This question is marked "community wiki".

The (Non-Technical) Version


A couple of days ago, I was contacted by the owners of the software that runs Inward Quest that this site is going to be shut down in two weeks.

There is no possibility of us continuing on this software because it is privately owned and cannot be bought.

I've given this situation much deep thought over the last couple of days and I am of the view that the wisdom already accumulated here and the community spirit that thrives here should be preserved and allowed to continue as much as possible.

So in order to keep Inward Quest going, I am going to move the community to another piece of website software (this time on our own private web server) that will mimic to some extent how the existing software works.

I am hopeful that the existing questions, answers and user profiles here will be preserved though the "look and feel" of Inward Quest may be forced to change.

There may be a period of disruption while this transfer takes place and Inward Quest may be offline for a while during this period. At this moment, I'm not sure how long that will be or exactly when it will happen.

There may also be more disruption afterwards while users (and moderators) figure out how to use the new software and while I attempt to make the new site look and behave similarly to this one so please bear with me while these unavoidable changes take place.

I'll update you with more details about these changes when I have them.

In the meantime, you can continue to use Inward Quest as normal.



More (Technical) Information


Up to now, Inward Quest has been operating using some privately-owned software called "Stack Exchange" which, at the time Inward Quest was set up, was available for individuals like myself to use for their own specialist purposes.

Stack Exchange 1.0 was a fork of the Stack Overflow software and the idea was that people such as myself would pay on a monthly basis to rent the software to use for their own private sites.

The software has always been hosted on Stack Exchange servers and there has never been an option to privately host it. So any users of the software have always been subject to the terms and conditions laid down by the owners.

Several months after making Stack Exchange 1.0 available, the owners realized that this business model was not going to work and this option to use Stack Exchange 1.0 for private purposes was withdrawn. But the owners were gracious enough to allow existing successful private sites, such as Inward Quest, to continue for a period of time.

Unfortunately, I have now received notice that this site will be terminated on August 1. It was originally going to be early next week but I have managed to obtain a short extension.

I have decided to move the site to the "open source" platform called OSQA. A number of other existing Stack Exchange 1.0 sites, that have been previously terminated, have already migrated there successfully.

Looking at the existing OSQA sites, it looks like there may be some upcoming CSS styling issues in trying to mimic the Stack Exchange "look and feel".

And given the short timescales involved and the fact that IQ is a fairly active community, the move may be a little tricky since there will be limited time for testing, checking and domain transfer.

So if you have any technical experience with OSQA already and are willing to help/advise on the site transfer, please could you make yourself known to me? Either email me privately at simon@PsiTek.net or comment/answer below.



UPDATE

Further news and questions/answers about the upcoming move will be posted on the new IQ Meta forum.

I suggest you sign up there if you wish to keep up to date on what's happening.

asked 16 Jul '11, 03:04

Simon%20Templeton's gravatar image

Simon Templeton ♦♦
1320

closed 30 Dec '11, 11:39

Kathleen%20Kelly's gravatar image

Kathleen Kelly ♦♦
(suspended)

Thanks Simon, much appreciated :)

(17 Jul '11, 04:50) Eddie

There seem to be tools already that can import StackExchange data into OSQA like [ http://www.dzone.com/links/stackexchange_import_a_big_milestone_for_osqa.html ]. Often the devil is in the details however. Data migration is part of my daily job, so leave a message if you need some help.

(17 Jul '11, 10:09) herzmeister

IQ Meta is cool, I believe the New Inward Quest will be a smooth transition with hardly any noticeable differences. I see none so far on IQ Meta. :-D

(19 Jul '11, 15:32) Wade Casaldi

Oh...Boy. Am I so glad that I checked in here after a few weeks of absence. Simon. We have complete confidence in you to successfully make this transition. Nothing happens by accident. Perhaps this change is for the better, and this is just the beginning towards more exciting things to come, spiritually or otherwise. I will hold a positive vision of your successful achievement of this transition in my mind.

(20 Jul '11, 20:32) The Traveller
showing 1 of 4 show 3 more comments

The question has been closed for the following reason "No longer relevant" by Kathleen Kelly 30 Dec '11, 11:39


good job simon. i hope it continue and that you will keep us updated. this community is awsome i hope every one will be able to follow. i do not have technical experiance with osqa. but just wanted to say this.

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This answer is marked "community wiki".

answered 16 Jul '11, 03:23

white%20tiger's gravatar image

white tiger
21.9k115116

My initial reaction on reading this was a little sadness. However, knowing the spirit of this community and the authenticity of it's creator I know that this in fact is not an ending but merely a new beginning for Inward Quest...another step in it's growth.

Although the "look and feel" may indeed change I believe that this "change" can only be for the better knowing everyone who participates here...it is not the software that makes the spirit of IQ but rather the members.

And once again it provides us with an opportunity to thank you Simon for so graciously and generously taking the time and effort to create and maintain this site. Unfortunately, I'm not in any way techie minded so I can't help you out there. But, I think there may be one or two here who are and I'm pretty sure they'd be more than happy to offer you whatever assistance they can.

I look forward to continued interaction...learning and growing together :) Michaela

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answered 16 Jul '11, 13:06

Michaela's gravatar image

Michaela
35.0k22277

Yes agreed the members are far more important than the software but also the content we all have shared. :-)

(16 Jul '11, 17:11) Wade Casaldi

i agree...this is only the seed of an expanded, different reality of the same. I"m glad to be able participate in it"s expansion :)

(19 Jul '11, 18:05) streetsanto

It is not the software that means much to me it is the content, this site could be like Yahoo Answers for all I care. It is the content, the people (IQ friends and family really) that are important and our messages as well.

As long as we have something we can answer and ask questions as well as comment that is cool with me.

But most important is the preservation of all the information I have answered over 600 questions just myself, Probably Stingray and Vesuvius are way more than that even. Not to mention all the comments all we wrote here as well, every thing very much valuable.

I am seeing this site similar to a modern day library of Alexander.

I would hate seeing all of this get lost, I am going to try to preserve my own stuff in text files. The only problem with self preservation is it is always half a conversation.

If it does get lost at least we all stay friends we can start over from scratch. After all the mind is in a state of flux not fixed or this site would have reached a point of no more questions a long time ago.

I do want to thank you Simon for the consideration in keeping the site. You could have just caved and said oh well it was good while it lasted. But you persevered to find a solution! Thanks so much for this we do appreciate this. Good job! :-D

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answered 16 Jul '11, 16:59

Wade%20Casaldi's gravatar image

Wade Casaldi
36.9k428102

edited 16 Jul '11, 17:16

The people are everything, but so is the software; Yahoo Answers is less than useless in this regard: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080331170418AAhm4TU OSQA is a very good platform; I don't think the site will go away any time soon.

(17 Jul '11, 14:27) Vesuvius

I know I used to be in Yahoo answers until it got too ridiculous actually. lol

(17 Jul '11, 16:33) Wade Casaldi

I don't care much about the look and feel as the content not to get lost. There's a lot of very valuable information here. Not only the answers I got, but questions that I wanted to ask myself and found that someone beat me to it :) Besides everybody is so friendly here, and noone mock you for a stupid question...

So, whatever software, BE BACK SOON, INWARD QUEST, WE ALL NEED YOU!!!!! :)

BJ09

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answered 18 Jul '11, 13:33

BridgetJones09's gravatar image

BridgetJones09
4.6k43789

One question: The Psi Tek site with all the books, will be running as usual? :P

(18 Jul '11, 13:34) BridgetJones09

PsiTek runs completely independently of Inward Quest so nothing will change there

(19 Jul '11, 13:34) Simon Templeton ♦♦
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