Comment on: CoS Forums Closure

[Lord Godric]

Originally Posted by Moriath

I'm so, so grateful to all admins and my fellow staff members in general, to Matt in particular, and to the red and blue (and green and yellow) names that are long gone for making this such a wonderful place and creating an enjoyable team atmosphere. I loved working with you, a long-time employment without pay but lots of goodies, such as user title changes, hijacked signatures (hello, care bears, puppies, ponies, pchocolate, and ), lots of owls and a good laugh every now and then.

I have long since wondered if you know that Tati changed one of your sig links and left it or just never clicked it to notice

[PotionsMaster]

Wow, so many people from long ago... brings back memories. I definitely met some amazing people here that made for a life changing experience. I haven't visited much lately, but there is a special place in my heart for the forums... my love for Harry Potter led me here, but all the fantastic people from all over the world kept me here. While it is saddening to see it go, it is bitter sweet. I am so grateful that Matt gave us all the opportunity to come together like this and that it blossomed into something far greater than he probably imagined. So thank you all for this beautiful meeting of the minds; it's been a great journey!

[ccollinsmith]

Originally Posted by Moriath

I'll kind of also miss the spammers and rule violators, the incorrigibles and contentious objectors (see what I did there?) for having kept this interesting. You kept the boredom at bay. The good and the bad, CoS members really helped me to better understand people and group dynamics, and the ever-present fear of conspiracies.Thanks for that!

I now feel like I disappointed my LS moderator. I hope at least my sense of humor kept it interesting.

[Anhelda]

I've been reduced to lurker status for over a year due to a lot of RL junk going on, but I will definitely miss COS. It's been a lot of fun to participate in such a great online community. I'd like to add my thanks to the general chorus of appreciation for Morgoth and the mods who made this place possible. I appreciate all the hard work and dedication you put into this forum. Thanks for the fun, the memories, and the friends.

To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven...

[Midnightsfire]

A question for the admin:
Is there a forum that they might want to...point out? A forum where they might be members of, but no one here knows about...and might not recognize them anyway.

I realize that this may come off as crass, but since I can be that way sometimes, and no one else will likely ask such a question as most here are of a more fine sensibility than myself, heh...well

[Alastor]

Originally Posted by Midnightsfire

A question for the admin:
Is there a forum that they might want to...point out? A forum where they might be members of, but no one here knows about...and might not recognize them anyway.

I realize that this may come off as crass, but since I can be that way sometimes, and no one else will likely ask such a question as most here are of a more fine sensibility than myself, heh...well

Don't ask me. I'm not that social media savvy.

I've never been a member of any other forum, so I really can't recommend any.

[xhanax315]

Originally Posted by purplehawk

I'm wearing my "Chamber of Secrets" tee today. I wore it just once when it first arrived, laundered it and put it away for safekeeping. Today seemed both safe and keeping.

I think we should do shirts again when the site gets nearer to closing. I recall hearing about the shirts but wasn't much at the time to get one.

[Phrozenone]

Reading this thread makes me sad.

So many familiar names. So many memories that will never be replaced.

I check this site at least once a week. It's probably out of habit but I've never stopped checking in and reading posts. It just meant so much to me. I hardly posted except in the film forum but it was like a nice warm cottage I would visit each week, if only for a few minuets.

This forum was amazing. It will be 7 years in may and wow what I journey. From the Fan Scripts thread to the HBP Discussion thread....so many memories. I've met some awesome people here and I'm glad that we had this time together. I hate we never got to finish the Chapter A Day Thread.

I was fine until I read this thread. Wow I'm going to miss it. This is what growing up is about huh? Well we will have the memories. I'll spend the remaining time trying to get in contact with the one's I've become friends with here. IT's crazy how busy life becomes but when you hear something you cherish is leaving you'll drop everything.

I'll miss you CoS. Thank you, all, for being such an important part of my life. For all the hardwork that I had no idea went into keeping this up because it ran so smoothly. For the awesome chats, arguments, laughs, and all around joy that this site brought me.

Thank you.

[teo]

This is truly a wonderful place, but given the lack of new material to discuss I can't say I disagree that this is an appropriate time to wind things up. Like many others, my visits here have dropped off greatly since the final book was released - I have plenty of great memories though, and it sure doesn't seem like as long ago when I first joined here as is indicated by the number of stars under my name! A sincere thank you to everyone who made these forums such an enjoyable place to spend time and interact with other fans over the years, and I wish you all the best in the future. Mischief managed!

[blue3ski]

I waited so long to comment because deep down I was still wishing and hoping that it was just a very elaborate April Fools' joke. But it's now April 2, and my hopes are now dashed.

It's hard to put in words what CoS has meant to me. I first joined in 2005 as a 16-year-old college freshman, hoping to find in the forums some respite as I agonized through the OoTP wait. I witnessed the shipping wars, and stayed up until 3am for the first time reading all the witty (and amusing) discussions. I remember literally rushing to the library the moment my classes let out so I could snag a free PC and check up on my favorite threads (back before the days of WiFi).

Then I got into Hogsmeade. There, I met some of the funnest people I've ever known. The Three Broomsticks was one of my favorite places to be in, and many of you have blessed my life, whether you knew it or not. Because of the time-zone differences, I would stay up until 4 or 5am almost every night (even if I had classes the next day) because I just couldn't leave. I remember being part of the fanfic contests (hi Hermy), and I have kept every single award I received (thank you, artists).

Real life started hijacking most of my time in 2009, and I started coming in less and less. I'd check in briefly, but then CoS was blocked in my office, and I couldn't get on much anymore. Even then, the URL still stayed in my Favorites. Maybe even after the site closes, it will still stay there, as a memento.

Matt and all the staff, thank you for keeping the site running for all these years. Thank you for taking care of all of us Potter fans who wanted a haven where we could talk about the Potterverse, whether intelligently or crazily. Thank you for creating in these forums an international community where we got to meet and befriend so many different kinds of people. Before CoS, I was the shyest person I knew, but thanks to my time here, I've learned to be opinionated, and to be a little bit bonkers.

To the friends I've made on CoS, I hope to continue keeping in touch with you. Some of you are my friends on Facebook, and for those who aren't, I'm just there I hope we have the chance to still share in one another's lives and carry this place in our hearts.

Mischief managed

-Jacqueline So (blue3ski)

[gertiekeddle]

Heya, there Jacqueline!

Originally Posted by Lord Godric

I have long since wondered if you know that Tati changed one of your sig links and left it or just never clicked it to notice

Who would do such a thing and never fulfil it?

[Mugglewizard]

Wow. This is it. I dont think I have enough words to say here.
I know I havent been checking in for a while now but this is really sad. I discovered fan fiction here. Made some friends. Discovered my affinity for Ravenclaw here.
The words just dont want to come out. But I especially loved the competiotions that staff organised here. The 7 tasks, The house cups, the triwizard tournament, and the Last Author Standing. Thank you

All the best to everyone.

[IMissPadfoot]

Wow.

This is the first forum I ever joined, and even though I haven't been here in a long time, I'll always have great memories of the time I spent here. I met some amazing people, many of whom are still in my life now.

CoS was the place I came to when my real life was rough, and through the magic of Harry Potter and the awesomeness of the members, it helped to get me back on my feet, and got me laughing when I wasn't sure I'd be able to again.

Thanks to everyone who has been a part of making CoS such an enormous success story, most especially the staff who dedicated so much of their time to keep this a safe, friendly place for everyone.

[Moriath]

Originally Posted by gertiekeddle

Heya, there Jacqueline!


Who would do such a thing and never fulfil it?

I never even noticed this. Why would I check the links in my sig?

[blue3ski]

Hi gertie! How long has it been??

[rich_505]

Thanks to everyone who made this place so special.

[Sereena]

Originally Posted by blue3ski

I waited so long to comment because deep down I was still wishing and hoping that it was just a very elaborate April Fools' joke. But it's now April 2, and my hopes are now dashed.

Yeah, I was kind of hoping the same thing but it seems the closure is for real There are solutions to the financial problem, like paid membership (a few dollars a month for posting on CoS) or maybe selling some advertisment space, maybe someone wants to advertise on CoS, finding a sponsor, etc. I agree that donations would not be a long term solution. Even though there are less people coming to the site now that the books are over there are still interesting discussions to be had even if they don't occur that frequently. I have been a member here for quite a short time (I obviously regret not joining the site sooner) but I still enjoyed plenty of good discussions. Pottermore could also help by providing new material to be discussed even though the revelations have not been very interesting so far. So I think the site is worth saving but I understand that it might not be do-able.

[RemusPotter]

if you're noy going to open the Hogsmeade group, at least tell us what it's about ?

[Halcipher]

I'm very sad to see this place go! There are websites where you can create free forums. If anyone here is willing to do it, please post a link where we can all migrate to after the site is shut down. If no one is up to it, I'll be willing to make it.
When I was in middle school, there was this school club and I was in charge of the website and forum. It's been a long time ago, but I think I can try and remember how to do it again, with the website/forum designing and what not.

But anyways, I feel very thankful to have been a part of this!

I have been part of another forum community for A Series of Unfortunate Events and was really sad when that forum shut down for the same reason. But it's totally understandable! I guess that is just how life goes.

[Rew]

Um... so this for real wasn't an April Fool's prank? =/

Yeah, I agree with Halcipher. There are plenty of free web forums out there. We ought to migrate over there instead of shutting down the community altogether. Also, is COS Forums at least going to be archived or something? Or is this entire space going to be deleted utterly off the internet?