Hey guys and girls, I'm a writer for the gaming news site QJ.net and also a huge fan of Silent Hill 2.
This forum and it's user-submitted content is astounding, with all the essays and theories enough to make up a book!
Every few months I come here and I learn something new about my favorite survival horror, and it reinforces the status of the game in my mind each time.

I just thought that seeing as Silent Hill 2 is nothing short of a work of art, I thought I'd inform you all of this article I just wrote regarding The British Library's decision to begin archiving videogame related websites for preservation for future generations. Sites on the agenda include not only reviews, but fan-made art, user-drawn maps and everything of the like that shows how videogames have affected society.

I just thought that this site is a perfect and essential candidate, and that should you follow that link (and another link in the article) you can vote for what sites you think should be preserved.

BUT, that's not all.
The theories and interpretations here are too good to leave lying around,so I'm going to spend the next few days compiling them in various formats if I can, including a PDF (with a clickable contents page of course!) and a cleaned up .RAR file with .txt's.

But what's also interesting are the responses to the theories, they give more insight and delve a bit further into things, so I am just requesting if the site admin or even a moderator knows of a way to archive the forums, similiar to how one can archive Wikipedia for offline use?
If you can't, that's fine, and I'll still be sure to post the PDF compilation of theories here when I'm done.

Thanks for reading, you guys really make videogaming worth the effort!


Note: On closer inspection, the site to be nominated has to be a UK site (I think), so archiving this forum for offline use would be a good idea for the meantime before we can nominate US sites (or create a non-interactive mirror of this site on a UK server, temporarily)

I'm fine with it, if it counts for anything. But that's really up to Vixx to decide.

I'm pleased that you think so highly of our forum, and the people who theorize and discuss here. As Aura said, I would suggest waiting for our admin to decide. Also, which theories did you have in mind? I'm sure none of the theorists of the theories you wish to show would mind if you used them, but I also suggest talking to them.

The forum's worthy of the praise. I was talking about the only theories I've read, the list in the Silent Hill 2 forum (a stickied thread I think), but I'm sure the other game's have good ones too.

This place archives almost a decade's worth of chat and theorising, and whilst I'm aware that I technically "own" the content here (before anyone complains, when you joined up here you turned the copyright over to the forum), I'm simply not comfortable agreeing or disagreeing without some discussion about it first.

Therefore, I'd suggest a poll of some kind to enable members to vote on whether or not they'd like to see something like this.

Finally, I'm based within the UK (and subject to British law and caveats), whereas the server is in the US.

I understand completely Vixx, and thanks for the reply.

Nonetheless, I'm still compiling a PDF of the theories, if it is just for own personal use and reference. (It's just taking much longer than I thought it would!)

A poll sounds like a good idea to me. If you do make it, can you post a link to it in this thread?

So the stuff on Indian Runner is technically yours just because it was posted here?

Depends on where you're from. In Canada, copyright attaches automatically to any creative work the moment it's created. Therefore, song lyrics and such that I posted here remain mine.

Technically I never posted my work here. I only posted links to outside pages that had my work hosted so I'm safe. But this should be cleared up as I think no one wants to simply give away their copyrights. If that's really the case everyone will simply stop posting on Indian Runner.

It's like that in the United States, too.

I too am interested in that and I'd add it to the original post.

As for the PDF, I'll add it here too. (If I'm to post it anywhere, I think here is the only appropriate place, hah!)
The thing I've found though when reading through the theories is that many of them have a small message, and that it's the replies (one had about 45 pages?!) that really bring insights and depth into the theories. Compiling them into something comprehensive and neat will takea while, but I'll be sure to notify you guys as soon as it's done.

As for the copyright stuff being mentioned, it's just legalities. If people were aware of most of the copyright laws around them we'd be afraid to even turn on our computer! No ones going to be mean, relax.

^I don't know. SOPA may end up grinding our ass before too long (which I think is all right for copyright infringement purposes, but I digress...).

You can add a poll on this topic if you like.

Let's not go there, Aerith.

^We won't be, I assure you. I was just being a bit silly.