Last Man Posting

[Bellhead]

Oh, quite possibly. It's happened before with no blue-screen, and each time, the whole system just locks up for a few seconds, and does a hard reboot. To be fair, it had been running non-stop for a few months straight, including many Youtube videos, on Firefox, and even a few on Chrome. With Firefox open 24/7 with 7 tabs open. On a Dell from 2002, with vintage hardware running XP service pack 2.

I've just gotten used to it deciding, once in a while, "Waah! I'm mad at you! I need a nap!" - and then it reboots.

Meh.

[Technic[Bot]]

That strikes me as a Hardware thing. It sound like something is getting overheated and the thermal protection kicks in before something gets fried. Or something is loose and you are getting a short circuit I would recommend you getting your PC a routine service somewhere before something decides to die permanently.

Also I know you like your setup very much but still I will suggest this: if you only use it for web browsing and such using a slim Linux can really improve the usability of an old system, also boot time goes down. Something like Xubuntu, Ubuntu Mate or Linux mint. If you excuse the jargon. Linux kernel was born to supersede enterprise grade kernels so it was build to run for extended periods of time.

[Bellhead]

Like I said, meh. This is the first time it's done it in years. Probably just dusty.

[Kellard]

[Bellhead]

Mint.

[Kellard]

I sometimes dig through the ancient threads of the forum. Things have changed a lot since those days. Bit sad.

[Bellhead]

Anything you think I'd remember, or just the usual back-and-forth banter?

[Technic[Bot]]

The forum is what about a decade old?
I would be more concerned if it had not changed at all.

[Bellhead]

The oldest Comic Discussion thread was made in 1969. Lol.

In all seriousness, the first real thread was March of 2007, and these hallowed halls followed one previous, where the fabled Alternate Timeline was written by Tom himself. Legend tells that story, where Trace and Flora never got together, and Flora became a rebellion leader.

Times sure have changed, though. I remember WAAAY back when, when I used to partake in philosophical discussions lasting over 8 forum pages regarding the characters' states of mind, and how they would react under different conditions. Such conversations still happen, but to a far lesser degree.

[Kellard]

Anything you think I'd remember, or just the usual back-and-forth banter?

Oh well, long dicussions, banter, varied threads, messages from members who're either long gone or haven't posted in years but occasionally lurk. Went through several more-than-a-decade old threads. This forum had so much life.

The forum is what about a decade old?
I would be more concerned if it had not changed at all.

The forum was updated around 2008 but it was created in 2005, and due to poor coding a lot of veteran members lost a big chunk of their post count but retained their join date. The archive forum with all posts prior to 2008 can be found in the News Bulletin Board.
So, you'll occasionally see people with 13 or 14 year old accounts. Although most people from those days are long gone. Also, when browsing the archive forum you may or may not notice that back then people had the ability to rename themselves whenever they wanted. When that changed a lot of people got stuck with a name they wanted to use for a joke or some such.
An example of name changing is seito. A former admin who left the forum many years ago. He used to be known as Nanaki.

Now, something that I'm sure most people have not seen is the original forum. The one created in 2003 when Tom started the comic. Abandoned in late 2004 to create this one. It is pretty empty but it's still up. I recommend abstaining from posting anything there. The only posts made there after the site was abandoned are just from bots spamming links.
Some former and current admins and members of this forum had accounts there. People have of course gone away with the years. A few of them just left the forum and stuck around in the IRC. Though I admittedly don't go there so I'm not sure whether they still frequent it or not. I did check on them a couple of times though (albeit years ago), and still saw them there.

I may not have been here around those times, but things seemed different even just 4 years ago. I kinda miss it.

[Technic[Bot]]

I do not know why bots and spammers have a hard-on for phpBB forums.

Do not get me wrong I would love if the forum was a bit more lively, specially now. given the current situation a not insignificant portion of my daily human interaction comes from here.
But the problem is these type of forums are not as popular anymore.
You can chalk it up to the new generations finding these type of forums unwieldy at best unusable at worsts. Or to the existence of more popular and easier to use platforms.
But the fact of the matter is that very few people still uses this type of forum.
Again I prefer these forums to modern social medial, I wrote a whole article here about it, check my signature. And I have very fond memories of forums I used to frequent when I was younger.
But I do not think we will get a resurgence of old style web forums anytime soon.

[Bellhead]

These types of forums were made for a slower age, before internet interactions were instant and responses had to be instant too. It's an environment for discussion, rather than conversation, so it was quickly left behind by anyone without the time to dedicate to it.

I know I for one went almost completely dark when I got a girlfriend in college, then switched to school in the mornings and work in the afternoons. Only really got back on here after she moved out, and I had an unbelievable amount of time on my hands.

[Neutral Smith]

[Bellhead]

Made a wooden door at work. Works better than any other door we have. proud and sad, all at once.

[Technic[Bot]]

I sometimes wonder what will my children do if they ever find my old Posts online. Here or otherwise.
I do not have children yet but that is still a possibility.

Also I am surprised some forums can get deserted for ages and not disappear

Door making is an art not anyone can make a decent door let alone a good one