Quoth the Zobovor:

"So, remember that there's always r/AltToysTransformers on Reddit, which does allow pictures to be posted... it appears that NovaBBS only archives posts for roughly two years, and then they vanish. I'm not aware of any other Usenet archive that retains records indefinitely the way Google Groups did, and it would be a shame for our messages to just disappear into the ether. I do keep records of my Comics Reading Club reviews (I write them locally on my PC and then copy-paste them) but that's still a lot of content that will just vanish into nothingness. So now I wonder if perhaps we should still entertain the notion of transitioning to Reddit within the next couple of years. They retain stuff forever."

Thought this deserved its own post.

It would be a shame to have all messages post Feb 22nd self destruct after two years. I also haven't been able to find anything else that archives posts indefinitely, nor am I confident in my ability to setup something like Gnus. I agree that we may need to look again at the Reddit option, or failing that, find some way to backup ATT on a regular basis.

To your second point, Zob, do you or could you keep an archive of your reviews for easy perusal? The historical value of a "Zob's Thoughts" site, including your Cartoon Review Club thoughts and toy reviews, would be enormous, forming a sort of fandom triumvirate alongside BWTF.com and Dave's Transformers Page. I know I've tried searching for some of your reviews in the past before making a purchase, but found it difficult enough on Google Groups.

Thanks for raising this, Codigo. Good info, and a valuable topic, as always.

Agree that one of the most important assets of the old ATT was its longevity. These kinds of contributions should be preserved.

JB

CodigoPostal wrote:

> To your second point, Zob, do you or could you keep an archive of your reviews for easy perusal? The
> historical value of a "Zob's Thoughts" site, including your Cartoon Review Club thoughts and toy reviews,
> would be enormous, forming a sort of fandom triumvirate alongside BWTF.com and Dave's Transformers Page. I
> know I've tried searching for some of your reviews in the past before making a purchase, but found it
> difficult enough on Google Groups.

As a stopgap measure, I'll be posting my reviews and things on r/AltToysTransformers on Reddit in addition to Usenet. If posts should expire from the NovaBBS archive in about two years or so, they should be retained on Reddit for as long as the site exists. So that's something, at least.

Those reviews serve as a springboard for discussion, though, and that's what I find the most valuable about the Google archive... seeing people's reactions and the conversations that pop up as a result. I love going back to see what people were talking about... what their concerns were, what they were excited about. We're going to lose the ability to do that, going forward, and I think that's a shame.

Zob