The Future of Open Tech Support (aka Back to the Future)
 

Well my friends, this site has been online for more than nine years... NINE YEARS! That's a long time in web years, and for the past 3-4 years OTS has been showing its age, mostly because of my neglect and lack of attention. A few people have asked me why I am still hosting a relatively "dead" site, but most of it stems from nostalgia and the desire to keep an "old friend"...

This site has been a labor of love for me when it began, and I am deeply appreciative of the people who still visit it regularly even though it has already approached its alleged expiration date. The site has definitely seen better days, and I am still amazed that people still visit it. Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart.

Now, does this mean that I will finally be shutting down the site? Believe me, I have considered that several times in the last few years, but when I look back at all the good people that have been a part of this site, good and bad, I realize that I can't just let it die.

So how do you revive a dying site? By going back to the beginning.

Open Tech Support was created in order to provide help and assistance to gamers who have problems with Blizzard games. It was created during the heyday of StarCraft and Diablo II, and flourished during the release of WarCraft III and World of WarCraft (of which the latter was one of the big reasons why the site started to die in the first place). When it stuck to what it was good at, it excelled. And due to that fact, I have decided to trace the route of specialization once again, instead of striving for generalization.

Plans are underway to once again make this a Blizzard game-centric site. This means that the primary focus of the site will once again be Blizzard games, starting with World of WarCraft, and continuing on to the two upcoming games - StarCraft II and Diablo III. We will go back to our roots, and strive to be the best in what we do, instead of striving to be THE best.

Does this mean we will abandon all the support categories like hardware, software, etc.? Not really. We'll just focus MORE on the games that Blizzard Entertainment will be churning out, and relegate the other categories to the background. You can still find help with your computer problems - the only difference is that it will be Blizzard gamers who will be helping you most of the time...

Again, I would like to thank the people who stuck around for this long. Rest assured that OTS will still survive, going into its tenth year online, and this change in focus will hopefully save this old friend of ours.

If you have any questions, comments, recommendations or violent reactions, feel free to reply to this thread. Thanks for your time, and stay tuned for the massive overhaul that is to follow :)

- Tolitz Rosel

Re: The Future of Open Tech Support (aka Back to the Future)
 

I vote that as part of this, we get an OTS guild goin' in WoW. That'll help promote the site.

Re: The Future of Open Tech Support (aka Back to the Future)
 

I approve of this change.

Re: The Future of Open Tech Support (aka Back to the Future)
 

I find the archives of this Open Tech Support site of great value. Good to see that it won't be shutting down.

Re: The Future of Open Tech Support (aka Back to the Future)
 

The first couple sentences had me really worried where you would be goin with this update but boy was I relieved :)

Re: The Future of Open Tech Support (aka Back to the Future)
 

zerg rush kekeke

Re: The Future of Open Tech Support (aka Back to the Future)
 

So when is this going to happen.. Can't wait... And I also agree on the OTS Guild..

Re: The Future of Open Tech Support (aka Back to the Future)
 

All of it is gonna get done before Christmas... as for the OTS guild, I already tried that when WoW first came out... didn't really work so well that time, and it contributed a lot to why the site started dying, hahaha... but if you guys can set up a stable guild on a server somewhere, I'll make sure to endorse it :)

- CL

Re: The Future of Open Tech Support (aka Back to the Future)
 

Hello,


here's an idea making OTS iPhone/Blackberry freindly... Also maybe making an app that will take us straight to ots...

Re: The Future of Open Tech Support (aka Back to the Future)
 

Canis old pal, trying to breath some new life into the old gal huh? Let me know if there is anything I can help out with. Sometimes good dreams slowly die off, but most people don't get a chance to get as far as you did, so def a big congrats. :)

I remember when this site was just a thought spoken between OTS oldies.

Re: The Future of Open Tech Support (aka Back to the Future)
 

Haha thanks guys!

The upgrade went smoothly, so far... I'll be doing a content upgrade before Thanksgiving, and hopefully have the "new site philosophy" in place before New Year's ... thanks for sticking around and I'll consider all your suggestions very seriously :)

- CL

Re: The Future of Open Tech Support (aka Back to the Future)
 

Looking forward to the changes; getting back to the gaming roots.

Re: The Future of Open Tech Support (aka Back to the Future)
 

As a registered lurker (I visit but don't always log in), I am glad the site will stay. I have always liked it, and it has helped.

I have always thought of it as a game site, rather than a tech site. But still one of the best tech sites around. Glad to read it is going to stay.

Enjoy

Re: The Future of Open Tech Support (aka Back to the Future)
 

Agreed.
I know I'm new here, but I'm looking forward to seeing and being a part of this revival.