So now I have another question or three, for Chris and for leadership...the questions are interrogative...within the statements...
The forum software for this forum "simplemachines" is free, meaning the cost involved is in the hosting of the forum...the costs associated with having someone outside of the forum host the forum on their servers.
"simplemachines" is considered one of the leading formats for forum creation...#4 on this particular list of both paid and free forum creation software:
https://websitesetup.org/best-forum-software/My inference would be that the software running this forum will rank somewhere between 3 and 6 for any given ranking of forum creation software, depending on whether they include paid along with free software, and "simplemachines" is freeware.
1. The software is free, and backups of the database can be made.
2. There are cheaper hosting options than the one (obviously) currently being used by the club.
3. Anyone with a broadband connection and the ability to set up a server can host this forum, at minimal cost (broadband and data usage rates apply...but they could do it at a fraction of the cost of your current provider).
4. pnw_oldmags has effectively said he'd be willing to host the data, but wouldn't be willing to run the forum. I get it, he'd host the old data, no new posts, but if he'd be willing to host the bandwidth for keeping this forum alive, I'd be glad to take it over from an admin standpoint. I have extensive experience with XML, stylesheets, html and db maintenance. If not pnw, perhaps we can find another willing to host on a local server. I'd be willing to contribute to such a project, as I'm sure a few others who have weighed in would also.
5. There are several members who have already weighed in showing they have no wish or reason to start a faceplant account, for reasons I fully understand but others may not.
6. If numbers 1 - 4 (with some consideration or alterations based on possible hosting) are weighed, there is no reason this forum can not continue indefinitely...unless there is some political reason for killing it, and it seems all the world has become politicized of late, which is sad to me, because it doesn't need to be that way...
7. If I gauge the overall temper of the membership's collective gestalt correctly here...most do not want to lose this forum, believe it is fine the way it is, do not want to migrate to a new format that is unfamiliar, and particularly, do not want to lose the info that is here for the searching...
There are always other paths to attain a goal. To settle on one to the exclusion of all others, without significant regard for those other options seems to reject a rational path forward.
If we fail to rule ourselves with reason, we shall be ruled by our passions.