So…Now What?

Last week while I was writing a Pull List post on Comics Unbagged, I found that I was unable to upload an image.

After doing some troubleshooting based on the error message, I determined that the problem was that I had hit my server’s limit of 250,000 files. This actually explained a problem I’d had earlier in which I’d tried publishing a new product in the Supply Closet from Printify, as the attempt to send over product images had caused me to hit that file limit.

Of course, I only realized that in retrospect, as I’d decided that whatever was happening with the new product could wait, and it wasn’t until I ran into the issue later in the day with my Pull List post that I actually did any investigation.

I managed to delete enough unnecessary files to free up space to make the Pull List post but also contacted my hosting provider to discuss my options. I opted to bump up my hosting plan, which the representative incorrectly told me would eliminate the file limit but did at least increase it to 500,000, giving me a bit of breathing room.

Eventually.

Unfortunately, something went wrong during the migration process and the entire site was unreachable for two days.

Some might say that nothing of value was lost – it’s me; I’m “some” – but the downtime did lead me to take some time to think about what this site is for and what I’m hoping to do with it in the near term.

Ultimately, as we hit the 10th anniversary of launching this endeavor, my original vision remains the same: I want to create a platform and a community where people can get together to create and share comics.

But I recognize that just isn’t possible with the current state of things. The original plan was to start small with this platform, getting a few creators up and running with their own comic sites, working with them personally to smooth out any issues and work on ways to improve the process going forward, generate some revenue to invest into development, and keep gradually working towards the larger, loftier goal.

That didn’t happen, and eventually, as I learned about the file limit – I wasn’t aware of it when I originally launched OpenDoor Comics, which is on me for not paying attention – and realized how quickly I would hit that limit.

Indeed, I hit it almost entirely on my own.

Accomplishing even that initial, limited goal would require another hosting solution, one that I doubt I could afford, given that I can barely afford this one. Frankly, in a lot of ways it’s as if my continued failure to achieve that modest goal has been for the best.

I’ve already largely abandoned or at least downplayed that goal ever since finding out about the file limit years ago, and I’ve been focused almost exclusively on developing a following for Comics Unbagged in the – vain – hope of generating some of that ever-elusive revenue, leaving the main site mostly idle.

That isn’t really going to change much. I’m not going to try to recruit creators to post comics here, and I will continue to put most of my energy into Comics Unbagged, gradually using that site to move towards needing to upgrade my hosting to expand my file limit again.

What I am going to do with the main site is rework it somewhat. Finally updating the look and feel and turning it into landing page pointing to new content on Comics Unbagged and as a place to buy branded products, like the shirts that are currently available, and also comics.

By comics I mean both my own comic, Wargod: Worldtamer, and real, physical comics from my personal collection.

I already have some up for sale, with more to follow. Ultimately, I hope to sell off the majority of my collection, keeping only collected volumes and those comics that have a particular sentimental value to me.

And of course, ideally, the money generated from those sales will go into taking a step forward from this step back and focusing on that original goal once again.

So now what? Well, mostly continuing on as I’ve been doing with just a slightly different focus. The biggest difference, I think, is just that I’ve actually taken the time to talk about it.

And as always, I appreciate any and all support I’ve received and that I hopefully will receive in the form of some purchases, direct financial support via PayPal and Patreon, and helping to build an audience and ad revenue for Comics Unbagged.

---

---