Hey, all -
It's been a long while since I've been here.
I just wanted to make a public announcement that my website:
The Anchorpoint Essays is now closed. The domain came up for renewal earlier in the month, and I chose not to renew it. Why? Well, there were multiple reasons. But the key reason is time - or a lack there of to do what needs to be done to the site. I hadn't updated the site in almost 5 years through a combination of a lack of time and motivation. Family and work were the primary factors in this - My youngest son was born around the time of the last updates. I also was in the process of setting up my own business at the time as well.
There is also the fact that the site was in
dire need of being revamped to a more modern design... it still used frames for Christ's sake! It was basically operating under the exact same structure as it was originally designed in back in 1997. No Style Sheets, no Flash, nothing... Hell, the site still utilized little tiny QuickTime movies that didn't stream for video! It needed a
MAJOR overhaul! But I wasn't up for that given that the site had close to 200 pages. Between a family and two jobs the time needed to revamp the site was just too much to invest.
I am also not a biologist. The time needed to research aspects of the material for the site was harder to come by. New ideas and discoveries crop up regularly that have an impact on the material presented in the site. As it was there were several areas in the site that were no longer considered to be theoretically sound.
There is also the nagging fact that in the past couple of years I had come to seriously question the site's relevance in the over scheme of the ALIEN fan community. When it was first created it was unique and original. There was nothing like it. Now.... not so much. In part: because of the information and the way that information was offered. Also in part due to the out-dated aspect of the site's design. Currently, at any given time you can throw a stick and hit about half a dozen sites that analyze the alien's biology and origins. Is that a bad thing? No. But due to a lack of work on
The Anchorpoint Essays it had fallen into obscurity. It had officially become a "has been."
I don't regret the decision to close the site and not renew the domain. It had a great run! And it may have been one of the longest running ALIEN fan sites on the internet - 17 years (January 1997 - July 2014). ...It started as a GeoCities page - for those of you old enough to understand what that means.
When I created it I was single and living alone in a studio apartment! Now I'm married with a family, run a department, as well as run my own company.
The Anchorpoint Essays was shown on the Sci-Fi Channel in 1997; received a write-up in the Sci-Fi Channel's magazine later that year in conjunction with the theatrical release of
ALIEN RESURRECTION; I have met numerous people who have worked on the ALIEN franchise (both film, novels, and comics) because of the site; I have been interviewed over the phone, via Skype, and email about the site and the ALIEN franchise; I was flown out to Hollywood and interviewed for the Special Features of the AVP:R DVD (these can be seen on the European and Japanese DVD releases of the film); I was presented with the ALIENS Legacy Gold Award at DragonCon 2008 for my work on the site... Just to name a few things that occurred because of
The Anchorpoint Essays. For everything I have experienced, been a part of, and for those I have met I am very grateful. None of it would have happened if it weren't for
The Anchorpoint Essays. ...That's not entirely true: if it weren't for the fans of the site I wouldn't have experienced any of that, because if the site had fallen flat upon launching (as I had originally thought that it would) none of of that would have happened. So, I owe all of that to the fans of the site who kept it going, and kept my drive up for so many years. If it weren't for the fans of the site then none of these things would have been possible. Hell, the site even closed down for about a year following repeated hacks, and it was brought back because of numerous requests from fans and folks in Hollywood.
I am sorry if I am letting fans down by closing the site, but I feel the site has run it's course, and has well out-lived anyone's expected presence on the internet.
I am maintaining the rights to the written material and original graphics from the site - including the site logo. With all of the work that went into the site I want to maintain control over it in case I decide to use that material elsewhere down the road.
...and no, that doesn't mean I have any specific plans for it.
Thanks again everyone.
This is Mike Lynch of
The Anchorpoint Essays signing off.