Solver: Aim4Game -- how did it come to host UC2S, and what were the reasons behind its death?

DanQ: How Aim4Game came to host "UCIVII" is in large part explained on the 'Dan & UCIIVII' page in Apolyton's About/History section, but I will reiterate it here and expand on it as well. First, let me say that I would like to believe that A4G helped "UCIVII" as much as "UCIVII" helped A4G, but I suppose that is an opinion you would have to collaborate with A4G founder Nils 'Doc' Tessein if you ever run into him (I have not spoken to him since the fall of '97). The following explanation is quite long, so it will not upset my feelings if more or one readers skip past most or all of this. I'm a windbag, I know... ;) 

A4G had just recently lost "CivII Heaven", whose owner Mike McCart* had chosen to have hosted on his new web design company's website, and when I approached Doc about my interest in having "UCIVII" hosted there he was immediately receptive. Doc indicated that they were looking for a site to fill the whole in their gaming lineup that "CivII Heaven" had left. I was thrilled and felt a very heavy burden lift from my shoulders. I had only worked on "UCIVII" for half a year but did not want to give it up -- not at least without a decent fight. The arrangement I made with Doc was that I would pay him $40CA/month towards "UCIVII"'s bills and he through advertising, discounted hosting or otherwise would cover the rest as need be. At the same time Doc offered me a Junior Administrator position as he and Assistant Administrator Simon Garner (who ran a popular Need For Speed fansite at the time) were looking for some assistance in operating the expanding network itself. It was a few short months later that I took over as Chief Administrator of Aim4Game, as the Doc could no longer afford the time required to be put into it and Simon was simply not interested. Yes, this is a bit of trivia you can use to stump your friends when they claim that the first gaming network I was in charge of was GameStats. ;)

 On the aforementioned page in Apolyton's About/History section, I list the reason for A4G's demise as the result of "network instability, loss of fellow affiliation and financial strain". It is here that I am going to elaborate on to what this refers to for the first time. The second reason listed is obvious: many of "UCIVII"'s fellow affiliate sites left for better hosting arrangements elsewhere. Not only did this contribute to the first reason, it was also a result of it. It was at this point that virtually (no pun intended) every gaming network was coming into most favourable financial contracts with advertising companies with clients eager to promote their products -- gaming in nature or otherwise -- to fan sites, gaming in nature or otherwise. Unfortunately for A4G, we needed a certain traffic volume and in turn name recognition to get offered one of these deals but it never came. We needed more affiliates, especially those already established, but they were leaving or had already left. Aim4Game was having trouble attracting new affiliates despite the continuous efforts on both my and Simon's parts. It was a classic Catch-22 spiral that was horribly cruel in the industry given the abundance of financial resources flowing through most other parts of it at the time.  

It was at this point that Doc decided he would no longer pay the hosting bills for the site anymore and Simon and myself, both high school students, could not afford to pick-up the tab. The owner of one of our most promising new affiliates, Brian (the full identity of whom I will withhold to continue to safeguard the identity of his fansite's primary webmaster more than his own), graciously offered to fill these shoes. Or so we all thought (including his partner on this fansite). Six months later I emailed our host asking for additional disk space as the "Ultimate CivII Site" was still growing and sticking around at least. {smile} I got a quick response saying to the effect that this was an interesting request from a client who had not paid the hosting bill for the previous half year and was set to be turned off the next day. Crapola.

 All of the warnings they had sent to this effect, of course, were being sent to and subsequently ignored by Brian who was the financial contact for the Aim4Game.com domain. In this case, timing and an unbelievably generous host avoided A4G being turned off then -- it is safe to say that my explanation of the circumstance was accepted as was my request for time to notify the network of its pending shutdown and to notify remaining affiliate sites that it was urgent that they find alternate hosting arrangements. This was not a complicated task, however, as there were only four: myself with "UCIVII", Simon with his NFS fansite, delinquent Brian's and a Red Alert fansite operated out of Quebec. For reasons still unbeknowst to me, the moratorium extended by A4G's hosts intended for a maximum of two months was over a year before they turned the Aim4Game.com and sister A4G.com domains off for good. After the original two months, though, there was a simple Index page reading the domain's name as the case was and notification that a) the domain was for sale and b) to contact the domain's host to make arrangements. I would like to believe that our hosts left the domains on because a) its operational costs were now next to zero and b) were hoping to recoup some of there lost revenue (I cannot remember the exact amount, but it was at least $800US). They were a pretty large web hosting company, so perhaps A4G simply got lost in the clutter. Either way...

As is already well known, "UCIVII" moved off of Aim4Game long before this and onto the GameStats News Network officially effective December 1st, 1997. 

* [Yes, I speak of the same Mike McCart who would go onto found "HeavenGames" and soon thereafter be hired as webmaster at Ensemble Studios where he remains today. We keep in occasional contact.]

Solver: In the end of 1997, you moved to GameStats, that remained your host, and later the host of Apolyton up till 2002. Please tell us at how did GS come to host it.

DanQ: Believe it or not, it was Mike McCart who emailed me about "HeavenGames" (then "Age of Empires Heaven") being hosted by GameStats after learning of my predicment that the "Ultimate CivII Site" was in desparate need of a new host. He highly recommended that I apply, and with no offers on the table or other avenues I could see I quickly took him up on it. On an aside for those who like trivia, "AoE Heaven" was GameStats' first hosted site and Mike worked with GS during his own site's acceptance process to the network to develop the affiliation/hosting program there. [If you go to the very end of this interview, I will share with you an extended bit of trivia that to the best of my knowledge has never even been suggested as being true as there was no inkling to believe that it was].

I credit Mike 100% for opening the door to allow me to put in my hosting application, and 100% to John 'Irex' Hoskin for accepting it and taking a chance on myself and the "UCIVII Site" which seemed to have a habit of bringing financial headaches to whomever was in charge of paying its hosting bills. {lol} Had it not been for these two individuals, "UCIVII" would have died then and there and no more heard of again -- at least, not under my sanction. I was exhausted with the constant hosting shuffling required to keep the site online, totaling five the site's one-and-a-half year lifespan, and was resigned to allowing fate's latest intervention to have the last word. My school and volunteer work was demanding increasing amounts of my time and energy and I had effectively run out of any to spare to other endeavours including but not limited to "UCIVII"'s lifeline that constantly required a jumpstart.

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