Upcoming Site Changes at JFO
There are major upcoming changes at JFO, starting with the fact that the forums are going away as of November 1, 2007.
This post is being written differently. This is your webmaster, Ipstenu (aka Mika Epstein), writing to you from her heart. I love you all, but if I want to keep running JFO, I have to make changes. I promise you this: JFO is not going away!
Okay, you still with me?
Before I get into why this is happening, I have to reflect on the major concern I’ve had about this site for the last year. What is JFO all about? Eleven years ago, it was experimenting with HTML and making a page for an actor. Nine years ago it was a news site to keep track of everything Jorja Fox. Seven years ago it was a baby community site. In the last couple years a wiki was tacked on, and a gallery, and things grew and changes. I wanted the wiki to become the community, but that never happened. Other people, the ones who asked for the forums, wanted that to be the community. And it sort of worked.
The forums have always existed on the bubble. The were built in 2000, shortly before CSI came to be, and the in the inception, I said ‘The forums will exist for as long as they’re not a pain in my ass to mod and maintain.’ Sadly, they’ve become just that. This was not anything anyone did! No one poster (not even the three of you who emailed to apologize after my mild rant on the forums Thursday) made this happen. The facts are pretty simple. I can’t say anything on the forums without people reading too much into it, it’s not fun for me to just mod and not chat, and the atmosphere there is … weird. It’s just not a successful forum. So instead of spending time and effort trying to make a success out of things that, clearly, are not working, I’m going to be closing the forums on November first, 2007.
This has nothing to do with Jorja’s contract status!
Here’s what’s going to happen:
- The site has been redesigned.
- The blog (i.e. the main page) is changed to allow for comments
- Staff will be reduced to two people: Me and one wiki editor
- The Wiki will be locked to all editors besides staff (see above)
- JFO will return to it’s roots: A news site
I will be approaching certain people to talk about doing certain favors. The Wiki for one will need some editors, though since it’s locked down again, and only a sysop can add new users, the role will be to maintain and add new information. I’ll need help recapping, filling it old episodes, adding in news articles and other transcripts, etc. Also I may start shopping for help with the gallery. It needs some serious updating with some of those screen caps. Think that’s you? Email webmaster@jorjafox.net with your subject ‘JFO Job Request’ or fill out this webform.
So now the questions…
Why am I doing this? I’m tired. I’ve been running this site, with friends and without, for a decade. I still adore Jorja Fox, but I’m just not up for all the pain this has been for the last 12 months. I wince when I log in, and that’s not right. I’m excited about recapping CSI, finding new articles and the like, but that’s about it.
Will this really make less work for me? I think so. At the very least, the current support model’s killing me, so anything new sounds good.
Can you talk me out of this? Nope.
Can someone take over the JFO forum? Yes. Sort of. If you want to make a new site just for the forums and run it and maintain it, then I’m totally willing to hand over the IPB license and let you install and set it up. I can’t give you the current user base, as that would violate the EULA! See, that charter/agreement y’all signed when you joined means I can’t give anyone else your email. However I’d be happy to see someone else take this over. I’ll even make you my sister site, like JAA.
Does this mean I’m competing with JAA? No! The user base between JFO and JAA is different. Our demographics probably are the same diff as Grey’s Anatomy and CSI. JFO is CSI (older). JAA is perfect as it is, and I adore it. Just because we’re having a blog with comments here (which is similar to JAA) doesn’t mean we’re replacing/dumping/competing with JAA. It means we’re changing. JAA is the community, we’re the news.
Is JFO going to lose people? Yes and no. Yes, we’ll lose some posters, but I think you’ll all still come here for the news and information. And that’s actually okay with me. Seeing as there are less than 30 people who post on the forums regularly anyway, I don’t think I’ll notice much difference 
You’ll all be welcome to post here and comment on entries, so I think I’ll be seeing you in a new form.
When is this all happening? I started last week! The wiki users have already been purged and the wiki is locked today. I’ll be sending out an email to the shortlist of editors tonight, and unlocking for their benefit only. I plan to be done with everything by November, but probably sooner. The redesign is 90% done, and all that’s left is the wiki portion. You’ll start to see the changes around here soon, starting with the blog and inching outwards.
If you’ve read this whole thing, I know it’s feeling like an emotional gut-punch, between CSI’s cliff hanger this summer, Jorja possibly leaving CSI this year, and now my announcement? I didn’t plan it this way, but as I see it, it’s the only way I can keep giving you anything.
Let the flames commence.
(PS: In order to comment, you have to sign up with the blog. This makes spam-blocking easier on me.)
