some form – even if that means letting the community give it a try now.
As to my own future with Uru, I already had more permanent plans to step back from all this before the announcement; Not because of anything the community has done, but because of unrelated personal matters that I need to pursue. Most of these are things I never would have considered doing if it was not for y’all, so don’t think I’m leaving because of disappointment – nope, it’s because you’ve all helped me grow as a human, and you should be proud of that.
I will remain to be more of an ambassador from the Cavern, its ideals, and what it can do for people. Otherwise, my last act (for now!) will be a semi-quiet affair: One last march, one last gathering, and quietly walk away.
From that point on, I will probably be more involved with Second Life, as that was always my personal ‘Plan B,’ and already have a group of friends there. I may also take a peek now and then into There, but it’s less likely. No other MMOs, however – sorry.
But while we await the end, let’s enjoy the final trip, and argue later. Have Fun all…
/salute
–TSK