Will Zophar ever make a comeback?

E

ElementZero

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Dear people at Zophar's Domain,

I'll keep this short. I have been around, more or less, since the beginning of Zophar's Domain. Back then, ZD was the best emulation site on the web. Unfortunately, over the past few years, the news updates have become less frequent, and as of right now, the newest update is seven months old. My brother is XiP, who if I remember correctly was the co-runner of the site back when it started, so I have many memories of this place. I am very interested in seeing this site revived and updated daily, and I'm sure the millions of people who have visited the site in the past would also agree. As of right now, there is no central hub of emulation news (that I know of) besides romhacking.net, and even then, romhacking.net isn't meant for all types of emulation news. ZD could become big again -- all that is needed is effort and enthusiasm. I am proficient with web-design and Photoshop and I'd be willing to pitch in a helping hand in completely redesigning the site from the ground-up, and I'm sure many community members who are better than me at web coding and graphics would also be willing to help. We would need a new site, preferably streamlined with PHP or ASP (a la romhacking.net) with sections (translations.zophar.net, emulation.zophar.net, music.zophar.net, hacks.zophar.net), new forums, new everything. Now would be an excellent time to make a comeback, as people haven't yet forgotten about Zophar's Domain, and the internet lacks a large, central hub for all emulation news, whether it be rom hacks, translations, utilities, or new music formats.

My question is this: Will ZD ever come back, or is ZD destined to stay as nothing more than an archive?

- MasaMuneCyrus (Brian)
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Talk to packardmelan.
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> Talk to packardmelan.
>
Well, he can reply here if he wants, or he can PM me.
<P ID="signature">"Next time on Lupin the IIIrd. We find out that paradise is a lot like Disney Land...only with hookers."</P>
 
> Talk to packardmelan.

Ya see, that's the thing...I haven't seen him on MSN for quite a long time so I'm going to assume he's somehow MIA. I'm not sure where he is.
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Dear Guy,

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Love,
Batman
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> Dear people at Zophar's Domain,

It would be really nice if this site did make a comeback, and I'd be willing to help out anyone who is serious about doing so, although I do not have the leadership skills to lead such an endeavor. I will, however, eagerly assist the next person who thinks they can do it.
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I'd be more than willing to try, but we'd need all the community help we can get. We'd probably have to start off with a news post on the main page about it...
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The way things are? I really doubt it. All that's left is this forum. The site is dead, the forum lives on. Whoever was supposedly doing stuff to revive the site hasn't said anything for months.
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> The way things are? I really doubt it. All that's left is
> this forum. The site is dead, the forum lives on. Whoever
> was supposedly doing stuff to revive the site hasn't said
> anything for months.

A thread like this resurfaces every other month...people promise the world, and then disappear. I'm used to it and just ignore it.
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I don't think I'll ever understand these threads. Why is it that people insist on resurrecting ZD instead of making their own site? Obviously, hosting all of the emulators and music takes a lot of hardware, bandwidth, and, ultimately, cash money. This, I assume, is why Swampy is so hesitant to grant these requests. Despite all the well-wishing, people just don't understand how much it costs to keep ZD alive, even in its current state.

What I don't get is why all these well-wishers and talented programmers don't go out there and create their own ZD. Seriously, hosting a site that simply accepts news, reports news, and hosts a links database to emulators (as opposed to archiving them on your own servers, like ZD) will not have server costs anywhere near ZD. I mean, really:

1) Get a couple of friends together into a team
2) Design and code the website
3) Buy yourselves some webspace and a domain name
4) Install some free BBS software
5) Scour the internet for emulation news
6) Post all this internet news
7) Spread the word of your new website

The hardest step of all of these is step #7. Your site will flop if no one goes to it.

These are the reasons I think these requests keep coming back. There are tons of people out there who could code another thriving ZD. However, they don't have the money to host an emulation archive and they lack the preestablished community support that ZD already has in place. However, these are problems that any webmaster is going to face when launching a serious site. It seems selfish to me to want to mooch off of the success that ZD has already claimed for itself.

Of course, I may have just had a bad day at work and felt like venting in the forum of an emulation archive. I do realize this post may be full of logical fallicies and general bullcrap. But, do tell me, what's stopping you from creating your own site?
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> There are tons of people out there who could code
> another thriving ZD.

> However, they don't have the money to
> host an emulation archive and they lack the preestablished
> community support that ZD already has in place. However,
> these are problems that any webmaster is going to face when
> launching a serious site. It seems selfish to me to want to
> mooch off of the success that ZD has already claimed for itself.

This is exactly 100% correct. That's all I came in here to say really. <img src=smilies/werd.gif>
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The reason I would like to see ZD come back is the same reason people aren't going around talking aobut replacing Slashdot with Digg. Zophar has history, and everyone still has fond memories of it. Because of that, with a bit of a resurrection, the site could become giant very easily. Also, by placing some Google ads on the site, it would pay for itself. Surely you've seen the pictures of people who recieve $800,000 checks in the mail from all of the ad money they get from Google.

Also, another reason no one has gone and made a gigantic emulation site is that everyone is currently very split. The community is not unified at all. You have a translation group here, a utility development group there, and the closest thing you have to unity is romhacking.net, which is a far cry from emulation unity. To create a site that could be one giant hub for all things emulation, you'd have to either have a lot of friends that run a lot of well-known blogs, or you'd have to already have a name established for yourself. ZD has the latter.
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> A thread like this resurfaces every other month...people
> promise the world, and then disappear. I'm used to it and
> just ignore it.


There's half your problem. I watched this site go up, and I'm very interested in seeing it rise again. Back when Zophar ran this site, it was huge. The counter on the site (that has seemingly disappeared at some point in time) was a testament to that. Hell, take a look at GoodSNES. You tell me what site, other than ZD, could have possibly held so much respect from the emulation community that its anniversary be compiled into a small demo ROM and placed in one of Cowering's Good sets.

There is no lack of interest in the emulation community, there's just lack of action. I'd be willing to see the relaunching of this site through, and I'm sure many others would if we'd get off our asses and do something, and prove to them that something is actually going to happen.

<P ID="signature">"Next time on Lupin the IIIrd. We find out that paradise is a lot like Disney Land...only with hookers."</P>
 
> Hell, take a look at GoodSNES. You tell
> me what site, other than ZD, could have possibly held so
> much respect from the emulation community that its
> anniversary be compiled into a small demo ROM and placed in
> one of Cowering's Good sets.

I think you'll find that a lot of people don't quite share the idea that Cowering and giving respect go hand in hand. Quite a few people I've seen nearly berate him for including patched ROMs in the sets without giving respect to the patch authors, or so they've said.

It's kind of funny you brought up the whole resurrection thread though, because I was just wondering the other day what ever happened to packarmelan's (didn't recall who at the time) grand redesign and update that he fought so hard to get the access to do...

I too would like to see ZD revived to its former glory, but I still remain skeptical that it'll ever happen.
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Around.

Time has passed since my Mom died back in February. Soon after, my wife got sick - and we spent... three? ...a little over three months, figuring out what it was.

It started out as abdominal pain. And progressively got worse. This was aggrevated by our lack of insurance, at first. And my wife had to continue working, while on narcotic painkillers, because she was two months away from -getting- insurance.

The ER that we went to, several times, kept giving her painkillers, but despite X-rays, Cat-scans, blood, urine... they couldn't figure out what it was, beyond "abdominal pain". She wasn't resting at night, and if she was awake she was in pain - if she was asleep, she was in less pain, because of the hydrocodone and crap.

We finally got insurance, and started on the path of finding a "family doctor" to get her checked out. She was admitted to the hospital, while they worked to figure out the cause of the pain. I was with her every waking moment, naturally... and, actually, while she was in the hospital she passed a kidney stone. The doctor thought that was the root cause of pain, and sent her home. Two days later, she was re-admitted to the hospital.

After two days, she was sent home, after the main brunt of the pain had calmed down. The urologist kept trying to tell my wife the pain was in her head, and it was because of the stone - and she was, basically, "a wuss". Not in those terms, but...

Finally, we got her to a GI doctor and found the real cause of the pain. And got my wife on some medicine that is keeping it all in check. For the first time since February, I have 'my wife' back. And we were just sort of settling back in and enjoying life together again. We have some work ahead of us to get her 'healthy' again, but at least the pain is kept in check, and she can live a 'normal' life again.

With her problem diagnosed, we turned to my own medical problems. I won't get into them all here, but I'll say my own 'diagnosis' is just beginning.

Then, last week, two days (this seems to be a pattern) after my wife's 22nd birthday... she got fired. And I wasn't working. Now we're both scrambling to find work, any work, that will let us meet our bills. ...And somehow retain some form of medical insurance. While my own problems can wait, I can't sit by and let my wife go in and out of the hospital again like that.

I didn't bring any of this up in the past, because it was private. I just... sort of disappeared. I still have my hopes to help revive Zophar's, but I knew that my initial attempt could be considered (and rightly so) a "failure". What I implemented -could- be used to revitalize the site, but the theme and different revisions to the software need to be made before I'm happy with it.

And after *I'm* happy with it, well, then it has to be cleared by Swamp, and the rest of the ZD staff. Needless to say, trying to create something that would replace one of the better-known emulation "archives" on teh intarweb is a daunting task.

Rather than make excuses, I was just waiting until I could really work on it. ...And frankly, rather than hang around the boards of a site I fought to, and promised to 'fix'... while not actually doing anything because of "real life", I just logged out and made myself scarce.

--

All of that said, I don't know when I'll really be able to give ZD my full attention. My wife and I are still searching for work, and the calls are just starting to be returned - after the July 4th holiday.

At this point, when I -can- work on it, I'll probably implement something on my own domain, and share it with only a few people. That way I can develop it and flesh it out, and worry about general opinion after *I'm* happy with it. That was probably my biggest mistake originally -- going *so* very public before I was really ready. I was enthusiastic, and quick to try and say "Hey, look! You've rewarded me for my efforts, and now I'll show you that your trust in me wasn't misguided!"

I'd like to say, that I hope it still wasn't. Other priorities came along and made themselves evident to me... so all of my plans were placed on hold. Ah well. I readily admit that, as far as things go, my first attempt to revitalize the site was a failure in no uncertain terms.

Nonetheless, I do still hope to have a hand in "fixing" ZD in the future. I'll just have to prepare a concept on my own site, on my own time.

...And now, back to the shadows. ;)
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Sorry 'bout all of that crap that you're going through. My mom and sister both go through that -- the whole 'doctors don't know what it is, therefore, since everything in the world is already known, they must be crazy' ordeal.

I didn't know that anyone was even supposed to be working on a redesign. I heard something about it a good half a year ago, and nothing had happened. In any case, if you ever need any help with the site, I'll be more than happy to give it.

AIM: ElementZer0X
ICQ: 217962885
Yahoo!: masamunecyrus
MSN: masamunecyrus@hotmail.com
<P ID="signature">"Next time on Lupin the IIIrd. We find out that paradise is a lot like Disney Land...only with hookers."</P>
 
> Around.
>

> ...And now, back to the shadows. ;)
>

WOW...

i seriously hope things get better for you soon man... and hey, don't fret about it, those things take priority over everything else in life: your life itself.
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So then do it. I say the same thing every time this thread comes back: just do it.

No one has produced. I have the resources, I have the files, I have everything except the time to do it. Put a sample site together, keeping the logo the same, and then once we have an actual product I'll give you access to the site to import the data and files.
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Ah, I'm sorry man...I seem to remember you telling me about your wife being sick but I'd no idea it was that serious. Good to hear she's on the road to recovery, at least headed down the right path. Good luck on everything else too, ok? Keep the faith, I'm sure you can get through it even if it is a pretty nasty situation.
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> The reason I would like to see ZD come back is the same
> reason people aren't going around talking aobut replacing
> Slashdot with Digg. Zophar has history, and everyone still
> has fond memories of it.

I think that's probably the main reason I would want to see it come back to it's former glory. This was the first emulation site I stumbled across...I have a lot of fondness for the place and don't want to see it completely fall to the wayside.
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