We talked about this on the SHNN last night. To sum up my thoughts:

I don't think people should change their donation habits one way or the other based on this. It's only been a few months, and this is something that Shinja does pretty much out of the kindness of his heart. I don't know how much per month actually gets donated, but I would be surprised if it was much more than the cost to host the site. If you like Bloomilk and have the financial ability to donate, do so! It's a great site and a great service, and your donations surely help keep it running.

Secondly, some people have suggested that he "hand over the keys" so to speak. That is pretty unreasonable. For one thing, it was pretty much all coded by him, so who knows what the code looks like. I'm a professional computer programmer, and I can tell you that interpreting someone else's personal project (which Bloomilk is for Shinja) is usually very difficult. I have no idea what language he used to code the squadbuilder or how he did it, and I'm sure there is no documentation at all for it (why would you document a personal project? I know I don't). I would be very willing to put some time into helping update the site if my services would be helpful, but I would expect it to be an incredibly difficult task to just dive into.


One suggestion I put forward on the SHNN is that people should start using the squad building forums more. I think one thing people miss is the ability to look at squads that others have made and either just see them and learn from them or to comment on them and discuss them. This is still possible; there's a whole forum for it both on here and on Gamers! Go post in those and see what kinds of discussion you can get going. That might alleviate some of what we've been missing without the squad builder being all the way up to date.

minimanager is great - I used it all the time back in the day when I had a PC. I think it's great to have, and Swinefeld thanks for all your hard work on it.

Here's the rub - is there anyway we can make it so it's online (vs hard drive based)? Can we take what you have and apply it to the good old interwebs?

If so then it will be a winner. SWMgamers could host it. Talk to Engineer.

That's the one MAJOR thing that Bloo has over minimanager. You can access it anywhere.

Have inspiration for a squad (which I often do) while not at home? Build a squad on your iPhone! A friend texts you to find out if you have an extra mini to trade while you are out and about? Look it up and see.

In the age of connectivity, it is a huge minus to have something shackled to your abode. I try and make use of downtime when I am out and about (and I am out and about quite a lot). Most phones having access to the web makes this possible now.

I have too much to do already when I am home. The last thing I need is to add to my list of things to do at home in front of the computer.


I don't even know if it's possible - but if we could take minimanager to the web, then we have a winning plan!

Thanks Tim, and I totally agree that online access is a big deal.

I think in order to web-enable Minimanager, we'd be looking at a total rewrite. The programming language is very outdated at this point. I just work with the hooks Chuck put in to allow us to keep adding new pieces. (don't have the source code)

From what I remember (and I'm not sure what actually happened) Dean had said that he bought the SWShoebox site from the guy that was running it. The site went down a while ago, but if Dean saved the code/database stuff somewhere, it could probably be brought up to date much easier than starting from scratch.

Just throwing that out for information. I would prefer to see things stay on track here, and hope that Shinja can find the time to implement some of the things he has discussed with me. It would be a huge step forward.

I had a good laugh when I read the Bloo Milk ever changing subtitle that just popped up.

"Attachment is forbidden. Possession is forbidden. Bloo Milk...is essential to a Jedi's life."

Very apropos, don't you think?

Anyway - I think my earlier comments in this thread came off a little harsher than I intended, so I apologize.

As far as Shinja himself - I really am not upset with him. Sincerely. I think that was misinterpreted. I recently heard someone say that Shinja was being berated on his own site. I don't see anything I would consider berating, but I fear my tone may have been misinterpreted and gave a feel in that direction. Tone is so hard to express perfectly in written word. I'm much better giving vocal, physical and facial cues (lol, I'm an actor, not a writer!) and I think if someone would have been in person to hear me SAY my posts rather than simply read them on the forum - it would have come across much different. I'm probably still guilty of poor word choice. Apologies.

My intent is finding a solution to keep the community strong.



Something like Bloo is a gift to the community.



The thing that does legitimately concern me is that we as a community have become so reliant on this tool that not having it updated has become destructive to the community. This is not a dire prediction, this is an observation of what is already happening, and this thread is proof of it.

So Shinja is busy, and has higher priorities. THAT IS COMPLETELY UNDERSTANDABLE.

My point is this - I think it would be healthy for all of us to put our energy and resources into figuring out something that works for us so that we can continue on strong as a community.

With an already "officially ended" game - we have to be very protective of our dwindling numbers. Squad builder not being updated can effect our numbers in a negative way, through no fault but our own for becoming overly-reliant.

I (clearly) have very little computer knowledge. I am only recently beginning to realize the scope of such projects as making a squad builder, and how difficult they can be for others to pick up and take over. Some of my questions have been just to try and understand this a little better.

Hearing that Shinja has been in in contact with some specific people has helped quell a little of the communities fears (and in some cases outright panic) over whether the squad builder will be updated. A quick message on the boards from the man himself would go a long way.

I don't really know him personally (played him in a game once), so I can't say where he's at with everything. He obviously cares because he wouldn't have created all this in the first place. The fact that he has told others that he will update when he can seems to me to show a sense of personal obligation to the site and the community. Would it be a relief to him to know that we as a community wish him the best and welcome him back when or if it happens, but we are putting our heads and resources together to come up with a new squad builder? I have sincerely tried to put myself in his shoes mentally, and if I were in his position that would be a relief to me. Knowing the community is continuing on strong, is self-reliant and determined to get the tools they deem necessary and not feel the burden directly on one man's shoulders.

I don't know. Only he knows for sure.

I do believe that anyone who truly, selflessly cares about the SWM community (and I believe Shinja does) would want it to be as strong as possible, and have the tools it needs to thrive. And would certainly wish the community to continue on strong with or without any specific member or tool.

For anyone who cares, I still use the squad builder here with a twist. I create the squad I need here, using characters with the same cost. Than I cut and paste it to a database I created and have on my smartphone, and replace the proxy character with the one that is supposed to be in it. If I add new squads, I update the database on my phone. That way if I travel somewhere to play, I have the updated list of squads with me at all times. That seems to have worked for me so far, and therefore any frustration with the lack of updates to the character lists is a thing of the past.

I just spotted Shinja oniline :O

You weak minded fool! He's using an old Jedi mind trick.

I swear he was JUST here!

awesome he's here

I wonder if Shinja's been comeing on here every day and checked on this thread, cracking himself up.