"Why Is Everyone Assuming That OS is Dead?"

Ya got me. I've been hearing this stuff for years now.

The fact that new accounts can no longer be opened- as happens most weekends- has caused some to think the Apocalypse is near.
The Big Salon financial status is a bit shaky though.

Yes, Ian, but as early as on FRIDAY?

What happened Friday?

Phyllis: it's in part due to the fact that Salon.com has had no replacement staff for nearly a whole month. As of the end of last month, they lost both their CEO and CFO. No new replacements since that point.
Also, fiscally, Salon is in the red, deeply in debt, up to its eyebrows.
The facts are these.
They cannot be refuted.
I've seen the online official financial report myself.

No one is sure about anything, but without some post from the Ed-i-Tor, I guess we'll continue to flounder on... no disrespect to the fishies.

The sky is falling, the sky is falling :)

Oh they may stay running for a while, at my last job there were people who worked for almost two months before they figured out the promised paycheck wasn't coming that time. Then the site just died. I assume the state came and took all the servers and stuff to sell to make payroll, who knows, or cares really.

Our old boss was able to get investors to cough up millions for a decade, Salon could find someone to plunk in a few million and surprise us all. It's not over until it's over, on the day it doesn't load we'll know it's done. Until then keep blogging.

I have to go, a two year old is into something...

Phyllis - Yes, and yes. Kerry admitted last year that the hardware/software running OS weren't up to handling all the spam. The plan at the time was to move OS to WordPress after big Salon finished its migration. The OS move never happened - if it had, Kerry would have been crowing about it. So, we're on a shaky platform.

The way Salon Media has been bleeding money for years makes everyone wonder about it's future. The fact that a couple of C level types have recently left adds to that uncertainty.

The total lack of communication is just the icing on the cake.

It's understandable why the outage triggered this reaction.

OS will no longer exist at some point, and there will probably be no warning when it goes. So, it's good to have an emergency meeting place and to back up everything you want to save.

- Mark

We got trouble, oh yes we got trouble right here. With a capital T and that rhymes with P and that stand for Pool (or OS or whatever).

@Mark: yes! Thanks for clarifying. It really is probably not going to be saved,as it has been listed in the top ten companies ready to go down for the count--that was at a business news website.
all the signs of imminent demise are there.
It might be nice to have Gandalf come riding on Shadowfax at the last minute, but I'm going to prepare for both contingencies.

Well, I know I left Salon.com when they told me I had to pay money to make a comment. That was just to comment. I would, however, now that I know OS, gladly pay to blog here. I just hope they don't make a sliding scale saying the more you blog, the more you owe.

I get the lack of security engendered by no one at the C level.

I get the shock of going dead Thursday. I was shocked, too. But glitches happen.

Salon could coordinate with MSNBC, if it comes to that. They'll probably offer Joan a job if Salon goes under since she's on there a lot, anyway.

LL, :)

Bleue, what scammers. I had a contractor do that to me in the 80's when I was trying to learn how to do drywall for a living.

Mark, I can see where backing up is a good idea, and getting addresses of friends is good, too. So anyone that wants to PM me an address, I'll take it. I'll be handing mine out, too.

MM, :P

Their financial numbers have been posted elsewhere and they're very bad. Adjusting for scale, they're in much worse shape than Greece is. Has anyone got an in with Merkel?

@Abrawang: That wouldn't be me....
But maybe one of the big cheeses here might have an in somewhere.

Could Salon be the company that someone is using for a tax write off? I hear some corporations do that- run a company at a loss to lower their overall tax burden.

Phyllis, that is a very interesting theory. Only, let's cover all bases, just to be certain.

Okay, cover the bases, but can we still have fun? The whole Top Rated is OS is dying. What happened to Freaky Friday on OS? And spammers are controlling the feed in my estimation because the prevailing topic is depressing. We've proven we can drive them out. Why aren't we doing that?

Ooh, I'm just frustrated. I feel powerless to control, powerless to add anything of value, and powerless to keep the friends I've made here, and these posts aren't helping.

I'm signing off and going to bed. THAT I can control.

I think this started because there was an article somewhere a couple days ago speculating that Salon would soon be going belly up due to their precarious finances. It's over-reaction, but it's not a bad idea to back up all your posts just to be safe.

I can't seem to stay logged in to post anything or even read my PMs.

Grrr.

If these are death throes, I'm going to get a frickin' chainsaw and just finish the job.

Cranky, thanks. I was reading this as hysterics, a bit. I will finally start backing them up, though.

D, I don't have those issues. Strange that the issues aren't universal. Leads me to think it's a browser or internet connection.

Folks should go read some of the Reader's Picks:
http://open.salon.com/blog/os_readers_picks/2012/06/18/os_readers_picks

There's still good stuff on here.

Oh, and rate it, too, so it gets on the feed and direct traffic to some great writing.

I get that folks are concerned, but I'm not sure we're accomplishing much by repeating rumors. I did like sagemerlin's post about how to recreate/buy/steal OS and the really good comments. If I gotta vote for a favorite meta-OS-total-destruction post, that would be it.

I just started a new, more focused, blog on OS just a couple days ago, opening a new account to do so. I'm guessing even if Salon folds or disassembles, OS will live on in some fashion. This community of voices must be valuable to someone, for better or worse.

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

The lack of communication from the bigwigs is deafening!!!!

I wish someone would come out and just say, WE ARE DOOM!!! LOSE ALL HOPE THEY WHO ENTER HERE...:D

both! neither!
are the answers to your questions.
remember yr Blake:
"What seems to be, is,
to those to whom
It seems to be,
and is productive of the most dreadful
Consequences to those to whom it seems to be,
even of
Torments, despair, eternal death.''

I was away a few days, and I get back on OS and it freaked me out to read how many people thought the site was going down for good. But I remembered that two Decembers back, it was the same thing. Maybe this is a periodic phenomenon among certain OSers, the way others of us go through existential crises or panic attacks? Anyway, I hope it's not true.

@alysa. we are microcosmic of the society.
society goes thru this apocalyptic nonsense every so often..macrocosmically..
anyway that is my pointy headed diagnosis.

Well, they aren't allowing new members. And obviously no one is tending the spam servers because they usually eradicate the new bloggers who do so - it takes hours and hours, but it has been 12 hours and the same spammers have been allowed to do theur dirty work. It is worse than ever. The entire feed is filled with their crap. HAHA, no one has been on line for a while so it's wasted effort. I know this because my feed on my right side has literally stayed the same and I have over 250 favorites. They change by the minute, usually, but again, it's been hours.

Personally, I think they are getting ready to charge a fee. Which is alright with me, I would pay to stay, and if there are 2 or 3 others that cannot afford it, I would sponsor them. I feel confident there are others that would follow suit.

If it's knly a debt issue, why don't we ask Congress for a bailout? Or better yet, the EU. I hear that Angela Merkel is feeljng quite generous these days. . . .

But la Merkel wants payment ON TIME! MACH SCHNELL!
Otherwise she'll make a phonecall. She "knows people".

No-o-o-o! Not the phone call!!!

i dunno, phyllis. i get smacked down everytime i say something
so i suppose tis best to follow george's advice..
"nuff said."

i had so much to ask him about why, why shut us guys & gals
down? with cutting comments?

no answer. so what.

i learned retreat. and i learned a big so f-ing what
regarding the world.

"you're a fool here
if ya think ya got anything left to prove...
excuse me gentlemen,
dont get up
just passing thru"

etc. onward to the end.............

I know what you mean, James. Damned if you do & Damned if you don't. So all we can do is let the ranters rant & the ravers rave and carry on with our party.

Just know that your erudition is always welcome.

Well I was one of the those who assumed such a thing ( I am kind of new)..but only because my pms were clogged with links saying so...I feel better having read this thread thread.. and hurray for false alarms...yeah ?

edit* just one "thread"

Brianne, it wigged me out, too, but mostly the hysteria and running in circles. Glad things have calmed down, that's for sure.