Site Downtime

[Monsta Mo Mini]

Due to the ever increasing amount of downtime I'd just like to clarify the situation as I believe some folk are starting to get a bit frustrated.

The fault is not with the server. It’s simply down to the limitations of the forums software in it’s current configuration. In the early days it was set up to run on an ACCESS database (.asp) as this was the cheapest and easiest to set-up.

Obviously the site membership has expanded way beyond expectations and unfortunately this has exposed the limitations of the ASP set-up. If too many people try to access the default.asp file at once, it goes over until the server is reset at midnight.

I’ve looked into shifting to vBulletin running on MySQL (as MINI2) but this option presents a number of problems. To do this, I’d have to run the existing database through two different converters before importing into the new forums hosted on a UNIX server. I have neither the knowhow or a PC to do this on.

OR

We could simply start from scratch with brand new forums on a new server. The old forums would be available for browsing only. Everyone would have to re-register.

I’m somewhat lacking in the technical expertise to do any of the work required. I’ve made several appeals on this site for help regarding these issues without success. So once again, any willing bods with a good knowledge of ASP and MySQL, could you please get in touch.

Hope this makes the situation clearer. Any feedback on the best way forward would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

Calum
NMS Webmaster

[Big Col]

There must be some [s]geeeeeek [/s]helpful IT literate person on here that could help Calum out with all this surely? <looks at lnl>

Personally I think it seems that starting from scratch would be the easiest solution and having to re register wouldn't be a problem for me. IMHO of course. :)

[duncan]

Re-registering isnt a great hardship, IMHO either.

[Crombers]

Lets do whatever we have to do in order to make things even better I say :approve:

[Wul]

Yup - if re-registering is the easiest option for you Calum then it get's my vote. :)

- if your needing more donations too Calum, I'm sure i can find a couple of quid down the back of the sofa.

- it's funny - the first click of Submit for this post got a "page not available" error - now theres a coincidence!! :clown:

[The Dogfather]

Having run a vBulletin forum in the past the added functionality would be good, as anyone who uses MINI2 would know.

Re-registering wouldn't be an issue for me either. Perhaps we can have a stab at transferring with the option of an old NMS archive as a back up.

I happy to assist attempting to import the old database into the new and I'm pretty good at manipulating MS Access databases (it's what I do for a living), if I can help I will.

[Burple]

quote:Originally posted by Big Col

There must be some [s]geeeeeek [/s]helpful IT literate person on here that could help Calum out with all this surely? <looks at lnl>

<Smack!>

Unfortunately I'm lacking the same [s]geeky[/s] technical knowledge as Calum :( The best I can do is some VERY limited knowledge of SQL, and that was only really of te 'querying the database' type stuff.

The only downside I see of starting from scratch are all the old archived posts (which are a Goldmine of useful tips and advice!). Would these still be available to view?
Apart from that, it's no great Hardship to Re-register! That's one way of keeping the membership fresh.. You might actually see a fairly large reduction in the amount of members we have, as the very occasional visitor (or Lurkers), or those who don't come around any more might not bother to register again..


only my 2p

[Scottie]

I don't mind if I have to re register but it would be good to keep the old data. :)

[Wul]

To quote M3's post:

"We could simply start from scratch with brand new forums on a new server. The old forums would be available for browsing only. Everyone would have to re-register."

:clown:

[Craig]

I think re-registering would be a good idea, as I had a conversation with a certain AndyP on fri night that we seem to have nearly a thousand registered users and we seem to have a core who are on the website and attend/run events of about 50 - 100 people, so I think it would be good for a clear-out. It would also get rid of all of the "lurkers" as lnl put it. I think we should do something that I know other forums do, in that you only get access to all forums if you give details of who you are, thus stopping the "lurkers" from hiding their identity.... Just my tuppence.

Craig