A Sad Time

[Rachel Westwood]

I have, unfortunately, some sad news to break to the group. I have given this much thought over the last few months and I have decided to put the Guild on a temporary, possibly permanent holiday. As many of you are aware I have been having problems lately and as a result I am unable to run this place effectively, to keep creative areas up and running or moderate the forums regularly.

Gezza and KS are currently working on their own project, which is going to pull them away from Admin duties here and which I think will offer a good home for the members here whilst the Guild is closed. I am sure they will be happy to elaborate on their plans.

Meanwhile, the boards here are going to be closed down - as of tomorrow (Thursday) I will begin putting the non-essential boards into a read-only state. They will remain up and readable for one week, during which you will be able to copy and save any materials that you wish to keep. After that the entire contents of the boards will be deleted - this is to ensure the safety of everybody's written work and input. Any work by members that is currently sitting on our homepage will likewise be removed but the homepage and the forums themselves will still remain up for the next few months whilst I work out where we are going next.

I will be leaving two boards open for use - one 'General Discussion' which will be visible to all, members and non-members alike, and the other 'Writing Discussion' will be locked to only those members who have been active in the last couple of months.

I am doing this so that you will all have a place to talk and work should you wish to remain here in the following months. The Guild will go into a hibernation stage from now until January, at which time I will re-evaluate the situation and if there are enough members still around and willing to get us back on our feet, and if I am in a better position to run the group then we will re-open. If not then the Guild will close down completely.

I am saddened to have to do this and I know that there will be a few disappointed members here. But I think that the Guild is nearing its final days - maybe it can be revived with love and attention maybe not. But either way I think we have had a good run. This group has been in existence for many years now and I have seen, met and made many good writing friends. But now I think it is nearing the time to say good bye.

I would like to thank you all for your friendship, your participation and wish you all the best in your future careers.

Rachel.

[bluegray]

This is heart breaking =(... Just when I felt like I might have been part of the comm here it's breaking down =(... It was fantastic knowing you all..

Incredibly briefly malice

Rachel
Gezza
Knorra
Stella
and last in the list but certainly not least Wargood!

Please have a fruitful life, full of experience of both joys and sorrows.

And I know most of you aren't Americans, but happy Thanks Giving!

Dansid, or Bluegray =P

P.S. what of the Shared World, Saelor?

[knorrasky]

Rachel,

I know this is difficult and sad for you but please know that Gezza and I will hold as many members together as want to remain active. Then when you are ready, we will all be here.
Along these lines, Gezza will soon be posting a reply.
My hope is that you will overcome any and all problems you are having.
Then when you are again ready to lead, it is yours!
Also, please look in on us at the other site. You are still and always will be welcome there.
Remember, friendship is not judged by distance.
Your friend,
RA Knowlton

[gezza]

Hi everyone!

As you have read above, Rachel is taking time off and reevaluating her situation with commitments in January. KS and I will be stewards of the "toned down" site until then.

I want to wish Rachel all the best over the next several months and sincerely hope that she will be able to reinvigorate the site on her return - I think we will all be there to help!

For those who would like to participate in deep writing sessions a separate site has been set up. All are welcome to join in until Rachel is well enough to restart the Guild.

While we (Gezza and KnorraSky) are happy to assist Rachel in this time of need, we know that we cannot fill her shoes. So for any who join in on the new site we will keep you posted as to when Rachel is ready and back. At that time we hope all will return to the GFW. Truly this place means a lot to her.

The new site is at http: IFWG

This new site is new and, like any cooperative effort, requires many hands to work. We invite you to come over and see.

regards

Gezza

[Rachel Westwood]

Saelor will also being going on hold for the time being. There hasn't been a lot of activity there yet anyway so it shouldn't be too much of a hit to put it on the back burner again for the time being.

Again, when I start re-evaluating in January I will work out whether it will be do-able or not.

[Stella]

To all,

Before I joined this guild I had another three. The first one broke down because of disputes in management. The second one I ran, and I never got enough members to get it off the ground. The third was a shared world project which, although members were enthusiastic, never got anywhere.

And then I found this site. I am deeply sorry to hear that it's going to be toned down, because I love this site. I really hope things can be sorted in the near future, Rachel, because you've created a great community full of brilliant writers.

Perhaps it's my jinx curse haunting me again...

Stella*

[Corvus]

Looks like I came back at a curious time. I had been hoping to be more active now that NaNoWriMo was over. Oops.

For those who are interested, I just started a Ning network (including forums) for writing. I'm hoping to draw in the people from the board I co-admin, and new people too. I just put it up today, so there isn't much there, but you're welcome to come check it out:

Beyond Horizons

Ning networks allow the creation of groups, which would allow for things like the "writing rings" that Rachel had been working with. I hope everything works out for you, Rachel, and I hope I might see you folks around.

[Wargood]

This was the first writers' group I ever joined, and I have to say that I got much value out of it. I also hope that I was able to contribute some helpful insights to other writers here. But change comes to all things, however much we may wish it didn't.
I have joined the IFWG, and I sincerely hope that many of you do, as well. You will find some familiar faces and the same sort of fellowship that kept you coming here, I believe.

[animal74]

Well, all good things must come to an end, I suppose. Too bad not more of the members from the old board came over and I'm sorry my participation has dwindled as well.

Rachel, I hope everything goes well with you and that the Guild is able to continue, but I understand well that life is busy and has priorities. You should be proud of what you accomplished and how many people you brought together from across the globe. The Guild helped me get back into fantasy and writing and I'll remember the fun times on the old board as well as this one.

I'll come by in a few days and see what decision has been made. Good luck, everyone!

[OGO]

Blessings. For me, I'm just picking up the pen again after some time in limbo. Best of Luck and thanks for the time and effort you spent here.

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