Sadly, after 16 years online, my forums have been destroyed by spambots. There's simply no way to maintain them against the overwhelming tide of hackers and spam that was drowning us. If you were on the forums in the old days, you can get in touch with me through my Facebook page or you can find Mata on Twitter if you know what you're looking for.
The Matazone forums were a place where many lasting friendships were formed, and even a couple of marriages and families began. There are memories here that will last forever - particularly of those that we lost too.
Friendship and love *can* be real online, and these forums proved it to me and to many others. It was a place of comfort and respite for many odd people, who found kindred spirits here. It feels like losing part of my history to have to shut down this part of my site, but it was destroying my server's capacity to do anything.
In a funny way, I don't blame the spammers - they're just trying to make money in an inequal world. I'd like to think that if they had the option they wouldn't spend their time making the lives of others miserable... Perhaps I'm an optimist, and that optimism was what united us on these forums.
That's got to be the way to end this then: with optimism. I hope the world can become more equal. I hope that these forums spread love and companionship that will be passed on to others. To the friends we made here: we love you, we remember you.
Keep on being kind to each other. Keep on being warm-hearted, loving, and generous with humour and hugs. Share the friendship and values we had here, and maybe we can make a better world.
With love in my heart,
Mata
March 29th, 2019