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The '''Oddworld Forums''' are an unofficial Internet message board for fans of [[Oddworld]].
The <b><dfn>Oddworld Forums</dfn></b> is an Internet message board for fans of [[Oddworld]]. They are unofficial and have never been owned by [[Oddworld Inhabitants]]. Its registered members include past and present Oddworld Inhabitants employees and other [[Oddworld videogames|Oddworld videogame]] developers.


== History ==
The Oddworld Forums were founded in <time>2000</time> by [[Sydney|Sydney Cander]], who co-administered the site alongside [[Abe Babe]] until she left the community in <time>2002</time>. Its owners since then have been Abe Babe and [[Alcar]]. For a while, they identified the site as a component of [[OddNet]] along with their respective fansites [[Oddworld-Web]] and [[Oddworld Universe]], and the IRC channel [[OddChat]].
'''Oddworldian Forums''' was first created on ezboard on 11 May 2000 to accompany [[Oddworldian]], the fansite of [[Sydney|Sydney Cander]].{ref name="FOM10"/> Fan Corner was opened on 30 June 2000 to accomodate fan fiction stories.<ref name="FCopens"/> Some time between 11 and 19 July the message board was renamed Oddworld Forums.<ref name="AbeBabeJoinsEC"/><ref name="FirstOWF"/> Sydney made [[Abe Babe]] co-administrator of the Forums at the start of July in advance of her opening of [[Oddworld-Web]].<ref name="AbeBabeAdmin"/><ref name="OWWOddworldian"/><ref name="OWWOWW"/>
 
Posting on the the Oddworld Forums was permanently suspended on <time datetime="2022-04-14">14 April 2022</time>, at which time the message board contained 20 878 threads, 626 501 posts and 14 476 registered members.
 
== Software ==
Early versions of the Oddworld Forums were hosted on ezboard and Ultimate Bulletin Board, but from <time>2001</time> it was hosted on a server running vBulletin. Although there were considerations to move them to XenForo,<ref name="Oddworld Forums XenForo"/> the Oddworld Forums still run on vBulletin 3.8.7, which was released by vBulletin in <time datetime="2011-02">February 2011</time>.<ref name="vBulletin 3.8.7 release"/> vBulletin stopped supporting vBulletin 3 in <time>2017</time>.<ref name="vBulletin 3 end of life"/>
 
== Structure ==
The Oddworld Forums is divided into a number of individual message boards or forums, each one dedicated to a broad topic, so that users' posts are organised according to subject matter. For instance, [[Oddworld Discussion]] is where most posts about Oddworld are made while [[Forum Suggestions & Help]] contains posts about the Oddworld Forums themselves. Moderators would move posts that were created in the wrong forum. Users can begin a discussion by creating a ‘thread’ inside a forum, to which other members can reply with their own posts. Each thread is a sequence of posts ordered by the time they were published. The forum software does not allow for branching conversations, so often when the topics of a conversation diverge significantly, a member of staff will manually create a new thread move posts into it.
 
The forums are nested for organizational purposes, with user priviledges such as moderator powers being inherited by those boards contained within others, although user content within each forum remains independent. The highest levels of boards cannot be posted in and exist purely for organization. On the Oddworld Forums these are called ‘Zulags’, named after the fictional areas dividing up the factory [[RuptureFarms]] in the [[Oddworld videogames|game]] <cite>[[Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee]]</cite>.
 
The current forum structure of the Oddworld Forums is as follows.


The Oddworld Forums later changed to Ultimate Bulletin Board and eventually vBulletin. It has remained on vBulletin ever since, although in times when the Forums’ server went down a temporary board was created on ezboard.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! Zulag
! Forum
! Subforum
! Description
! Access
|-
| rowspan="7" | [[Zulag One]]
| rowspan="5" | [[Oddworld Discussion]]
|
| style="text-align: left;" | Talk about things such as upcoming games, paramite pie recipes, evolution of different Oddworldian species etc. Anything you wish.
| style="text-align: left;" |
|-
| [[Oddworld Mods & Hacks]]
| style="text-align: left;" | Discuss how to backwards-engineer the Oddworld games, extract their assets and create editing tools and new levels.
| style="text-align: left;" |
|-
| [[Oddworld Let's Plays and Speedruns]]
| style="text-align: left;" | Share your gameplay videos and discuss how to shave fractions of seconds off your runtime. May contain spoilers.
| style="text-align: left;" |
|-
| [[Citizen Siege Discussion]]
| style="text-align: left;" | Discuss this new intellectual property from the creators of Oddworld, currently planned as a feature film and video games.
| style="text-align: left;" | Hidden and inaccessible to non-staff members
|-
| [[OIPT Oddlympics]]
| style="text-align: left;" | Here you can participate in the Oddlympics, an extension of the famous OIPT. You can win points by placing bets on characters in different events.
| style="text-align: left;" | Hidden
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Spoiler Forum]]
| style="text-align: left;" | Threads that may contain New 'n' Tasty spoilers should be made in this forum. Please see our Spoiler Policy for more information.
| style="text-align: left;" | Hidden
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Oddworld Help]]
| style="text-align: left;" | Stuck in the game? Need technical help? Here you can post questions and receive answers from others.
| style="text-align: left;" |
|-
| rowspan="4" | [[Zulag Two]]
| colspan="2" | [[Forum Suggestions & Help]]
| style="text-align: left;" | As a member oriented forum, we welcome suggestions and feedback from members to make OWF a place for all. Please post forum help questions and banner requests here also.
| style="text-align: left;" |
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Welcomes & Birthdays]]
| style="text-align: left;" | New here?  Post a welcome thread to let people know you are new. Or if you want to wish fellow members happy birthday, do it here also.
| style="text-align: left;" |
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Off-Topic Discussion]]
| style="text-align: left;" | Post your off-topic threads here. This is the place where you can talk about miscellaneous things that aren't related to Oddworld.
| style="text-align: left;" |
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Non-Oddworld Gaming]]
| style="text-align: left;" | Discuss all your non-Oddworld gaming related topics, from the latest first person shooter to how to pass that last level on your favourite adventure title.
| style="text-align: left;" |
|-
| rowspan="4" | [[Zulag Three]]
| rowspan="2" | [[Fan Corner]]
|
| style="text-align: left;" | Like to write Oddworld fan fiction? Enjoy making fan art? Here is where you can view or post fan fics & art to receive feedback.
| style="text-align: left;" |
|-
| [[Non-Oddworld Art & Literature]]
| style="text-align: left;" | Showcase your non-Oddworld related art and literature, or provide feedback on the work of other members.
| style="text-align: left;" |
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Oddworld RPG]]
|
| style="text-align: left;" | Join in the fun of the Oddworld Role Playing Game. Take on a character and transport yourself to the world of Oddworld.
| style="text-align: left;" |
|-
| [[Info (temp)]]
| style="text-align: left;" | New 'n' Tasty. Coming Soon!
| style="text-align: left;" | Hidden and inaccessible to non-staff members
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Zulag Four]]
| colspan="2" | [[Employee Lounge]]
| style="text-align: left;" | A seperate forum for Administrators and Moderators to discuss forum related issues.
| style="text-align: left;" | Accessible only to current and former staff members
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Necrum Burial Grounds]]
| style="text-align: left;" | A forum where old topics come to rest. Please note that archived topics are for viewing only, and new topics can't be created or replied to.
| style="text-align: left;" | Posts can't be created
|}


== Staff ==
== Staff ==
{{Main|Oddworld Forums staff}}
{{Main|Oddworld Forums staff}}
The Forums' current administrators are [[Nate]], [[Wil]] and [[Xavier]]. The staff also includes Super Moderator [[JayDee]]. There are currently no moderators below this rank. Abe Babe and Alcar retain the highest administrative powers but have the rank of ‘Owners’ to distinguish them from active moderators. They are the only two members of staff to have server access.
== History ==
[[Sydney]] first created the <b>Oddworldian Forums</b> using ezboard on <time datetime="2000-05-11">11 May 2000</time> to accompany her Oddworld fansite, [[Oddworldian]].<ref name="Sydney Fan of the Month"/> Later, Super Moderator [[Pilot]] would claim this was an act of vengeance against the administrator of the older Oddworld fan community, [[Exoddus Club]], a private Yahoo! Club.<ref name="Pilot posts Sad Day Blasphemy"/> Sydney contended that this was not a motivation in the Forums' creation, which pre-dated her disagreement with that community.<ref name="Sydney posts Sad Day Oddworldian"/>
Fan Corner was opened on <time datetime="2000-06-30">30 June 2000</time> to accomodate fan fiction stories.<ref name="Fan Corner opens"/> Some time between <time datetime="2000-07-11">11</time> and <time datetime="2000-07-19">19 July</time> the message board was renamed Oddworld Forums.<ref name="AbeBabeJoinsEC"/><ref name="FirstOWF"/> Sydney made [[Abe Babe]] co-administrator of the Forums at the start of <time datetime="2000-07">July</time> in advance of the opening of her fansite, [[Oddworld-Web]].<ref name="AbeBabeAdmin"/><ref name="OWWOddworldian"/><ref name="OWWOWW"/>
After receiving a number of complaints about the increased number of adverts appearing on the Oddworld Forums, Sydney, Abe Babe and [[Elum (fan)|Elum]] decided to create new Oddworld Forums powered by Ultimate Bulletin Board (<abbr title="Ultimate Bulletin Board"><dfn>UBB</dfn></abbr>), an ad-free system. These were opened on <time datetime="2001-04-12">12 April 2001</time>.<ref name="ubbez"/><ref name="ubbubb"/> Alcar would later allege that Sydney's copy of UBB was pirated.<ref name="Alcar UBB pirated"/>
On <time datetime="2001-10-28">28 October 2001</time>, Sydney released the <cite>[[Munch's Oddysee]]</cite> skin.<ref name="Munch's Oddysee forum skin"/> On <time datetime="2001-12-24">24 December 2001</time>, Abe Babe enabled vBulletin's Private Messaging feature, along with Buddy Lists and Ignore Lists.<ref name="Private Messages enabled"/>
In <time datetime="2002-04">April 2002</time> the server that was hosting the Oddworld Forums (along with [[Oddworld-Web]] and [[Oddworldian]]) emailed Sydney and Abe Babe to inform them that they were undergoing a merger, but that because of the size of [[OddNet]] (at the time 150 MB), they would have to switch to a more expensive hosting plan in order to continue on the service. In order to avoid paying these costs, Sydney and Abe Babe accepted an offer by [[Pilot]] to host OddNet on his personal server at no charge.<ref name="server merge"/> The internet connection used by Pilot to hosts the Forums and fansites cost him $175 USD per month.<ref name="Pilot posts Sad Day Blasphemy"/>
On <time datetime="2002-08-10">10 August 2002</time>, Sydney temporarily disabled member registration to prevent the user [[Havoc]] from creating multiple user accounts to spam the forums.<ref name="Havoc registration off"/> Following the Havoc incident, new members required manual activation by an administrator before being given posting priviledges.<ref name="Sydney confirms member verification"/><ref name="Sl'askia confirms member verification"/>
On <time datetime="2002-08-17">17 August 2002</time>, Abe Babe removed administrative powers from Sydney, resulting in what was later referred to as the [[Oddworld Forums–Glass Asylum schism]]. During this time, a number of members—including staff members—left the Forums, necessitating the installation of a number of new moderators. This was done via member voting, establishing a precedent for this process. In retaliation for having her admin rights revoked, Sydney deleted the original ezboard Oddworld Forums.<ref name="Pilot ezboard deleted"/>
She also requested that her graphics and site styles be removed from Oddworld Forums.<ref name="Sydney requests art removed"/> In order to grant this request, on <time datetime="2002-08-24">24 August 2002</time>, Abe Babe released a new Native style<ref name="native style introduced Xavier"/><ref name="native style introduced"/> to replace Sydney's styles, and planned to create an Industrial style within the next ‘couple of weeks’.<ref name="industrial style planned"/> Other changes planned by Abe Babe, Pilot and Alcar included a new board for Oddworld Forums feedback and suggestions.<ref name="Abe Babe new administration plans"/>
On <time datetime="2002-10-13">13 October 2002</time>, Pilot installed Microsoft <abbr title="Internet Security and Acceleration">ISA</abbr> Enterprise Edition on the server running Oddworld Forums.<ref name="Pilot installed MS ISA"/>
On <time datetime="2004-04-13">13 April 2004</time>, Abe Babe released the new Industrial style for the Forums, which became its default; users could still choose to use the Native style by selecting it from the control panel. Alongside this, new profile fields allowed members for the first to specify their gender and favourite films and games.<ref name="industrial style introduced"/>
In <time datetime="2006-03-13T17:00Z">March 2006</time>, a small number of staff and established members created an account called [[Wired]] and used it to post under the pretense of being a real person. Although intended as a victimless joke, when this was discovered, a number of members were upset with the staff for breaking their own rules against having multiple accounts. Then-moderators [[Havoc]] and [[T-nex]] attempted to remove and replace administrator [[Alcar]].<ref name="Havoc attempts coup"/> Shortly afterwards, one member who was particularly upset by Wired—[http://owforums.net/member.php?u=1383 Dipstikk]—asked [[Havoc]] to delete their artwork from the Forums, and Havoc obliged by deleting over 40 of their threads. To prevent historical content from being lost, Alcar activated Edit Locking, a feature that preventing users being able to edit posts more than an hour after first being made.<ref name="Alcar activates Edit Locking"/> After complaints, Alcar increased this limit to one week.<ref name="Alcar increases Edit Locking to 1 week"/>
=== Closure ===
In <time datetime="2020-11">November 2020</time>, a DNS issue caused the Oddworld Forums to become inaccessible at their usual web address of <kbd class="uri">oddworldforums.net</kbd>.<ref name="Varrok notes oddworldforums.net down"/> After being unable to contact [[Abe Babe]], Alcar registered a new address for the site, <kbd class="uri">owforums.net</kbd>.<ref name="Alcar registers new address"/> In <time datetime="2022-02">February 2022</time>, the Forums began to degrade, with text strings disappearing, including from buttons and dropdown menus,<ref name="OWF styles break down - Crashpunk"/><ref name="OWF styles break down - SlashClaw"/> and certain functions breaking such as navigation links,<ref name="Broken navigation links"/> the user control panel,<ref name="Broken user control panel"/> and reporting posts to administrators.<ref name="Broken post reporting"/>
In <time datetime="2022-03">March 2022</time>, [[Nate]] announced that he would disable posting,<ref name="Nate announces posting will stop"/> later clarifying that this would take place on <time datetime="2022-04-11">11 April</time>—20 years to the day since he joined the Oddworld Forums<ref name="Nate joins Oddworld Forums"/>—but that the website would remain online to view and read.<ref name="Nate announces date of closure"/> Nate eventually disabled posting on <time datetime="2022-04-14">14 April</time>, posting a final farewell message<ref name="Nate's final post"/> and directing viewers to the [[Oddworld Forums Discord]].<ref name="Nate's final announcement"/>


== References ==
== References ==
<references>
<references>
<ref name="FOM10">'''Cander, Sydney (?)'''. ‘[http://oddworld.com/firsttenyears/alf/ow_fan10.shtml Fan of the Month 10]’, interview with Sydney and Abe Babe by Alf. Alf’s Rehab and Tea. Official Oddworld website.</ref>
  <ref name="Oddworld Forums XenForo">
    <b>Oddworld Forums staff
      (<time datetime="2010-09-10T05:18"
        >10 September 2010</time
      > –
      <time datetime="2011-04-23T20:46"
        >23 April 2011</time
      >)</b
    >.
    ‘[http://owforums.net/showthread.php?t=19632 XenForo]’.
    Employee Lounge.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="vBulletin 3.8.7 release">
    <b>Harris, Adrian
      (<time datetime="2011-02-28T14:01"
        >28 February 2011</time
      >)</b
    >.
    ‘[https://forum.vbulletin.com/forum/vbulletin-announcements/vbulletin-announcements_aa/383398-vbulletin-3-8-7-and-vbulletin-blog-2-0-3-maintenance-releases vBulletin 3.8.7 and vBulletin Blog 2.0.3 maintenance releases]’.
    vBulletin Announcements.
    vBulletin support forums.
    MH Sub I, LLC.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="vBulletin 3 end of life">
    <b>Luke, Wayne
      (<time datetime="2017-12-28"
        >28 December 2017</time
      >)</b
    >.
    ‘[https://forum.vbulletin.com/forum/vbulletin-3-8/vbulletin-3-8-questions-problems-and-troubleshooting/4383928-vbulletin-3-x-end-of-life vBulletin 3.X End of Life ]’.
    vBulletin 3.8 Support & Troubleshooting.
    vBulletin support forums.
    MH Sub I, LLC.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="Sydney Fan of the Month">
    <b>Cander, Sydney
      (<time datetime="2001-08-01"
        >1 August 2001</time
      >)</b
    >.
    ‘[http://oddworldlibrary.net/archives/web/oddworld.com/firsttenyears/alf/ow_fan10.shtml Fan of the Month 10]’,
    interview with Sydney and Abe Babe by Alf.
    Alf's Rehab and Tea.
    Official Oddworld website.
    Archived by HTTrack Website Copier/3.x
      (<time datetime="2010-08-14T22:19:05Z"
        >14 August 2010</time
      >).
    Odd Wide Web.
    Oddworld Archives.
    Oddworld Library.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="Fan Corner opens">
    <b>Cander, Sydney
      (<time datetime="2000-06-30"
        >30 June 2000</time
      >)</b
    >.
    ‘Fan corner’.
    News item on Oddworldian.
    Archived by the [http://web.archive.org/web/20000823113035/http://www.oddworldian.net/ Wayback Machine]
      (<time datetime="2000-08-23T11:30:35Z"
        >23 August 2000</time
      >).
    Internet Archive.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="AbeBabeJoinsEC">
    <b>Abe Babe
      (<time datetime="2000-07-11"
        >11 July 2000</time
      >)</b
    >.
    ‘[http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/exoddusclub/message/2485 Oddworld Feature Film]’.
    Message 2485 on the Exoddus Club.
    Yahoo! Groups.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="FirstOWF">
    <b>Cander, Sydney
      (<time datetime="2000-07-19"
        >19 July 2000</time
      >)</b
    >.
    ‘Fanart section’.
    News item on Oddworldian.
    Archived by the [http://web.archive.org/web/20000823113035/http://www.oddworldian.net/ Wayback Machine]
      (<time datetime="2000-08-23T11:30:35Z"
        >23 August 2000</time
      >).
    Internet Archive.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="AbeBabeAdmin">
    <b>Cander, Sydney
      (c. <time datetime="2000-07-02"
        >2 July 2000</time
      >)</b
    >.
    ‘Introducing our new Forum Administrator...’.
    Thread title only on p. 13 of Necrum Burial Grounds.
    Oddworld Forums.
    Archived by the [http://web.archive.org/web/20020107163711/http://pub10.ezboard.com/foddworldianfrm5?page=13 Wayback Machine]
      (<time datetime="2002-01-07T16:37:11Z"
        >7 January 2002</time
      >).
    Internet Archive.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="OWWOddworldian">
    <b>Cander, Sydney
      (<time datetime="2000-08-31"
        >31 August 2000</time
      >)</b
    >.
    ‘Oddworld-Web opens and new fanart’.
    News item on Oddworldian.
    Archived by the [http://web.archive.org/web/20010425095644/http://www.oddworldian.net/archive_augsep.shtml Wayback Machine]
      (<time datetime="2001-04-25T09:56:44Z"
        >25 April 2001</time
      >).
    Internet Archive.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="OWWOWW">
    <b>Abe Babe
      (<time datetime="2000-08-31"
        >31 August 2000</time
      >)</b
    >.
    ‘Oddworld-Web goes Online’.
    News item on Oddworld-Web.
    Archived by the [http://web.archive.org/web/20010501111933/http://oddworld.nflboards.com/necrum-mines/archive/2000-sept.htm Wayback Machine]
      (<time datetime="2001-05-01T11:19:33Z"
        >1 May 2001</time
      >).
    Internet Archive.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="ubbez">
    <b>Abe Babe
      (<time datetime="2001-04-12"
        >12 April 2001</time
      >)</b
    >.
    ‘Announcement: Oddworld Forums is Moving!!!’.
    Off-Topic Discussion.
    Oddworld Forums.
    Archived by the [http://web.archive.org/web/20010725120659/http://pub10.ezboard.com/foddworldianfrm6.showMessage?topicID=581.topic Wayback Machine]
      (<time datetime="2001-07-25T12:06:59Z"
        >25 July 2001</time
      >).
    Internet Archive.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="ubbubb">
    <b>Cander, Sydney
      (<time datetime="2001-04-13T10:26Z"
        >13 April 2001</time
      >)</b
    >.
    ‘[http://www.owforums.net/showthread.php?t=566 Welcome to Oddworld General Discussion]’.
    Oddworld Discussion.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="Alcar UBB pirated">
    <b>Alcar
      (<time datetime="2002-10-01T09:48:40Z"
        >1 October 2002</time
      >)</b
    >.
    [http://owforums.net/showthread.php?p=88876#post88876 Post 5] in ‘TGA Truth Revealed’.
    Oddworld Discussion.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="server merge">
    <b>Cander, Sydney
      (<time datetime="2002-02-09T06:18Z"
        >9 February 2002</time
      >)</b
    >.
    ‘[http://www.owforums.net/showthread.php?t=459 Important Oddworld Forums Announcement]’.
    Forum Suggestions & Help.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="Munch's Oddysee forum skin">
    <b>Cander, Sydney
      (<time datetime="2001-10-28T08:46Z"
        >28 October 2001</time
      >)</b
    >.
    ‘[http://www.owforums.net/showthread.php?t=398 Announcement: Oddworld Forums' New Look]’.
    Oddworld Discussion.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="Private Messages enabled">
    <b>Abe Babe
      (<time datetime="2001-12-24T07:16Z"
        >24 December 2001</time
      >)</b
    >.
    ‘[http://www.owforums.net/showthread.php?t=295 Announcement: Private Messages Enabled]’.
    Oddworld Discussion.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>
 
  <!--
    <ref name="Sydney disables deletion">
      <b>Alcar
        (<time datetime="2002-08-16T19:11:01Z"
          >16 August 2002</time
        >)</b
      >.
      [http://owforums.net/showthread.php?p=81649#post81649 Post 12] in ‘Sligster's animal quiz!’.
      Off-Topic Discussion.
      Oddworld Forums.
    </ref>
  -->
 
  <ref name="Havoc registration off">
    <b>Sydney
      (<time datetime="2002-08-16T19:11:01Z"
        >16 August 2002</time
      >)</b
    >.
    [http://owforums.net/showthread.php?p=80710#post80710 Post 16] in ‘Spam#3’.
    Off-Topic Discussion.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="Sydney confirms member verification">
    <b>Sydney
      (<time datetime="2002-08-15T05:21:49Z"
        >15 August 2002</time
      >)</b
    >.
    [http://owforums.net/showthread.php?p=81379#post81379 Post 86] in ‘The Odd Tour Gallery’.
    Off-Topic Discussion.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="Sl'askia confirms member verification">
    <b>Sl'askia
      (<time datetime="2002-08-16T16:51:58Z"
        >16 August 2002</time
      >)</b
    >.
    [http://owforums.net/showthread.php?p=81627#post81627 Post 92] in ‘The Odd Tour Gallery’.
    Off-Topic Discussion.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="Pilot posts Sad Day Blasphemy">
    <b>Pilot
      (<time datetime="2002-08-18T09:07:19Z"
        >18 August 2002</time
      >)</b
    >.
    [http://owforums.net/showthread.php?p=82007#post82007 Post 81] in ‘A sad day today’.
    Off-Topic Discussion.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="Sydney posts Sad Day Oddworldian">
    <b>Sydney
      (<time datetime="2002-08-18T09:23:09Z"
        >18 August 2002</time
      >)</b
    >.
    [http://owforums.net/showthread.php?p=82011#post82011 Post 85] in ‘A sad day today’.
    Off-Topic Discussion.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="Sydney requests art removed">
    <b>Sydney
      (<time datetime="2002-08-19T04:55:22Z"
        >19 August 2002</time
      >)</b
    >.
    [http://owforums.net/showthread.php?p=82100#post82100 Post 25] in ‘Old Bologna’.
    Forum Suggestions & Help.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="native style introduced Xavier">
    <b>Xavier
      (<time datetime="2002-08-24T20:39:09Z"
        >24 August 2002</time
      >)</b
    >.
    ‘[http://owforums.net/showthread.php?t=6176 new desing!]’.
    Forum Suggestions & Help.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="native style introduced">
    <b>Abe Babe
      (<time datetime="2002-08-24T20:48:47Z"
        >24 August 2002</time
      >)</b
    >.
    ‘[http://www.owforums.net/showthread.php?t=6175 Oddworld Forums New Layout]’.
    Forum Suggestions & Help.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="industrial style planned">
    <b>Abe Babe
      (<time datetime="2002-08-27T13:13:08Z"
        >27 August 2002</time
      >)</b
    >.
    [http://owforums.net/showthread.php?p=83437#post83437 Post 29] in ‘Oddworld Forums New Layout’.
    Forum Suggestions & Help.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="Abe Babe new administration plans">
    <b>Abe Babe
      (<time datetime="2002-08-19T06:50:04Z"
        >19 August 2002</time
      >)</b
    >.
    [http://owforums.net/showthread.php?p=82120#post82120 Post 30] in ‘Old Bologna’.
    Off-Topic Discussion.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="industrial style introduced">
    <b>Abe Babe
      (<time datetime="2004-04-13T01:43Z"
        >13 April 2004</time
      >)</b
    >.
    ‘[http://www.owforums.net/showthread.php?t=7754 New Layout]’.
    Forum Suggestions & Help.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="Pilot ezboard deleted">
    <b>Pilot
      (<time datetime="2002-10-08T11:36:46Z"
        >8 October 2002</time
      >)</b
    >.
    [http://owforums.net/showthread.php?p=89810#post89810 Post 17] in ‘TGA Truth Revealed’.
    Employee Lounge.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="Pilot installed MS ISA">
    <b>Pilot
      (<time datetime="2002-10-13T04:35:24Z"
        >13 October 2002</time
      >)</b
    >.
    ‘[http://owforums.net/showthread.php?t=6611 New Security measures]’.
    Employee Lounge.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="Havoc attempts coup">
    <b>SeaRex
      (<time datetime="2006-05-05T18:11"
        >5 May 2006</time
      >)</b
    >.
    [http://owforums.net/showthread.php?p=250935#post250935 Post 117] in ‘Hilarity of OWF's History’.
    Off-Topic Discussion.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="Alcar activates Edit Locking">
    <b>Alcar
      (<time datetime="2006-05-30T04:23"
        >30 May 2006</time
      >)</b
    >.
    [http://owforums.net/showthread.php?p=253756#post253756 Post 12] in ‘Um.. Edit Button?’.
    Forum Suggestions & Help.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="Alcar increases Edit Locking to 1 week">
    <b>Alcar
      (<time datetime="2006-05-31T12:49"
        >31 May 2006</time
      >)</b
    >.
    [http://owforums.net/showthread.php?p=253940#post253940 Post 31] in ‘Um.. Edit Button?’.
    Forum Suggestions & Help.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="Varrok notes oddworldforums.net down">
    <b>Varrok
      (<time datetime="2020-11-01T09:56"
        >1 November 2020</time
      >)</b
    >.
    [https://discord.com/channels/164770326943760386/309087612419833866/772398591356567592 Message].
    #oddworld_discussions.
    Oddworld Forums.
    Discord.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="Alcar registers new address">
    <b>Rose, Nathan
      (<time datetime="2020-11-17T19:31"
        >17 November 2020</time
      >)</b
    >.
    [https://www.facebook.com/groups/35376948279/posts/10158633360788280 Post].
    Oddworld Shitposting (and Oddworld Forums Shitting).
    Facebook.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="OWF styles break down - Crashpunk">
    <b>Crashpunk
      (<time datetime="2022-03-07T18:32"
        >7 March 2022</time
      >)</b
    >.
    [https://discord.com/channels/164770326943760386/309087612419833866/950461071284641842 Message].
    #oddworld_discussions.
    Oddworld Forums.
    Discord.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="OWF styles break down - SlashClaw">
    <b>SlashClaw
      (<time datetime="2022-03-11T13:27"
        >11 March 2022</time
      >)</b
    >.
    ‘[http://owforums.net/showthread.php?t=24796 ]’.
    Forum Suggestions & Help.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="Broken navigation links">
    <b>STM
      (<time datetime="2022-02-19T12:51"
        >19 February 2022</time
      >)</b
    >.
    ‘[http://owforums.net/blog.php?b=5138 If you've found this blog, then well done!]’.
    <cite>Re re ro ro re ro</cite>.
    Blogs.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>
 
  <ref name="Broken user control panel">
    <b>RoryF
      (<time datetime="2022-02-22T12:14"
        >22 February 2022</time
      >)</b
    >.
    Reply 2 to ‘[http://owforums.net/blog.php?b=5138 If you've found this blog, then well done!]’.
    <cite>Re re ro ro re ro</cite>.
    Blogs.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>


<ref name="FCopens">'''Cander, Sydney (30 June 2000)'''. ‘Fan corner’. News item on Oddworldian. Archived by the [http://web.archive.org/web/20000823113035/http://www.oddworldian.net/ Wayback Machine] (23 August 2000).</ref>
  <ref name="Broken post reporting">
    <b>Nate
      (<time datetime="2022-04-06T05:00"
        >6 April 2022</time
      >)</b
    >.
    [http://owforums.net/showthread.php?p=638972#post638972 Post 110] in ‘Going... going... not yet gone’.
    Forum Suggestions & Help.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>


<ref name="AbeBabeJoinsEC">'''Kilgour, Kristen (11 July 2000)'''. ‘[http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/exoddusclub/message/2485 Oddworld Feature Film]’. Message 2485 on the Exoddus Club. Yahoo! Groups.</ref>
  <ref name="Nate announces posting will stop">
    <b>Nate
      (<time datetime="2022-03-04T08:18"
        >4 March 2022</time
      >)</b
    >.
    ‘[http://owforums.net/showthread.php?t=24795 Going... going... not yet gone]’.
    Forum Suggestions & Help.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>


<ref name="FirstOWF">'''Cander, Sydney (19 July 2000)'''. ‘Fanart section’. News item on Oddworldian. Archived by the [http://web.archive.org/web/20000823113035/http://www.oddworldian.net/ Wayback Machine].</ref>
  <ref name="Nate joins Oddworld Forums">
    <b>Oddworld Forums
      (<time datetime="2002-04-11"
        >11 April 2002</time
      >)</b
    >.
    ‘[http://owforums.net/member.php?u=991 Nate's Profile]’.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>


<ref name="AbeBabeAdmin">'''Cander, Sydney (c. 2 July 2000)'''. ‘Introducing our new Forum Administrator...’. Thread title only on p. 13 of Necrum Burial Grounds, Oddworld Forums as archived by the [http://web.archive.org/web/20020107163711/http://pub10.ezboard.com/foddworldianfrm5?page=13 Wayback Machine] (7 January 2002).</ref>
  <ref name="Nate announces date of closure">
    <b>Nate
      (<time datetime="2022-04-09T04:29"
        >9 April 2022</time
      >)</b
    >.
    ‘[http://owforums.net/showthread.php?t=24805 Two more days...]’.
    Forum Suggestions & Help.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>


<ref name="OWWOddworldian">'''Cander, Sydney (31 August 2000)'''. ‘Oddworld-Web opens and new fanart’. News item on Oddworldian. Archived by the [http://web.archive.org/web/20010425095644/http://www.oddworldian.net/archive_augsep.shtml Wayback Machine] (25 April 2001).</ref>
  <ref name="Nate's final post">
    <b>Nate
      (<time datetime="2022-04-14T07:12"
        >14 April 2022</time
      >)</b
    >.
    ‘[http://owforums.net/showthread.php?t=24809 My OWFiversary]’.
    Welcomes & Birthdays.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>


<ref name="OWWOWW">'''Kilgour, Kristen (31 August 2000)'''. ‘Oddworld-Web goes Online’. News item on Oddworld-Web. Archived by the [http://web.archive.org/web/20010501111933/http://oddworld.nflboards.com/necrum-mines/archive/2000-sept.htm Wayback Machine] (1 May 2001).</ref>
  <ref name="Nate's final announcement">
    <b>Nate
      (<time datetime="2022-04-14"
        >14 April 2022</time
      >)</b
    >.
    ‘[http://owforums.net/announcement.php?a=78 Goodbye Oddworld Forums]’.
    Announcement.
    Zulag One.
    Oddworld Forums.
  </ref>
</references>
</references>
[[Category:Oddworld Forums]]
[[Category:Oddworld Forums]]
[[Category:Oddworld fansites]]

Latest revision as of 04:03, 14 April 2022

The Oddworld Forums is an Internet message board for fans of Oddworld. They are unofficial and have never been owned by Oddworld Inhabitants. Its registered members include past and present Oddworld Inhabitants employees and other Oddworld videogame developers.

The Oddworld Forums were founded in by Sydney Cander, who co-administered the site alongside Abe Babe until she left the community in . Its owners since then have been Abe Babe and Alcar. For a while, they identified the site as a component of OddNet along with their respective fansites Oddworld-Web and Oddworld Universe, and the IRC channel OddChat.

Posting on the the Oddworld Forums was permanently suspended on , at which time the message board contained 20 878 threads, 626 501 posts and 14 476 registered members.

Software

Early versions of the Oddworld Forums were hosted on ezboard and Ultimate Bulletin Board, but from it was hosted on a server running vBulletin. Although there were considerations to move them to XenForo,[1] the Oddworld Forums still run on vBulletin 3.8.7, which was released by vBulletin in .[2] vBulletin stopped supporting vBulletin 3 in .[3]

Structure

The Oddworld Forums is divided into a number of individual message boards or forums, each one dedicated to a broad topic, so that users' posts are organised according to subject matter. For instance, Oddworld Discussion is where most posts about Oddworld are made while Forum Suggestions & Help contains posts about the Oddworld Forums themselves. Moderators would move posts that were created in the wrong forum. Users can begin a discussion by creating a ‘thread’ inside a forum, to which other members can reply with their own posts. Each thread is a sequence of posts ordered by the time they were published. The forum software does not allow for branching conversations, so often when the topics of a conversation diverge significantly, a member of staff will manually create a new thread move posts into it.

The forums are nested for organizational purposes, with user priviledges such as moderator powers being inherited by those boards contained within others, although user content within each forum remains independent. The highest levels of boards cannot be posted in and exist purely for organization. On the Oddworld Forums these are called ‘Zulags’, named after the fictional areas dividing up the factory RuptureFarms in the game Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee.

The current forum structure of the Oddworld Forums is as follows.

Zulag Forum Subforum Description Access
Zulag One Oddworld Discussion Talk about things such as upcoming games, paramite pie recipes, evolution of different Oddworldian species etc. Anything you wish.
Oddworld Mods & Hacks Discuss how to backwards-engineer the Oddworld games, extract their assets and create editing tools and new levels.
Oddworld Let's Plays and Speedruns Share your gameplay videos and discuss how to shave fractions of seconds off your runtime. May contain spoilers.
Citizen Siege Discussion Discuss this new intellectual property from the creators of Oddworld, currently planned as a feature film and video games. Hidden and inaccessible to non-staff members
OIPT Oddlympics Here you can participate in the Oddlympics, an extension of the famous OIPT. You can win points by placing bets on characters in different events. Hidden
Spoiler Forum Threads that may contain New 'n' Tasty spoilers should be made in this forum. Please see our Spoiler Policy for more information. Hidden
Oddworld Help Stuck in the game? Need technical help? Here you can post questions and receive answers from others.
Zulag Two Forum Suggestions & Help As a member oriented forum, we welcome suggestions and feedback from members to make OWF a place for all. Please post forum help questions and banner requests here also.
Welcomes & Birthdays New here? Post a welcome thread to let people know you are new. Or if you want to wish fellow members happy birthday, do it here also.
Off-Topic Discussion Post your off-topic threads here. This is the place where you can talk about miscellaneous things that aren't related to Oddworld.
Non-Oddworld Gaming Discuss all your non-Oddworld gaming related topics, from the latest first person shooter to how to pass that last level on your favourite adventure title.
Zulag Three Fan Corner Like to write Oddworld fan fiction? Enjoy making fan art? Here is where you can view or post fan fics & art to receive feedback.
Non-Oddworld Art & Literature Showcase your non-Oddworld related art and literature, or provide feedback on the work of other members.
Oddworld RPG Join in the fun of the Oddworld Role Playing Game. Take on a character and transport yourself to the world of Oddworld.
Info (temp) New 'n' Tasty. Coming Soon! Hidden and inaccessible to non-staff members
Zulag Four Employee Lounge A seperate forum for Administrators and Moderators to discuss forum related issues. Accessible only to current and former staff members
Necrum Burial Grounds A forum where old topics come to rest. Please note that archived topics are for viewing only, and new topics can't be created or replied to. Posts can't be created

Staff

The Forums' current administrators are Nate, Wil and Xavier. The staff also includes Super Moderator JayDee. There are currently no moderators below this rank. Abe Babe and Alcar retain the highest administrative powers but have the rank of ‘Owners’ to distinguish them from active moderators. They are the only two members of staff to have server access.

History

Sydney first created the Oddworldian Forums using ezboard on to accompany her Oddworld fansite, Oddworldian.[4] Later, Super Moderator Pilot would claim this was an act of vengeance against the administrator of the older Oddworld fan community, Exoddus Club, a private Yahoo! Club.[5] Sydney contended that this was not a motivation in the Forums' creation, which pre-dated her disagreement with that community.[6]

Fan Corner was opened on to accomodate fan fiction stories.[7] Some time between and the message board was renamed Oddworld Forums.[8][9] Sydney made Abe Babe co-administrator of the Forums at the start of in advance of the opening of her fansite, Oddworld-Web.[10][11][12]

After receiving a number of complaints about the increased number of adverts appearing on the Oddworld Forums, Sydney, Abe Babe and Elum decided to create new Oddworld Forums powered by Ultimate Bulletin Board (UBB), an ad-free system. These were opened on .[13][14] Alcar would later allege that Sydney's copy of UBB was pirated.[15]

On , Sydney released the Munch's Oddysee skin.[16] On , Abe Babe enabled vBulletin's Private Messaging feature, along with Buddy Lists and Ignore Lists.[17]

In the server that was hosting the Oddworld Forums (along with Oddworld-Web and Oddworldian) emailed Sydney and Abe Babe to inform them that they were undergoing a merger, but that because of the size of OddNet (at the time 150 MB), they would have to switch to a more expensive hosting plan in order to continue on the service. In order to avoid paying these costs, Sydney and Abe Babe accepted an offer by Pilot to host OddNet on his personal server at no charge.[18] The internet connection used by Pilot to hosts the Forums and fansites cost him $175 USD per month.[5]

On , Sydney temporarily disabled member registration to prevent the user Havoc from creating multiple user accounts to spam the forums.[19] Following the Havoc incident, new members required manual activation by an administrator before being given posting priviledges.[20][21]

On , Abe Babe removed administrative powers from Sydney, resulting in what was later referred to as the Oddworld Forums–Glass Asylum schism. During this time, a number of members—including staff members—left the Forums, necessitating the installation of a number of new moderators. This was done via member voting, establishing a precedent for this process. In retaliation for having her admin rights revoked, Sydney deleted the original ezboard Oddworld Forums.[22]

She also requested that her graphics and site styles be removed from Oddworld Forums.[23] In order to grant this request, on , Abe Babe released a new Native style[24][25] to replace Sydney's styles, and planned to create an Industrial style within the next ‘couple of weeks’.[26] Other changes planned by Abe Babe, Pilot and Alcar included a new board for Oddworld Forums feedback and suggestions.[27]

On , Pilot installed Microsoft ISA Enterprise Edition on the server running Oddworld Forums.[28]

On , Abe Babe released the new Industrial style for the Forums, which became its default; users could still choose to use the Native style by selecting it from the control panel. Alongside this, new profile fields allowed members for the first to specify their gender and favourite films and games.[29]

In , a small number of staff and established members created an account called Wired and used it to post under the pretense of being a real person. Although intended as a victimless joke, when this was discovered, a number of members were upset with the staff for breaking their own rules against having multiple accounts. Then-moderators Havoc and T-nex attempted to remove and replace administrator Alcar.[30] Shortly afterwards, one member who was particularly upset by Wired—Dipstikk—asked Havoc to delete their artwork from the Forums, and Havoc obliged by deleting over 40 of their threads. To prevent historical content from being lost, Alcar activated Edit Locking, a feature that preventing users being able to edit posts more than an hour after first being made.[31] After complaints, Alcar increased this limit to one week.[32]

Closure

In , a DNS issue caused the Oddworld Forums to become inaccessible at their usual web address of oddworldforums.net.[33] After being unable to contact Abe Babe, Alcar registered a new address for the site, owforums.net.[34] In , the Forums began to degrade, with text strings disappearing, including from buttons and dropdown menus,[35][36] and certain functions breaking such as navigation links,[37] the user control panel,[38] and reporting posts to administrators.[39]

In , Nate announced that he would disable posting,[40] later clarifying that this would take place on —20 years to the day since he joined the Oddworld Forums[41]—but that the website would remain online to view and read.[42] Nate eventually disabled posting on , posting a final farewell message[43] and directing viewers to the Oddworld Forums Discord.[44]

References

  1. Oddworld Forums staff (). ‘XenForo’. Employee Lounge. Oddworld Forums.
  2. Harris, Adrian (). ‘vBulletin 3.8.7 and vBulletin Blog 2.0.3 maintenance releases’. vBulletin Announcements. vBulletin support forums. MH Sub I, LLC.
  3. Luke, Wayne (). ‘vBulletin 3.X End of Life ’. vBulletin 3.8 Support & Troubleshooting. vBulletin support forums. MH Sub I, LLC.
  4. Cander, Sydney (). ‘Fan of the Month 10’, interview with Sydney and Abe Babe by Alf. Alf's Rehab and Tea. Official Oddworld website. Archived by HTTrack Website Copier/3.x (). Odd Wide Web. Oddworld Archives. Oddworld Library.
  5. a b Pilot (). Post 81 in ‘A sad day today’. Off-Topic Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  6. Sydney (). Post 85 in ‘A sad day today’. Off-Topic Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  7. Cander, Sydney (). ‘Fan corner’. News item on Oddworldian. Archived by the Wayback Machine (). Internet Archive.
  8. Abe Babe (). ‘Oddworld Feature Film’. Message 2485 on the Exoddus Club. Yahoo! Groups.
  9. Cander, Sydney (). ‘Fanart section’. News item on Oddworldian. Archived by the Wayback Machine (). Internet Archive.
  10. Cander, Sydney (c. ). ‘Introducing our new Forum Administrator...’. Thread title only on p. 13 of Necrum Burial Grounds. Oddworld Forums. Archived by the Wayback Machine (). Internet Archive.
  11. Cander, Sydney (). ‘Oddworld-Web opens and new fanart’. News item on Oddworldian. Archived by the Wayback Machine (). Internet Archive.
  12. Abe Babe (). ‘Oddworld-Web goes Online’. News item on Oddworld-Web. Archived by the Wayback Machine (). Internet Archive.
  13. Abe Babe (). ‘Announcement: Oddworld Forums is Moving!!!’. Off-Topic Discussion. Oddworld Forums. Archived by the Wayback Machine (). Internet Archive.
  14. Cander, Sydney (). ‘Welcome to Oddworld General Discussion’. Oddworld Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  15. Alcar (). Post 5 in ‘TGA Truth Revealed’. Oddworld Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  16. Cander, Sydney (). ‘Announcement: Oddworld Forums' New Look’. Oddworld Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  17. Abe Babe (). ‘Announcement: Private Messages Enabled’. Oddworld Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  18. Cander, Sydney (). ‘Important Oddworld Forums Announcement’. Forum Suggestions & Help. Oddworld Forums.
  19. Sydney (). Post 16 in ‘Spam#3’. Off-Topic Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  20. Sydney (). Post 86 in ‘The Odd Tour Gallery’. Off-Topic Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  21. Sl'askia (). Post 92 in ‘The Odd Tour Gallery’. Off-Topic Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  22. Pilot (). Post 17 in ‘TGA Truth Revealed’. Employee Lounge. Oddworld Forums.
  23. Sydney (). Post 25 in ‘Old Bologna’. Forum Suggestions & Help. Oddworld Forums.
  24. Xavier (). ‘new desing!’. Forum Suggestions & Help. Oddworld Forums.
  25. Abe Babe (). ‘Oddworld Forums New Layout’. Forum Suggestions & Help. Oddworld Forums.
  26. Abe Babe (). Post 29 in ‘Oddworld Forums New Layout’. Forum Suggestions & Help. Oddworld Forums.
  27. Abe Babe (). Post 30 in ‘Old Bologna’. Off-Topic Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  28. Pilot (). ‘New Security measures’. Employee Lounge. Oddworld Forums.
  29. Abe Babe (). ‘New Layout’. Forum Suggestions & Help. Oddworld Forums.
  30. SeaRex (). Post 117 in ‘Hilarity of OWF's History’. Off-Topic Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  31. Alcar (). Post 12 in ‘Um.. Edit Button?’. Forum Suggestions & Help. Oddworld Forums.
  32. Alcar (). Post 31 in ‘Um.. Edit Button?’. Forum Suggestions & Help. Oddworld Forums.
  33. Varrok (). Message. #oddworld_discussions. Oddworld Forums. Discord.
  34. Rose, Nathan (). Post. Oddworld Shitposting (and Oddworld Forums Shitting). Facebook.
  35. Crashpunk (). Message. #oddworld_discussions. Oddworld Forums. Discord.
  36. SlashClaw (). ‘[1]’. Forum Suggestions & Help. Oddworld Forums.
  37. RoryF (). Reply 2 to ‘If you've found this blog, then well done!’. Re re ro ro re ro. Blogs. Oddworld Forums.
  38. Nate (). Post 110 in ‘Going... going... not yet gone’. Forum Suggestions & Help. Oddworld Forums.
  39. Nate (). ‘Going... going... not yet gone’. Forum Suggestions & Help. Oddworld Forums.
  40. Oddworld Forums (). ‘Nate's Profile’. Oddworld Forums.
  41. Nate (). ‘Two more days...’. Forum Suggestions & Help. Oddworld Forums.
  42. Nate (). ‘My OWFiversary’. Welcomes & Birthdays. Oddworld Forums.
  43. Nate (). ‘Goodbye Oddworld Forums’. Announcement. Zulag One. Oddworld Forums.