MMP website

[Theobald]

Hello everybody, and a happy New Year.
Can anybody tell me what happened to the MMP website? There seems to be no more connection possible. So I wonder what happened.
Thank you.
Theobald

[barliman]

I have also been unable to gain access to the Pony for three days (I hope someone has remembered to feed Nob...), whatever browser I use. I can only suppose that someone (Mithrandir?) has shut it down. I would have hoped we'd be warned if that was going to happen, but the fact remains that the site doesn't seem to be there any more. Has anyone tried to contact Mithrandir/Marc? I don't personally have his email address.

I'm about to head off to foreign climes for a couple of weeks, but it would be nice to think the situation will have been resolved by the time I get back.

[Theobald]

I just was informed that Wendy will try to contact Mithrandir about this matter. Let's hope the best.

[ddaines]

Thanks for the update - I was wondering what had happened (still am ;D).

[groovecrown]

Yes, if anyone hears anything please advise...I have also been unable to make contact for the last few days. It is a very valuable site and in my opinion quite important to many collectors. I hope it will return.

[Wendy]

I haven't heard from Marc yet. The email didn't bounce back to me, so that a positive. I'll have to dig around and see if I have a different email address.

[maenas]

Hey, hello all!

I was trying to enter to the pony to wish you all a happy new year, but there was an error on the web. I am wondering if everything is ok, and then remembered that I was also registered here, I expect that mithrandir is well and nothing wrong is happening to mmp... it's a very valuable place!!

By the way happy new year from spain!!

[ddaines]

To You too Maenas , it's hard to find somewhere now-a-days to get a drink and discuss the ways of the world!

[Theobald]

Hey Wendy, I think I also have got an old email-address of Marc. In case you're not successful with your first email you can contact me any time about this matter.
Oh, by the way what about Kennako? I also have his email-address but I don't know if that is of any help.

[ddaines]

If there is a major problem with the site getting back on line I have just put the following up on ebay, but if you know of any members who would be interested in bidding could you forward this message.

Item Id: 330202099068 Halbarad
Item Id: 330202095810 Burzash (not variant)
Item Id: 330202093840 Frumgar
Item Id: 330202089203 Fram

As they are earmarked to pay off Christmas spending (or buying Corsairs - I'm going to need a lot!!) sorry I can't do any trades

I have been forced to put a reserve price on higher than I wanted due to ebay policy, but let's see how the bids, if any, go.

[Theobald]

about MMP .... sad news
I found three email-addresses of Marc and tried to contact him ... all failed
........ what to do now?
Wendy, do you think Ken knows about this? - I haven't been in contact with him for about two years .... ? .... alas ....

[maenas]

oh!

I have an idea, it is a slow way but may be effective. Someone has their post address, because of the travels made by elrond the traveller...

Maybe if he/she writes him a letter we will have some news, it's a slow method but...

It was a special place, and it will be a shame if closed definetly without a previous notice.

[Theobald]

Yes, good idea, but ...
I sent away many of those carrier pigeons last week ... none has returned . So I will try to contact Ken today ... maybe he knows about this very serious matter ... I'm still busy with this, trying to do what I can ...

[Axel]

Are there any plans by anyone to open up a new site if mmp remains offline?

[twrich]

And what about all of the reference pictures and those sent in by painters? It would be a shame if these were lost. Would keeping the site up have some expense associated with it? I for one would be more than happy to contribute if this is a financial issue.

[hsf62]

I got a message from Ken and he doesn't know what happened. He hasn't had contact with Marc, but he thought that Marc just stopped paying for the website. But this is not for sure.
If that is the matter, I'm happy to contribute to reinstate and keep MMP going.

[Theobald]

I also just received an email from Ken ... So I'm afraid we have to accept that MMP is finished
As you all might guess I would do anything to restart it - or something similar. But I have to admit that I'm not at all able to cope with a thing like that ... lacking skills ... I'm desperate ...

[ddaines]

Could Gildor 'adopt' us on his excellent website mithril.faerylands.net/index.php?action=gildor, even if only on a temporary basis?

I hesitate to suggest this as it puts a burden of response on Gildor which may not be welcome, and to be honest I don't have a clue how easy/hard or even convenient it is to run and administrate a forum like MMP, but if it could be done......

[hsf62]

No message from Marc and no message from Wendy eighter. Wendy should have Marc's postal address if I'm not mistaken. If Wendy didn't get lost in the woods, we might have a chance to contact Marc and find out what happened. We also can offer to finance the site, if it is possible to reinstate it. We'll wait and see what will happen next.

[Wendy]

Sorry I haven't written you back Holger. I have an address for Marc, but I believe he moved and I don't have the newest address. I'll root around some more to see what I can find though.

As for Travelling Elrond, the show will go on, so to speak. Unfortunately I don't have a copy of the most recent list (as I kept adding people to the MMP list), so it will have to be put together again. As of right now, Elrond is in Spain with Ori, then he goes as follows (going by my poor memory):

Three stops in Spain-
Ori sends to Fadrion
Fadrion sends to Maenas (?)

Off to Germany (can't remember the order or how many stops)-
Theobald
Axel
Zoetrop
HSF62's sister
(anyone else?)

from Germany to Australia
HSF62
Axe99 (but haven't heard from him in a loooong time)

If you've been omitted from the list and wish to be added or are on the list and do not wish to be, just let me know.

I have been looking at some free forums. It won't have the bells and whistles that MMP did, but it will allow discussion and posting of pictures in the forum.

[aelfwine]

Well...

Hmmm.

Here's a thought.

These forums tend to be a bit bland and unloved. MMP definitely had more going on.

How about we use these forums? And maybe have Gildor's site linked to these forums?

Though perhaps some forum editing might be in order?

Gavin

[barliman]

Having just returned from my own travels and discovered that all is still not well regarding the disappearance of MMP, it seems increasingly likely that we'll need to find another 'home'. Like most of the site's other regulars who've posted above, I too lack the technical expertise to put together and maintain a site like MMP - I can barely work my way through my own emails without deleting things I didn't mean to - but I too would be happy to contribute to the cost of maintaining such a site, as I'm sure we all would. The value of MMP was that it provided an 'unofficial' forum in which news, rumours and stray snippets of Mithril and LOTR related info (e.g. news of upcoming eBay auctions by The Man) could be aired and shared to our mutual advantage. I imagine I could reopen The Prancing Pony as a strand here on the official Mithril site, but it wouldn't provide the same feeling of unrestricted freedom of expression (or occasional inanity...) as MMP did.

The greatest shame is that Mithrandir didn't provide the other 'committee' members an opportunity to take over the site and its costs - it would have been so much less traumatic than simply pulling the plug. Which leaves just one remaining dreadful thought - I hope that Mithrandir himself is OK! But until someone hears from or about him we can't even know that. All in all not the news I was hoping to return to. Trust all my regulars are well in the meantime, and that the New Year will turn out to be happy in the end!

Now, I must go and see what's become of Nob.

[presto247365]

I tend to agree with Barli, that we should perhaps try a Prancy Pony thread here, albeit it won't have the same sort of unbridled freedom to praise, criticize and speculate that the "off-sight" Pony did. Hopefully, we can contact Mithrandir and come to some sort of restoration of the MMP sight. I wouldn't be able to administer it, but might be able to provide a source for hosting the sight on the web and could coordinate a voluntary payment system. The key is to get the URL address and specifics from Mithrandir and relocate the sight to the new host. (Maybe that makes me the defacto administrator, in which case, I'll do it!) Let's keep this conversation going and hopefully we can work it out.

[Theobald]

Thanks, Presto247365. Yours are good ideas ... but ... the problem is to contact Marc. I'm about to witness some first withdrawal symptoms ...

[twrich]

Hey Wendy, perhaps Marc has a forwarding address? I'm sure he'd want his mail to follow him to his new home. Send a note and see what happens. Also, his former post office (by zipcode) might be able to provide info even if the forwarding order has expired, usually after one year. I'd be happy to do this myself if you send me his address, I'm sure he wouldn't mind, although it has been a couple of years since we talked.

But I too am worried about him, he hasn't participated on the site for a couple of years, citing his busy work and family life. But he did know how active many of us were, and I can't imagine that he would just let MMP go, it must be an oversight.

Lets hope for the best, but begin plans to set something up (even if temporary) in case of the worst.

[groovecrown]

Well it certainly does not look good at this point for MMP returning. I also hope that somehow the site can be salvaged. I think the closing of the site comes at a bad time since the market for mithrils seems to be declining. I am not sure if others feel the same, but it still amazes me that there are not more collectors of these fabulous figures.

One of the main benefits of the site was the reference base for all the figures. If it cannot be saved, perhaps if a number of us ask Michael, maybe he would consider having a similar database provided for us here or on the regular Mithril website. It is something I believe is needed and honestly had wondered previously why it was not available already. Just my thoughts.

[Gildor]

Hello people , I am sorry I was very busy lately and I did not take time to check this thread... I was surprised too about MMP blank screen...

I am ready to house MMP on my own website , I have room for it (I think...) but what about all the forums? all the database?

My own database engine is ready and as you know it is only lacking filling, we could rebuild MMP if you want... but it is meant to be a more advanced research engine than MMP was... I just may have to add a "average price" field, as it was not meant for that at first. But everything is possible, I have the technical knowledge for that I think...

(i have a diskspace of 500mb and several databases on my site is it enough? )

please people feel free to contact me on my personnal address if you have idead and if I can be of any help, either by hosting, or by "melting MMP and my own site" into a single bigger one. all ideas welcome.

you can contact me at [e-mail] for such matter

No risk that I disappear... or that I forget to pay... I am hosting two running websites at the moment and I am very careful about it... I may just be busy sometimes and not showing up for a couple of weeks

[ddaines]

I think we would welcome any offer or format you can make Gildor - I guess most folk would just be glad to see the Pony back in business selling Barli's finest, and where we can have a chat in private in a dark corner

Other elements like the database etc. can follow on.

[barliman]

That's a great offer, Gildor. I think what's needed is simply for someone to 'take command' and establish a new MMP, and, as Dave says, everything else can then follow. The most important thing (after restoring the Prancing Pony, of course, so that I can kick Nob out of my spare bedroom...) will be re-establishing the illustrated figure reference lists. I don't imagine that it matters if the 'MMP' site is hosted within your own site or 'self-contained', just so long as it's available!

[Gildor]

well, What I'd just want to know is if there was any backup made or must we build it all from roots?

all the galleries.. all the reference databases... and most of all, all the forum!! is there no backup at all from any of you? even if it is slightly out of date?
If there is nothing left.... well I can simply create and add a mailboard part on my site , as for the database we can use mine and fill it with any info we all can gather...

but please let me know if t here is any archive somewhere that I could work on?
I will take over the project... and recreate the poney from there.... (if none of you has any objection against my domain name 'mithril faerylands' being different than MMP , the mailboard sub-section could still be entitled Many Mithril Pages