Closing Archives
OWL is closing at the end of the month! Considering all the difficulties the archive/server has had in the past eighteen months, I'm not terribly surprised. I am saddened, however, by the reminder that the HP fandom is evolving, or devolving perhaps, yet I respect and appreciate that the authors and fans have been given a heads-up by the OWL admin.
It's a very different experience than when Coloured Grey went offline with promises of a resurrected archive within a month, and then two months, and finally, the mods disappeared entirely. Coloured Grey housed some of the DM/HG ship's classics and they cannot be found anywhere else. Adamo Fidelitas anyone? Being the rather idealistic sort that I am, I didn't keep copies of all my DM/HG work on my hard drive, so two or three of my early bits have disappeared into the ether. It's probably for the best, and a hard lesson learned.
Now that it appears The Restricted Section has also Disapparated for parts unknown, I'm rather sad I never kept a copy of LotM's epic saga For Someone Special. Several other pieces I absolutely loved aren't to be found anywhere else, including an intriguing Bill/Hermione story along the lines of Lara Croft or Raiders of the Lost Ark; I used to re-read it every so often. Of course, now that I know the archive is gone, I'm kicking myself for never having copied it. [Post Script: Thank you teddyradiator, for letting me know this was a fleeting malfunction; I will certainly go save things now!]
This time, I've learned my lesson. There's still time to check on my favorites, many of which are archived elsewhere, although there are a few authors, amr for example, who are only archived at OWL. Her Lioness Prophecies was a little flawed (as whose work isn't?), but a thoroughly enjoyable read nonetheless. I will be terribly sorry to lose her Mists of Time which is incomplete. I absolutely love that WiP. It's clever and twisty, and I'm never sure where she'll take the story next. It was so great to see her writing elevated from her initial, intriguing start in fandom.
Indeed, I think half the fun of fandom archives is the opportunity to follow an author's progression. My favorites get better all the time.
It's a very different experience than when Coloured Grey went offline with promises of a resurrected archive within a month, and then two months, and finally, the mods disappeared entirely. Coloured Grey housed some of the DM/HG ship's classics and they cannot be found anywhere else. Adamo Fidelitas anyone? Being the rather idealistic sort that I am, I didn't keep copies of all my DM/HG work on my hard drive, so two or three of my early bits have disappeared into the ether. It's probably for the best, and a hard lesson learned.
Now that it appears The Restricted Section has also Disapparated for parts unknown, I'm rather sad I never kept a copy of LotM's epic saga For Someone Special. Several other pieces I absolutely loved aren't to be found anywhere else, including an intriguing Bill/Hermione story along the lines of Lara Croft or Raiders of the Lost Ark; I used to re-read it every so often. Of course, now that I know the archive is gone, I'm kicking myself for never having copied it. [Post Script: Thank you teddyradiator, for letting me know this was a fleeting malfunction; I will certainly go save things now!]
This time, I've learned my lesson. There's still time to check on my favorites, many of which are archived elsewhere, although there are a few authors, amr for example, who are only archived at OWL. Her Lioness Prophecies was a little flawed (as whose work isn't?), but a thoroughly enjoyable read nonetheless. I will be terribly sorry to lose her Mists of Time which is incomplete. I absolutely love that WiP. It's clever and twisty, and I'm never sure where she'll take the story next. It was so great to see her writing elevated from her initial, intriguing start in fandom.
Indeed, I think half the fun of fandom archives is the opportunity to follow an author's progression. My favorites get better all the time.