Portfolio52 Website Unavailable / Down

[radix]

Putting on my web developer hat: the best way to migrate a site like this is to get access to all the files & source code -- stuff you can't get by scraping the visible web pages. The biggest value item would be the underlying database/data store information. Unfortunately the hosting service probably won't release those files to anyone except the site owner (the missing Alex).

Does anyone know if someone else besides Alex designed or created the site software? If so, the original developer might be open to sharing the original files & source code. That would make it much easier to preserve or recreate the site elsewhere.

[kevork]

Rob also mentioned the upkeep of the website seems to have cost $150/month. I'm not sure if he had access to that information or was guessing.

[GandalfPC]

Seems pretty extreme for the cost - should be able to run for a fraction of that on AWS

[montenzi]

Seems pretty extreme for the cost - should be able to run for a fraction of that on AWS

Agree! I use DigitalOcean for my personal server, and I believe the cost for a self-hosted VPS with a commercial control panel would likely be in the $40–80 range for a relatively busy site.
For $160 you can get 32GB RAM. 8 vCPUs,10TB traffic, 400 GiB SSD. It's too much.

[Honeybee]

Having to work around this message EVERY click - makes it very hard work looking up decks
I wish I knew how to turn off this warning

I think somebody has been doing a bit of work on the problem as today I don't have to jump through hoops as I am NOT getting the 'Your Connection is not Private' message every time I go to a new P52 page

[Honeybee]

A most interesting development from X-Decks

https://mailchi.mp/x-decks/fresh_deck_f ... 433284ca38

Warm regards and Happy New Year,

At the 2022 52+ Joker Convention, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Alex Chin. Initially, I hoped to offer X-Decks’ support and assistance with Portfolio52. But during our conversation, Alex surprised me with the alternate idea of what if X-Decks took over Portfolio52?

This was unexpected—not only because Alex was considering stepping back from the platform but also because he trusted me to carry forward the legacy of Portfolio52. After the show, we continued discussing the transition but on November 4, 2022, I received what would be the final message from Alex, marking a pivotal moment in this journey.

Fast forward to early 2024, Portfolio52 experienced a multi-month outage, the third major warning sign for the platform. We decided it was time to take action. We knew the security certificate was coming due in November and what would happen if it wasn't renewed so we preserved all the P52 data before it happened. After most of the year brainstorming, and planning, we are thrilled to announce Decklopedia.com, officially under construction as of January 1, 2025 and will have 26,000 +/- decks of content!

[kevork]

A most interesting development from X-Decks

They should talk to Manu since he has built DeckCollect, and see if they can't combine their efforts.

[felicityk]

A most interesting development from X-Decks

https://mailchi.mp/x-decks/fresh_deck_f ... 433284ca38

I want to highlight that X-Decks is soliciting ideas for added features and improvements to the format. The email address to contact is near the end of the message, if you click on the link Honeybee provided.

[BaconWise]

It seems we have reached the inevitable shutdown - and likely for good. It's a sad time in the playing card world as I have grown very fond of P52 for research and a great visualization of my personal collection.

There are options at this point:

- www.deckcollect.com (managed by Manu)
- www.decklopedia.com (launching this year by X-Decks)
- www.playingcardhub.com (just launched and managed by jusjohns82 of Reddit)

I love the visual feel of DeckCollect - it looks sharp. However, a big plus for PCH is that it has 26k decks in the database, which is akin to P52 while DeckCollect is growing their database that is at around 1200-1500 decks. I think in a short amount of time it will be personal preference and I imagine X-Decks will have a substantial database as well.

While it will be hard to not have access to P52, there are some great people picking up the baton, so to speak.

[manu]

It's cool to see other options coming out. I just wanted to briefly comment on the difference between database sizes.

I decided not to use scraped data from P52 to jump-start Deck Collect for several reasons. Partially I just didn't want to take that data without permission, but also I knew that building the collection from scratch would allow me to be a lot more picky and gather more information, like stock, finish, features like size and type of foil, and tags like themes, transformation, vintage, etc. All of these details can be searched and filtered, and that’s possible due to taking the time to fact-check and input this information manually.

Of course, I know some people don't care about these kinds of details and just want to use the site with the most decks, which I completely understand. That's why it’s great that there are options, so everyone can pick the one that is best for their needs. I don't think that Deck Collect has to reach 26k+ decks to be useful, however. Of all the decks on P52, I suspect only a small percentage are actually collected by most users. Deck Collect already has a solid foundation and is growing rapidly (users have added almost 500 new decks since the public launch last month!).

Anyway, these are just some things I've been thinking about. I'll be continuing to make Deck Collect the best site for me, and hopefully, others will find it useful too. These are exciting times for sure!

[BaconWise]

It's cool to see other options coming out. I just wanted to briefly comment on the difference between database sizes.

I decided not to use scraped data from P52 to jump-start Deck Collect for several reasons. Partially I just didn't want to take that data without permission, but also I knew that building the collection from scratch would allow me to be a lot more picky and gather more information, like stock, finish, features like size and type of foil, and tags like themes, transformation, vintage, etc. All of these details can be searched and filtered, and that’s possible due to taking the time to fact-check and input this information manually.

Of course, I know some people don't care about these kinds of details and just want to use the site with the most decks, which I completely understand. That's why it’s great that there are options, so everyone can pick the one that is best for their needs. I don't think that Deck Collect has to reach 26k+ decks to be useful, however. Of all the decks on P52, I suspect only a small percentage are actually collected by most users. Deck Collect already has a solid foundation and is growing rapidly (users have added almost 500 new decks since the public launch last month!).

Anyway, these are just some things I've been thinking about. I'll be continuing to make Deck Collect the best site for me, and hopefully, others will find it useful too. These are exciting times for sure!

That's a fantastic response and I completely agree that much of the P52 database was not used. Also, there were quite a few duplicate entries or some that just had no info. I love your approach. I do think adding a trade communication feature will certainly boost popularity. I think I remember reading that was a possibility for the future of your site, or perhaps one of the others. Either way, I appreciate the level of depth and accuracy you are pursuing. Well done!

[kevork]

If I had to take a pick, Manu's interpretation of a card database is the best one so far. I just am having a hard time with the UI of the playingcardhub, but I value multiple individuals helping inspire one another to continue to improve and fill a hole in the community that's been yearning for an overdue upgrade.

I'm fine with a database being built from the ground up with the goal of quality in mind.

Thanks Manu, Justin, and others

[mulrich]

Given the history of portfolio52 I think an important feature for new websites should be the ability to download an excel file to backup your own collection. I know one of the new sites mentioned this but I'm not sure about the others.

[PlayingCardHub]

Hey all - Justin the guy building PlayingCardHub.com here -

Quick answers / comments to some of this:

Yes PlayingCardHub can export to excel (CSV) or even to JSON when viewing your collection

I think Manu brings up some great point about building the deckcollect database, and he's a bit on the money with the low percentage comment - granted , I'm very very early here - but roughly 10% of the 26k decks are actually in a collection right now - of course that number is going to change as more users get onboarded use the site, etc... but so far the logic there checks out

It was mentioned that you didn't like/couldn't get behind the UI of PCH - any more feedback there? just not your aesthetic? - something not looking right? - would love to hear some more feedback there

Lastly - it's great that we've got a couple of folks going after the same target: a solid place for collectors to manage their collection - and I'll just call out here so that everyone's aware - I'm fully open to partnerships, working together, sharing data, etc... with these other folks if the end result is better for the community.