All good things…
When we first started this site way back in February 2003, we never imagined the way that it would morph and develop to ultimately become what it is today. What started out as a means for us to share and workshop some of our writing has turned into a site focussed much more around a community of people. It has certainly been illuminating.
But four and a half years is a long time. In that time our RL profiles have changed, and to be honest, Phil and I have both lost a sense of energy for this blog (something that would not come as a surprise to regular commenters, who have become accustomed to the fact that we aren’t around as much as we once were). That energy includes monitoring comments, responding to inquiries and requests to change/delete references, and so on.
We have spent several months now discussing what we would do with or about this site. This is what we have come up with. We recognise that the people who comment here have become a community of sorts and we want to give every opportunity for that to continue in some form. We toyed with allowing someone else to take over this site entirely. However, we want to maintain our existing archive as it is a bit of a scrapbook for us. And therefore relinquishing control over signposts isn’t something that we are comfortable with.
So for now we propose to just close the site. The content will remain but we will close the comments on all posts. Closing comments will be a bit of a lengthy process and will commence in the next couple of weeks, starting from the oldest posts. It is possible that in future we will start something new at this site. We might even get six months down the track, decide that we can’t bear to be without this blog and bring it back up - we don’t think so though.
We encourage commenters and others who might wish to maintain the “signposts community” to make some plans in the comments of this thread. It might be starting a group blog or a forum which reflects the same sort of open conversation which takes place here. We are happy to assist in whatever way we can, including directing future visitors to whereever you want.
We will publish a “last post” when we come to finally close off all of the comments, but for now we just wanted to thank our readers and commenters for the last 4 and a half years. To those that have helped with guest posting, and to those that have engaged in conversation and have in some way had their thinking or questioning as a result of this site, we thank you.
August 31st, 2007 at 8:03 pm
whatever happened to bosco… wasn’t he the first one to comment on this blog
August 31st, 2007 at 8:35 pm
Thanks Singer… ditto.
I can’t believe this is the last night of Signposts… I do find myself thinking about the members of this online community rather fondly.
If SP were a condemned man I believe it would be etiquitte to offer a choice of a final meal or a Cuban cigar or something… how does one pay respects to a condemned site?
August 31st, 2007 at 9:04 pm
http://signposts2.wordpress.com/2007/08/31/signposts-goodbye-farewell-amen/
August 31st, 2007 at 10:08 pm
There’s got to be a signposts after
If we can hold on through the night
We have a chance to find the sonshine
Let’s keep on lookin’ for the light
Oh, can’t you see the signposts after?
It’s waiting right outside the web
Why don’t we cross the bridge together
And find a place that’s safe and warm?
It’s not too late, we should be living
Only with love can we climb
It’s not too late, not while we’re blogging
Let’s put our hands out in time
There’s got to be a signposts after
We’re moving closer to the end
I know we’ll be there by tomorrow
And we’ll escape the posting
We won’t be searchin’ (on google) any more
There’s got to be a signposts after
(There’s got to be a signposts after)
There’s got to be a signposts after
August 31st, 2007 at 10:47 pm
Well, here’s my last post. I’d love to stay up to midnight, but I’ve drunk too much wine (a whole 2 glasses!). I’ll be on SPII from time to time.
Ladies, gentlemen, it’s been unreal. Thank you all soooooo very very much.
August 31st, 2007 at 10:48 pm
[…] From http://www.signposts.org.au/2007/08/13/all-good-things/#comment-177181 […]
August 31st, 2007 at 10:50 pm
Phil and Dan, I’ve organised for the official Signposts headstone to be created, I hope you like it
Greg
August 31st, 2007 at 10:51 pm
Can we not make this like the drawn-out final four-hour episode of Hey, Hey It’s Saturday?
August 31st, 2007 at 10:55 pm
G’night all,
and thanks for everything.
I’m glad I dropped by from time to time. I’ll miss signposts, although I may drop into the dark side occasionally.
John
August 31st, 2007 at 10:56 pm
This reminds me of the time I stood at the airpport and waved her off..hang on, nope, that was someone elses story
August 31st, 2007 at 11:36 pm
Well, in case I can’t post tomorrow…I am going to miss this place. Thank you Phil and Dan. Thank you linesmen, thankyou ball boys….and Bec, I’m still waiting for that coffee my dear.
August 31st, 2007 at 11:46 pm
likewise
thank you to all those who challenged my thinking.. iron certainly sharpens iron and though we may not have changed our minds one bit I am sure we have clarified our own thoughts greatly which is a good thing.
August 31st, 2007 at 11:47 pm
Hi All,
Just passing by for the last time on Signposts!
Thank you to all for the entertaining reading and the interesting discussions that you people have had.
It has been both enlightening and fun.
Cheers for now,
DB
September 1st, 2007 at 12:08 am
William Shakespeare - All the world’s a stage (from As You Like)
All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.
And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
September 1st, 2007 at 12:23 am
So Long, Farewell.
There’s a sad sort of clanging from the clock in the hall
And the bells in the steeple too
And up in the nursery an absurd little bird
Is popping out to say “cuckoo”
Cuckoo, cuckoo
Regretfully they tell us Cuckoo, cuckoo
But firmly they compel us, Cuckoo, cuckoo
To say goodbye . . .
Cuckoo!
. . . to you
So long, farewell,Signposts, good night
I hate to go and leave this pretty sight
So long, farewell, Signposters, adieu
Adieu, adieu, to yieu and yieu and yieu
So long, farewell, au revoir, Hill$ong
I’d like to stay and taste my first champagne
So long, farewell, Signposts, goodbye
I leave and heave a sigh and say goodbye — Goodbye!
I’m glad to go, I cannot tell a lie
I flit, I float, I fleetly flee, I fly
The sun has gone to bed and so must I
So long, farewell, Signposts, goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
Goodbye!
Now that WAS creepy (see Signposts2)……but what do you expect it’s after midnight??
September 1st, 2007 at 8:28 am
Say goodbye, my friends at Signposts,
As we sing our blogger’s song.
How it breaks my heart to leave you;
Now that Signposts1 is gone.
High above, the dawn is waking,
And my tears are falling rain,
For the Signposts time is over;
We may never meet again.
Like a drum my heart was beating,
And your posts were sweet as wine.
But the joys of blogs are fleeting
For Pierrot and Columbine.
Now the harbour light is calling;
This will be our last goodbye.
Though the Signposts time is over,
I will love you till I die.
Though the Signposts time is over
I will love you til I die.
Serious apologies to the Seekers… or whoever first wrote that Carnival song.
OK… anyone else game to corrupt a farewell song?
(I’m wondering if I’ll beat abtruth and the good butcher to be last to post on a thread!!! Ha ha!!!!)
September 1st, 2007 at 8:46 am
Stop all the broadband, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone.
Silence the modems and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky Signposts is Dead,
Put crépe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
It was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song,
I thought Signposts would last forever: ‘I was wrong’
The stars are not wanted now, put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good.
September 1st, 2007 at 9:41 am
A hand above the water
An angel reaching for the sky
Is it raining in heaven -
Do you want us to cry?
And everywhere the broken-hearted
On every lonely avenue
No-one could reach them
No-one but you
One by one
Only the Good (blogs) die young
They’re only flying too close to the sun
And life goes on -
Without you…
Another Tricky Situation
A get to drowin’ in the Blues
And I find myself thinkin’
Well - what would you do?
Yes! - it was such an operation
Forever paying every due
Hell, you made a sensation
You found a way through - and
One by one
Only the Good (blogs) die young
They’re only flyin’ too close to the sun
We’ll remember -
Forever…
And now the party must be over
I guess we’ll never understand
The sense of your leaving
Was it the way it was planned?
And so we grace another table
And raise our glasses one more time
There’s a face at the window
And I ain’t never, never sayin’ goodbye…
One by one
Only the Good (blogs) die young
They’re only flyin’ too close to the sun
Cryin’ for nothing
Cryin’ for no-one
No-one but you
I’m going to trump you Greg.
September 1st, 2007 at 9:46 am
The force is strong with this one…
I love a challenge Janet
September 1st, 2007 at 9:53 am
The End of Something - Rolins Band Watch the video clip and read the lyrics
September 1st, 2007 at 10:19 am
There’s a sad sort of clanging from the clock in the hall
And the bells in the steeple too
And up in the nursery an absurd little bird
Is popping out to say “cuckoo”
Cuckoo, cuckoo
Regretfully they tell us Cuckoo, cuckoo
But firmly they compel us Cuckoo, cuckoo
To say goodbye . . .
Cuckoo!
. . . to you
So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, good night
I hate to go and leave this pretty sight
So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, adieu
No more singposts for you or you or you or you
September 1st, 2007 at 10:24 am
I don’t wanna talk
About the things we’ve gone through
Though it’s hurting me
Now it’s history
I’ve played all my cards
And that’s what you’ve done too
Nothing more to say
No more ace to play
The winner takes it all
The loser standing small
Beside the victory
That’s my destiny
I was in your blog
Thinking I belonged there
I figured it made sense
Building me a fence
Building me a home
Thinking I’d be strong there
But I was a fool
Greg was such a tool
The gods may throw a dice
Their minds as cold as ice
And someone way down here
Loses something dear
The winner takes it all
The loser has to fall
It’s simple and it’s plain
Why should you complain
I win…
September 1st, 2007 at 10:26 am
That doesn’t count… Daisy did that song. You have to find your own new song.
September 1st, 2007 at 10:36 am
Calling Paris
Come in London
Come in New York
Hello Rio
The bad news is Signposts is ending
The good news is there’s a party
But you better get here quick
When you feel like a written off worship leader at Hillsong
About to get fed to the pigs
When that preacher’s bus from hell
Blastin’ just cowbell
Parks itself in front of your digs
There’s a place you can go called Signposts2 ya know
Down in the Southern Hemisphere
It’s kinda Troy without Helen
Past the Straits of Magellan
Things are always looking up down here
Cause there’s a party at the end of Signposts(end of Signposts)
Where the locals do the tango twirl (tango twirl)
Forget the temples in Nepal
Cancel the fete in Montreal
There’s a party at the end of Signposts
It seems like I’ve run out of reasons to be here
So I’m just gonna steal from myself
If your attitude’s appalling
There’s a latitude that’s calling
Get yourself past that continental shelf
Now the band that we hired
Is playing quite inspired
Singing Eskimos and eunuchs from Bangkok
And this location’s so nice
We’ll never run out of ice
‘Cause Antarctica’s just around the block
And there’s a party at the end of Signposts (end of Signposts)
Where the locals do the tango twirl (tango twirl)
Now don’t make that big mistaica
And wind up with Miss Jamaica
At the party at the end of world
! Corinthians 5, Tithers eaten alive
Dead possums dragged behind- “D’accord” (Honda that is)
RSVP isn’t needed you see
And they all just be screaming for more-AMOUR
Now in case you hadn’t heard
Things are getting quite absurd
No one really shocks us that’s for sure
Roadside bombers and tsunamis
Oh god How I miss those Commies
No one really plays fair anymore
But I’ve spoken to the yogis
And had meetings with my roadies
Who tell me that arrangements are complete
Just below the “Roaring forties”
I am going to fly some sorties
So you best reserve that cherished window seat
To the party at the end of Signposts (end of Signposts)
Where the locals do that tango twirl (tango twirl)
I don’t care about “the Rapture”
When there’s native girls to capture
There’s a party at the end of Signposts
Who cares if there’s no playa
We’ll be rocking in Australia
At the party at the end
You surely must attend
The party at the end of Signposts
with apologies to Jimmy Buffett - but none to Janet or ADHD
September 1st, 2007 at 10:41 am
Janet loves Abba…actually so do I
September 1st, 2007 at 11:45 am
Come on everybody!
Clap your hands!
All you looking good!
I`m goona sing my song
It won`t take long!
We`re gonna do the blog
and it goes like this:
Come on let`s blog again,
like we did last summer!
Yeaaah,let`s blog again,
like we did last year!
Do you remember when,
things were really hummin`,
Yeaaaah,let`s blog again,
Singposts 2 is here!
Rev and Reve and Bec and Saint and Hom-er,
Lance and Dan and Phil and Greg the Explor-er
Let’s blog again,
like we did last summer,
Come on,let`s blog again,
like we did last year!
BLOG! YO!
Who`s that,flyin up there?
Is it Daisy? Noooooo
Is it Emma? Noooooooo
Is it Signposts 2? YEAAAAAAAHH!
Blog again,like we did last summer,
Come on,Let`s blog again,
like we did last year!!!!
Do you remember when,things were really hummin`,
Come on,let`s blog again,
Signposts 2 is here
Heeee,
MN and Facelift and Emanresu
Emblazoned and Wazza and Lionfish to-oo
Come on, blog again,like we did last summer,
let`s blog again,like we did last year!
Come on, let`s blog again,
Signposts 2 is heeeere!
Abtruth and Wayne and ADHD Librar-ian
On lyrics like these there should be a moratar-ium…
What else ya got, Greg?
September 1st, 2007 at 11:55 am
Here’s me thinking I’d try to post something vaguely contemporary to create the illusion of how hip I am… but now you’ve thrown down the gauntlet.
I can out-Abba you Greg
No more carefree laughter
Silence ever after
Scrolling through an now closed blog, tears in my eyes
Here is where the story ends, this is goodbye
Knowing me, knowing you
There is nothing we can do
Knowing me, knowing you
We just have to face it, this time it’s through
(This time we’re through, this time we’re through
This time we’re through, we’re really through)
Closing blogs is never easy, I know but they have to go
(They have to go this time
They have to go, this time they know)
Knowing me, knowing you
It’s the best we can do
Mem’ries (mem’ries), good days (good days), bad days (bad days)
They’ll be (they’ll be), with me (with me) always (always)
In these old familiar threads bloggers would play
Now there’s only emptiness, nothing to say
Knowing me, knowing you
There is nothing we can do
Knowing me, knowing you
We just have to face it, this time we’re through
(This time we’re through, this time we’re through
This time we’re through, we’re really through)
Breaking up is never easy, I know but the have to go
(they have to go this time
they have to go, this time I know)
Knowing me, knowing you
It’s the best I can do
September 1st, 2007 at 1:22 pm
I’m nothing special, in fact I’m a bit of a bore
If I tell a joke, you’ve probably heard it before
But I have discovered a wonderful site
And now I’m addicted both day and night
I’m so grateful and proud
All I want is to call it out loud
So I say:
Thank you both for Signposts that you created
The blog that Pringle and Houston hated
Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty
What would life be
Without a thread or a fight what are we?
So I say thank you both for Signposts
For giving it to me
My husband says I was addicted, I no longer walk
He says I now type instead of talk
And I’ve often wondered, how did it all start
Who found out that nothing can capture a heart
Like a weblog can?
Well, whoever it was, I’m a fan
So I say:
Thank you both for Signposts that you created
The blog that Pringle and Houston hated
Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty
What would life be
Without a thread or a fight what are we?
So I say thank you both for Signposts
For giving it to me
(Just in case there was any doubt on this matter… it’s now revealed I was one of the really, really uncool teens in the ‘70’s. The cool kids bought Skyhooks albums)
September 1st, 2007 at 2:22 pm
Say goodbye my own true Signposts
As we sing a bloggers song
How it breaks my heart to leave you
Now the carnival is gone
High above the blogosphere is waiting
And my tears are falling rain
For the carnival is over
We may never meet again
Like a drum my heart was beating
And your posts were sweet as wine
But the joys of threads are fleeting
For Homer and the fish called lion
Now the delete button is calling
This will be our last goodbye
Though the blog called Signposts is over
I will love you till I die
Like a drum my heart was beating
And your blog was sweet as wine
But the joys of baiting homer are fleeting
For GTE and Janet and rev (the swine)
Now the blogosphere is calling
This will be our last goodbye
Though the blog called Signposts is over
I will love you till I die
Though the blog called signposts is over
I will love you till I die
September 1st, 2007 at 2:55 pm
Oh Greg it makes me sad
Why did things turn out so bad
Was it just a dream, everything we did, everything we had?
Greggy, give me one more post
Before Signposts closes down
Don’t think about tomorrow
Type, and forget our time is gone
Tonight’s a night we borrow
Let’s make it a memory, a thread of our own
A post to remember when we’re all alone
So blog, it’s our way to say goodbye
Yes, all we have to do is
Blog Before Signposts closes down
This is no time for crying
Type, any moment it’ll be gone
God knows that we’ve been trying
But we can’t sustain it, now nothing’s the same
We just couldn’t help it, nobody’s to blame
So type, before Signposts closes down
And let it be our last goodbye
Yet it seems to make me sad
Why did things turn out so bad
Was is just a dream, everything we typed, everything we had?
Greggy, give me one last post
Before Signposts closes down
Just like the night I met you
Type, and believe me, when you’re gone
You know I won’t forget you
For Signposts was fun but, it’s closing today
They tell us it’s over, what more can I say
So blog before Signposts closes down
It’s gonna be our last goodbye
Blog before Signposts closes down
Don’t think about tomorrow
Type and forget our time is gone
Tonight’s a night we borrow
Let’s make it a memory, a thread of our own
A post to remember when we’re all alone
So blog, Goodbye to the Signpost crew
Yes let it be our last goodbye.
(I think I’m starting to make myself feel ill… but as some consolation, I’m currently winning)