Having just experienced this issue yet again, I have decided to start a discussion about a recurrent problem which I feel needs to be seriously looked at by the members of this community and this forum, one which should have raised concern and should have been addressed long before now. Each time a game is released, or is modified to allow us to enjoy aspects of it, etc., access links are initially provided. However, invariably, when time passes, those links die, usually by the choice of the original poster. So many times I've browsed through threads, found a game I wanted to try, only to find out that the original link for download given by the poster is no longer valid because (in most cases) the file was removed (again, in most cases, by the original poster). Which begs the question: If you're going to remove the file, then why is it so damn difficult for you to edit your post to reflect that and to provide new, valid links for download? It seems like common sense would dictate this, like those actions would go hand in hand, especially since you've got to be aware of the fact that unless you actually update your post, the community that you are a part of will not be aware of this change until someone tries to click your link, only to discover that it is dead. Along with the download links no longer working, usually any associated instructional podcasts/videos/walkthroughs, etc., are removed as well, which means that even if the person trying to acquire the game manages to do so by other means, their ability to configure things properly has now been compromised. Podcasts are great tools, but they are only good for anything if they can be accessed. However, since the links associated with games here on this forum are so transient and so unreliably, infrequently updated, in a case where multiple steps are involved with properly setting up and configuring things to get a game to work correctly, it seems prudent to create a written guide in the articles room with detailed instructions at the time of original posting, especially if you know that you are not going to leave your podcast available for others to download; at least someone who comes along later has a chance at getting it to work if he or she has written instructions. (And guess what...that's also a great place to update links as it becomes necessary...what do ya know??). And as far as the podcast, if you don't want to keep it available for download because of space reasons (which is frightening to me in this day and age; your podcast cannot be more than a couple hundred megabytes of space at most, which should not be that taxing to anyone given the size of the average storage drive nowadays), then why not just upload the damn thing to YouTube and provide the new link? Then anyone can watch it, and it's not hurting you for space at all. I mean no offense, and I apologize if anyone takes any from this post; I don't mean to be disrespectful or harsh, but come on, guys. This sort of thing happens way, way more than it should. I've seen post after post lamenting the fact that this or that game has been lost, etc. And this is part of the reason. There has to be a better way of doing things. Let's work together as a community to improve this.
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