38 replies to this topic

[Banshee]

Hello everyone! Filefront is closing in the next days and we need to ensure that all downloadable mods that are mirrored on Filefront will remain being downloadable and accessible.

We are considering the possibility of getting some cheap hosting space to host them or contact other partners. But, one thing we are sure: we need to download every mod hosted there before march 30th.

So, please, help us by linking your mod or any mod hosted by Revora at Filefront, posting it in a reply here. Thanks in advance.

[killakanz]

I sense this thread is full of fail.

One of the largest downloads sites on the net says it's gonna close 2 days before April 1st?

[Bart]

Yes, it does seem suspicious. It's better to secure the files on it of course (though it shouldn't be neccesary. Who would put a file on filefront and then delete his own copy?) but I won't be surprised if they pulled the ugliest joke ever.

[Mordor Slayer]

Just to be sure

http://files.filefro...;/fileinfo.html

[killakanz]

I still find it highly suspicious. A site with such a high user base doesn't even try any fund raising drive at all when it runs into problems? I'm sure millions of their regular users would have been happy to donate to keep the site running, but they didn't even try.

It's an April fools joke. And a waaay obvious one at that.

[Boomerang Python]

I agree with killa, however, you never can be sure so if you're that stupid/ignorant to not have the mod files anywhere else I'd say it's better to be safe than sorry.

[Daz]

It's not a very clever April fool's joke, if it is one, considering everyone is going to remove any links to there.
I noticed ModDB didn't say there were looking for another hosting partner which seems a little odd considering that's their main download hosting place.

It's a massive shame with FilePlanet being such a huge pain to use.

[Banshee]

I'm getting emails like this:

Hey guys,

I’m told that Filefront is apparently closing shop by the end of March, all the network, forums, etc are going to be closed down and apparently this isn’t an April Fools. That effectively means CNC-File.com would go down with it and for one of the longest standing C&C fan-sites to fall because of their network partner is a true and utter shame.

I don’t want to see this happen.

So, therefore, I’m proposing we launch a rescue CNC-Files.com mission. I have no clue how we save the site, but I don’t want to stop until we do.

Any ideas? Am I out of my mind?

-APOC

The EA Official Community Manager is using all means necessary to save the C&C part of it. He has been talking a lot on the phone with the Ziff Davis crew about that.


And some emails later, the explanation from JohnWE, who is currently leading C&C Files:

They locked me out of the CMS system. I don't have access to the database or FTP either, but Hex is very close with his estimation. To save everything, we would need a database dump which would include all the news/comments/file descriptions/Documents We'd also need the screenshots which are hosted on some server and most importantly, the Files which are also stored in a server somewhere.

I do have something useful though, I have a server which will be setup shortly where all of this can go. A team of people including me have been working on a layout for the past few months, and now we have a good excuse to get it working.

The most important stuff to save is the files, screenshots and docs. News isn't that vital, as it always is new every day. The user accounts and polls and pictures of the day aren't important.

So, I do have a place to store this, just not the means to get the data.

I thank you guys for your support in this!


John Eckhardt

Men who believe in eternal life seldom fear death in this life. - Winston Churchill

Note: Hex = Hexetic, from Planet CnC.


And later, more from APOC

Hey guys,

The pressure has been felt. I got ZiffDavis attention and have a meeting in 1-hour with Steve Sutton at Ziff. I am not getting off the phone with him until we agree he will hand over all site files. If I can get more beyond that, trust me, I will.

We're going to save your site JohnWE, no matter what.

Stay tuned, I should have more info later today.
APOC

I think that's a bit exagerated for April's fools joke. And if it was an aprils fools joke, then 'suspend it on March 31st, April 1st or 2nd', instead of 30th.

[m@tt]

Forums are down.

The owner sold a lot of his other sites recently but couldn't sell Filefront
http://www.shacknews...article.x/57854

The owning company recently went bankrupt
http://en.wikipedia....wiki/Ziff_Davis



Yes the date is suspicious, but it looks the real deal. Bloody economy...

[Remus]

Yes the date does look a bit suspicious. I didn't even think of it at first. However since everyone is panicking over this, it must be the real deal.

Anyway to be safe...

Generals Mod 2.5 for Yuri's Revenge : http://files.filefro...;/fileinfo.html

[robnkarla]

Yeah, 2 days ago many of the filefront staff had their access revoked when the forums went down. They thought it might be a prank at first as well.

Robert J.

[Lurtzy]

Better safe than sorry - http://files.filefro...;/fileinfo.html and http://files.filefro...;/fileinfo.html

[Clement]

All mods listed above, downloaded (Rj aswell)

[Soul]

This sucks, now what will we use? I'm not using FilePlanet cause you have to sign-up in order to d/l stuff and shit.

[Hellopope]

fileplanet wants you to sign up and pay for membership which is rubbish, Filefront was one of the best sites like that out there, they had seperate stuff for all sorts of games. Will be a shame to see it go down.

[Banshee]

I never payed for Fileplanet membership. And some sites doesn't even require a gamespy account. At least, Planet CnC only requires a planetcnc site account and you can add files there.

[Digz]

Well it's going down that's for sure, I've been locked out and can't gain access to the FTP so I can't even save the files and download them directly for a faster download. We have a huge number of Files on all sites and it's crazy to see that it's all going to be lost. The network sites are closing on the 30th which is the Monday so if there are any files including mods or even maps you may want to add to your mods please download them now. You can take down the authors email address and give him/her a quick email to see if it's ok to use the file. If you can't get the email then I guess your stuck in a is this ethical or who gives two monkeys situation.

I would give you all the stuff apart from I'm locked out from the system and trust me if this was a joke the staff would surely leave as we are now doing all we can to alert the many people that come to site to take all their files out and move them, some of us are even downloading them ourselves just in case they are on holiday or taking a break from modding/mapping etc...

On behalf of FileFront, I'd like to apologize for all the distress this is causing but money is money and Ziff did try to sell the network but couldn't find a buyer.

[Banshee]

Filefront has hidden their file list, which means that we can only access these files known their url before. We can no longer browse files there.

[Daz]

It's a shame they didn't give more notice or leave the FTPs open, but they probably foresaw the mass downloading that would ensue and the bandwidth costs that it would result in.

Edited by Daz, 30 March 2009 - 02:48 PM.

[ambershee]

This sucks, now what will we use? I'm not using FilePlanet cause you have to sign-up in order to d/l stuff and shit.

ModDB is pretty good, since you get a profile page, and automatic mirroring