Temporarily under new management

On the ‘All things must pass’ thread, Michael said:

The Café won’t be disappearing into the internet oblivion though; it will be kept open indefinitely as an ‘archive’ of everyone’s contribution. So yes, by all means we’ll still be here if you wish to continue adding comments on any of our existing posts, but I will not be adding any new ones.

Following on from this thought, I have agreed to look after the Café to allow Michael time and space to deal with the AIMN site and his studies. Rather than developing or changing the Café, I will just keep an eye on it, perhaps creating a new ‘Cafe Talk’ thread if threads get too long, especially for those on mobile devices.

Some Whisperers have indicated interest in a new site to continue on from the Café, so with that in mind, I have started work on creating Whispers’ Cellar. I am quite busy at the moment with renovations to our kitchen, and my wife’s 95 year old aunt died yesterday, so that will also require some time to sort out – funeral and sorting through belongings, wills etc. I am hoping to have the Cellar open for business in the next few weeks. If anyone would like to help out – author an occasional article, or assist with the administration of the new site, let me know.

Meanwhile, we can continue our discussions upstairs here at the Café.

All things must pass

 

Our first logo

Our first logo

 

Today’s our fourth birthday, but sadly it will be our last.

When we opened we thought we’d last about a month! Now, four years later it’s time to draw the curtain on what has been an amazing experience.

If it were possible I’d keep the Café open forever – but it’s not possible.  I’m focused on finishing my law degree as well as other internet ventures, and I don’t seem to have the spare time that I’d like to have.

We finish with a proud record and that’s a good way to finish.

Over the four years we’ve had almost 1.5 million visitors, 147,000 comments, and 1,200 posts. These are remarkable statistics. But best of all we’ve shared this experience with hundreds of amazing people, many of whom I now consider truly great friends. They all added to the experience, and they all made it worthwhile.

There are too many to thank – both as authors or commenters – so forgive me if I skip that formality. However, I would like to reserve a special thanks to Min. The Café wouldn’t have had a heartbeat without her.

The Café won’t be disappearing into the internet oblivion though; it will be kept open indefinitely as an ‘archive’ of everyone’s contribution. So yes, by all means we’ll still be here if you wish to continue adding comments on any of our existing posts, but I will not be adding any new ones.

And of course we’ll still be able to catch up with each other over at The AIMN, which has grown beyond all my expectations and where many of my friends from the Café now gather. So we’ll see you there.

Anyway, shall we finish with a song?