How to CLOSE Your Site? Pros and cons.

So you've decided to close your RPG forum. Maybe it never got off the ground at all; maybe it just ran its course; maybe you just didn't have time or desire for it anymore and you've decided to abandon ship. Do you actually close the site, or just let it sit there?

Are you wondering why it would even matter? Well, those of you contemplating how to close the book on your forum's run might appreciate a little advice so I decided it was worth a post here.

Let's start with the choices and move on down the list.

Deletion.

The surest way to wipe your site off the face of the Internet for good. The pros? It's a clean break and there's no going back. {Well, not usually; some free forums can be restored.} The cons? Destruction of all the beautiful material you and your members laboured over. Those members might not be so happy about this choice since it destroys their work. And unless you have access to your root directory and can download a full backup before the deletion there's either no going back or no guarantee you can go back.

Maintenance Mode.

The closure method of choice for many. It closes the doors, but the site's still there. Pros: This is particularly easy on a free host since you're not footing the bill for the data storage anyway. {Be careful to check and see whether your host deletes long-inactive forums though.} And you can keep the forum as is and just reopen it any time you like. Cons: Your members might not like not having any access. You can enable members to be able to enter just to grab their things, but this can be laborious depending on how many you have. Recommended: Keep your affiliates, if any, intact if you put the site into maintenance; at least any visitors coming in will then be presented with several other options, not just a dead end they have to click Back out of.

Letting it sit there.

Spammer's paradise? Yes, but only if you really do let it sit there and don't take any precautions. You have the option of turning off registrations altogether; and turning off posting on all the boards too if you want to. Pros: Your forum will now be a permanent and publicly accessible archive, a legacy if you will. Members can access their own material. Cons: So can thieves. They could access it when it was open too, but this leaves it more wide open. Consider though that thievery can happen to just about anything online. Usually it eventually catches up with them.

There you have it, and I hope this makes your decision on how to write your forum's final chapter a bit easier!