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'''MTGSalvation''' is a [[Magic: The Gathering]] website which focuses on Rumors and News. MTGS is most known for its spoilers which generally come weeks in advance of the pre-release of any given set. These spoilers are generated in [[The Rumor Mill]] and generally come from the sources of [[Rancored Elf|rancored_elf]] and to a lesser extent [[urzassedatives]]. The site also features daily articles, a Wiki, a [[Magic Radar|Radar]] of Magic websites as well as one of the more active Magic forums online.
{{Infobox
| abovestyle  = {{Infobox sec|above}}
| labelstyle  = {{Infobox sec|label|width=30%}}
| above  = <big>MTG Salvation</big>
| image  = [[File:{{#setmainimage:Mtgs_logo.PNG}}|250px]]
| caption = Logo as of February 2017
| label1  = Type of site
| data1  = Spoilers and forums
| label2  = Website
| data2  = http://www.mtgsalvation.com
| label3  = Registration
| data3  = Required to post;<br/>part of the Fandom network
| label4  = Launched
| data4  = July{{start date and age|mf=yes|2004|07|11}}
}}
{{TOCright}}
'''MTG Salvation''' ('''MTGS''') is a website dedicated to ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' which focuses on Rumors and News. MTG Salvation hosts some of the more active ''Magic'' forums online, outliving the official forums on [[Magicthegathering.com]].


==Foundation==
==Description==
MTGSalvation was founded on July 11, 2004 by [[Xenphire]] (then The Numen, Kuberr). The site was originally a phpBB board hosted on Xenphire's friend's server. It was founded after the banning of Xenphire on [[MTGNews]], with him stating MTGSalvation to be free of the bad administration and poor choices that allegedly ruled 'News. The purpose of MTGSalvation was to create an open environment and community based off that of MTGNews. It also aimed to put away "Forum Drama" for the betterment of the community. The success of these goals is still debated.
MTGS claim to fame were the [[spoiler]]s which generally came weeks in advance of the [[prerelease]] of any given [[set]]. These spoilers were generated in the ''Rumor Mill'' and originally came from the sources of the user known as ''rancored_elf''. After the ''[[#Hasbro v. Rutter case|Hasbro v. Rutter]]'' lawsuit, ''Hydrokinesis'', ''Hunter'', ''Charlequin'', ''Captain Black'' and ''Urzassedatives'' became the main rumor mongers. In the latter years [[Wizards of the Coast]] has shut down most early spoiler leaks, and the Rumor Mill has become largely depended on controlled spoilers. However, there recently have been many leaks and spoilers from unofficial sources due to stolen product and mistakes with card distribution. It is known that members of ''Magic'' [[R&D]] frequent the forums.<ref>{{EzTumblr|http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/139886759898/does-rd-read-mtg-forums-to-take-the-pulse-of|title=Does R&D read mtg forums to take the pulse of enfranchised players?|February 23, 2016}}</ref>


The two days after its founding, MTGSalvation gained several members although most of them personal friends of the founder. Then, on September 3, 2004 when rumors of administrator rancored_elf leaving the site due to internal problems began circulating within the public, the member base once more grew, this time causing more mainstream users of MTGNews to join. At this time Sakabatou was named the second administrator.
Other much frequented forums are concerned with ''Magic'' [[rules]], [[flavor]], [[Magic Online]], all separate game [[format]]s, creativity and trade. The site also features daily articles, the wiki you are reading right now, and a Radar of ''Magic''-related websites.
===Name===
Officially, the website www.mtgsalvation.com is known as MTG Salvation; but MTGSalvation is a suitably interchangeable name.
{{cquote|Hmm, I think "officially" it's MTGSalvation and MTGS where it doesn't fit, but on the front page it's MTG Salvation and also everywhere in the forums... :)


==MTGNews Split==
So take your pick ;)
{{Main|MTGNews}}
|Hannes<ref>[http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showpost.php?p=3101543&postcount=32 "'MTGSalvation', or 'MTG Salvation'?"] — MTG Salvation</ref>}}


MTGSalvation lay relatively dormant and forgotten until January 1, 2005, when a number of staff members from MTGNews, including [[Rancored Elf|rancored_elf]] and [[urzassedatives]], announced their resignation from the Staff on the website front page and as a forum-wide announcement. Their reason was in protest of the man appointed to oversee the forums, Subterranean Spirit, by Raa, the owner. Within minutes, several decided to use this to their advantage, spamming the MTGNews forums with links to MTGSalvation.
"''MTGSally''" (also "''MTG Sally''" and simply "''Sally''") is a common nickname for MTG Salvation. The term was coined by ''sneakyhomunculus'' on 11 December 2005, in [http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=670216&highlight=sally#post670216 this post].


When MTGNews was temporarily closed to the outside to remove the spam and lawlessness that had accrued since the announcement, a significant number of the most prominent MTGNews posters, including rancored_elf, began posting on MTG Salvation. Quickly, it became as active as MTGNews had been the day prior, and the presence of older members contributed significantly to the validity of the site. By the time MTGNews was reopened a few hours later, many saw it as "the new MTGNews".
== History ==
=== Founding ===
MTG Salvation was launched (as "MTGSalvation", with no space) on July 11, 2004. Its founder, Xenphire (also known as "The Numen, Kuberr"), created the new website after being banned on [[MTGNews]]. In September, rumors that rancored_elf, an administrator on MTGNews, might leave that site due to internal problems drew some attention to the newly launched alternative. Sakabatou was named MTG Salvation's second administrator.


While MTGNews was open again, Subterranean Spirit began to enforce a policy of banning any member who mentioned MTGSalvation in their signature or elsewhere, which was in stark contrast to the previous policy of allowing any advertisements in signatures. This, coupled with the protests of important members and the banning of several others, led to MTGnews becoming partially abandoned. Most of the members who were banned relocated to MTGSalvation.
=== MTGNews schism ===
On January 1, 2005, multiple staff members from MTGNews, including rancored_elf and urzassedatives, announced their resignation from that website, claiming grievances against its forum overseer, Subterranean Spirit. The MTGNews forums were spammed with links to MTG Salvation, and MTGNews locked its forums in response. Upon reopening, Subterranean Spirit enforced a policy of banning any reference to MTG Salvation. MTG Salvation's user count then spiked abruptly as a result of people leaving (or being forced to leave) MTGNews. This necessitated the rapid promotion of many moderators, often long-time MTGNews members who Xenphire recognized.
[[File:Logo1.jpeg|right|thumb|200 px|The initial look of MTG Salvation.]]


==Early Changes==
Shortly thereafter, MTG Salvation accepted an offer of server space and a [[wikipedia:vBulletin|vBulletin]] license from Hannes, the owner of [[MagicCards.info]]. Magiccards.info served card images to MTG Salvation for many years. Also during January, MTG Salvation became the first site to compile a full [[spoiler]]  for ''[[Betrayers of Kamigawa]]''.
The change from a small, relatively unknown website to the host for most of MTGNews' members necessitated large changes to the way the forums were run. Though it already had a small compliment of moderators to handle the minimal traffic that had existed before, a flurry of new staff members were added, most of them long-time MTGNews members who Xenphire recognized. Though most of them had great experience as posters, some of them would prove problematic later on.
[[Image:Logo1.jpeg|right|thumb|200 px|The initial look of MTGSalvation]]
Around a day after the New Years Post, [[Hannes|Hannes Roth]], then best known for owning MagicCards.info, contacted Xenphire, offering extra server space and a vBulletin license. Xenphire took the offer, and after a few hours' downtime the forums were running on vBulletin, and with a new URL. A new frontpage for the website began to be prepared, to facilitate Articles and other content which had previously been unfeasible.


As all of these changes were occurring, it solidified its status as the premier Magic rumor website by completing the [[Betrayers of Kamigawa]] spoiler before any other site. Around this time Subterranean Spirit had been removed as an Administrator on MTGnews, and some of the old members began to return.
Xenphire began to make decisions which were controversial among the staff and members. An election was held among the moderators, in which he received zero votes. He retaliated by using his rank to demote many of the moderators and a co-administrator, Wolfwood. Sakabatou, the only other remaining administrator, then stripped ''Xenphire's'' administrator rank, and re-promoted the moderators. Following Xenphire's demotion, ownership of MTG Salvation was transferred to Hannes.


==The Collapse of Xenphire==
[[File:Logo2.gif|right|thumb|230 px|Front page in late 2005.]]
Behind the apparent success, however, trouble began to brew. Though he was the founder and administrator of the forums, Xenphire began to make decisions which were controversial among the staff and members.  
On February 14, the site updated with a new front page to support articles, and began running daily weekday articles. On March 3, new moderation and formatting options were introduced, along with recurring article, artwork, avatar, and signature contests. A feature was added allowing users to submit news for the front page. Around this time, administrators Wolfwood and Sakabatou stepped down, leaving only Belgareth in that role.


As the staff began to feel less confident in his abilities as an Administrator, an election was initiated in the Moderator Lounge to decide the Administrators; he did not receive a single nomination. This, coupled with other factors, caused him to remove a significant percentage of the staff, including Administrator Wolfwood. Sakabatou, the only other Administrator at the time, stripped Xenphire's Administrative powers and remodded those who had been removed. Within a few weeks, Xenphire was just another Registered User.
Increasing traffic led to outages during the summer, and some forum functionality was disabled to mitigate the load on the server. Toward the end of the year, a new server was purchased, and MTG Salvation began selling advertising space to [[StarCityGames]]. Goblinboy, sneakyhomunculus, and urzassedatives replaced Belgareth as administrators, a role also temporarily occupied by rancored_elf and Feyd Ruin.


==The Three Admin Era==
=== Hasbro v. Rutter ===
[[Image:Logo2.gif|right|thumb|230 px|Frontpage post-Xenphire until late November 2005]]
On January 19, [[2006]], [[Wizards of the Coast]] filed suit against Daron Rutter, alias rancored_elf, accusing him of sharing Wizards' proprietary information, in the form of [[playtest]] cards. At the same time, they submitted a [[Wikipedia:DMCA|DMCA]] claim with MTG Salvation's hosting company, demanding the removal of the same information.<ref>{{WebRef |url=https://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=company/pr/20060119a |title=Wizards of the Coast Takes Legal Action |author=Wizards of the Coast |date=2006-01-19 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20090604150230/https://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=company/pr/20060119a |archivedate=2009-06-04}}</ref><ref>{{DailyRef|making-magic/law-and-order-2006-06-19|Law and Order|[[Mark Rosewater]]|June 19, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{DailyRef|making-magic/timeshifting-gear-2006-10-02|Timeshifting Into Gear|Mark Rosewater|October 02, 2006}}</ref> Wizards of the Coast attempted to obtain summary judgment. Rutter received pro bono legal assistance from Jay Shergill, a lawyer and MTG Salvation user under the name Haloscope, and the case was ultimately settled out of court. The terms of the settlement are sealed, and in a statement on the MTG Salvation forums, Rutter said that he is "no longer interested in hearing any information about Wizards' products that aren't already publicly available".<ref>{{WebRef|url = http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=32149|title = Wizards of the Coast vs. Daron Rutter: An Update|accessdate = 2006-09-02|author = Daron Rutter|date = 2006-02-18|publisher = MTGSalvation.com}}</ref><ref>{{WebRef|url = http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=36468|title = Wizards vs. rancored_elf: the Resolution|accessdate = 2006-09-02|author = Daron Rutter|date = 2006-04-06|publisher = MTGSalvation.com}}</ref>


This caused a pause in developments for almost three weeks in which much was planned within the [[Mod Lounge]] and the future was paved. During this time few public statements were made by the staff as to the future with the forums just continuing on. But then on February 14 the future was made very clear. The new frontpage was launched. Articles and the new staff were announced. On February 14 the new article page hit, kicking off a run of daily weekday articles that continues to this day.
=== Later developments ===
[[File:MTGS logo 2007.gif|right|thumb|300 px|Frontpage January 2007]]
In June 2006, Goblinboy resigned, leaving urzassedatives and sneakyhomunculus. They opted not to appoint further administrators.


On March 3 the new Warning System was announced, one which survived almost a year. The new staff also added many tags still in use today, most notably the /me tag. It was also announced that Salvation would begin running an Article of the Month contest to promote and reward their writers. This was followed up by the announcement that users could now submit news for the frontpage as well, a feature still in use today although rarely taken advantage of. Salvation also began running a monthly artwork contest in the [[artwork]] forum as well as a [[Avatar & Sig Shops#Weekly Contest|weekly avatar and signature contest]] within the [[Avatar & Sig Shops|Avatar & Signature]] forum.
== Changes of ownership ==
=== Curse ===
In September 2012, it became known that the owners of MTG Salvation were in sale negotiations with [[Wikipedia:Curse LLC|Curse]], a network of gaming websites. The deal was finalized on December 17, 2012.<ref>[http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/community-forums/community-discussion/402004-mtgsalvation-acquired-by-curse MTG Salvation acquired by Curse]</ref> The MTG Salvation Wiki became a part of Curse's Gamepedia.


However all of this advancement was not without pause. During March and April the site lost both Wolfwood and Sakabatou, this time not to forum drama but to real life situations. All of this led to [[Belgareth]] becoming the only Admin.
=== Twitch ===
In 2016, [[Wikipedia:Amazon (company)|Amazon]]-owned [[Wikipedia:Twitch.tv|Twitch]] purchased the entirety of Curse, including MTG Salvation and Gamepedia.<ref>{{WebRef |url=https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/twitch-is-swallowing-up-the-entire-curse-brand/|title=Twitch is swallowing up the entire Curse brand|date=August 17, 2016|author=Jon Martindale|publisher=Kitguru.Net}}</ref>


==The One Admin Era==
=== Fandom ===
In December 2018, Twitch sold most of Curse's properties, including MTG Salvation and Gamepedia, to [[Wikipedia:Wikia|Fandom]].<ref>{{WebRef |url=https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/damien-cox/twitch-is-selling-curse-media-to-wikias-fandom/|title=Twitch is selling Curse Media to Wikia’s Fandom|date=December 13, 2018|author=Damian Mason|publisher=Kitguru.Net}}</ref>  Fandom is a wiki hosting service previously known as Wikia; its websites are often subtitled as a part of "FANDOM powered by Wikia".<ref>{{WebRef |url=https://curseweb.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360013682854-Curse-Media-and-Fandom-are-joining-forces-Non-EEA-|title=Curse Media And Fandom Are Joining Forces!||date=December, 2018|publisher=Curseweb.com}}</ref>


A [[Judge's Forum]] was added to Salvation which allowed judges to have their own community to discuss common issues and tough rulings calls. In addition another new logo was announced, this time by [[Bateleur]].
=== Magic Find ===
It was announced that the MTG Salvation forums would be closing on July 8, 2019. Fandom and its development team "[could] no longer justify the development, infrastructure, and maintenance costs of the site".<ref>{{DailyRef|https://www.mtgsalvation.com/articles/49777-the-end-of-an-era|The End of an Era|Feyd_Ruin|May 29, 2019}}</ref> However, in June of that year it was revealed that instead of closing, the forums would be sold to the [https://magicfind.us/ Magic Find] platform.<ref>{{DailyRef|https://www.mtgsalvation.com/articles/49778-a-new-and-exciting-beginning|A New and Exciting Beginning|Chaud|June 13, 2019}}</ref>


However with the community swelling and and the site getting even more traffic many technical problems began to arise. These problems made themselves painfully obvious in mid-August, with the server crashing multiple times. The short term solution, which remains in-effect today, was turning off auto-thread subscription.
The sale to ''Magic Find'' was unexpected to the staff of MTGS. They had been building something of their own, called ''MTGNexus'', and were continuing to do that. MTGSalvation would continue, but much of the current staff was leaving for their new venture.


In October the competitive forums went through a re-vamping when it was announced each would have the new sub-forum Decks For Critique added to them. This forum made it so that decks that were not casual but also not top tier competitive had a place to go and be discussed.
==MTGS Wiki==
[[File:MTGS Wiki.png|right]]
The MTGS Wiki is a project that was initiated on 13 December 2005. On 14 December 2005, ''Hannes'', the bureaucrat of MTGS Wiki, changed group memberships of ''SorryGuy'', ''VestDan'', ''Voice of All'', and v''otan'' from "(none)" to "sysop" (system operator), making them the first four administrators or "mods" of MTGS Wiki.<ref>[http://wiki.mtgsalvation.com/index.php?title=Special%3ALog&type=rights&user=&page= MTG Wiki User rights log]</ref> Between 2007 and 2009 nine different admins were added to the roster. From these, ''GeoMike'', ''Oracle of Truth'' and ''Magic Mage'' would remain active for the longest time. ''Magic Mage'' would become known for her eloquence, impulsivity, and a (too) intricate system of categorization. In 2012, after a pause of three years, some new admins were appointed (e.g. ''Hunter'' and ''Barinellos'').  


In November and December MTGSalvation went through some drastic changes that would change its face forever. A new server was purchased and began being operated on the new forums as they changed to vB 3.5. A new frontpage incorporating Bateleur's logo better was also launched. In order to operate this new server a new small banner ad was also sold to [[StarCityGames]]. The forum awards were also voted on and announced during this period.
===Curse takeover===
''Magic Mage's'' reign ended in January of the following year, when too many pages were locked and too many users blocked for no apparent reason. By that time, the wiki was in dire straits and plagued by spam-bots. In that same month, however, MTG Salvation was taken over by [[Wikipedia:Curse LLC|Curse LLC]] which provided many improvements. In September 2013, Curse moved the wiki to a new server and to their own log-in system on [[Wikipedia:Gamepedia|Gamepedia]]. Since then, admins have come and gone, but the contents are gradually growing and improving.


The biggest change of this period happened at the very beginning of December. [[ButteBlues]] and [[CrAzEd MiKe]] resigned which led to a firestorm and in the end would result in both of them and Raia off the staff and Belgareth de-admined. [[Goblinboy]] would replace him as admin.
===MTG Wiki===
On February 22, 2017 the name of the wiki was changed to 'MTG Wiki', steering an independent course from MTG Salvation.


==Restoration and Growth==
===Merge with Fandom wiki===
After the [[Wikipedia:Fandom (website)|Fandom]] takeover of 2018 there were two wiki's about ''Magic: The Gathering'' in the hands of the same owner. Admins, mods and staff from both Fandom and Gamepedia decided to merge the [https://mtg-archive.fandom.com/ Fandom wiki] with the Gamepedia wiki you are reading right now.<ref>{{WebRef |url=https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/User_blog:HolyCrap_WOTF/Joining_Forces|title=Joining Forces|author=HolyCrap_WOTF|date=March 14, 2019|publisher=Mtg.fandom.com}}</ref> In November 2020, it was announced that all Gamepedia wikis would be moved to a Fandom.com domain in early 2021, to ensure a  larger search result visibility.<ref>{{WebRef|url=https://community.fandom.com/wiki/User_blog:MisterWoodhouse/The_Future_of_Gamepedia|title=The Future of Gamepedia|author=Mister Woodhouse|date=November 4, 2020|publisher=Fandom.com}}</ref> A part of a test batch, the MTG wiki was moved early on December 2, 2020. At the same time, the original Fandom wiki was moved to the [https://mtg-archive.fandom.com/ archive].


Goblinboy quickly appointed [[Rancored Elf|rancored_elf]] and [[Feyd Ruin]] as temporary Administrators alongside him. New moderators for the now empty forums and newly announced [[MTGS Wiki]] were also quickly decided and multiple changes to the emoticon list were made.
==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:SorryGuy - MTGS - 1.jpg| Forum banner circa 2005
File:MTGS_logo_2007.gif| Forum banner circa 2007
File:MTGS_Wiki.gif| Wiki logo circa 2005
File:MTGSbanner.jpg| 2007 banner (hi res)
</gallery>


Various end of the year awards were handed out at this time, including the FCC of the Year, the official[[Forum Awards]], and the [[Clan of the Year]] award. In January [[sneakyhomunculus]] and [[urzassedatives]] replaced rancored_elf and Feyd Ruin and became full time Administrators. As a result this once again created a "Three Admin System" at MTGSalvation, for the first time since Wolfwood, Sakabatou and Belgareth ran the site after the collapse of Xenphire. During this time a monthly short story contest was added and the forum rules and forum layout was reorganized. The article program also was expanded with Saturday articles.
==References==
 
{{reflist}}
The major story of early 2006 was the [[Hasbro V. Rutter]] case, Wizards of the Coast's attempt to stop [[Rancored Elf|rancored_elf]] (Daron Rutter) from posting rumors and more specially playtest cards. After an initial DMCA order it eventually led to an lawsuit.
 
==Two Admin Era==
 
[[Image:2007logo.gif|right|thumb|300 px|Frontpage January 2007]]
In June 2006 Goblinboy left the staff ending the temporally Three Admin situation. urzassedatives and sneakyhomunculus decided to not appoint a third Admin and went on together. After several staff changes resulting in the appointment of new moderators and Global Moderators a Two Admin system was set up with a wide group of Global Moderators to lend administrative support.


Other big administrative events in 2006 were the rewriting of the Forum Rules. The Warning System was changed into an Infraction system, making it clearer and stricter, but also making Infractions more time-based and less number based. Several popular site features were stimulated. As a result more attention was given the Wiki and the Storyline forum, The Colosseum was restructured and a rebirth of Team MTGS was tried.  
==External links==
*[http://mtgsalvation.com/ MTG Salvation]
*[http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=60839 "The 2006 Sally Nostalgia thread..."] — MTG Salvation
*[http://www.last.fm/group/MTGSalvation MTG Salvation group] at Last.fm


In early 2007, MTG Salvation underwent a number of changes, including a new front page to celebrate its second anniversary, a new Forum Jump and Spy feature, and the much awaited introduction of the blog forum.
{{Websites}}
 
==References==
[http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=60839 
The 2006 Sally Nostalgia thread...]

Latest revision as of 09:59, 25 June 2024

MTG Salvation
[[File:{{#setmainimage:Mtgs_logo.PNG}}|250px]]
Logo as of February 2017
Type of site Spoilers and forums
Website http://www.mtgsalvation.com
Registration Required to post;
part of the Fandom network
Launched July 11, 2004; 20 years ago (2004-07-11)

MTG Salvation (MTGS) is a website dedicated to Magic: The Gathering which focuses on Rumors and News. MTG Salvation hosts some of the more active Magic forums online, outliving the official forums on Magicthegathering.com.

Description

MTGS claim to fame were the spoilers which generally came weeks in advance of the prerelease of any given set. These spoilers were generated in the Rumor Mill and originally came from the sources of the user known as rancored_elf. After the Hasbro v. Rutter lawsuit, Hydrokinesis, Hunter, Charlequin, Captain Black and Urzassedatives became the main rumor mongers. In the latter years Wizards of the Coast has shut down most early spoiler leaks, and the Rumor Mill has become largely depended on controlled spoilers. However, there recently have been many leaks and spoilers from unofficial sources due to stolen product and mistakes with card distribution. It is known that members of Magic R&D frequent the forums.[1]

Other much frequented forums are concerned with Magic rules, flavor, Magic Online, all separate game formats, creativity and trade. The site also features daily articles, the wiki you are reading right now, and a Radar of Magic-related websites.

Name

Officially, the website www.mtgsalvation.com is known as MTG Salvation; but MTGSalvation is a suitably interchangeable name.

“  Hmm, I think "officially" it's MTGSalvation and MTGS where it doesn't fit, but on the front page it's MTG Salvation and also everywhere in the forums... :)

So take your pick ;)

 ”

—Hannes[2]

"MTGSally" (also "MTG Sally" and simply "Sally") is a common nickname for MTG Salvation. The term was coined by sneakyhomunculus on 11 December 2005, in this post.

History

Founding

MTG Salvation was launched (as "MTGSalvation", with no space) on July 11, 2004. Its founder, Xenphire (also known as "The Numen, Kuberr"), created the new website after being banned on MTGNews. In September, rumors that rancored_elf, an administrator on MTGNews, might leave that site due to internal problems drew some attention to the newly launched alternative. Sakabatou was named MTG Salvation's second administrator.

MTGNews schism

On January 1, 2005, multiple staff members from MTGNews, including rancored_elf and urzassedatives, announced their resignation from that website, claiming grievances against its forum overseer, Subterranean Spirit. The MTGNews forums were spammed with links to MTG Salvation, and MTGNews locked its forums in response. Upon reopening, Subterranean Spirit enforced a policy of banning any reference to MTG Salvation. MTG Salvation's user count then spiked abruptly as a result of people leaving (or being forced to leave) MTGNews. This necessitated the rapid promotion of many moderators, often long-time MTGNews members who Xenphire recognized.

The initial look of MTG Salvation.

Shortly thereafter, MTG Salvation accepted an offer of server space and a vBulletin license from Hannes, the owner of MagicCards.info. Magiccards.info served card images to MTG Salvation for many years. Also during January, MTG Salvation became the first site to compile a full spoiler for Betrayers of Kamigawa.

Xenphire began to make decisions which were controversial among the staff and members. An election was held among the moderators, in which he received zero votes. He retaliated by using his rank to demote many of the moderators and a co-administrator, Wolfwood. Sakabatou, the only other remaining administrator, then stripped Xenphire's administrator rank, and re-promoted the moderators. Following Xenphire's demotion, ownership of MTG Salvation was transferred to Hannes.

Front page in late 2005.

On February 14, the site updated with a new front page to support articles, and began running daily weekday articles. On March 3, new moderation and formatting options were introduced, along with recurring article, artwork, avatar, and signature contests. A feature was added allowing users to submit news for the front page. Around this time, administrators Wolfwood and Sakabatou stepped down, leaving only Belgareth in that role.

Increasing traffic led to outages during the summer, and some forum functionality was disabled to mitigate the load on the server. Toward the end of the year, a new server was purchased, and MTG Salvation began selling advertising space to StarCityGames. Goblinboy, sneakyhomunculus, and urzassedatives replaced Belgareth as administrators, a role also temporarily occupied by rancored_elf and Feyd Ruin.

Hasbro v. Rutter

On January 19, 2006, Wizards of the Coast filed suit against Daron Rutter, alias rancored_elf, accusing him of sharing Wizards' proprietary information, in the form of playtest cards. At the same time, they submitted a DMCA claim with MTG Salvation's hosting company, demanding the removal of the same information.[3][4][5] Wizards of the Coast attempted to obtain summary judgment. Rutter received pro bono legal assistance from Jay Shergill, a lawyer and MTG Salvation user under the name Haloscope, and the case was ultimately settled out of court. The terms of the settlement are sealed, and in a statement on the MTG Salvation forums, Rutter said that he is "no longer interested in hearing any information about Wizards' products that aren't already publicly available".[6][7]

Later developments

Frontpage January 2007

In June 2006, Goblinboy resigned, leaving urzassedatives and sneakyhomunculus. They opted not to appoint further administrators.

Changes of ownership

Curse

In September 2012, it became known that the owners of MTG Salvation were in sale negotiations with Curse, a network of gaming websites. The deal was finalized on December 17, 2012.[8] The MTG Salvation Wiki became a part of Curse's Gamepedia.

Twitch

In 2016, Amazon-owned Twitch purchased the entirety of Curse, including MTG Salvation and Gamepedia.[9]

Fandom

In December 2018, Twitch sold most of Curse's properties, including MTG Salvation and Gamepedia, to Fandom.[10] Fandom is a wiki hosting service previously known as Wikia; its websites are often subtitled as a part of "FANDOM powered by Wikia".[11]

Magic Find

It was announced that the MTG Salvation forums would be closing on July 8, 2019. Fandom and its development team "[could] no longer justify the development, infrastructure, and maintenance costs of the site".[12] However, in June of that year it was revealed that instead of closing, the forums would be sold to the Magic Find platform.[13]

The sale to Magic Find was unexpected to the staff of MTGS. They had been building something of their own, called MTGNexus, and were continuing to do that. MTGSalvation would continue, but much of the current staff was leaving for their new venture.

MTGS Wiki

The MTGS Wiki is a project that was initiated on 13 December 2005. On 14 December 2005, Hannes, the bureaucrat of MTGS Wiki, changed group memberships of SorryGuy, VestDan, Voice of All, and votan from "(none)" to "sysop" (system operator), making them the first four administrators or "mods" of MTGS Wiki.[14] Between 2007 and 2009 nine different admins were added to the roster. From these, GeoMike, Oracle of Truth and Magic Mage would remain active for the longest time. Magic Mage would become known for her eloquence, impulsivity, and a (too) intricate system of categorization. In 2012, after a pause of three years, some new admins were appointed (e.g. Hunter and Barinellos).

Curse takeover

Magic Mage's reign ended in January of the following year, when too many pages were locked and too many users blocked for no apparent reason. By that time, the wiki was in dire straits and plagued by spam-bots. In that same month, however, MTG Salvation was taken over by Curse LLC which provided many improvements. In September 2013, Curse moved the wiki to a new server and to their own log-in system on Gamepedia. Since then, admins have come and gone, but the contents are gradually growing and improving.

MTG Wiki

On February 22, 2017 the name of the wiki was changed to 'MTG Wiki', steering an independent course from MTG Salvation.

Merge with Fandom wiki

After the Fandom takeover of 2018 there were two wiki's about Magic: The Gathering in the hands of the same owner. Admins, mods and staff from both Fandom and Gamepedia decided to merge the Fandom wiki with the Gamepedia wiki you are reading right now.[15] In November 2020, it was announced that all Gamepedia wikis would be moved to a Fandom.com domain in early 2021, to ensure a larger search result visibility.[16] A part of a test batch, the MTG wiki was moved early on December 2, 2020. At the same time, the original Fandom wiki was moved to the archive.

Gallery

  • Forum banner circa 2005

    Forum banner circa 2005

  • Forum banner circa 2007

    Forum banner circa 2007

  • Wiki logo circa 2005

    Wiki logo circa 2005

  • 2007 banner (hi res)

    2007 banner (hi res)

References

  1. ↑ Mark Rosewater (February 23, 2016). "Does R&D read mtg forums to take the pulse of enfranchised players?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  2. ↑ "'MTGSalvation', or 'MTG Salvation'?" — MTG Salvation
  3. ↑ Wizards of the Coast (2006-01-19). "Wizards of the Coast Takes Legal Action". Archived from the original on 2009-06-04.
  4. ↑ Mark Rosewater (June 19, 2006). "Law and Order". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  5. ↑ Mark Rosewater (October 02, 2006). "Timeshifting Into Gear". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  6. ↑ Daron Rutter (2006-02-18). "Wizards of the Coast vs. Daron Rutter: An Update". MTGSalvation.com. Retrieved on 2006-09-02.
  7. ↑ Daron Rutter (2006-04-06). "Wizards vs. rancored_elf: the Resolution". MTGSalvation.com. Retrieved on 2006-09-02.
  8. ↑ MTG Salvation acquired by Curse
  9. ↑ Jon Martindale (August 17, 2016). "Twitch is swallowing up the entire Curse brand". Kitguru.Net.
  10. ↑ Damian Mason (December 13, 2018). "Twitch is selling Curse Media to Wikia’s Fandom". Kitguru.Net.
  11. ↑ Curse Media And Fandom Are Joining Forces!. Curseweb.com (December, 2018).
  12. ↑ Feyd_Ruin (May 29, 2019). "The End of an Era". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  13. ↑ Chaud (June 13, 2019). "A New and Exciting Beginning". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  14. ↑ MTG Wiki User rights log
  15. ↑ HolyCrap_WOTF (March 14, 2019). "Joining Forces". Mtg.fandom.com.
  16. ↑ Mister Woodhouse (November 4, 2020). "The Future of Gamepedia". Fandom.com.

External links

Magic websites
Offical websites
Tournament organizers
Fansites
Webcomics
Defunct
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