Captain Nemo Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 In a post update from our friends at KIE: https://www.kiextreme.com/forums/index.php?/topic/7073-kiextreme-is-closing-monday-june-14/ "It’s been a heck of a ride, but all rides eventually reach the final brake run. 18 years after the first idea and earliest plans for the site, originally intended to be a photo gallery using the name PKI Pictures and evolving throughout 2003 into the full-fledged fansite Extreme PKI, launching during the busy final months of 2003 and rebranding to KIExtreme in 2007, the time has come. Sometime this upcoming Monday, June 14, 2021, KIExtreme will be closing its doors for good. This final decision comes after a lengthy period of considering the site’s future. In the age of social media, fans of Kings Island and other amusement parks around the globe have taken advantage of the convenience of these platforms for the rapid sharing of information, news, photos and videos. Kings Island itself maintains active social media profiles, embracing the direct reach to consumers in the same way as virtually every park, ride designer, and event in the amusement industry has done. While my opinion is that the traditional fan site approach still very much has a place for itself on the internet, as activity has slowed on KIExtreme over the years and news updates are now mostly just parroting what has already been delivered by the park directly, via social media and live-streaming new attraction announcements, the simple truth is that the time, effort, and costs involved with maintaining this site are, after thorough review, simply not viable anymore. As most people have probably noticed on the front page, the site has been undergoing preparations for renovation for some time now, but after two years of slow progress and technical hurdles, the next generation of KIExtreme is ultimately not to be. My personal passion for Kings Island has not wavered, and is not a factor in this decision to close. I will continue to support the park and contribute to fan communities, but the time has come to wrap up KIExtreme. Kings Island will be celebrating its 50 anniversary next year, and I am excited to see what is to come. I hope you are too! Until the site officially closes on Monday, the Photo Gallery, History Gallery, and Forums will be staying online. Check out photos from the start of my journey with digital photography in the gallery, the original catalyst that led to the site’s creation. Explore the rare historical photos dating back to 1972. Read back through forum posts, taking a ride through the history of the site itself, from the early days through the exciting peak period of time when construction began in Rivertown for what would become Diamondback, and all the speculation, rumors, and excitement every time a new concrete foundation was spotted. I’m posting this now to provide a full weekend to enjoy the site for the final time, and that’s not all. I still have one batch of photos, from Halloween Haunt 2011, that got lost in time for a while and will be uploaded as soon as tomorrow as the site’s final update. These will appear in the Halloween Haunt category of the Photo Gallery, so on this grand finale weekend, keep an eye on the Last Uploads section of the gallery for Haunt 2011 and anything else that could accompany Haunt in that batch of photos. It’s been a heck of a run with KIExtreme, but the future for Kings Island and park fans is a bright one. Ride on!" 4 2 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIghostguy Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 Very sad, I wish that their photo albums would be saved online (they won’t be). Their photo gallery is very well-organized and easy to navigate! A great look at the park in the mid-to-late 2000’s. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 Thanks for the healthy competition back in the good ‘ok days, @PKIDelirium! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakePlissken Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 This is sad but I completely understand. For example Pointbuzz is darn near dead yet the Cedar Point reddit is alive and doing well. I'm sure there are facebook groups too but they usually get toxic so I don't bother. The exception to the rule so far seems to be this very site. King's Island has a reddit too but it does not seem to be very active. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco2000 Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 Unfortunately, this isn't the first park fan site to shut down and unfortunately it won't be the last either. Social Media like Facebook and Reddit sites are taking over and has a bigger audience. It allows people to only have to use one platform for all of their interests instead of several. Personally, I find forums like this easier to navigate and find information. Facebook and Reddit is filled with dozens of the same questions every week as apparently the GP do not know how to use a search function LOL. How many posts per week does the KI Season Passholder page get asking the same thing: "What is the best day to go to the park"; "What are the wait times today"; "Should I get a Fast Lane for a Saturday"; "What are the hours of the park", etc. Certainly the layout and organization of a FB page contributes to the constant barrage of people creating new posts asking the same things over and over again, but it is clear very few people use the search function of FB before asking a question. Contrast that with a site like this that has a wait times thread, so it is easy to find and people can post and see right there. We don't have to scroll through dozens of the same question asked 50 different ways and 100's of responses to flip through. The layout and organization of a forum is generally better organized and easier to navigate and find what you are looking for, but apparently the GP likes them some FB lol. I don't know the numbers for this site, but my observation is that the number of new members and posts per year have probably gone down in recent years as the FB groups and Reddit sites have grown and people start going to those sites. They look at it as being able to get the same information as they can get here, but instead they can get it in one platform that they get information for all of their other interests and thus one less app or site to have to navigate and use. Hopefully this site is one that can continue to stick around in the ever changing landscape of social media opportunities to find information. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlondyRidesOn Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 I loved their galleries of old park pictures. I was hoping one day to use their photo gallery of the Paramount Story tiles to figure out which one was which. I'm gonna have to go on there before Monday and save as many photos as I can. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDMC01 Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 Before I was a member here, I used to flip back and forth between (P)KI Extreme and here. I think PKI Extreme was the first site I stumbled on and I remember it looking cool (and IIRC, the pictures were more organized), but I ultimately ended up here. Though lots of people go on social media (Facebook,Reddit) for their info these days instead of discussion forums), I feel like I've gone the opposite direction. Aside from having a LinkedIn page, watching Youtube videos, and looking at Smogon (Pokemon site)'s Twitter feed (I don't have a Twitter account anymore), I think this is the only "social media" (if you want to call it that - I think of it more as an online community) that I am a part of. It's unfortunate that the pictures will be taken down from that site when it closes Monday, perhaps @IndyGuy4KI and KIE could work out a deal to host said pictures here in their own separate galleries. It's sad that KIE is closing down, but I'm glad KIC is still here and (hopefully) thriving. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowball Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 I really wish those pictures were backed up somewhere, if I had the time and the storage space I’d do it myself, but I don’t have either of those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyGuy4KI Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 We are working with KIE to migrate their whole gallery over to KIC's main site. Don't fret, it won't disappear. 17 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDMC01 Posted June 13, 2021 Share Posted June 13, 2021 Thank you so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver2005 Posted June 13, 2021 Share Posted June 13, 2021 Though there were problems with a lot of sites and forums back in the day, I do miss the variety and energy brought to bring them all to life. It was kinda a cool time to be an enthusiast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Nemo Posted June 13, 2021 Author Share Posted June 13, 2021 3 minutes ago, silver2005 said: Though there were problems with a lot of sites and forums back in the day, I do miss the variety and energy brought to bring them all to life. It was kinda a cool time to be an enthusiast. That it was. It was a family of enthusiasts split between a number of sites, but we were all still family. I remember going to PKIunlimited for the Forum, KIextreme for the RCT recreations, and PKICentral for the galleries. At the time, I began mainly on PKIUNLIMITED before they ultimately merged with PKICentral. I recall there being a fourth fansite for KI but I can't remember the name. Anyone else here who remembers? (Gosh were getting old) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKIDelirium Posted June 13, 2021 Share Posted June 13, 2021 There was PKI Asylum, then KI Asylum that was the original home of the music pack that I inherited when they closed, and I remember a PKIGuide way back in the day, like 2002, no forums but detailed writeups. I think TR:TR was the last feature they did before fading off. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted June 13, 2021 Share Posted June 13, 2021 18 hours ago, PKIDelirium said: There was PKI Asylum, then KI Asylum that was the original home of the music pack that I inherited when they closed, and I remember a PKIGuide way back in the day, like 2002, no forums but detailed writeups. I think TR:TR was the last feature they did before fading off. PKIGuide had forums. Those were the first ones I was on! Boy was I surprised when one day I went to that site and found they had sold the domain to a pornography company. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco2000 Posted June 13, 2021 Share Posted June 13, 2021 39 minutes ago, BoddaH1994 said: PKIGuide had forums. Those were the first ones I was on! Boy was I surprised when one day I went to that site and found they had sold the domain to a pornography company. I think those porn shops simply look for recently expired domains and snatch them up hoping that if even 5% of those looking for the old site then partake in their offerings that they come out well ahead LOL. I have seen so many sites that turn into porn sites when a domain expires LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted June 13, 2021 Share Posted June 13, 2021 10 minutes ago, disco2000 said: I think those porn shops simply look for recently expired domains and snatch them up hoping that if even 5% of those looking for the old site then partake in their offerings that they come out well ahead LOL. I have seen so many sites that turn into porn sites when a domain expires LOL. Haha that’s what I meant, I didn’t mean the previous owners literally sat down with Larry Flint!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKIDelirium Posted June 13, 2021 Share Posted June 13, 2021 (No relation, just to be clear, lol) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyGuy4KI Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 4 hours ago, PKIDelirium said: (No relation, just to be clear, lol) I was wondering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beastfan11 Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 Definitely split my time between here and ExtremePKI back in the day! Very good times and fantastic memories! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKIDelirium Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 It's after miiiiiiiiiiidnight... KIExtreme is now 29. Stay tuned around here for updates from KIC regarding the photo archival. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calakapepe Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 Should've checked the forums before the weekend, it seems best wishes for your future now that keeping the site going wont be on your plate. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Nemo Posted January 14, 2022 Author Share Posted January 14, 2022 Any update on the gallery integration to KIC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyGuy4KI Posted January 14, 2022 Share Posted January 14, 2022 8 hours ago, Captain Nemo said: Any update on the gallery integration to KIC? The photos have been imported on the server, we now have to go through them and integrate them into our galleries. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorkscrewMcPuke Posted January 14, 2022 Share Posted January 14, 2022 And of course, anybody still wanting to visit parts of the website that were backed up, you can still do so at https://web.archive.org/web/20210613030337/http://kiextreme.com/ Expect dial-up internet speed for pictures though. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cedar Fair Fanboy Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 Guys download the entire audio they have! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKIDelirium Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 7 hours ago, CorkscrewMcPuke said: And of course, anybody still wanting to visit parts of the website that were backed up, you can still do so at https://web.archive.org/web/20210613030337/http://kiextreme.com/ Expect dial-up internet speed for pictures though. Yeah, archive.org is great but the speed for media is, uh, not so great. 1 hour ago, Cedar Fair Fanboy said: Guys download the entire audio they have! I’m addition to the gallery archives I also provided KIC with the KiTunes audio and the Phantom Theater soundtrack. 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyGuy4KI Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 So there are 350 galleries we imported on the server. I have to get with @malem on the best method to import into the live galleries on KIC. I will get with Malem on the audio files and get them on a new page on the main site. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKIDelirium Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 There are a plethora of audio player plugins for Wordpress, I don't remember the names but I tried a few of them out back when I was toying with the ultimately-abandoned WordPress revamp of KIE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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