All The Cool Kids Are Backing Up Their Threads

Before I get to the gamut of this post, I first need to say I'm sorry to report that the NationStates DS version was suddenly - and unexpectedly - cancelled the day following its announcement. We're all very disappointed by this of course, but one day maybe we'll at least be able to get involved in Top Trumps or something.

On to more pressing matters, however.

As you all should know by now, NationStates 1 is no longer affiliated with OMAC Industries but our forums are still hosted by Jolt which is owned by OMAC. This is all very good as it means Max doesn't have to pay for the costs of hosting such a large forum. There is, however, a slight possibility that at some point we will no longer have this forum for reasons related to the previous two sentences - Jolt could, at any time, delete our forums. All of it. We have absolutely no control over this.

This is obviously the last thing we want to happen, as the forums represent not only six and a half years or so of NationStates history, they contain a goldmine of user-created content from roleplays and other works of writing in the NS and II forums to the WA (and UN) debates over proposals and resolutions. Not to mention, some of the diamonds that occasionally surface in the coal pile of NSG. The forums are a very large part of what defines NationStates' personal character and believe me when I say we are working very hard towards minimising any risk of their loss.

However, we must be prepared for the worst, and if the worst does happen, we will work towards hosting our own forums. We have requested the forum data from Jolt (we are entitled to this data) but unfortunately these requests have, as of this post, been refused. I do not know why.

So what can we do? Nothing that we aren't already doing, believe me! I've prepared a little something for everyone fearing the future of their favourite threads: here's a step-by-step guide to backing them up so even if our boards go down in a ball of flames you'll have your own copy safely stashed on your computer.

How to back up a thread.

1. Find the thread you want to save. (All images can be made larger by clicking, by the way)


2. Check out the thread's URL:


See that number there? That's the unique ID of this thread. In this case it is 338362, yours will of course be different. Unless you really like my issue writing guide. If we replace the hash signs in the following URL: http://forums.jolt.co.uk/archive/index.php/t-######.html then we will be able to convert the thread into a format in which it can easily be saved.


Like so. Point your browser at this address.

3. You should now see something rather like this:


Excellent! I'm using Firefox, so this next step may differ a little depending on your browser. You need to go File and then click Save Page As... in the drop down menu.


4. You will be asked what type of file you want.


Pick this one, or nearest equivalent.

5. Finally, place your saved file wherever you wish. You now have a copy of the thread on your computer to cherish for all time.

That's that!

I'll not lie: I have been disappointed with the way things have worked out between us and Jolt/OMAC, but I retain optimism that all problems will be resolved in a way that suits everyone. The NationStates community is very precious to all of us who have invested so much time in making the site what it is today and we want to protect it as much as possible.

So, I'll end this post on a small suggestion that if you've got any friends with favourite threads. you help them back it up. They may thank you later.

Oh, and I've got two new issues under construction. Hoping to add at least one of them within the next few days.