communityeventstemplates

Archiving Fan Worlds: How to Preserve Deleted Animal Crossing Islands and Other Community Creations

ddiscords

2026-01-26

10 min read

How servers can archive deleted fan worlds, run farewell events, and preserve community creations safely and legally after takedowns.

When a world disappears overnight: practical steps for servers that can't afford to lose years of community work

If your server hosts tours, builds or fan-made worlds, you know the dread: a platform update or a moderation takedown can erase months—or years—of work in an instant. The recent removal of the infamous Animal Crossing island (commonly called "Adults' Island") in late 2025 is a wake-up call: communities can lose cultural artifacts fast. This guide gives server teams a battle-tested playbook to archive creations safely, run meaningful farewell events, and preserve community context while staying on the right side of IP and platform rules.

Top takeaways (read first)

Act with consent: always ask creators for written permission before you preserve or publish their work.
Capture multiple formats: screenshots, high-quality video tours, pattern/design codes, metadata, and creator notes.
Use a structured server template: dedicated archive channels, permissioned upload areas, and metadata forms keep archives useful long-term.
Run farewell events to give creators closure and preserve social context via recorded streams and community contributions.
Plan for legal risks: implement takedown procedures and keep private backups if public hosting isn’t allowed.

Why archiving fan creations matters in 2026

By 2026, platforms and publishers tightened enforcement around user-generated content after a wave of high-profile removals in 2024–2025. That means more creative works are at risk—especially when they push community norms. Archivists and server admins now serve as stewards of digital community heritage: the maps, builds, modded spaces and collaborative worlds that define gaming culture. Proper archiving preserves not just the asset, but the community context—the chats, developer notes, tours, and streams that give those worlds meaning.

Legal primer: protect creators and your server

Archiving is partly technical and partly legal. Start here to reduce risk.

Get clear permission

Before copying, publishing, or distributing anything, obtain written consent from the creator. A short message containing the creator’s intent and permitted uses is often sufficient. Save evidence (screenshots, email or DMs) in your archive's metadata.

Understand intellectual property basics

Creator ownership: the person who made a build usually retains copyright to that creative expression.
Game publisher rights: publishers (e.g., Nintendo) may claim rights to in‑game assets and can enforce content policies.
Fair use is limited: archiving for preservation may not always be protected—consult a lawyer for complicated or monetized projects.

Safe hosting rules

If a creator asks for private preservation only, respect that and encrypt or password-protect your backups.
Publish only with explicit permission and a stated license (Creative Commons variants are common).
Have a clear takedown process: a public contact, a log of requests, and an automated removal workflow.

"Obtain written consent, preserve provenance, and be ready to remove content on request." — Best practice rule for community archivists.

Project playbook: organize your server archiving team

Set roles, define milestones, and use templates. Treat archiving like a community project—not a one-person task.

Core roles

Project Lead — coordinates logistics, timelines, and creator outreach.
Archivist — handles capture, metadata, and storage procedures.
Legal Liaison — manages permission forms and takedown correspondence.
Event Coordinator — plans farewell streams, tours, contests and publicity.
Mods / Security — enforce rules during live events and control access to private archives.
Backup Admin — sets up redundancy (cloud/IPFS) and verifies backups.

Milestones & timeline (example)

Week 1: Obtain permissions and finalize scope (what to archive).
Week 2: Run capture passes (images, video, design/export codes).
Week 3: Create metadata records and backups; prepare a farewell event roadmap.
Week 4: Public archive publishing (if permitted) + hosted farewell event and recorded stream.

Discord server template: structure for archiving projects

Use a dedicated server or a well-separated category so archives remain discoverable and secure.

Suggested category & channel list

📚 – Archive HQ
- #readme — project scope, timeline, and contact points
- #permissions — stored permission receipts (links to backups)
- #archive-index — master index with links to entries
- #metadata-submissions — templated form for creators to fill
- #backups-log — checksums and backup links
🎥 – Farewells & Events
- #event-announcements — schedule and RSVP
- #stream-links — recorded tours and VODs
- #tribute-art — community submissions
🔒 – Private / Staff
- #staff-chat — planning and moderation
- #legal — takedown requests and legal notes

Role & permission tips

Limit archival upload channels to trusted roles to avoid spam or accidental public release.
Grant read-only access to public index and gallery channels; make full archives downloadable only to verified members or via password-protected links.
Use bots for verification and to add timestamps and message IDs to metadata automatically.

Technical preservation: what to capture and how

Quality and redundancy are key. Capture the asset in several complementary formats so future researchers can reconstruct the world even if one format becomes unreadable.

Essential capture list

High-resolution screenshots — multiple angles, daytime/nighttime, UI on/off.
Video tour — 60fps, 4K recommended; include a narrated walk-through by the creator when possible.
Export codes & IDs — Dream Addresses, Creator IDs, pattern codes, item lists; record verbatim.
Design files & notes — pattern files, mod files, and creator notes saved as TXT or Markdown.
Community context — tour chat logs, event RSVP lists, stream VODs and timestamps for notable moments.

Tools & workflows

Use OBS Studio or hardware capture cards for highest quality VODs. Archive raw files before compressing to MP4.
Automate image captures with scripts where possible; name files with a strict convention (YYYYMMDD_creator_worldname_type).
Make checksums (SHA256) for each file and store them in a central checksums.json.
Store a README.json per world with fields: title, creator, start_date, end_date, license, permissions_link, capture_methods, contact.
For large projects, consider IPFS for decentralized redundancy and Filecoin or Arweave for paid permanence—but only after confirming legal clearance.

Hosting archives safely

Choose an approach that balances discoverability, longevity and legal safety.

Options

Private server or gated Discord download — best when creators restrict public sharing. Coordinate access and offline workflows with remote teams and tools like remote-first collaboration platforms.
Internet Archive — good public option for media with permission; preserves context like captions and metadata. Consider public hosting only after following publisher policies and using official export paths such as the emerging platform export endpoints.
GitHub / Git LFS — useful for text/design files; not ideal for large binaries unless combined with LFS.
Decentralized storage (IPFS + Arweave/Filecoin) for permanence—requires careful review of content licensing before committing to immutable storage.

Retention and provenance

Keep a clear provenance trail: who uploaded, when, and under what permission. That’ll help in case of future disputes or takedown requests.

Run meaningful farewell events

Farewell events are as important as raw files. They preserve community memory and give closure.

Event formats that work

Guided tour stream — a creator-guided tour recorded to VOD with chat highlights clipped.
Tribute jam — community builds inspired by the world; submit entries to the archive.
Oral history panel — interview creators, frequent visitors, and mod staff; transcribe and save.
Art & zine release — curate fan art and produce a digital zine that accompanies the archive.

Event runbook (2-hour stream example)

00:00–00:05 — Welcome, project intro, and legal reminder (permissions and how the archive will be used).
00:05–00:35 — Creator-led tour with Q&A (recorded).
00:35–01:05 — Panel / oral-history segment with key community members (record and transcribe).
01:05–01:30 — Tribute showcase (art, clips, music) and community shout-outs.
01:30–02:00 — Closing, instructions for archival submissions, and next steps.

Moderation & safety

Have a dedicated moderation team for live events to enforce civility and prevent griefing or doxxing.
Turn off public recording in sensitive situations; notify participants before recording.

Preserving community context: Discord archives and metadata

Files alone aren’t enough. The chats, reactions and social responses give meaning to the artifact.

What to export

Event announcements, pinned messages, and FAQs.
Chat logs from tours and key discussion threads (with participant consent).
Clips and highlight reels linked to timestamps in the VOD and archived alongside files.

How to export responsibly

Use official APIs or export tools that comply with platform Terms of Service. Avoid client mods that violate ToS; watch for marketplace and platform policy changes that could affect exports.
Redact personal data—usernames, IDs, or quoted DMs—unless you have explicit consent to publish them.
Attach a context file (context.json) with narrative notes: why the archive exists, who led the project, and how to cite it.

Case study: Adults' Island — lessons for archivists

The removal of the Japanese adults-only Animal Crossing island stirred big emotions. The island had existed since 2020 and was featured widely by streamers before Nintendo removed it in late 2025. The creator publicly thanked visitors and acknowledged the takedown, but the broader community lost a long-lived cultural artifact.

What could an archiving server have done?

Early outreach to the creator for formal permission to preserve a full archive (screenshots, VODs, pattern codes).
Scheduled farewell events timed with potential policy changes to record final tours and creator commentary — run these like curated pop-ups and community events (see curated weekend pop-ups playbook).
Maintained a private backup and a summarized public exhibit with redactions to avoid violating publisher policies.

Advanced strategies & 2026 trends

Expect enforcement to remain active through 2026. At the same time, preservation tech is improving. Here’s what to prepare for:

Platform archiving tools: Several publishers piloted archive export endpoints in late 2025—watch for official export tools that give creators portable snapshots.
Decentralized permanence: IPFS and Arweave adoption by community coalitions grew in 2025. Consider immutable storage only with clear permissions; the smart storage playbook outlines operations for distributed nodes.
Legal coalitions: Expect more community preservation groups to form, offering legal templates and mediation in disputes.
Automation & bots: Expect bots that automate capture, checksuming, and metadata generation—integrate them to reduce human error and tie them into your data workflows.

Actionable checklist: run an archive project this week

Identify the world and creator; request permission and save that receipt.
Create a private archive category in your server and assign roles.
Run one full capture pass: screenshots, a 15–30 minute narrated video, and export codes.
Generate checksums and create README.json and provenance files.
Plan and announce a farewell event; record and transcribe it.
Decide hosting (private/published) and set a takedown policy and contact point.

Templates and tools (quick list)

Permission template (short written release): creator name, allowed uses, expiration.
Metadata template: title, creator, timeline, platform, capture methods, license, contact.
OBS and hardware capture settings: 4K/60fps for main tours, raw file retention for 30 days.
Checksumming tools: sha256sum, PowerShell Get-FileHash.
Storage options: Internet Archive (public), private AWS S3 with lifecycle rules, IPFS/Arweave for permanent copies (with consent).

Final thoughts: stewardship over ownership

Communities don’t just host creations—they steward memories. When a world vanishes, the loss is cultural as much as technical. By building archiving projects with clear permissions, robust capture workflows, and respectful farewell events, your server can preserve more than a file: you preserve the voice and social history around that world.

Next steps — get the templates and join the network

Ready to start an archive project in your server? Download starter server templates, permission forms and metadata JSON at our resource hub, and join the discords.pro preservation channel to trade workflows with other archivists. If you're preserving a world right now and want feedback on permissions or hosting options, bring your notes to our weekly Archival Clinic—slots fill fast.

Preserve responsibly. Archive with consent. Celebrate the creators.

Join the preservation movement: download the templates, add the archive category to your server, and schedule your first farewell event this month.

discords

Contributor

Senior editor and content strategist. Writing about technology, design, and the future of digital media. Follow along for deep dives into the industry's moving parts.