The future of the site

1st Official Post
    • Official Post

    Hello everyone, this is your webmaster. I have few very sincere words.

    1. I am getting more and more annoyed mails and comments nowadays. Something is not working, the site is down, you did not work through that mail I sent you, you are not adding the info from the forum fast enough, you did not add that thing that I sent you via a facebook message, you do not add the photos often enough, you are not adding the data through the photo upload function (which is madness, btw).

    2. This has reasons I want to talk about. I have been working on this site since 2004. I put endless hours into it - and so did some other people, which is great. But I don't have as much time as I used to have. Since 2020 I have an rpg company that actually earns a bit of money and is also more fun to do.

    3. There is so much more data available nowadays. Which is nice on the one hand, but means that just adding the new match data from the internationals is taking much more time (Also, friendlies now have even more substitutes, so they take much longer to add). Also adding season data and doing the transfers takes much, much longer - more leagues have data nowadays and more transfers happen. So just covering the basics is already too much work, it turns out. I don't have time to go through the photos, I don't have time to do the forum stuff, I don't have time to work on historical stuff. This is no fun.

    4. The site gets attacked all the time and much more often than used to be the case. We have got one programmer who basically works for free (So you have been getting a free and add-free site for 22 years) and who has to fix everything. It gets worse with GenAI, which in my opinion makes everything in this world worse. You can disagree, but it definitely makes keeping up an old-school web site much more difficult. Trust me, this is hell, and we have not even seen the beginning of it. So the site is down now and then, in the last three years much more often than before. This is annoying as hell, but it doen't help if it only leads to people complaining all the time. It just makes me think that I should just close this down to finally get some quiet.

    5. So, we will need help or you will just have to live with a site that is less up-to-date. We can't magic it better, it's all a lot of work. ANd I don't need additional admin work in my life, I have enough already.

    6. What to do? I would like this site to keep existing. I still like it very much. Dirk is trying his best to get some more people who work on the site so the work will be shouldered by more people. Very admirable, let's see how that goes. But I will not be able to put more work into NFT and that will not change again. So, let's give it another year or two and see how the situation is then.

    I wish you all the best,

    Benjamin

    I can sense the passion with this post, and rightly so after 22 years of doing something, whatever it is.

    Unfortunately a lot of what you say is just the world we live in now. Hobbies are dying out... Not enough time, no longer a pleasure, coupled with people venting, wanting instant gratification for the information they provide you rather than the platform you've provided all of us.

    I'm not very good at trying to give reassurance or anything like that, just know that I think those who really care about the site are still here and are willing to make it work. I'd be very sad if you decide the hobby is no longer worth it, but I won't argue if you wish to get the 'quiet' it sounds like you'd aspire to have.

    I'm absolutely fine with adverts being on the site, and if it comes to it, donations towards keeping the site going. Not sure anything can be done regarding the site continuously being attacked or being down for a while and I've accepted the website won't be as up-to-date or worked on as much moving forward, but that's a small price for keeping it up and running in my view.

    • Official Post

    Well, we will try. I am willing to pay for the site, that is not really a problem. The problem is time, but I think I made that clear. I still am far from having updated all the 2026/27 seasons and all the transfers and the next bunch of internationals is coming along - which will be a lot!

    So, the main thing really is that I am sorry, but I won't be able to do forum stuff and photos anymore. There just is no time.

    Hi.I'd like to say a few words about this wonderful website.The NFT website holds a massive database of football players,international tournaments,and national championships from every continent.It's hard to imagine how much time and effort went into this immense work.On top of that,there is family,work,and other interests.I wonder ,when you started all this twenty years ago,did you ever imagine that your website would become so beloved by many across the globe and so fantastic in its sheer volume of information?The NFT database brings together football players of different generations,clubs from all divisions and amateur leagues,and a wealth of diverse statistics.A lot of people will be deeply disappointed it this information vanishes.

    Solutions must be found so that the website can continue to function.Advertising wouldn't botherme at all.

    Sorry for my English.

    Quote from vidadi.tairov

    Hi.I'd like to say a few words about this wonderful website.The NFT website holds a massive database of football players,international tournaments,and national championships from every continent.It's hard to imagine how much time and effort went into this immense work.On top of that,there is family,work,and other interests.I wonder ,when you started all this twenty years ago,did you ever imagine that your website would become so beloved by many across the globe and so fantastic in its sheer volume of information?The NFT database brings together football players of different generations,clubs from all divisions and amateur leagues,and a wealth of diverse statistics.A lot of people will be deeply disappointed it this information vanishes.

    Solutions must be found so that the website can continue to function.Advertising wouldn't botherme at all.

    Sorry for my English.

    Same sentiment here. It would be a massive shame to see such an incredible database built up over more than 20 years disappear.


    Benjamin after all the time and work you've put into the site over the years, nobody can reasonably expect you to keep giving it the same amount of time, especially with how much the workload has grown. I'm sure most of us would happily accept slower updates rather than put that pressure on you or risk losing the site altogether.

    Really hope a way can be found to keep it going, and thank you for everything you've put into it over the years.

    • New
    • Official Post

    Thank you so much, everybody.


    When I started this site, I could not have imagined anything like what it is now. The site was basically just a huge excel table which was a leftover thing from a job I did in 2000 in Cologne for the Euros in Belgium and the Netherlands. It's my girlfriend's fault, really, she looked at that excel table and asked: "Don't you think that other people would be interested in this, too"?

    And then we knew a guy who could program, Florian, who is still doing this thing for us, which is just crazy. 22 years, goodness gracious. And so many people that have helped or are still helping.

    We really don't have a problem on the money side, I have to say. I am independently wealthy (Yes, one of them people) and can pay for running costs. I want to keep the site ad-free, as I know that a lot of children are visiting this site and I hate all the betting sites advertising on statistics sites. I am not mad at the statistics sites, mind you, they are not all independently wealthy and have to earn money somehow. But betting and sports is a minefield at best, and if you look properly at it, something quite sinister.

    We need a few more people to work on the site, though. Mostly the forum stuff and maybe the photos.

    So, off to start adding the new internationals. Thank you all for your kind words.

    • New
    • Official Post
    Quote from vidadi.tairov

    A lot of people will be deeply disappointed it this information vanishes.

    This is an interesting point. I am 54 now and won't be there forever. Let's not get too morbid, but we have to find a solution to continue this site for the fans. I have been tentatively thinking about a trust fund to help with the running costs. But we would need people who continue the work and then "own" the site. And at one stage, we will need a new, younger programmer. Florian can't do this forever, even though I would love that.

    • New

    Hi.This NFT project is working towards something that seems almost impossible-it could become a website featuring every player who has ever played for every national team since the very beginning.In other words,towards the very purpose it was originally created for.Which would require more people to join the project.But these people would have to be trustworthy.A huge amount of work has been put into this website over the years,and l'd just hope that what happened at the end of november 2006 won't happen again.