Today, I've got an important announcement to share with everyone. I'd also like to take this chance to share the latest and greatest updates from Out of Cards.
This came as a large surprise to myself and the team as I had expressed interest in purchasing the site, but was told that there were no offers allowed (full shutdown). Even though I was willing to do anything to save HearthPwn, I came to terms with it, and started Out of Cards.
I found out during my Nintendo E3 and Hearthstone stream today that I had been removed as an administrator on HearthPwn. I was not expecting this to happen so soon but it was done because I was accused of "excessively promoting [my] new website". It was stated that I added multiple widgets to the homepage and that I stickied the site shutdown notice. This did not happen. The only reference on the HearthPwn homepage to Out of Cards was a (now) removed image advertising a card pack giveaway.
Unfortunately, there is something that I need to be transparent about and apologize for.
- A member of the ex-mod team stickied the shut down post.
- I was not aware that this happened until after I shutdown my stream, and after I had lost staff access.
- This was not cool, and the individual has been spoken to.
Afterwards, an unpublished article stating the site had been sold to "Magic Find" was discovered by ex-moderators. A team member:
- Deleted some of their own, prominent threads.
- Renamed the 80g thread to the 80g Scamming thread.
- Removed bans from some scammers and spammers.
I understand that this is an emotional time, especially for the moderators who have invested months and years of their lives in maintaining a community driven website, but these actions were unacceptable. It never feels good to be stabbed in the back, more so as a volunteer, and I wish I had the opportunity to give the ex-moderators advanced notice to deter any drama.
Generally speaking, it is best practice to communicate with affected individuals ahead of time or ensure that access is pulled before major changes take place; I knew much of the team would not be happy.
Although I would have loved the opportunity to preserve the community under the HearthPwn brand, that time has come and gone.
I was given an offer by the new owners to stay on board and we talked about what they needed to do with the website, but ultimately I declined. Instead, I am willing to make the financial investment into rapidly improve and grow Out of Cards into the best possible resource it can be for Hearthstone and games to come.
I want to make it very clear that myself and all of the old, dedicated HearthPwn staff have moved to Out of Cards.
Many awesome community members have reached out, offering their assistance with writing articles and guides, for this we thank you! We will soon be opening up the doors to allow volunteers to help cover Hearthstone better than ever, we just need to finish up some tools to make this nice and smooth. We also love the dedicated feedback the community has given us so far and look forward to your continued ideas.
Everyone's enthusiasm for Out of Cards so far has shown us we were doing the right thing and if you can't tell yet, we have no plans on going anywhere. We'll always be here to deliver a custom experience for all our community members and hope more people will join us.
Recent Additions to Out of Cards
If you haven't kept up with our developer updates on the Site Update forum, here's all the cool stuff we've done over the past week.
- A Card Back Gallery has arrived! Yes, it gets updated! Thanks for the suggestion.
- Animated card images! We spent a lot of time last week to figure this out and we're happy with it.
- Site Search! Our first iteration of site search has arrived and we're looking forward to improving it.
- By request, deck pages now have mana curves. Great feedback.
- We've fixed multiple issues those on mobile discovered, improving support (and speed!).
We're listening to your feedback to shape Out of Cards into exactly what the community wants. We're working as fast as we can to get updates out and look forward to what the future brings.
Supporting Independence - Out of Cards
Here are the four ways you can help support Out of Cards.
- Support on Patreon with a monthly contribution
- We have supporter tiers up on Patreon. For a small monthly contribution, you give us independence.
- All Patrons will receive benefits on the site. We don't have all those details ironed out but will real soon.
- Patrons receive a special rank on Discord.
- Support on Twitch with Twitch Prime
- You can support with your monthly Twitch Prime subscription via Twitch.tv/Fluxflashor. It is a completely free way to show support for those with Amazon Prime so make use of it!
- All Twitch subscribers receive a special rank on Discord.
- Support by being a member of the community
- So cliche but its true. Just being a part of our community shows we're doing something right. Talk about card games, share your feedback, and just generally be awesome.
- Spread the word
- Tell everyone you know about Out of Cards and how a dedicated, passionate team with over half a decade of Hearthstone is behind it.
Comments
Animated cards are Awesome!
I like golden animation.
Right here with ya! I may not have always been the most....'in line' member of Hearthpwn (ahem.......salt thread........) but I always respected the work you and your team did and I'm happy to move fully over to outofcards.
Lol, it's Kaladin, Infamous Ruler of the Salt Thread
You never insulted anyone on the salt thread. The closest you made to an infraction was spamming... and even that was permitted.
There was just way too much unnecessary backlash at you. Other people, however, actively insulted others and wished for the death of people because they were playing a children's card game differently and no backlash was given to them.
You just be yourself. Maybe moderate a little, but if the salt rises, the salt thread will be there :)
The hero we need on Out of Cards. Welcome, friend.
Sorry there’s such drama on something that should just be fun. Already decided myself to join up here as I figure I would rather stick with those who made the site I really liked rather than those just buying it.
I am here FWIW. I hate drama, so I appreciate this open letter and owning the mistakes and laying out your thoughts and plan. This kind of communication will grow a solid community that I look forward to be part of.
My experience in life is not in web development or maintenance, but I will offer whatever help I can.
They did you dirty, Flux. We're with you, man.
I've got your back.
Outofcards is already a much better place to be than hearthpwn ever was!
All the best from the hearthpwn community have come together to work hard to make this everything hearthpwn should have been. We are all behind you 100% Flux! I look forward to watching this site grow, and wish I could do more to help out!
Sadly as a underpaid father, my time and funds are limited. But will always make sure to visit every day and help grow the community in any way I can.
Keep up the great work Flux and team!
That's what I love to hear, visit and spread the word!
Hmm... lot to process here...
I'm not sure if I would've made the same decision to split, Flux. But hey - you do you.
Would you stay on a site after;
-It announced it was going to shut down out of nowhere
- flux was interested to buy the site but he couldn't because it was a shutdown.
- after a few weeks the site randomly sold anyway to another company.
If I had build a new site and moved in from all the drama, I wouldn't come back to hearhpwn but stayed here at outofcards.
I dont think it was a “decision”
Pretty sure he said that they offered him a position back at Hearthpwn but he declined...
I think you would make the same decision - imagine you have two sites - one that is well developped but dying, but you can save it if you come back. The other one which is very new and not in best shape currently, but you can make it better in future. Community already knows about both and is kind of torn between the two, but I think the one where Flux will stay will be the one to prosper ultimatelly.
So in this scenario, why would you choose a site owned by someone else (also in kind of weird way), rather than your own project?
Welcome to EB Games!
Oof that kinda stung.. I miss EB games, they weren't as greedy as Gamestop