I just saw this resource "Land of Archon" where it seems to be the admins server that didn't feel like running it anymore. I have to say, although I have my own server (and have no interest in this), that this is a classy way to call it quits. In the early days of RunUO, I tried playing on freeshards...only to have it disappear one day along with my hard work. This is when I realized that I would no longer play on them and just create a multiplayer adventure game instead. This was a server that myself and personal friends played on. One day, we found ourselves playing less and less and I didn't feel the need to keep a high electric bill so I shut the server down and gave my friends a copy so they can continue on with their characters.
I think the problem with freeshards that it is like everyone in the neighborhood trying to throw their own 4th of July party on the same day...and getting frustrated when no one shows up, or shows up at one of the neighbors parties. I think the mindset leads to the demise that they want to be the best host of the party...and if their isn't an arbitrary guest number, they will call it a night. If they ran a server because they loved to play UO, then they wouldn't really care if there were 5 or 500 people at the party. That if they had an attitude where "hey, I am running this server for a couple of other folks...but feel free to join", it might end up differently. But they mostly end up taking the game they love...and turning it into a job. I do IT for a living...and I can get annoyed when I get home from work and have to do tech support over the phone for my mother-in-law.
So good job Diesel...and thanks for going out in style. I can never wrap my mind around freeshards that put in hundreds of hours of work into their server...only to shut it down and maybe keep it on their hard drive until it is lost forever when Windows 11 wipes it out with a clean install. They should have said, "sorry everyone, but we just don't have the time or finances to pay the hosting provider...so here is your own copy of Rel Por" or whatever in the hell the server calls itself.
I think the problem with freeshards that it is like everyone in the neighborhood trying to throw their own 4th of July party on the same day...and getting frustrated when no one shows up, or shows up at one of the neighbors parties. I think the mindset leads to the demise that they want to be the best host of the party...and if their isn't an arbitrary guest number, they will call it a night. If they ran a server because they loved to play UO, then they wouldn't really care if there were 5 or 500 people at the party. That if they had an attitude where "hey, I am running this server for a couple of other folks...but feel free to join", it might end up differently. But they mostly end up taking the game they love...and turning it into a job. I do IT for a living...and I can get annoyed when I get home from work and have to do tech support over the phone for my mother-in-law.
So good job Diesel...and thanks for going out in style. I can never wrap my mind around freeshards that put in hundreds of hours of work into their server...only to shut it down and maybe keep it on their hard drive until it is lost forever when Windows 11 wipes it out with a clean install. They should have said, "sorry everyone, but we just don't have the time or finances to pay the hosting provider...so here is your own copy of Rel Por" or whatever in the hell the server calls itself.