Am 29. Mai 1998 ging eine Ära zu Ende. Es war die Ära von Bil Smith, einem 23-jährigen Studenten des technischen Zeichnens und sehr talentierten 3d-Künstler. Ich persönlich erinnere mich noch genau an seine Web-Seite "Aliens - The Web Site", war sie doch für mich eine der ersten, über die ich stolperte...
Bill war lange Zeit einer der inoffiziellen Masterminds der Aliens-Bewegung im Netz und tat somit auch viel für deren Weiterentwicklung. Für mich und sicher auch für viele andere ist er zu einer virtuellen Legende geworden. Hier nun seine Abschieds-Nachricht:
END OF AN ERA
Life is funny. Sometimes good things happen, and sometimes bad things. The whole trick to dealing with life is learning how to make something good come out of the bad things that happen.
The long and the short of what I'm trying to say here is that Aliens: The Web Site has ended it's illustrious two-year run. Here's basically a run-down of what's happened, and the conclusions I reached:
1. In the last six months, the size of the site has increased to 700 megabytes, and bandwidth usage has leaped to almost 60 gigabytes per month.
2. SimpleNet decided to start charging me $200 per month, as opposed to the $20 I was previously paying. I can't afford much more than the $20 for a simple hobby. Not with the responsibilities I have to deal with.
3. I investigated other hosting companies over the last few days, only to find that none would take me. The ones that would wanted several hundred dollars per month.
4. I have invested many thousands of hours into creating this site, with relatively no return on it. This, in my line of work, is a relatively foolish thing to do, especially since the hours required to maintain it are staggering.
5. This whole event has really riddled me with a strong sense of burnout. Not only do I feel stretched in so many directions trying to maintain the site, but also the extra money that will be required rubs salt into the wound. In essence, the "hassle-factor" has blown out of proportion.
6. In other areas of my life, things have gotten infinitely more complicated, so as to make maintaining the site even more difficult and time-consuming.
I'm seeing the handwriting on the wall, folks.
It makes far more sense to me to put the time and sweat into something that can give me back some return, as well as the chance to perhaps, someday, revitalize the Aliens Web World.
So I'll be starting on another site. One in which I will be "selling" my skills as a Web designer for people who want some work done. I know this sounds like a descent into commercialism, but I'm so poor that I have to do something...
Understand that though I'm a professional Web designer, if you are wanting to set up your own site, I will NOT rake you through the coals in whipping up something nice. Mention the Aliens site and I will make sure that I'm never too expensive for an Alien fan, regardless of age or situation.
So this is a sad day of endings.
I want to thank all of you who have taken the time over the years to visit my site, contribute materials, compliments, criticisms, and help make the thing better and better. You guys are the greatest, and I would not be where I am today if not for you. This Aliens site has indeed helped my career in the long run, because it's given me the chance to sharpen my skills, and I have YOU to thank for that.
Thanks again, guys. Stay in touch!
And if there's something from the site you missed and wanted, I'll make sure you get it. Let me know!
"This is Ripley, last survivor of the Nostromo...signing off."
:::sniff:::
-- William Vincent Smith
Wenn Du ihm noch einen Gruß schicken möchtest, über den er sich sicher freuen würde: bill@vis-con.com