New Year is the time decisions and resolutions are made for the coming year and your web master has made a significant one! After 15 years of operation Irish Sea Shipping The Online Shipping Magazine (www.irishseashipping.com) will cease to operate in on and from January 01, 2010. This announcement may appear somewhat sudden - however, the date represents a logical termination point and I felt that a decision on the site's future needed to be made. Up to a few days ago it was fully intended to replace the existing site with one which had been developed using MS Expression Web. However, for reasons detailed below a decision has been taken to cease further development. The Irish Sea Shipping web site, originally began as a text only newsletter "Mersey Shipping News" uploaded to the UK Forums of the then online service CompuServe. It first appeared for the first time in autumn 1994 in this format. It is lost in the mists of time exactly when "Mersey Shipping News" transferred to the World Wide Web, but the transfer took place sometime during 1995. Over the years the site evolved into Irish Sea Shipping and has gone from strength to strength proving very popular amongst maritime enthusiasts and professionals. The decision to cease operations follows six months of lengthy deliberation. The decision has not been taken lightly given that a significant amount of time has recently been invested in designing a new site created with Microsoft Expression Web. However, following period of several days away from the computer over the Christmas Holiday allowed your web master some time for further reflection and I have come to the conclusion that it is now time for Irish Sea Shipping The Online Shipping Magazine to bow out gracefully. Why has this decision been made? - The online shipping scene has moved on rapidly in recent years there now exist a number of interactive web sites and forums which allow the rapid sharing of news on a virtually live basis. I no longer feel that Irish Sea Shipping - The Online Shipping Magazine has the immediacy which the interactive forum based sites now offer. The provision of such interactive facilities has been investigated but there already exist a number of now well established sites which offer these facilities. There is no point in trying to replicate, and probably dilute, what is already available and operating successfully.
- Over the past 15 years your web master has dedicated many hours to editing Irish Sea Shipping. How many hours has never been recorded but a typical weekend update can take eight hours or more to assemble! Not withstanding the time commitment running the web site has brought great pleasure and satisfaction providing on more than one occasion a necessary diversion from work and domestic pressures but your web master needs a break from this ongoing commitment.
- I now feel as though a considerable block of time needs to be freed up each week for personal and professional reasons. Time is needed to relax. For quite a few years my life has revolved around my full time paid job in education and an almost full time unpaid job Irish Sea Shipping! I would like to revert to being just an ordinary transport enthusiast once again and catch up on some long delayed hobby related tasks which have been deferred for years through lack of time. When I started out back in 1994 typing a weekly news to be posted on CompuServe that things would develop as they have done.
What will happen to the Irish Sea Shipping web site? - The Irish Sea Shipping web site represents a massive commitment of time not just on the part of your web master but also those of its many contributors. Therefore, the site is not going to be deleted it contains just too much material which should remain available for as long as possible.
- It is intended to keep Irish Sea Shipping on line as long as the web hosting company continues to support Microsoft Front Page extensions. Obviously once support for Front Page extensions ends the site will have to close performing the conversion task would be excessively time consuming.
What will happen to the Irish Sea Ships & Maritime Questions Yahoo Groups? - No Change! These interactive groups will continue to operate as normal and members of these groups are encouraged to post and share and discuss news as usual. Regular visitors to the Irish Sea Shipping web site who are not already members are encouraged to join. However, is recognised that some may not wish to register with Yahoo to read postings on the Yahoo Groups. Therefore, the message archives now have public access, though it will remain necessary to log in to respond to or add material. [CLICK HERE to access Irish Sea Ships Yahoo Group.] [CLICK HERE to access Maritime Questions Yahoo Group].
- Some reference information will be transferred to the Irish Sea Ships Yahoo Group including the popular annual Irish and Celtic Seas Cruise Ship Call Information which will appear during January 2010 and this will be updated as and when appropriate.
- Your web master will continue to provide news updates to the Irish Sea Ships Yahoo Group on a regular basis and others are encouraged to do so.
- Contributions of photographs, especially those of a newsworthy nature, can continue to be made by contributors by direct uploading material to the Irish Sea Ships Yahoo Photo Galleries and File areas. It is also possible to send attachments to the Irish Sea Ships Yahoo Group.
Where can I keep up with the latest shipping news from the Irish and Celtic Seas? Much news material will continue to be posted to the Irish Sea Ships Yahoo Group. A visit to the Recommended Links page will reveal links to other news and information sources! [CLICK HERE] JHL Photography @ Smug Mug In the medium term your web masters photographic web site which includes many high resolution ship and other photographs will continue to operate and be updated. [CLICK HERE]. However, in the longer term this may be replaced by a new site see Future Plans below. Future Online Plans As already indicated a significant amount of time has been invested in exploring the opportunities presented by Microsoft Expressions Web software during November and December. This investment will not be going to waste! It is envisaged that eventually a new web site will be developed but this will be different from the current Irish Sea Shipping web site. What exact form this site will take has not been finally decided on as yet though it is likely to have a high photographic content with a transport bias as you would expect. However, the site will be designed in such a manner as not to be as time sensitive and labour intensive as Irish Sea Shipping has become. Information about these plans will be posted on the Irish Sea Ships Yahoo Group and at various appropriate locations on-line when appropriate. A Big Thank You to Contributors and Visitors! Finally I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have contributed to Irish Sea Shipping - The Online Shipping Magazine over the years from various locations around the Irish and Celtic Seas as well as from further afield. Your support has been particularly invaluable the web site would have not flourished with out it. Feedback from web site visitors has also been invaluable. I know from email correspondence that on occasions Irish Sea Shipping has been provocative and has annoyed and frustrated some people and organisations. However, the site has led to the development of contacts and friendships not just between your web master and contributors but also between others who visit the site and the associated Yahoo Group. Whilst online social networking is common now, back in the early days of the Internet sites such as Irish Sea Shipping provided a focal point and helped bring people with maritime interests together this will be a lasting legacy. Irish Sea Shipping The Online Shipping Magazine has taken up a large portion of my life but it has been a highly enjoyable experience thanks to so many people. Over the next few weeks there may be some changes to the site to prepare it for its archive role but there will be no additional material content added. I hope that you have all enjoyed Irish Sea Shipping The Online Shipping Magazine as much as I have enjoyed compiling it. If you have any enquiries please email [email protected] . Best wishes for 2010 John H. Luxton January 01, 2010 Finally some page headers from the past ....... | 
