Winding down DonationCoder after 20 years

[mouser]

It's painfully hard to write this, but I think it's important that I get the ball rolling and give everyone as much advance notice as I can.
I have decided that we will close up operations here on Donationcoder at the end of the 2026.

It's been clear to us all for a while that the site is not very active and is painful to use. So it's time to say goodbye.  Both because the server costs are unsustainable, but also because maintenance of the site is just not feasible going forward and it's better to close things up gracefully rather than wait for a catastrophic problem or hack.

What I will try to do is find a way to archive all the forum and web page content and keep it available in read-only form online.  No reason that can't still be at the donationcoder.com url indefinitely.
I have removed the Donation links to paypal and replaced them with a permanent license key.  The software I wrote will all continue to work of course.

I will try to write more about how much you all have meant to me in the coming weeks, and how much DonationCoder has meant to me over the years.  It all feels very raw trying to write this and I'm having a hard time finding the right words.  I have met some wonderful people here, and I'm finding it hard to express my thoughts about the whole project without breaking down.

-jesse (mouser)

We did have fun didn't we?

[skwire]

We did have fun didn't we?

-mouser (April 13, 2026, 04:54 PM)

Damn right, we had fun.   

[Ath]

I'm having a hard time finding the right words.

-mouser (April 13, 2026, 04:54 PM)

Aw, I feel the pain, and it's somewhat unsettling, but it feels as the best way to proceed, seeing the traffic dwindle, the  last couple of years.

We sure did have fun, and you've been of great comfort to me personally, when I went through a harsh time, some (13) years ago.

Thanks Jesse, and all other regulars, for providing this; the best forum in the world .

[anandcoral]

I became famous due to Donation Coder 

I will remain grateful to Mouser and all members of DC for helping me to put my knowledge and create useful apps, as NANY apps.
This has helped me to become a known face in the world.

Though it looks very sad to me as my own home is closing, but I agree we must move with time.
Hope we can keep in touch in some way in coming years.

I will try to make some more apps, if possible, as happy closing. I will request members here too to put more apps with DC name.

[kunkel321]

It is indeed sad to see it end.  I agree, though; better to end gracefully than with some catastrophic event.   

[xesenif]

I'm not a coder but I've found, and use, so many useful programs from here.  Really sad to see it go.  I hope access to the programs remain, and as much as everything else.  Thanks so much for a great site!

[rjbull]

I have decided that we will close up operations here on Donationcoder at the end of the 2026.
It's been clear to us all for a while that the site is not very active and is painful to use. So it's time to say goodbye.  Both because the server costs are unsustainable, but also because maintenance of the site is just not feasible going forward and it's better to close things up gracefully rather than wait for a catastrophic problem or hack.

-mouser (April 13, 2026, 04:54 PM)

That's a shame and a great loss, though I've noticed the drop in traffic myself.  But while maintaining the site may be painful to you and the other admins, it isn't painful to use.  It's the nicest place on the Internet 

I've not been active here lately for various reasons, but I check the front page of the forum every day (on a tablet).  I don't know of anywhere else with such a broad range of software discussion held in such a civilized manner.  The reasons for closing are cogent, but DC will be missed