In a few months, World of Goo and GooFans will celebrate their 15th birthdays. It's a testament to the innovative gameplay and compelling storytelling that there are people playing the game today who weren't alive when it was first written.
The popularity of this site has inevitably declined as time has passed and it is now long past time to say farewell. As many will have noticed, the amount of spam has skyrocketed recently, on top of which there are many known bugs and flaws in the version of software the site is based on. Updating it realistically means rewriting it from scratch, an immense amount of work that isn't justified by the number of people still using the site.
Those wishing to continue to chat and share content can join the community on the GooFans Discord.
The Sunset Process
GooFans.com won't go away, but it will be made read-only and preserved for posterity. This will happen in five phases:
1. New user signups have now been disabled. This will prevent new spam bots signing up.
2. All unpublished content (including addins) will be deleted, and then users who have no content will be deleted. This is because spam bots are often created months or years before they are used, so there are thousands more potential sources of spam lurking until these inactive users are deleted. This will happen over the next few weeks, at which point only established users will be able to continue to post, upload new addins or update existing addins.
3. The site will continue like this, with posting open only for existing users, for a few months - probably until shortly after World of Goo's birthday in October. This will be an opportunity for the moderators and I to clean up any remaining spam before it is preserved for eternity.
4. In November, the site will be put fully read-only. Nobody will be able to post, all accounts except moderators will be locked. This phase will last only a few days and is the last chance to delete any remaining spam. The API will be disabled, meaning the leaderboards and all online functionality of GooTool will stop working. All features and menu items that make the site seem interactive will be disabled prior to it being archived.
5. Finally, the site will be copied and turned into a static HTML website. No posting or editing of any kind will be possible.
Deletion Requests
Any requests for content to be deleted must be received before October in order to be processed. Nothing will be able to be changed once the site has been made static.
Fare-thee-well
It's been a lot of fun seeing how the game has continued to evolve years beyond its release with the innovation shown by generations of addin designers and such an amazing community. The last of the Goo Balls could never have known how much more was in store!
-davidc
- Login to post comments
Sat, 05/13/2023 - 09:13
It was a pleasure to be part of this community!![Smile Smile](http://goofans.com/sites/all/modules/smileys/packs/Roving/smile.png)
I was afraid that at some point it is going to be just shut down and deleted.
Author of Platforms of Goo and 64 levels for World of Goo .
Mon, 05/15/2023 - 14:18
Ill admit, I am sad this is happening, but I am not that surprised. Despite that I have only been here for a few year (and I wasnt here for a large amount of time during then, too) I am still happy I managed to be part of this community. Farewell Goofans. One question, will it still be hosted at this exact site(goofans.com)?
funny monke glued to corrupted "cat"
Tue, 05/16/2023 - 16:40
Yes it will still be at goofans.com
Sat, 05/20/2023 - 14:12
Thank you so much David for your continuous work for World of Goo over all these years!
This sunsetting plan makes a lot of sense, and is probably the one with the most notice and detailing I have seen![Smile Smile](http://goofans.com/sites/all/modules/smileys/packs/Roving/smile.png)
I have one question, which is about the apps that are hosted here: GooTool as well as the editors. Have you considered moving them to some software forge? If the website become a static archive but there’s any need to update them in the future (even if they are not actively maintained), wouldn’t it be good if the latest links that points to them is hosted somewhere that can be updated?
So long and thanks for all the fish!
GooFR, communauté World of Goo francophone ~ probablement.net
Tue, 06/06/2023 - 13:53
It's sad that the site is (kind of) shutting down. But at least the Discord will still be here, so we can still create mods and stuff.
I'm really glad I was part of this community (even if I made three levels), and I'll definitely continue playing the game and playing and creating mods.
A big thanks to all the people who kept the site up and running for nearly fifteen years!
-SignPainter1232
-the Sign Painter, a goofan since 2017
My youtube channel for random meaningless content
Mon, 05/22/2023 - 08:25
So long and thanks for all the fish!
IRC | Chapter Tutorial | Reference Guide
Tue, 05/23/2023 - 16:02
I have considered over the years whether to move the addin hosting to another service, but honestly the amount of work involved versus the relative infrequency of updates does not make it worthwhile. I hope the five month sunset period gives everyone the opportunity to post the final versions of any addins where needed.
-davidc
Tue, 05/23/2023 - 18:01
This is so sad. Rip. Does this mean we can’t play custom levels anymore?
Wed, 05/24/2023 - 03:03
Addin downloads will remain available on this site. New addins can be shared on Discord.
Wed, 05/24/2023 - 14:07
Sad to hear that the site is coming to an end, but at least it'll remain in some forum (plus without all the spam!) It's been fun growing up with mods throughout the years, and had it not been for this site I probably would have stopped playing altogether.
Thanks for all the fun!
I made goomods.
Thu, 05/25/2023 - 10:12
It was fun while it lasted, I had my fun, and I'm pretty sure others did too
Who even knows, maybe tomorrow corporation makes a game that blows up, making World of Goo come back again
Goodbye everyone, on this site at least
Fri, 05/26/2023 - 23:20
Oh jeez... y'know, growing up I didn't have access to many video games at all. One of the first I've ever played when I was young was World of Goo, as well as the original NES Legend of Zelda. Back then, little ol me would have never even dreamed of this community and the joy it brings! Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I discovered this place sooner, but I'm glad I did anyway. Met some amazing people here, and I've left behind works that I'm more proud of than nearly anything else. Farewell, goofans.com! But just because this website is closing, I myself am not leaving World of Goo behind quite yet. I still have an addin to finish.
-StrixToxis, known here as Toxic Goo
I now go by StrixToxis.
Mon, 05/29/2023 - 15:57
The sun will set, but we'll still be here. And perhaps, the sun will rise, elsewhere.
Globin - a tool for installing mods for World of Goo 1.5
I'm SecretAuthor, or skyhigh on the GooFans Discord. Creator of Globin and the Goo Adventure packs.
Mon, 05/29/2023 - 23:41
Sorry if I had been late in the party but, man it's been a long time to see this site going soon, even though I kept revisiting it after some time. But anyway, thanks davidc!!
EVERYTHING AMAZING BY INWOG
inwog, publisher of 407 World of Goo levels since 2009-2015
Tue, 05/30/2023 - 12:13
Thank you goofans for shaping my childhood and giving me the opportunity to meet some amazing people. I really wish I got into this community sooner <3
Love you all,
- DemonGamer
An above average goofan.
Fri, 06/02/2023 - 12:49
Awww damn. Too bad. World of Goo is so special. Oh well. Sadly I can't use modified World of Goo. I get When I try to launch my Goo Tool it gives me "Uncaught exception (Java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError):com/apple/eawt/applicationListener"! I game on my gaming, desktop computer. No idea how to fix. The message board hardly helped. Thank you!
Love that there are girl goos in World of Goo! Korean Pop's the best! And that's a FACT!
Sat, 06/03/2023 - 13:33
Glad that I was part of this site. Even if I only uploaded two levels, haha
Goofans will never be forgotten ❤️
Thu, 06/15/2023 - 22:09
These have been some good years, lets hope the next few are just as good.
Sun, 06/18/2023 - 00:35
I have been here near the beginning. Sad to see it go, but thanks to this. I have met some fantastic people. I hope we can still make the community thrive more in the future in some way.
-Berry Diaboli (Formerly Chillo)
Sat, 07/01/2023 - 16:44
That's bad but there is no way:(
Hi,I'm Cobalt Goo.(AKA CG)
I will do something.
Hope you like me.
Goodbye Goofans!
Tue, 07/18/2023 - 11:31
Ah, I had a great time on this site ❤ I'm glad it's not getting completely wiped like I feared!
Now I feel like reserving a domain name and writing some software...
Thu, 08/10/2023 - 13:45
Thank you for creating such a fantastic community and website, making World of Goo become one of my favorite games in my childhood ❤️
Steam
Thu, 08/24/2023 - 20:11
I decided to revisit this site after many months to see what the world of goo community was up to.
I'm sad to see it go but I understand why its happening. thank you for putting in the effort to preserve the fan base of an incredible and nostalgic game. cheers!
Fri, 10/13/2023 - 03:36
i'm glad i've been here, too. when i was 8 or 9 i remember seeing this site while searching for WoG content, and it will always be a big part of my childhood. I'm glad i've been able to upload my levels here (even though most of them sucks) and to see how the community had been going on after that many years!
Those are probably my final words on this site, and i'm surrpised i haven't done a comment here before, but here it is...
Goodbye goofans
- Volcanojungle
Volcanojungle, creator of Goomods. I do pixelart, I'm the author of Lyxn and the Ice Kingdom and I'm the creator of Rükvadaen. I also do videos on youtube ^^
Tue, 11/21/2023 - 09:05
Thanks for all the memories everybody![Smile Smile](http://goofans.com/sites/all/modules/smileys/packs/Roving/smile.png)
Sun, 11/26/2023 - 07:56
Wow! World of Goo is probably one of the earliest games I've ever played, and definitely the first game which had a community that I experienced! I remember downloading all the levels and themes and editors I could find on this website and playing with all of them when I was just 8 years old... (I created this account relatively recently, don't worry, I'm not, like, 11) Huge thanks to everyone who uploaded addins for making my childhood, and of course mega thanks for David for hosting it all!
Tue, 11/28/2023 - 15:27
Hey all! Pavke here! Wish you all a Happy 15th Bday to the whole Goo Ball community. @davic Let me know if you need me to do something
My Gooish profile | Videos on YouTube | My WOG Mods
Thu, 12/07/2023 - 23:09
Thanks for the Discord server David. Your site helped me and many other kids find community, back when that was less easy to get done. This site is a lot of good memories for me. I was proud to be a part of it.
Fri, 12/08/2023 - 22:42
id say,that despite my contributions not being much,it was a pleasure seing this community grow,specially on the discord,it has been alot of fun and joy
Hi im Said and i like wog and other stuff
Sun, 05/05/2024 - 06:17
Hey folks, just stumbling across this post now. I guess it was inevitable after all this time, but man, what a community it was back in the day. Still miss you all sometimes. Thank you for that time, especially davidc, who made it all possible. <3
It won't be the same, obviously, but I'm still somewhat excited about WoG2. Another thing that I just read about for the first time!
Will swing by now and then to see what happens over the year.
So long, love you guys
my gooey profile | my video channel | author of Hazardous Environment
Tue, 08/13/2024 - 07:46
is it not possible to keep the site active atleast partially? People still release new levels from time to time.
Tue, 08/20/2024 - 14:49
Some information about World of Goo 2 records can be found at
https://wogfan.cc/wog2/
Author of Platforms of Goo and 64 levels for World of Goo .