When to go about switching over?

[roaddog]

So, unless Kasha has a change of heart, we can pretty much forget about getting ahold of the digihitch url until it expires. Even then, Kasha may just hold on to it for who knows how long. She doesn't want to deal with it anymore, yet doesn't want to let it go either.

When do we decide that we should start the new forum, or should we wait to see if the url comes up, or wait for the other forum to be shut down?

It would be more difficult getting folks over to a new site if digihitch is still up and running, but it would be possible.

What do you think?

[Deleted]

It would be much easier to divert traffic to a new site with digihitch still online, even my shitty little Blog gets hits from DH every day. The site is still a very useful tool to communicate with the userbase, especially if we are able to get a list of member email addresses before the domain expires. Perhaps the mods could make threads about a new site on Digihitch and make it as visible and official-looking as possible, making it feel like the site is just moving.

[Evs]

Hey all,

Here's the deal on switching over.

The URL Digihitch.com will not become available for public purchase until 01/18/2014.

If we want to get a stable community up and running before then, we'll have to purchase a new domain name (costs already covered).

We can always talk about obtaining Digihitch.com in the future, but for now it's not an option. So let's decide on a name! =]

You can find more info here.

Thanks,
Evan.

[benwanderer]

Once we have the name established, we should make the switch right away. Digihitch is getting even less traffic than it was before  the announcement of its shutdown (at least according to the new topics button) and if we wait too long no one will be around to hear about the rise of NewDH. As Dave said, much easier to keep in touch with people while digihitch is still up. That being said, I'm not the one putting the site together, so it isn't really up to me.

[thewindandrain]

Do we still have access to the original email list from digihitch? I remember getting an email "RIP salman, and welcome back digihitch" which brought me back to the site when it was restored the first time after his passing. That would probably get a lot of people onto the new site.

[walkoflife]

Slap a 301 on the Digihitch, and call it a day. When the name comes available, have it work somehow into a Wiki, have it permanently redirect to thumbing.it or perhaps let the name RIP in honor of Morgan.

[roaddog]

I'm not sure if moderators have access to an email list or not- John- Lightfoot- may know the answer to that. We can pm each member though.

[thewindandrain]

I found access to user emails on the MCP, but I can only find it when individually searching a users name. Impractical obviously...

[lightfoot]

There used to be a member directory that could be accessed by sign-up date or alphabetical order. But I am not finding it.

[roaddog]

John, do you mean the member list that you can click on and see after login? It shows all the members and ability to contact them via pm, but there are 900+ pages.

[lightfoot]

In the past, there were email addresses posted on each member's listing. That feature seems to have vanished. PMing masses of people would probably not work since so many people have given up on the old site. Maybe we can focus on people with 100+ posts or some agreed upon number.

[benwanderer]

I don't think post number would be a good measuring stick. I mean, hitchers are by nature people that are hard to communicate with. Some of the members who have posted most recently have below 100 posts. A lot below fifty. Hell, I've been on the site every day and kept up with all the new topics and I still only have 30 something. I think someone needs to go back over all the posts from the last X months and email anyone who posted. That is the far better way. Not only that but this whole idea of PM-ing seems flawed for another reason: It doesn't work. I've had three or four people 'send'me PMs since I started keeping track of the site again and most of them didn't make it through. Like a lot of things in our repossessed mansion, PMs aren't as reliable as they used to be. Digihitch is riddled with errors.

[roaddog]

That's true Benwanderer- I hardly ever get pm notifications and have missed messages.