this forum!

[tariqbutt]

I just discovered this forum having been a member of the old forums for years (only had about 30 posts on the old forum but read it regularly). I often wondered what happened to it. Can anyone explain what happened? Its a shame we dont have the archive of posts...

[Cyber-Hazuki]

The original owner pulled the plug on it without offering to hand over the reins to someone else, and pretty much without warning too, theres not a lot to be said really, he did say he was considering moving on though, just sad he did it they way he did.

[tariqbutt]

Is anyone still in contact with him? If so would be good getting the archives from him and continuing where we left off

[Exoddus]

There was talk from him, Al maybe Alan I think his name was. About shutting down the site. A couple of people offered to take it over. I personally sent him a couple of messages and found out he was paying quite a small fee for the website.

I offered to send him donations to help pay for the site for a couple of months and send him donations every once in awhile.

He said the site may shut down but changed his mind. The last thing I remember him saying regarding the site. He was going to keep the website running for another 6 months until he figured out what he was going to do with it.

He secretly shut it down without telling anyone about a month later because he didn't want to hand it over to anyone. So there's no chance of getting anything from him. Even if someone has his contact information.

I would have taken it over if he asked me back then. I would have turned it into a community based project. Where anyone who was willing to make pages for the website would be given the password.

He's known as Smeagol around these parts now.

[tariqbutt]

Any update on the old forum archive?

[SeeNoEvil]

I've not heard anything. It's probably lone gone now... unfortunately.

[Exoddus]

He actually came back and created another GamesMaster website a couple of years back. But because of how he acted before no one really wanted to commit or post much in fear of having everything deleted again.

What I didn't like was he lied about the website crashing and losing everything out of the blue. He also said everyone was e-mailed about it which no one was.

I also remember going back on the page and it had a message like "After (enter years here) I have decided to close the GamesMaster site down. Thanks to everyone who helped over the years". So it wasn't a server crash or whatever he said it was because he left a message on the site for 2 weeks before the domain expired.

I still don't understand why he didn't hand it over as I, and a couple of others were willing to take it over.

No one wanted to contribute to the new site as everyone was still gutted about losing all the content from before. So he closed it down.

Only this place remains. If GamesMaster started showing on Challenge again this place would pick up. In reality the GamesMaster community never recovered from the first deletion.

Still I'm glad this place exists!

[SeeNoEvil]

When I first joined, the old forums were much busier with people exchanging links and downloads for just a handful of poorer quality episodes. After I'd been selling the GM DVD box-sets for a year or so, things started to quieten down, and everyone who wanted the full set of episodes, could easily get them.

I only started this forum in September of 2011, so I could keep my episode MP4 links and GM DVD box-set online. A fair few people joined up here from the old site, but nothing like it was before, plus as the forums were pretty much dead within a year or so, and spammers kept on signing up and posting crap, I closed new registrations. They're open again now, but I doubt it will ever get back to the way it was, unfortunately. This forum is hosted on my own personal paid webspace I use for my other websites, so it won't drop offline as long as I have my other website up.

[Exoddus]

That's why you were the best option to keep the GamesMaster forums going in one incarnation or another.

It's great you still have working download links for people. Pretty much every kid who grew up playing video games in the late 80's and 90's in Britain watched GamesMaster. It was too valuable to miss. Personally having 4 siblings money was tight in our family and cartridges weren't cheap even second hand. So knowing which games to avoid and which ones to buy was brilliant.

It's a big part of many of our childhoods considering it was around for 7 years! Even if just 1 person a month downloads a bunch of episodes from here it's worth keeping it up.

I guess it's most important function, at least to us die hard GamesMaster fans is to keep this place up in-case someone comes forward with the missing footage were all after. Which unfortunately no one has yet.

I only started this forum in September of 2011, so I could keep my episode MP4 links and GM DVD box-set online. A fair few people joined up here from the old site,

Yeah, I was on the old site. I didn't post much. I think I had around 30 posts. These forums started on Tue Sep 27, 2011. I luckily still had HAD0KEN's e-mail address which I enquired from the old forums. I can't remember why. I think I may have bought something from him.

I remember e-mailing him asking where you guys went and he e-mailed me a link to this place. So I signed up a couple of days after a bunch of you on Sat Oct 01, 2011 6:24 am.

Looking at HAD0KEN's profile. He's not logged in since 2012. It's quite amazing and scary how fast time flies!

[K1ngarth3r]

Great to see some old names post here, I occasionally visit to see who's posted.

I see some of you on other forums now, but with a join date of 2006 on the old forum it's sad to see all that old history gone