First off, apologies for the rather bland subject line up there. It comes off more ominous than it should. Sorry about that! Anyways…
With 2014 now done and over with, the last news story from The World’s Finest has officially been posted up. As I mentioned on this site a year ago, it’s time to ease back on the overall workload of this site, and that starts with wrapping up the daily news post for the foreseeable future. Thousands and thousands of news posts, including three straight years of news posts at least five days a week, without a single weekday missed. And, with 2015 now here, that ends as The World’s Finest will return to its roots as an unbeatable resource for fans. An archive of content, a collection of materials covering a host of different shows and movies, a wealth of information – call it what you will, but The World’s Finest will be embracing that once again.
What does that all encompass? Well, don’t get alarmed … it’s all good! As the site shifts into a content destination, certain aspects of the site will stop while an emphasis will be placed on others. Daily news posts will cease, as I said, and no new subsites will be added to the site as of this time. Does that mean the end of updates and new material? No – there will always be new content added here, but the site will now just be easier for me to manage.
Site updates will continue going forward, reviews will still be posted, more content will be added (images, behind-the-scenes material, etc.), along with the odd interview. However, now, the site updates will now fall more onto the resource side of things. As I said, there will be no new additional subsites added to The World’s Finest going forward, with the possible exception of smaller pages dedicated to installments of the ongoing DC Universe Animated Original Movie line. Assorted DVD, Blu-ray, and other media releases will also still be covered. A new Batman: The Brave and The Bold Blu-ray? We’ll cover and review it – 100%. New soundtrack release? We’re on it – count on it. The only thing really changing is the end of daily news posts (which, honestly, it didn’t seem like a lot of people noticed anyway, given how so many stories broken here went unnoticed or stolen over the years).
A lot of factors played a role in this decision. For one, this site is too unwieldy for one person to handle. I cover about 95% of the work on the site, the forums and social media outlets. This includes emails, press work, reviews, finding reviewers and content, all of that. I spend many hours a day working on this site, volunteering countless hours. Juggling that with a regular job, a family, etc., and, well, something has to give. I have more responsibilities than ever before and there are just not enough hours in the day. But I can’t just abandon the site – no way. Given how long I’ve been working on this site, from its first iteration back in 1997, and how attached I am to it, I opted not to pass the torch. I did ask for help, more than a few times, but no one came to bat. So, I opted to scale the site responsibilities down to its skeleton in order to keep it going. I am expecting to reduce my presence and update rate overtime, though. The forum duties will be passed over to someone else entirely, for example. Still, with this, I’m able to balance my workload easier, have a bit of a better life, and explore other options.
This site is not going away. It’s not going anywhere. It’s going to stay right here. There’s no way I could let it go, anyways. All the content that you see here is not budging an inch. The only thing really changing is the removal of daily news updates and an easing back on the frequency of updates. This site will always be here for you to access and explore. In fact, to this day, there are some nifty secrets still not uncovered here on the site, which tells me there’s plenty for all of you still to explore.
For those worried, this isn’t the end. All you need to do is keep an eye on the “Site Updates” section to see that. Over the next few days, you’ll see the main page here change a little. The news will be replaced with links to the major site sections here, and the daily news shuffled off into an archive (where it will be readily accessible to look through). All portions of this site, I think, will be more easily accessible for those wanting to look around and just see what we have to offer. This site is the biggest DC Comics-animation (and Batman animation) site out there to this day, and I doubt that’ll change, even with the evolving trends of internet culture. But hey, no matter how much all of that changes, The World’s Finest will always be right here.
If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to drop a line. The social media portals for The World’s Finest will remain up until I decide what to do with them. I can be easily reached there, or through the contact links scattered throughout the site here. If all that fails, just catch me on the forums.
I’d like to express a quick “thanks” to all the folks who have helped me over the years. Zach, Ian, James, Barry, Eileen, Brian, Michael and a wealth of other people I can’t thank enough. This seems like a nice moment to tip my hat to them as I follow the site through a few minor changes and lifts. For your daily news fix, which plenty of you are clearly already getting elsewhere, I suggest you keep it tuned to Toonzone and DCAU Resource. The forums right here are also a good spot for any developments or concerns, as well. I may post the odd piece up from time to time there.
And that’s all from me for now, folks. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to ask. Don’t hesitate. That’s what I’m here for. Thanks!
-James
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