Thank you!

[Andsigil]

I had no idea that the Downs were going offline. Did I miss an announcement?

I enjoy this place so much, that I was checking every couple of days in the hope that it was going to come back. Glad that I persisted, instead of deleting this place from my bookmarks.

[Aganzir]

No, there wasn't an announcement because the shutdown wasn't planned.

Here's a summary of what happened, for people who didn't follow the discussion on facebook. I'm quoting the BW because his post was brilliant:

Originally Posted by The Barrow-Wight Himself

The Downs are not Dead, nor are they living. Instead, they currently exist buried away, waiting for Tom to roll away the entry stone, peer inside with a song on his tongue, and chase away the malignant spirit that has taken up residence.

But I don’t mean the Barrow-Wight. Oh, no! That old spirit has grown tired and lazy, but he is a permanent fixture of this musty tomb. The evil in the Barrow is much newer than he and is known as a Spam Script.

Apparently this foul creature slipped through the cracks of the multitude of conversations that hold up the ancient walls of the Downs, oozing between posts and sliding between topics, and nestling down between this bit or that one. Content that its hiding place was secure and secret, it began to whisper spells into the darkness. Spells in the form of emails, which it sent in great numbers to random email addresses.

Throughout the land the foul writings of the Spam Script harassed the population, and the Lords of the Web were angry. So angry that they sent emissaries to the Barrow with demands to cease the unwanted racket.

But the old Wight was dumbstruck by what had happened. He had sat so long in his corner of the tomb that he no longer knew his own pathways under the ground. The darkness had surrounded him to such an extent that he could only sit and hope the roof did not collapse upon him.

Unsatisfied with the tired ghost’s inaction, the Lords were left with only one alternative. They sealed the Barrow with great wards of power, vowing to free it again only if the Spam Scripts were removed.

The Barrow-Wight retreated further into the black to think. And moan. And think. Until finally he knew nothing but oblivion, which seemed sweet, but lonely. The Downs were silent, and the world continued to spin. Time passed, and memories faded but were not forgotten.

~ ~ ~

An Age later, the decrepit ghoul still yearned for his home to be open to the guests that had once visited. But the Spam Script was still there, somewhere, and could not be unleashed lest it consume to world. What could the Wight do? To whom could he turn? Bombadil had never came. Questions ran circles in Barrow’s mind, and he slipped back to his dreams.

~ ~ ~

Then a voice that was not his own and definitely not the unwanted guest, spoke to him in his slumber. “You are not alone, dear Wight”, it whispered. “Don’t give up,” another voice said, more plainly heard. “Let us in,” several shouted. “Release the Kraken!” boomed Liam Neeson.

Images of pointy eared, green-shirted, smiling faces appeared in the darkness, each with a plea for his attention. The Barrow-Wight smiled.

How could he have forgotten all the hapless Hobbits he had lured into the Barrow? Why had he forsaken his duty to trick them into the grave and shackle them to heavy stones of literature, mirth, and movies? Did he really want to exist without them?

No!

Would they forgive him for having left them in the dark for so long?

Hope…

But what about the unwanted, noisy guest? How could the Downs be freed if it still lingered? It could not! The Spam Script must be exorcised. The Wight needed one of two things, a priest to chase the demon out, or an architect to build a new Barrow, a new repository for all the wisdom stored in the musty libraries he kept beneath the earth.

After much contemplation, the Wight decided on the latter. He slipped out of the Barrow and headed toward the kingdom of Ultimate Bulletin Board to speak with their masons and carpenters.

Many of us chipped in for the forum upgrade, and lo and behold, here we are again!

Special thanks to satansaloser2005 for maintaining morale and organising one last push to get the forum running again (namely, calling for us all to change our profile pictures to something Barrow-Downs related - it looked magnificent).

[Inziladun]

Thanks for that, Agan. While I suspected something of the sort had happened, I didn't know the details.

I'm ashamed that my FaceBook avoidance kept me from being able to contribute anything to the forum's resurrection. All I knew to do was to try and contact the BW using the main Barrow Downs site, but I had very little hope that I'd have any success, and I never heard anything.

I will always do anything in my power to help this place, and I am sorry I missed an opportunity to do so in such a major time of need.

[Kuruharan]

Like Inzil I avoid facebook, and again like him, I suspected the cause was something like what happened.

Many praises to those who chipped in to end The Great Whiteout.

I would give rep to Agan for sharing this, but apparently I've given rep to her too recently.

[Guinevere]

I am so happy , the good old Barrow-Downs are really back again! It was good that, thanks to facebook, I was able to read what was going on. Many many thanks to the Barrow Wight and everybody who made this possible!

[Mithadan]

There are many members that may still be unaware that the Barrow-Downs has been revived (is that the wight term?). There are probably many more that are unaware that the site was down.

I have two suggestions.

First, to the extent that we have e-mail addresses for our old friends, send them a missive to invite them to visit. If you don't have an e-mail address, then a PM.

Second, why doesn't everyone consider committing to starting one thread within the next ten days. Just one. The boards are revived. Let's wake them up a bit!

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Mithadan

There are many members that may still be unaware that the Barrow-Downs has been revived (is that the wight term?). There are probably many more that are unaware that the site was down.

I have two suggestions.

First, to the extent that we have e-mail addresses for our old friends, send them a missive to invite them to visit. If you don't have an e-mail address, then a PM.

Second, why doesn't everyone consider committing to starting one thread within the next ten days. Just one. The boards are revived. Let's wake them up a bit!

Agreed on all accounts!

[Kuruharan]

Originally Posted by Mithadan

The boards are revived. Let's wake them up a bit!

Shameless plug time: Werewolf is back!

[Faramir Jones]

It's great to see the forum up again, after those months without it!

My heartfelt thanks to all those responsible, particularly Barrow-Wight, whom I understand deserves most of the credit!

[Aiwendil]

Originally Posted by Mithadan

There are many members that may still be unaware that the Barrow-Downs has been revived (is that the wight term?). There are probably many more that are unaware that the site was down.

I have two suggestions.

First, to the extent that we have e-mail addresses for our old friends, send them a missive to invite them to visit. If you don't have an e-mail address, then a PM.

Second, why doesn't everyone consider committing to starting one thread within the next ten days. Just one. The boards are revived. Let's wake them up a bit!

Indeed, I was unaware that it was back until just now! Every so often, I had been trying to access the forums, but I had just about given up hope. I was bored just now and decided to give it another try, and my joy upon finding the forum working is just about indescribable.

[PrinceOfTheHalflings]

Yes, thank you for bringing this forum back! I didn't know it was back until I tried it just now. I wasn’t aware there was a Facebook page ( and I googled extensively with no joy, but anyway - yay!)