We had a great time while the Disqus Channels program was active, it was really easy to attract new members due to the interconnectivity, and there were dozens if not hundreds of channels for people to explore and share with friends. Over time, however, Disqus experienced more and more problems, largely due to the toxicity of comments on some of the less regulated channels and how that might impact their corporate profile.
Some time around August of 2019, Disqus announced the end of its free Channel Program when an estimated 500 channels were handed a 30-day eviction notice. Some channel owners had already seen the writing on the wall and pulled together stand-alone websites before Channels went dark, although they were often ridiculed for bailing early on Disqus. Others (like us) were left with a month to create a site — still using Disqus as the comment platform — and prevent our membership from wandering off to greener pastures. Many of us owners had no experience in building websites and suddenly we were thrown into the deep end to sink or swim. So began the crash course (read, “master class”) in web design.