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HTLAL is not dead, but...

Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2021 1:09 pm
by Ogrim
Yesterday I got nostalgic and wanted to read some of my old posts over on HTLAL. I actually did manage to log in, although the site was extremely slow in loading. However, when I found my old log and wanted to look at my post, I got the message that I could not access posts older than 100 days because I am not a Premium member. So now I cannot even consult my own logs on the site!

I am actually surprised the site still exists, as there is absolutely no activity going on. Either the administrator still thinks it is worthwhile keeping (is someone still paying for Premium membership every year?) or he just cannot be bothered with it either way.

I know I should have made a copy of my old logs when I still had access, so that is my own fault. Let me just say I am so glad that this forum has not divided members into paying and non-paying categories. Big thanks to our administrators!

Re: HTLAL is not dead, but...

Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2021 3:12 pm
by Iversen
I think I still am a moderator over there, but I have stopped checking. The activity is minimal, and contrary to Ogrim I did take a copy of my own writings there - but I don't read them often. However if non-premium members (and former premium members whose memberships have run out by now) can't access anything older than 100 days then the site will look empty soon, and that's a shame. But I didn't even know that there was such a rule.

Edit: I have now opened HTLAL (which took a very long time) and I can see old messages without being logged in - but unless you are a premium member (or moderator) you cannot use the inbuilt search function - but even if you are allowed to use it it takes forever to do even the simplest searches. I logged in for the first time in 2021 to see whether it made any difference, and yes I could start a search - and eventually it came up with some results, but it took several minutes. And then I looked Ogrim up in the member list, but even that took forever.

So use Bing or Google another search machine if you want to find anything.

PS, Ogrim's log from 2014 onwards starts here.

Re: HTLAL is not dead, but...

Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2021 3:20 pm
by LunaMoonsilver
I'm not logged in and can definitely see posts that are older than 100 days (I went to check some things I have bookmarked in a panic lol, one was from 2009, another from 2014). So maybe this only applies if you're logged in? I'd search for your log, Ogrim, but search is pretty limited if you're not a premium member over there.

Re: HTLAL is not dead, but...

Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2021 3:36 pm
by rdearman
You could probably use the Wayback Machine

Re: HTLAL is not dead, but...

Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2021 4:00 pm
by Ogrim
LunaMoonsilver wrote:I'm not logged in and can definitely see posts that are older than 100 days (I went to check some things I have bookmarked in a panic lol, one was from 2009, another from 2014). So maybe this only applies if you're logged in? I'd search for your log, Ogrim, but search is pretty limited if you're not a premium member over there.


Thank you! I went back, logged out and could access the whole forum without problem. Which makes pro membership even more absurd!

I'll make sure to copy all my log entries now before it disappears for good.

Re: HTLAL is not dead, but...

Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2021 5:02 pm
by smallwhite
Diligent as usual -

htlal saved.jpg

Re: HTLAL is not dead, but...

Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2021 4:01 pm
by Xenops
I've actually checked it fairly regularly of late, mainly to read how people got from beginning levels in Japanese and Norwegian to upper levels. Also to read about experiments. I've been able to read posts older than 100 days when logged in.

When I search for a topic, I use the text-search, with gives me all of the options without a premium membership. I rarely use the tags.

Re: HTLAL is not dead, but...

Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2021 6:46 pm
by mick33
I'd been feeling nostalgic too, so I went to HTLAL a few weeks ago and looked at my old logs and a few other discussion threads I remembered from when that forum had more activity. I never had a paid membership, so it took me a long time to find some discussion threads, and it did seem like it was easier to search when I wasn't logged in. It was good to read those old discussions again, but it was also weird to be there when there is almost no activity. I miss the forum sometimes, but there's been so little activity there recently that I probably won't be surprised when or if it is completely gone.

Re: HTLAL is not dead, but...

Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2021 1:45 am
by iguanamon
One of the big issues/fears that prevented us from leaving for probably longer than it should've taken was the fear of losing our archive. Of course, finally, there came the outage that broke the camel's back. Almost everyone migrated over here fairly quickly. As it turns out, our fear was unfounded. The HTLAL archive is becoming less and less relevant as time goes by and technology develops further. In another four years, LLORG will have been around for a decade. We are building a decent archive here and keeping up with the times.

Re: HTLAL is not dead, but...

Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2021 8:32 pm
by Iversen
Several weeks ago I decided in a fit of nostalgia to read through the whole of my multiconfused log no. 2 here at LLorg, and it took me so long that I simply haven't dared to try the experience with no. 1 at HTLAL. Besides the links may not be working any more and my images have disappeared because they where stored at a server which now has been closed down.

Actually there is/was so much to read at HTLAL if I really dug down into it that it would have a negative impact on my language learning.