I can’t check now because they deleted the course forums, but I think that the course maintainer hadn’t responded to anything there in about two years. Before that, they were updating the course, fixing errors, and answering questions, but at some point they went silent. The course still has some problems, and is also unfinished (it has a level without the necessary map images, so you can’t actually learn it).
Currently it says the course owner is @CFT, but I seem to recall that it was someone else back when the course was maintained, so I don’t know if I’m remembering incorrectly or if CFT took over the course more recently - they they haven’t fixed anything that I can see, either. Also, I don’t see such a username here on the forum.
@cos ~ I am also taking that course, and if I remember correctly, I thought that someone was curating it due to an illness of the creator/owner. I thought this was mentioned in the old forum, but since we can’t see them anymore, I may be mistaken. If this is that course, then the curator stated that he was only fixing existing issues, not adding new items (like the long missing mountain level data, etc.) If this is the course, I don’t remember the curator’s username.
Hello everyone, and apologies for the (very) delayed response!
In reply to all the above:
I am alive and well, as I have been during this whole time. My unexplained absence over the past couple of years has been primarily due to work. My job takes me away from the internet for extended periods of time, and when back in civilisation I have, unfortunately, been far too busy for memrise. This should be less the case from now on, or for the foreseeable future at least, and I intend on getting my memrise back into shape.
There was no change of ownership of this course, simply a slight change to my username. I am the original creator.
I have now deleted the unfinished level (mountain ranges), as I simply do not have the time to produce the required maps at this time. It remains my intention to create them at some point, although if I am honest this is fairly low in my “to do” list. If anyone does wish to create them, I would be very happy to publish them with appropriate credit.
I am also open to the idea of having a fellow maintainer/curator on a course as popular as this, in the past I collaborated a lot with Azrael, although I believe he is now inactive? Suggestions on appropriate candidates would be welcome.
In the mean time I am very happy for requied corrections and small additions to be posted in this thread. (if this is how the new forums are meant to work?)
Welcome back and thanks for responding. If indeed you sometimes go away from the Internet for extended periods of time, then having a comaintainer or two would be very very helpful.
Do you still have copies of the emails you got from the old memrise course forum? Unfortunately memrise deleted to forum so we can no longer see what people posted there, and I know there were some suggestions and problem reports that never got acted on. But memrise should’ve sent you an email anytime there was a new post, so you may still have the only copy of some of those posts, if you saved your emails.
Excellent idea, thanks @cos! So I believe I only have the emails of the original post of a new thread, nonetheless there were a number of useful corrections, which I have now made (as well as some not so useful, which I have not made). Significant tidying up of the State Nickname level is the most noticeable change, any combination should now work (with/without “the” “state” etc…)
Please update me on any changes to memrise that may have broken parts of the course, I believe there has been a change to comas for example, although not sure how it affects American Geography at this stage.
Interestingly @pdao was not totally mistaken when suggesting I was ill/dying, but rather misinformed. A user named Milo.D posted the following. I am assuming this was a case of course confusion, as I have never, thankfully, had cancer, nor was Milo.D ever a contributor of this course, nonetheless it makes for an interesting read.
Hi there i am one of the contributors. Unfortunately the main creator of this course has fallen seriously ill with cancer. I am very busy with my job, but i am always tweaking small things to improve the course. However i am only paid to tweak existing levels, not introduce new ones or add words to half-completed ones. If you would like to send get well messages leave them her. It will be appreciated, and if we get enough i will send them to hi m. Thanks, and we are sorry for any inconvenience caused.
So thank you very much to everyone who posted supportive messages, unwarranted, but I’ll keep them saved for the next time I catch man-flu! And thank you very much to everyone who has taken time to suggest improvements and corrections, and to everyone creating mems for the course. You are all the real heros!
@CFT ~ Welcome back ! Glad to hear that you are indeed well. Sorry for the confusion over my original post a while back. It is good to know it was just confusion over a post by another user about a different Memrise course posted in the wrong forum. (What are the odds ?)
For what is worth, I believe your geography course is the best in Memrise (IMHO) so I am glad that you are updating and maintaining it again. I used it a while back in the States when I was tutoring some kids in geography (and other related school subjects) and they all loved it. There is much in the course for people of all ages and all interests.
Best of luck to you with the continuation of this course, and with everything else in your life’s journey. Glad you are back ! .
BTW I remembered one of the things I posted: I think the Connecticut River really ought to be in the rivers level. It’s the biggest river in New England (5% of the US by population), goes through MA and CT, then forms the border between Vermont and New Hampshire. Do you think you’d have time to add that one?
