The future of Infekted.org

[Timo]

Hey guys & girls,

Given the lack of development from Access-Music regards the Virus, low user participation, and the cost of running and maintaining the site and server, and my partially crappy health, I'm looking to work with and/or pass the site to another enthusiast if suitably interested. The site has a goldmine of past information, would be a shame to lose it.

I have just paid for another 12 months to run the server, but unless Access release something of note and no-one comes forward to take on the site I may otherwise close it at the end of the 12 months (Sept. 2022).

Ideally the vBulletin version needs to be upgraded for the site to increase security and offer newer features but I don't currently have the additional money or the technical knowhow, and at this point I'm unsure if there will be enough interested users to warrant implementing this extra outlay.

Cheers for any thoughts,
~Timo

[MBTC]

Agreed, it would be a shame to lose all of the valuable info that's been posted over the years. The Virus has had such a long product lifecycle, and even many vintage synths which had much shorter lifecycles still have enthusiasts searching the web for every bit of know how they can find 40 years later, even if its a bitmap of a page from an old printed manual.

One idea that comes to mind (if upgrading vBulletin and keeping an interactive forum is not a possible option), maybe there is a way to scrape all the data (I know there are services that do this), and dump it to one gigantic .pdf (or a series of .pdfs) for offline reading. Then perhaps you could even monetize it, sell copies of it on Amazon maybe? You own the content, and are entitled to any value it brings, and it will be valuable to some folks some of the time in the future.

A second idea... if lack of activity from Access is a key issue, what about expansion? Are you still interested in synths at all, even if other brands? Lots of interesting things going on with analog these days. Maybe there's a way to make this forum a sub-forum of a site covering more synths or topics?

Just some thoughts that come to mind, I'd hate to see it go away completely.

[Berni]

Without any serious investment in the software side of things the Access Virus TI is dead in the water, I can't believe they r still selling these things when they haven't upgraded the software for at least 5 years now which is ridiculous.
I guess there will always be some enthusiast's for this thing but I think access has also left a bitter taste in the mouths of a lot of them including myself.
So yeah I guess this site is pretty much redundant unfortunately. Like you say would be a shame to lose the information contained here in but the answer to my eternal question "Why does my Virus not work properly" still remains unsolved. Probably time we put both to bed.

[Khazul]

@Timo - sorry to hear about your health, but good to know you are still alive - were all getting old I guess - too much loud music and other things have taken their toll on me as well, so not really doing much music wise any more.

As for the site, well of course it would be a huge shame to loose it (I'm surprised you still have my gfx and style revamp running - thought someone might have replaced that long ago )

As for the virus, I still have mine (TI Keyboard v1), but its dead (PSU - yet again) and struggling to get another to get it back into a functioning state.

The last time it happened (2017) access said they had long since since stopped having the replacement PSU available and this time around in 2021, no reply at all, so maybe that says it all as far as Access is concerned.

Maybe we should have a wake for it as it is the keyboard that is in the site logo above

Anyway its been nearly 5 years I think since I have checked in here and in that time it told me there were 500 or so new posts, so I 100% see where you are coming from and have to agree with you, maybe its time to close up shop. If that happens, well thanks again for taking this on back in the day when you did. You have certainly done this community a huge service.

The only reason I checked in is because of searching for a replacement knob for it and a suitable replacement PSU again and the site came up in a search and well, curiosity got the better of me. I may not be using it much, but I would at least like it to be functional again if only for nostalgic (sound) reasons.

I think it would be worth archiving the entire site as is come sept 2022, but I have no idea what to do with the archive (ie where to put it).

[abraxa]

no reply at all, so maybe that says it all as far as Access is concerned

Not sure about your experience personally but I've contacted them last week and got a response the same day. Not about the power supply, though.


Timo, what are you spending to host the page? If you're thinking of closing then I may step up if no one else volunteers. I've seen too many pages fall and it's a shame, really. From my point of view there's a future for the Virus one way or another and there should be a dedicated place to go to. However, it does look like you burnt out and stopped updating the page/forum altogether. And that's okay, I know that's how life goes sometimes.

[Rio]

I also see that it would be a shame to close the forum. There are a lot of virus users out there and questions about repairs are growing, with a lot resolved in a few threads here.

Greetings,
rio

[MBTC]

Timo,

I mentioned in another post that I recently bought a new TI2 desktop, and after reacquainting myself with the Virus, I'm convinced more than ever that this site is a resource that's worth preserving. There is a lot of future value here, one that you might also be able to monetize if desired, and even if not, I think you may be glad you kept it going one day. I will explain my logic.

First, the vintage synth market has gone crazy. As evidence of this, we see Yamaha CS-80s listed for over $100k and Roland Jupiter-8s listed at $35k+ on Reverb.com. One might say this is because they are long discontinued and based on discrete electronics compared to digital synths, but price increases on current models as well as other digital synths are starting to see increases as well -- partially fueled by chip shortages and inflation, but also because a generation of producers that grew up on soft synths are starting to realize that the sound of plugins have largely plateaued, and will probably never fully match the benefits (sonic and otherwise) of hardware, even if they have advantages of their own (such as lower cost of entry and flexibility). This is creating increased demand for music hardware.

To give an example of this phenomenon, I bought a used Roland JP-8080 not long ago (a similar VA synth to the Virus). Not long after my purchase, I noticed these going for twice what I paid. There's been a trend of noticeable resurgence in the community seeking that particular VA sound that began appearing on tracks toward the late 1990s-early 2000s. Simultaneously, people are realizing that synths like the Virus, JP-8000/8080 and similar are sonically versatile -- far beyond the specific musical genres they are known for.

Having been involved with hardware synths since the 80's myself, I've witnessed this phenomenon of certain synth models being forgotten for a period of time, then making a big (and permanent) comeback. Many of us can tell stories of older synths we sold off for a couple of hundred dollars that we wish we had back, because they are now going for ten times as much.
I believe the Virus is going to experience a similar resurgence in interest in coming years, regardless of whether the synth is still being manufactured or not. It is a unique instrument in the sense that I cannot identify another synth that has had a manufacturing lifecycle this long. It's like a vintage synth that's still being produced and can be purchased new.

So, while one side of the synth market is a bit fickle and only interested in new and shiny gear, there is also sort of a preservationist culture that seems to growing in size and momentum, and I think there is a potential perfect storm on the horizon (so to speak) that will seal a permanent seat for the Virus in this movement.
As you pointed out there is already a treasure trove of information here, so that could be part of the reason for less user participation ? less reason to post if the answer is already there; this doesn't diminish the value of the site as a resource, though. What I mean to say here is that I'm not sure the value of a site like this is defined by how much active user participation there is. It's also probably a text book case of the old saying that we don't know what we have until after its gone. Bottom line is, there is not another resource out there which fulfills the same need as infekted.org, and it would indeed be a significant loss if it goes away.

I wish I could offer specific technical know-how on upgrading, but that's a bit out of my wheelhouse. I can only offer a strong vote of support for keeping it going, and the offer to occasionally post and try to contribute something meaningful to the content posted to it.

Whatever you do decide, I will thank you now for having creating infekted.org and kept it going all this time - it is a unique and valuable resource.

Best,

mbtc

[Luca]

This site is very valuable for those who use Virus today, for those who will use it in the future, and for any synthesizer enthusiast who wants to learn more about a machine that has left a mark in history.

Based on my experience we have to set up a reasoning in this way:

1) Assessment of the resources that the site currently requires: time for community and software management, bandwidth, disk space and computing power, others

2) Scouting of technical and management options with an estimate of the relative monetary and time commitment

3) Drawing up an action plan

4) Execution of the plan

5) Evaluation of results and corrective actions

I offer my availability for all these activities.

I wish you, all the members of this community and all the people who use this site often without actively interacting, to find a solution to ensure a long life for Infekted.

Regards.

[engineer]

+1 !

A privately held forum is a must and has many advantages over those beeing installed and managed (or aquired by!) music companies. Recenty I was rejected from a Forum until I agreed to delete one of my posting containing critisim of their workstation. Others, like the german yamaha forum was suddenly closed.

I think infected should stay and is usefull since we have at least the emulation project of the virus which might attract some peoples interest in the future.

[blairwillis]

@Timo,

Thank you for your dedication to keeping this forum alive for so long. I admit I only rarely visit these days, as I have not dedicated (enough) time to music and synthesis.

I hope your health has improved, but I worry as it looks like your last post was at the beginning of this year (2022) and despite replies in this thread, I see no response.

I do have some experience with website ops, and even if it’s just to maintain an archive of this site, I’d like to offer some assistance.