The recent news that Vine, the pioneer of short-form video creation and sharing, had collapsed threw everyone for a loop. Only this time the loop didn’t get funnier with repetition. The questions are plenty and the answers, at this point, are few. However, this is what we know so far.

What Happened to Vine?

On October 27, 2016, in a post entitled, Important News about Vine, the company announced that they would be discontinuing the mobile app, “in the coming months.” It appears that the details are as vague as the announcement was abrupt. Twitter, who acquired Vine in 2012, for $30 million, has been officially silent on the matter. Not even a Tweet.

Why Did Vine Fail?

Without official word, there is only room for speculation. The Verge reports that Vine failed to deliver what it promised to Twitter years ago. Pitched by its founders as “THE casual mass-market lifecasting app,” Vine began losing out to first Instagram and then SnapChat. Reports that “Vine celebrities” have been negotiating for more pay from the company for several months, may indicate that the company was simply not making enough revenue from the site to keep the talent, happy.

If you look at the Vine’s management timeline, it is easy to see that there has been little stability in the company over the last couple of years. Dom Hofmann who founded Vine just four months before selling to Twitter left the company in 2014. In the year to follow, Twitter would either lay-off or fire much of the creative staff. In a sector that changes by the second, instability at this level can be a harbinger of the coming failure.

What Will Happen to the App and Videos?

Vine’s official statement addresses this at a basic level, reassuring creators and users that nothing will be changing today. They state that they value the content and intend on keeping Vines available for access and download.

What is the Future of Vine?

The future of Vine seems bleak, though Americans do love a great comeback story. So it isn’t surprising to read that Vine stars are seeking to raise money from celebrities to buy Vine from Twitter. Whether Hollywood will be enough to save Vine, remains to be seen.