For those of you confused about what happened to the site (if you weren't around during the past few months, you're probably scratching your head right now), let me explain what happened.

Somewhere around Christmas (who needs specific dates?) the Guild unexpectedly went off the air. Many people joined the official Facebook group looking for answers. It took a while before admin Contra Fates was able to get in touch with our illustrious overlord Mahz, who was able to shed a little more light on the situation. The old Roleplayerguild used Google AdSense for a long time to generate enough revenue to be (mostly?) self-sustaining. AdSense was lost sometime before the Guild went down. This resulted in missing revenue, which (among other factors -- actually, probably mostly other factors) led to Mahz missing a payment to the server host that the website ran on. So far, so good -- Mahz aimed to get the site back up on January 1st, 2014. In the meantime, a backup site was launched (www.oldtower.com) that a lot of people migrated to. It soon became apparent, however, that the server host had "disassembled [the] server and wiped all of [the] data" (source: http://oldtower.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=260). Posts, users, private messages -- everything was lost (and unfortunately not backed up). Undaunted, Mahz decided that this was the right time to start from scratch.

Which brings us to the next point. The reason the site looks so different and (many) functions are still missing (as of January 18th, 2014) is because Mahz is building it from scratch, instead of relying on vBulletin forum software. That's what the old Guild (and many other forums on the internet) ran on. It was, however, difficult to work with and integrate new features into (like a functioning dice-roller). Hence the decision to create the Guild from the ground up, which allows Mahz to customize it as he sees fit (within the extent of his abilities).

This new iteration of the site was initially hosted on a different URL. People were allowed to register and test out the forum while Mahz worked out the basics. That data was also accidentally lost when Mahz moved the database from the test server to the launch server (whatever that means), so everyone got to register again a second time. But it's cool -- this time it's permanent (there is now an automated back-up system in place).

Of course the administration apologizes for the loss of all the precious data and years of creativity that the old Guild contained ("I am genuinely sorry about this -- how the history and effort of so many people over so many years has simply been erased. It make me sick to my stomach." - Mahz) but this is also an exciting time as we get to see what new directions the Guild can and will take. New features like the tab-switching between IC and OOC threads have already been implemented.

So, yeah. That about sums it up.

The other thing worth noting is that the Guild was run out of Mahz's pocket alone for a substantial period of time when we lost Adsense.

I believe in this website. Mahz is clearly a very dedicated man and is doing everything within his power to make us all happy. I feel like he may feel responsible for the loss of all of our prior work, but no one can rightfully hold him responsible for what happened. I hope that he doesn't feel he should be repenting with tons of new things for the website, but I do hope that - if he IS making new things for us - he is making these features out of dedication to all of us. He is a great website/overlord in my opinion, and honestly I wish I could get to know him on a personal level. So far, the website looks great, especially for something he's doing from scratch. The updates, hot-fixes and minor bug fixes are flowing smoothly from him as if he's working around the clock. I'm so, so excited to have my rpG back, and I'm so thankful to Mahz for doing all this, especially after all of what was just explained to me. C:

Mahz appreciation!

Thank you, Mahz!

Like the posters above, I would like to express my appreciation for you, Mahz and the whole team behind this site, for all your efforts and hard work. By the way, I like the new look and the IC & OOC side by side tabs.

A summarizing info post is a great idea, probably should have been done days ago, haha. Good on you for (I assume) thinking it up and putting it together, Hank.

Also, I'll add my own generic expression of appreciation toward Mahz to those above me. I'm confident that the new Guild will be far better than the old in the not so distant future, due almost entirely to Mahz's great ideas and his willingness to take suggestions from the users, which is something I've found horribly lacking in most other online communities. The lost data thing sucks, but hey, that wasn't really his fault and there's no use crying over spilled milk.

---

EDIT: Testing something...

EDIT 2: Hey, look at that, you can edit your own posts in a closed thread. Neat.

\I have a great respect for Mahz personally and I hope he'll continue to be a good man in the future. Anyone who pays out of their own pocket for others auto earns my respect

You can do it, Mahzarino!

Jorick said
A summarizing info post is a great idea, probably should have been done days ago, haha. Good on you for (I assume) thinking it up and putting it together, Hank.Also, I'll add my own generic expression of appreciation toward Mahz to those above me. I'm confident that the new Guild will be far better than the old in the not so distant future, due almost entirely to Mahz's great ideas and his willingness to take suggestions from the users, which is something I've found horribly lacking in most other online communities. The lost data thing sucks, but hey, that wasn't really his fault and there's no use crying over spilled milk.

Look in the comments of the bottom locked thread.

Thank you mahz for this wonderful sight.

Thanks for posting this

Mahz thanks and stuff :3

Mahz your awesome :D

Thanks Mahz. Now lets talk business... About the admin position... >.>" Joking... Maybe.

Many thanks for the hard work Mahz ^^ make sure you get some rest though

Mahz if it weren't for the many age differences and the fat it's probably illegal In someplaces, we would all marry you 0_0 Joking obviously.

^^

or are you?!!?

.... No comment because I am busy hiding my bright red blushing face

Hey ik it's a bit late now, but have you ever heard of phpbb? I've used that one in the past--in fact, I was once co-admin of a very large phpbb forum and they work VERY well. There's a bit of a learning curve, but there's some great features and lots of mods and addons you can get :)

I have been on the Guild for like a year or so. I was really confused when i went to check on the forums and could not access anything. Yes I am soley disappointed that so much fun rps were lost but now I am greatful the Guild is back up and I can reconnect with my old rp budies. Thanks Again Mahz.

My old user name was Shadow Light.

Thank you, Mahz, and everyone else who is helping out!