It really is amazing, the passage of time. One year and four days ago I proclaimed that The Hyrulian Network was not dead and that we were still alive. The news flash was brief and I left only imparting the message to go play Ocarina of Time again, which I have myself once again have relived twice more in the past 369 days. And once again, despite my age, despite the changing context of my life since I created this site, despite the ever-growing complexity of interests and priorities since I first played Ocarina of Time - I still find it as magical and as enjoyable as ever.I haven't mentioned it in the past several updates, mainly because there have been slim to none, and to update the site with the same news every year would eventually become trite and insipid, but... THN is five years old, as of October 22nd, 2008. It really is hard for me to believe. This site started out as a personal tribute to the Legend of Zelda series, an outlet for my interest in creating webpages and a gateway to my emergence in the Zelda community. Since then, THN has been plagued with promises of updates, of content, of a revolution, of a revival. The majority of those never came, and my sincerest apologies for the few of you who still visit this site, expecting something new and novel to arise.
A lot has changed in life. A lot. I've noticed a lot of my affiliates depart, I've noticed a lot of Zelda sites close down. Many people have assumed that I, too, perished somewhere along the years, since my presence in the community has been close to nonexistent. I've still been keeping up to date with my affiliates and the Zelda community, but most of my continuing observance was done in a most detached sense. In the last couple weeks, I've slowly become more present in the community, and it's an ascension that I will continue to pursue.
Despite higher priorities and greater interests in life, I honestly cannot say that I have lost interest in the Zelda series, the Zelda community, or this site, for that matter. My passion for it is as strong as it ever was, and my hope is that it is this passion that will keep this site alive forever, for as long as I live, regardless of whether or not it receives content or consistent updates.
I'd like to congratulate Exploding Deku Nut on their sixth birthday, and I'd like to briefly comment on Darth's update. He mentioned that his lack of updates have not been due to lack of time, but to lack of interest, and that he is now going to continue EDN's existence in the direction that he enjoys and views worthy of further fostering. To all the fan-made Zelda sites that still exist today: I urge you not to shut your site down, even if you have lost interest in the series. If you put a lot of time and effort into your site, it was obviously because you loved what you were doing, and I believe that your site should stand alive forever, even if dormant, as a tribute to that golden age where your site once flourished. I know THN and DNL will do so, and I implore you to let your site forever retain its former glory by keeping it alive.
So. Where to now? I don't really know. The future is a long time, something that I can't predict. I can definitely guarantee that THN is not dead and that it will continue to receive updates, even if they are as trivial and as annual as this one. I have no shame and I hold no sorrow for the inconsistency of updates. They have always been this way, and to superficially update just out of habit... I that as going against the very principles that created the premise of this site.
As for me, I'll be around the community, I've returned, and I guess, so has The Hyrulian Network in a sense.
I wish you a great Thanksgiving weekend and happy holidays for the remainder of the year.
Let's do this.
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11/25/2008; 3:59PM; InformeroftheSages
A lot has changed in life. A lot. I've noticed a lot of my affiliates depart, I've noticed a lot of Zelda sites close down. Many people have assumed that I, too, perished somewhere along the years, since my presence in the community has been close to nonexistent. I've still been keeping up to date with my affiliates and the Zelda community, but most of my continuing observance was done in a most detached sense. In the last couple weeks, I've slowly become more present in the community, and it's an ascension that I will continue to pursue.
Despite higher priorities and greater interests in life, I honestly cannot say that I have lost interest in the Zelda series, the Zelda community, or this site, for that matter. My passion for it is as strong as it ever was, and my hope is that it is this passion that will keep this site alive forever, for as long as I live, regardless of whether or not it receives content or consistent updates.
I'd like to congratulate Exploding Deku Nut on their sixth birthday, and I'd like to briefly comment on Darth's update. He mentioned that his lack of updates have not been due to lack of time, but to lack of interest, and that he is now going to continue EDN's existence in the direction that he enjoys and views worthy of further fostering. To all the fan-made Zelda sites that still exist today: I urge you not to shut your site down, even if you have lost interest in the series. If you put a lot of time and effort into your site, it was obviously because you loved what you were doing, and I believe that your site should stand alive forever, even if dormant, as a tribute to that golden age where your site once flourished. I know THN and DNL will do so, and I implore you to let your site forever retain its former glory by keeping it alive.
So. Where to now? I don't really know. The future is a long time, something that I can't predict. I can definitely guarantee that THN is not dead and that it will continue to receive updates, even if they are as trivial and as annual as this one. I have no shame and I hold no sorrow for the inconsistency of updates. They have always been this way, and to superficially update just out of habit... I that as going against the very principles that created the premise of this site.
As for me, I'll be around the community, I've returned, and I guess, so has The Hyrulian Network in a sense.
I wish you a great Thanksgiving weekend and happy holidays for the remainder of the year.
Let's do this.
---
11/25/2008; 3:59PM; InformeroftheSages