StormChaser: What happens next?

StormChaser 01.19.26	bump
jrlikestodance 01.19.26	People will continue to post. Hopefully some staff comes back, some of those who left have popped up here and there since then. Its really up to those left to keep the site active
LouBreed 01.19.26	Without the possibility to register for new users it's going to be hard to keep the site running. But where there's life there's hope.
StormChaser 01.19.26	If money's the issue, and it most probably is, I'm willing to donate, so to whoever might be reading this, shouldn't we wanna save the site by starting a kickstarter or something? We need to be able to get new users if we want this site to live
ncguitar 01.19.26	waiting for some nerd to develop sputneekmusic.com and bring back plug dj hybrid theory with it
LouBreed 01.19.26	@StormChaser sure, I would absolutely donate some money to support such an initiative!
ShartHarder 01.19.26	yeah if there was a donate button id probs throw a few quid over. lack of new member registers is really baffling
RogueNine 01.19.26	I'm not sure the donations would ever reach the right hands. Jeremy seems completely uninterested in even looking at the site now.
JeetJeet 01.19.26	Ngl every time I come on here I feel like I'm on the slowest sinking ship in the world. Site is buggy as shit, multiple features just don't work anymore, registration is closed, mod drama etc. When this place croaks I'll be sad. Found so many gems thanks to this place, chatted with some amazing users, had tons of laughs on here. Idk how much longer this site will keep going but I'm glad I was a part of it, flaws and all.
Gmork89 01.19.26	Thats wild I didnt even know this happened.
RogueNine 01.19.26	Dear Odin no, not the phony exodus music site.
Veks 01.19.26	Nothing can replace Sput and I may even find myself listening to less music if this disappears. RYM sucks and people there are nothing like the people here. The community aspect of Sput can't be found anywhere else which is really sad and says alot about the world we live in. All the new websites are crap and curated. Sput has always felt like talking to friends about music. It is a time capsule of a bygone era of the Internet. And that is what has always made it special.
Futures 01.19.26	^^^
budgie 01.19.26	sites been a lot better since 90% of the ppl left
RVAHC13 01.19.26	As long as I have an account (or two) and can remember my password I’m gonna stay here and not worry so much about what’s to come. I’ll probably get hit by a car tomorrow too but I’m not gonna worry about that either
ShartHarder 01.19.26	unfortunately forums as a thing are kinda dead. i used to be into another hobby and was on a discussion forum for it about 15 years, and even when my interest in the hobby waned I still frequented the forum for the chats, and then it was there when my interest grew again. that forum died and i had no interest in re joining any other site to discuss it, there was no community aspect. social media has killed it and replaced it with the ability to post onto platforms with millions of users but 0 actual conversations. I have recently been on RYM but as far as I can tell there is basically no community aspect there either, just posting reviews and ratings
ncguitar 01.19.26	while this site finally sinks, let us commemorate some great memories along the road I'll start with this review of Annotations of an Autopsy: https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/44622/Annotations-Of-An-Autopsy-Dark-Days/
ShartHarder 01.19.26	i will say for sput specifically, the slow down and lack of news articles has been disappointing. i used to be most of my music news here, but now I go to other sites for news and here for posting
brickhed 01.19.26	rym will never hold a candle to sputnik in terms of community, but its the best alternative at this point for curation. now that the security certificate has expired and the whole staff situation it's looking bleak here. every other site like this is mostly dead in the water, but i would be welcome to be proved wrong. forums do exist but they get a few posts a week if you're lucky. some sites have a small but dedicated fanbase (idmforums), but so many websites have moved on to social media and discord which leaves us chumps to rot.
Futures 01.19.26	the security certificate expires all the time, it will go away eventually
Trebor. 01.19.26	Every love story is a ghost story
Maniac! 01.19.26	For what it's worth, I've been building a website to continue the legacy of this place. Sputnik played a pivotal role in my life and I don't want the spirit of the place to go away. If you are interested, you can check out https://mediasnobs.com - it's a work in progress, but you can rate, review, list, and make polls. Just meant to be a place for us to continue talking about the stuff we love. If you do check it out, I appreciate you. If you run into any issues with it, feel free to hit me up directly.
brickhed 01.19.26	yeah coltin is gonna work on soundshelf a bit later since hes busy with stuff right now. so keep an eye on it
bighubbabuddha 01.19.26	The site is way better without them [2]
Hawks 01.19.26	the security certificate expires all the time, it will go away eventually [2]
ShartHarder 01.19.26	I’d love to know what the operating costs are for the site, I’d imagine it’s a few hundred bucks a month to not thousands
Kimm 01.19.26	Hell yeah, Maniac! Gonna make an account this week m/
botb 01.19.26	I’ll be here till the wheels fall off baby
RogueNine 01.19.26	Need Colton to pop in again with those website deets. I'd move there if this all fails.
oltnabrick 01.19.26	Hawks will have his way w our bank accounts
Zac124 01.19.26	It's been sad seeing this site slowly lose users. Like, I swear its 5 comments an hour nowadays. Feels like I only really started commenting here once the ship just started to sink. Still, I find so much great music here and do not plan to leave soon.
Zac124 01.19.26	RYM is great for many reasons but the discussion boards on there are shit. Its why Sput is so much better.
RVAHC13 01.19.26	@botb wheels already fell off now we’re all in back pushing
gabba 01.19.26	I like pushing, but wish I was stronger.
Sowing 01.20.26	https://youtu.be/nHwx38E8Jjg?si=xmvesDwdRndCv5Xo
AlkemestRedux 01.20.26	I'd throw in some money too if that would help get this place up and running fully again. I used to use this site back from like 2013-16 and just chatting about music and reviews helped keep me sane. Came back earlier this year with a more recent account since I forgot my old password and would be super bummed to see this place fold now.
Dewinged 01.20.26	@Maniac! You maniac, I created an account. Sput is been out for two days for me, I thought that was it. But here we are again. It's been like this for years XD
Jmal00 01.20.26	Needs more thrash but other than that I’m pretty sure this site is doing swimmingly.
Maniac! 01.20.26	@Dewinged, sweet dude. Take a look around and let me know what you think!
Emim 01.20.26	mx could just stop doing this stupid ass emperor of mankind impression and pass the site on to someone who cares instead of pissing all over what little reputation and userbase we have left
Dmax28 01.20.26	I love this site so much. I gotta make a copy of all my ratings so I don't forget about all these albums if sputnik ever disappears
jmazza137 01.20.26	Man, I didn’t even know the site was in this bad of shape. I’ve been coming to this site for around 15 years now(time really does fly). It’s easily my favorite music site on the web - especially compared to other sites out there. I respect the musical opinions/writeups of a ton of people here and they have inspired me on numerous occasions to check out different types of music outside my comfort zone. I don’t know much about what happened or what will happen from here on out, but it’s been a blast visiting and being a part of this site. I’ve learned about so much great music in a way I couldn’t have without this site being here. I hope it continues to exist because it would be a really sad thing to lose. It has meant a lot to myself and I’m sure it’s meant just as much to other users as well. If money is the issue, maybe some kind of donation drive would help? I’m not sure the root cause of the issue so I don’t have many more suggestions than that.
Hyperion1001 01.20.26	just keep posting friends.
Futures 01.20.26	"family."- vin diesel
JayEnder 01.20.26	SSL is fixed? Sweet, I've been having issues with my credit card so I might have to come after one of you mfs Seriously though. All the genuine love for Spirit, Diva, ThyCrossAwaits and others we've lost proves that this place is more than just a music site (as corny as that sounds) this place is so important to me and I genuinely wouldn't know what to do with myself if the ship finally goes down for good. Found so much cool music and made so many good friends that have changed my life. RYM just doesn't have a community of real people like sput does.
FrozenFirebug 01.20.26	I HAVE A 10 STEP PLAN FOR REVIVING THE WEBSITE 1. WIN THE POWERBALL LOTTERY 2. WIN THE POWERBALL LOTTERY AGAIN 3. HIRE A PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR TO FIND THE WEBSITE'S OWNER 4. PURCHASE THE WEBSITE WITH FUCK YOU MONEY 5. REMOVE ALL THE INSIDIOUS REDIRECTS IN NEWS LINKS SOMEHOW 6. UNFEATURE ALL THE NEGATIVE REVIEWS FOR ALBUMS I LIKE AND VICE VERSA 7. ADD A LOGIN CLAUSE YOU HAVE TO CHECK IF YOU HAVE RATED ANY LIMP BIZKIT RELEASE UNDER A 2.5 THAT SAYS "I HEREBY CONFIRM I [USERNAME] AM A STUPID IDIOT" 8. ADD ANOTHER LOGIN CLAUSE FOR USERS WITH OVER 20% BLACK METAL IN THEIR PIE CHART THAT SAYS "I [USERNAME] WILL TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY REPENT OF MY SINS AGAINST MORALITY AND TASTE AND PURSUE MEANINGFUL ENDEAVORS AND RIFFS INSTEAD OF THEOLOGICAL ILLITERACY AND TREMOLO PICKING" 9. ALSO PURCHASE RYM AND PITCHFORK AND TURN THEM INTO REDIRECTS FOR SPUTNIKMUSIC 10. FIX ACCOUNT CREATION (not as important) what do u think of my plan
Kimm 01.20.26	mediasnobs.com
Kimm 01.20.26	mediasnobs.com [2]
Kimm 01.20.26	mediasnobs.com [100]
Kimm 01.20.26	I'm also never leaving sputnik again tho
butt. 01.20.26	I’m here till the bitter end baby. As long as we can all migrate to an equivalent after this place shutters
RVAHC13 01.20.26	Pls don’t redirect RYM or pitchdork traffic here
JWT155 01.20.26	I went from a regular nearly two decades ago to mostly a lurker, I’m completely behind on what happened a year ago/the mod situation and too afraid to ask 🤷‍♂️
brickhed 01.20.26	we speak naught of it lest this list turns into raving madness
NudeTayne 01.20.26	nukes Frozen with a JDAM
Lasssie 01.20.26	Id be lying if i said i dont miss some of the users that went away with the exodus but im just glad this site and faithful users are still active. I always panic a little when the sites goes down for a couple of days lol Can you make mediasnobs look exactly like sputnik pls ;)
kevbogz 01.20.26	what happened last summer?
FurtherDown 01.20.26	Soo money is the primary reason why new accounts can't be created? Also I'm not the most frequent poster but I come here very often and majority of music I listen to is from this site. Hope it endures even if it isn't as active as it used to be.
evilford 01.20.26	I know what. U did last summer hehe
StormChaser 01.20.26	great plan, Frozen yeah I'll def be here until the wheels come off, just feels like we need SOMETHING to happen. colton's website is dead, no? no activity for 4 months, and respectfully, it's colton lol i'll czech out mediasnobs, Maniac, but I think we all want this site to work instead, like everybody said, this place is one of the last vestiges of good internet and just means too much to too many people for it to go down as unceremoniously as it seems to be going down LET'S FUCKIN RIOT YO also, let's not discuss what happened over summer in this thread, pls and tyvm
evilford 01.20.26	I've periodically been asking in the meds thread since account creation died what the plan is. There is no plan. This is basically a lame duck website
Ray91 01.20.26	found some good shit through this site and the community aspect really elevates it from other websites of the same cannon. However, I can only imagine the time and effort the running consumes so smh leaving sooner or later is understandable. from a user perspective it could use a little desing update but other than that this shit still rocks
zakalwe 01.20.26	The real issue is the absolute state of the music industry. The original plan of the rebellious to ‘kill the scene’ succeeded and as a result we have an absolute deluge of shite touted by all and sundry who insist on shoe horning every talentless schleb into whistled up genres that are a mockery of what went before while festivals are attended by gormless fuckers ‘glamping’ on a credit card and capturing it all solely for the purpose of social media likes. Nevemind the death of sput, music died.
Ectier 01.20.26	Im just here for vibes and new music
evilford 01.20.26	No idea what zak just said
Veks 01.20.26	Not wanting to stir the pot, I am happy the site feels more free now than it was a few years ago. No more word police or intolerant tolerant people.
StormChaser 01.20.26	think maybe that has something to do with the erosion of cancel culture as well, veks (if that isn't happening, hopefully i'll will it into existence) zak, music lives. subcultures died because poverty isn't as widespread as it used to be
Ectier 01.20.26	Also mainstream musics rough and not great butna lot of the other random genres and non popular stuff is thriving. Subcultures are dying out a bit and becoming rarer due to.social shifts and monetary reasons, people are more concerned about putting food on the table and getting to the next day than anything else
Flugmorph 01.20.26	damn I had no idea any of that was going down last year... im sad.
Ectier 01.20.26	Yeah was some crazy shit
StormChaser 01.20.26	honestly i don't feel any spiritually or intellectually richer having read all of that nonsense
Ectier 01.20.26	Im not invested enough for random internet drama, have more pressing life things to worry about
smaugman 01.20.26	why can't new members register, and what was the mod drama about?
rage11111ro 01.20.26	I don't like this one bit, I hope that somehow the site will survive
Hawks 01.20.26	We've been talking about this site dying for years, you guys are super dramatic lol. I'll be here until the wheels fall off.
StormChaser 01.20.26	dude, you being the contributor to like 18/20 reviews last week or something is what prompted me to write this post in the first place. i mean kudos to you, but damn, if that's not alarming idk what is. this is DEFINITELY not the first site-is-dying conversation, but like has anything been done to prevent it from dying in the meanwhile? think it's good to get the juices flowing and conversation started every once in a while, especially with the slow traffic nowadays. especially since none of us leftovers want this shit to be dead obviously
Hawks 01.20.26	I try my best thats for sure lol. But yeah, less writers means less reviews, but the few staff/contribs that we do have is a good core and there's been plenty of users writing good reviews. Just go with the flow and enjoy the site. There's also TONS of users that rate/lurk, but don't actually comment. We'll be just fine lol. Also, trying to get more interviews for us all to enjoy. We'll keep this train rolling one way or another.
Jurtz 01.20.26	I'll be here until the wheels fall off. [2]
InFlamesWeThrash666 01.20.26	The captain sinks with the ship after all
LouBreed 01.20.26	I think the new users registration issue persisted way before the summer, no? @Storm, you're right, I don't want to just sit and watch it burn.
Flugmorph 01.20.26	do the good work Hawks I trust.
ShartHarder 01.20.26	anyone know what the root cause of the user registration issue is?
Hawks 01.20.26	There was a site hack in 2022.
DoofDoof 01.20.26	‘sites been a lot better since 90% of the ppl left’ I feel like I shouldn’t agree with budgie on this point but…maybe We’ve been left with the crème de la creme of users
Hawks 01.20.26	[2]
Demon of the Fall 01.20.26	yeah, it's a damn shame, but the powers that be aren't concerned about pulling this place out of the doldrums (or so it seems... I mean the evidence is fairly glaring on the face of it, anyway). I took a sabbatical in the aftermath of the great exodus. I really did think that would be the last nail in the coffin for Sput, but it survived thanks to those that remained (just about) and the alternatives didn't appeal, so I returned. Sput may be a dying relic of a website but importantly one of the last examples of an age since lost. As others have said, the social aspect here is just so much stronger than elsewhere.
gabba 01.20.26	aye
Dewinged 01.20.26	Amen, Demon.
Christbait 01.20.26	Even though there was an exodus, the folks that are still here seem to be the ones who didn't make this site their entire personality. People are friendly to interact with (although we're still rightfully dogpiling morons who seep into the political threads) and, even though it's fewer than usual, the community remains supportive, creative, and engaged. I'm hoping for more opportunities to review albums as I certainly don't want Hawks or the few contributors who remain to feel overburdened to keep engagement up. But I certainly appreciate the work that's been done in the wake of the bullshit.
Hawks 01.20.26	I don't feel overburdened at all bro! I love writing and I'm more than happy to keep up the output. I love seeing users still reviewing though. We may be looking to add to our contrib/staff in the near future as well if anyone is interested. The more good writers, the better.
smaugman 01.20.26	aaaaaaaaaaaaa what happened with the mods
Maniac! 01.20.26	@Storm, I hear ya. I'm still lurking around here too. Just wanted to make sure people knew there was a place to go in the worst-case scenario. RYM is good for cataloguing but sucks for discussion. Same for Letterboxd for movies. That's what makes this place unique
Sevengill 01.20.26	I love this place and I love you guys. this has been a little oasis for me through good times and bad. writing reviews here got me my first gig covering shows and I met/interviewed some of my favorite musicians in the world. it gave me purpose when I felt broken, confidence when I was searching, and comfort when I was sad. even probably helped me socialize properly between my shit years getting bullied in high school and my cool years at college. I've made so many friends in real life and online from my experiences here. it got me into the genre where I started a band and then met my girlfriend at one of my concerts. please save Sput.
Hawks 01.20.26	Well said Seven bro! Sput 4ever.
BigBlob 01.20.26	I didn't know there was an exodus but I did notice some certain users no longer posting actually made this site better lolz
jrlikestodance 01.20.26	I would rather be on here with y'all than on social media with people I do know
Hawks 01.20.26	Same here.
mindleviticus 01.20.26	Sputnik is literally the only place I can be on to talk about metal, rym sometimes in the comments boxes but it's not nearly the same as here. I have like no irl friends anymore that actually like it that I talk to on a regular basis
LouBreed 01.20.26	@Seven, that's an epic story! I only got an email once asking me "Would you like to write articles advertising our product on your blog Sputnikmusic.com?"
BigTuna 01.20.26	sputnik forever
dannooo28 01.20.26	i have no idea what happened so if there's a TLDR that'd be awesome but either way i really hope this site doesn't completely die lol i've found so much music here that i'll be discovering new things until i kick the bucket
troyofyort 01.20.26	This is the only music site I give a damn about discussing on. Obviously even this site has its biases but its so much better than the other big ones that have a scary af near hivemind in its "niches". If I was a better writer I would def contribute to reviews.
BAT 01.20.26	Just google sputnik staff or something, my kinda skim summary is they were sticking up for somebody being de-modded, asked for more say about decisions like that from the admins, admins said no tensions rose and they left on principal. There's a lot of over simplifying/loss of context there buuut yeah that's the general impression I got as someone personally uninvolved with behind the scenes sput
BAT 01.20.26	Also seems like the certificate stuffs fixed on mobile at least, past week edge browsers like the only one that'd treat the site like normal for me
hel9000 01.20.26	This is literally the only site I like going on anymore. I’d donate to keep it going without a second thought but idk if that’s helpful or even the issue. But I’ll be here til it shuts down.
Gyromania 01.20.26	I too am more fond of the current pool of users, but I worry about the site’s longevity
RunOfTheMill 01.20.26	I made a mediasnobs account. Seems cool. Just need a way to add to the database like on Sput. Love sputnikmusic.com, hope it sticks it out
Maniac! 01.20.26	@RunOfTheMill - The search should import most anything you're looking for automatically. If not, hit me up.
trilo 01.20.26	imploring mx to stop being a fucking bum and hand the site over to someone already. i and a few others have offered to volunteer fixing the site. the lunch money from ad revenue can't be that valuable smh
ChoccyPhilly 01.20.26	Whilst I have turned into a full time lurker here, I still love this site and use it for so much of my music inspiration. Sputnik 4eva
gabba 01.20.26	I do miss a lot of users like dedex, DadKungFu, tectactoe, Trifolium, someone, kkarron, but I’m also happy for many who stayed. I still love it here.
Gyromania 01.20.26	yo Maniac! mediasnobs is still running?!
Maniac! 01.20.26	Rebuilt it from the ground up, Gyro! It's a whole new beast. You can rate/review/create lists/create polls for albums, movies, tv, books, and video games. profiles and everything
Cormano 01.20.26	looks like I lived just long enough to see Sowing and friends run the site into the ground before we ever got a screamo tag
ChoccyPhilly 01.20.26	Also I would totally donate if that's an option. I've been here for 13 years now and this site has formed a huge part of my late teenage and young adult life and music taste
Demon of the Fall 01.20.26	the answer to the OP's Q is quite simply, 'the site dies, slowly'... and then some of us migrate to the next best thing, which may end up being Maniac's site (sounds cool, will check. Ta). I have very little faith even financial incentive(s) / donations will keep this place alive as there's no line of communication and if such a thing was possible, I believe it already would have happened by now.