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  #1  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2023, 4:01 PM
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Where Do We Go From Here (the potential end of SSP)?

You may have noticed that SSP isn't running well as of late. I see the "database error" message more and more frequently, and messages to the owner and webmaster aren't being responded to. It's starting to become clear that this rickety old website that we love could very well be on its last legs.

I wanted to start this thread as a way to bring awareness that maybe one day soon, this site will just cease to exist without warning, and if that's the case, where do we go? I don't really care about the other forums here, but I care deeply about the Canada section.

One member in the 'forum Issues' discussion mentioned urbanplanet.org. It seems like a decent enough place to host potentially hundreds of new members.

Any other suggestions?

Last edited by giallo; Oct 18, 2023 at 5:56 PM.
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  #2  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2023, 4:15 PM
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So it wasn’t just me, eh?
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  #3  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2023, 4:20 PM
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I've been noticing the errors as well. Damn I hope not. This site and more specifically the Canada section, has become such a part of my daily routine that I would feel quite sad to see it go. I know a handful of forumers outside SSP but I really love the discussions and interactions on here. Been on this site for a couple decades almost. I go to skyrise cities for actual construction updates in Calgary, but it lacks the organic conversations on here.

Alas, Clockzilla would also be lost.

Last edited by O-tacular; Oct 18, 2023 at 4:53 PM.
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  #4  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2023, 4:27 PM
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Yup, I'm in the same boat. Whenever I have a break at work or I need some mental stimulation I log onto this site, and I only post in the Canada section.

Sometimes I post in the city discussions page, but arguing over census statistics from US Midwestern cities I don't care about doesn't exactly get me going. My City Photos is a shadow of its former self.

And, yeah, I have noticed all the glitches recently. If we migrate our Canada page discussions somewhere else, I'll happily ditch SSP forever.
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  #5  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2023, 4:35 PM
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  #6  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2023, 4:40 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Acajack View Post
What a weird site. There's a sex offenders section. Also for supposedly having data about cities it lists Calgary's population from 2011 which is several hundred thousand less than today (actually 500K less for metro population).

Out of curiosity how many forums are you on Acajack?
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  #7  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2023, 4:44 PM
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Problem with City-Data is that moderation is absolutely awful there (heavy handed and idiotic).

Something that would work (even though I’m sure the community here won’t pick that as our top / consensus Plan B migration choice) would be the Canada section of mtlurb (basically dead now, so ready for us all to move in!)

https://mtlurb.com/forum/38-toronto-...ste-du-canada/
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  #8  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2023, 4:47 PM
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Is there no modern version of SSP? City Data and Mtlurb are almost as old as SSP, 2005 and 2007 respectfully. Are those sites going to be facing the same problems as SSP just around the corner? Just a thought.
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  #9  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2023, 4:48 PM
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City Data is the one I had in mind as well. I did create an account there but I’m not active on it. It was more of a Plan B in case SSP was going to cease to exist. It is to be noted that everything development/urban affairs related to the City of Ottawa is housed on SSP. Someone will also have to figure where those discussions will be taking place in the future.
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  #10  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2023, 4:54 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MonctonianSentinel01 View Post
Is there no modern version of SSP? City Data and Mtlurb are almost as old as SSP, 2005 and 2007 respectfully. Are those sites going to be facing the same problems as SSP just around the corner? Just a thought.
Forums as a whole are largely considered "old news" in internet terms. An old-boys club in many ways.

Traffic on SSP has declined massively since I joined in 2010. Outside of the Canada section the rest of the website is actually pretty quiet, with a lot of the traffic shifting to local websites for individual cities (UT, MTLurb, WaterlooRegionConnected, etc.).

SSC was a decent option, but since that Toronto-based company bought it a few years ago and converted it to the more modern forum software, it's been a nightmare to navigate. It should be a more reliable site long-term however as it is corporately owned. I rarely visited it before the buyout, but have stopped completely since.

In reality, if SSP disappears, I'll likely end up posting only on UrbanToronto.
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  #11  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2023, 4:55 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by O-tacular View Post
What a weird site. There's a sex offenders section. Also for supposedly having data about cities it lists Calgary's population from 2011 which is several hundred thousand less than today (actually 500K less for metro population).

Out of curiosity how many forums are you on Acajack?

Only a couple but you guys are lucky that this the one I tend to frequent the most!

The City Data statistics section is junk. I never go there.

Though I never go on the diagrams section here either.
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  #12  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2023, 5:03 PM
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There is a Facebook group which deals heavily with development news in NB that I also frequent. This is likely where I would go.

The Facebook group however is heavily populated with the usual Facebook crowd of cranks and discontents, and there is almost no quality discourse on the site, but, it is a decent place to trade development news.

I post mostly in the Atlantic Canada section, so, while I would miss the Canada section, I think I could survive without it.

So, are the owner and admins completely unaware of the increasing instability of the site, or, do they just don't care???
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  #13  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2023, 5:06 PM
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What are some references from SSP that no one outside this site would know? Will that be how we determine if members of other forums came from here? Will Migs start populating any new site with hundreds of aliases that get banned?

Last edited by O-tacular; Oct 18, 2023 at 5:21 PM.
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  #14  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2023, 5:36 PM
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Glad to know I'm not the only one who has been having problems with the site.

For me it won't be SSC as I was banned 4 months ago. I made the comment that China's population has probably {according to most non-CCP demographers} been declining since 2018 and could be 50 to 100 million smaller than reported. For years the number of birth certificates and child benefit outlays have been significantly higher than the number of kids actually being registered for school. Many people are buying birth certificates and are using it as a way to receive gov't subsidies. It's well documented and even Beijing has noted it as being a problem but it was considered "anti-China" and hence I was barred. It is so obscenely censored that anything but a discussion about the weather can get you barred.

CityData maybe but it is essentially just for American content. Probably UrbanToronto.
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  #15  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2023, 5:42 PM
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I think we on Canada section probably make up half the site's traffic if not more.

This is one of the very few corners of the internet where actual discussion can happen without it either a) devolving into angry name calling and personal attacks (like Twitter) or b) going the other way and becoming an echo chamber (like Reddit).

Especially Canada specific stuff like the impacts of our immigration policy, the housing disaster, the encouraging shift to midrise zoning, and whatnot. Most corners of the internet where these discussions happen in English are overrun with Americans.
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  #16  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2023, 5:55 PM
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Say it ain't so, but yes, I'm feeling that too these days from the site.

It's been such a mainstay in my personal and professional life for two decades and has allowed me to meet a lot of close friends to this day.

With the Edmonton section very quiet, I regularly use Skyrisecities now. It's active, a modern site and complimentary to this forum.

Here's hoping we are wrong, but either way, it's been a good run on SSP.
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  #17  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2023, 5:58 PM
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I've definitely noticed the increasing downtime due to "database issues" which can be frustrating. Also rarely post or even browse outside of the Canada subforum.

I'd probably move over to urbantoronto if absolutely necessary but prefer discussion here. I generally like older format forums to newer ones including reddit. A well curated Twitter feed is good for information but not much else, and even that's falling apart now (for anything beyond entertainment reasons).
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  #18  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2023, 5:59 PM
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I've only really been active in the Canada and Atlantic Canada sections, but I'd really miss it if they were gone. It would be nice if the site would update the forum software though; it would make things more stable, give us better tools for sharing and discussing things and hopefully make it more secure.

If SSP does eventually collapse, maybe someone is tech savy enough to launch a Canadian SSP page to try and carry the torch?
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  #19  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2023, 5:59 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by O-tacular View Post
What a weird site. There's a sex offenders section.


worst forum meet ever
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  #20  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2023, 6:17 PM
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skyrisecities is a good alternative - modern software and it's built to actually support regional forums as well.
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