Disappearing Entries
Some of you may notice that there isn’t as much on Modus Operandi from today. A number of entries have had to be removed for reasons I cannot discuss.
I am saddened by this as Modus Operandi has always operated as a site to share old and out-of-print material as well as fan-submitted items. Although there are the odd affiliate links around the site, it has never made me much money. Certainly not enough to cover one years hosting and domain name costs never mind the 17+ years its been in existence.
I am now considering the future of the website in general.
I’m sorry to hear you’ve been having troubles and are considering dropping the site. However, having gone through a few downfalls, and lack of interest, on my fantasy web site, of late, I have to say I’ve seriously considered doing the same. What you’ve built, here, is extraordinary and you should be proud of it, but even I have to admit my time is limited for viewing much of anything, these days.
I’ve just discovered your site today and was filled with elation as I had no idea such a resource that is clearly a labor of love existed!
I’m sorry to have missed some of the information, but what I see is tremendous. Should you determine to pause your efforts…I’ll be sad because I think its a loss to all and well…clearly. I should have found you sooner :). I hope if you reach out for support you look into something like Patreon to help offset costs some costs. Regardless the choice you make for your own piece of mind…thank you. I’m learning a lot more regarding resources for pulling together a spy game and I’ve this site and you to thank. I’m grateful.
Damn! This is sad news indeed. Having scanned the site quickly it seems that articles for most of the games covered have been removed. I was kind of expecting it to be one game in particular but the problem seems to be more far-reaching than I anticipated. I am very sorry that this is happening – Modus operandi is one of the few sites on the web that has helped maintain interest in modern / espionage RPGs that have otherwise been abandoned or neglected by game companies. I can understand if you decide to shut the site down but know that it will be missed.
Thanks. Unfortunately, I am prevented from discussing the reasons behind the removal but your thoughts are appreciated.
I’ve taken the decision to put the articles back and to deal with the consequences if they appear.
Bold move Dave. I take my hat off to you and will keep my fingers crossed. Personally, I’m baffled why ANYONE would have an issue with this sites or any of the articles.
I have to agree with Robert, what’s the point of disallowing someone to post old and out-of-date material, unless something’s being updated or rewritten for a new release of a game. However, in all of today’s uploads, I’ve noticed they seem to be for games from all over the spectrum. I get the impression it wasn’t the individual companies that objected, but your host. Is there a statute of limitations on when old material can be released freely into the wild?
UK copyright law states that the author retains copyright for 70 years after their death.
The issue stemmed from a single entity querying the permission I had for some articles which highlighted that I cannot prove I have permission for all of the submissions. I attempted to obtain retrospective permission for the original offending articles but have been met with silence. If they contact me again I will cross that bridge then.
Well, then I wish you all the luck in the world, and thank you, again, for what you do here.
I also would like to express my support of all the work that you have done. I can not believe that someone would cause you problems, and after having been in operation for over 17 years I think that it is just incredibly wrong of someone to cause you hardship. I do wish to say that I come to your site several times a year and look over information and check on the games. I do not have time to play many of these systems but the fond memories are rekindled every visit to your site. The closing of this resource of knowledge would be a great loss indeed and I hope this problem would not lead to the end.
Thank you for all the work and selfless dedication you have placed here for others to use.
Yours
Sean
Oh dear, don’t give it up for the ghost. Plug on!