cannot post - hoping this will work. keep getting ips error message or can't find server message...yesterday morning for quite some time and now this morning for about an hour. I am hoping this post will get on there. What's going on??

Database issues, I am working to resolve them, long term, I was under the impression that they were resolved short term as I hadn't seen the problem occur since last night, I will have another look.

Would you mind explaining what the problem with the board is? I've heard the database is too large, but I'm not sure what that means. Does it mean there isn't enough space on the server for the database or does it mean there's too much data in it and it's malfunctioning?

I'm asking because if it's the former, wouldn't it be fixed by adding more disc space? If it's the latter, is there some way to save the stuff you have to remove and make an archive for it so we don't lose anything?

Thank you for asking this, MG. I am concerned as well about losing stuff.

There is plenty of physical space on the server it's simply that with a database this large being accessed this often it is not uncommon for all the queries to simply overload it's capabilities. The site is not on a dedicated server as I simply couldnt afford it and as such it may not just be related to the size of this database but also demands on the server from other databases stored on it as well.

I have been trying to get the database shifted to another server in the cluster but the problem is that with such a large database uploading it to another machine is problematic and keeps failing (times out usually).

At the moment I am simply spending every waking hour watching over it, refreshing the site every few minutes and repairing the database everytime I see it throwing up an error.

I am looking for a proper solution but at the moment this is all I can do. Apologies for any downtime whilst I sleep.

Thanks for doing all of this dev.

What the lady said!

Oh, thanks so much for explaining things and for all the work you're doing.

Maybe the archive option isn't such a bad idea. That would at least allow you to remove some things from the database and make it smaller.

Yes dev, thanks for the explanation, and for babysitting the boards the way you are.

Can I ask what happened with the paid membership money? I renewed my membership recently, but I think it was before the change of command. Did any of that go to you?

I was thinking it might help afford a better server if you had more paid members, is all.

The paid membership money I have received since I took over the boards has gone into renewing the support license for the board, gallery and blog, so when things go really tits up I can get assistance.

If there is continuation of renewal of subscriptions then I would be looking to put that towards the hosting costs I am already incurring and if there is an extra then it would go towards trying to find dedicated hosting.

I expected this board to cost me, and I am sure that one way or another it will. But I dont mind, this community has given so much to me it's only right that I do what I can to repay it.

It shouldn't need a dedicated server - it didn't have one before... It might just be time to up sticks from Servage if they can't get their shit together. It was with United Hosting (dot co dot uk) before.

Dev, you rock.

Just sayin'. Thanks.

Well if I do squid then you are one of the reasons I do. Remember the old days?

Just curious, dev. How come when I come to the board and it says it's too busy for me to enter I can still hit the lo-fi version at the bottom of the page and get in and read just fine.
Not only that, when I enter it's not the lo-fi version... it's the regular look of the board for me.

We'll see if I can post too... that's what this is for, in addition to the question. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_smile.gif)

Yup, I can post. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_smile.gif)

Because you're special?

LOL - well I am, but I was just curious. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_biggrin.gif)

No, I had that happen to me the first day we went down, once the board was actually get-in-able. At that time, I could read the board okay, but in order to post I had to hit the lo-fi button first. Weird, huh?

ETA: Er, not saying you're not special, FollowMal, just not in that way. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_mrgreen.gif)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_mrgreen.gif)

dev,

I think I speak for the majority of posters on this site when I say a) we are irritated at the significant problems the site is having and b) what can we do to help?

You shouldn't have to go at this alone.

Do you need donations to help move the board to a more stable server? Do you need more paid subscriptions to accomplish this?

Please let us know what we can do to help you. We love this site, and want to work with you and support you however you need us.

-Mav

*hacks into Mav's bank account and transfers money to dev*

I'm irritated about the problems with the site, but not irritated at dev. And your points are all very important.

Right now the site has suckage. Dev is doing all possible to improve the site - but are we? Are we the people that post a LOT on this site doing anything FOR the site? This is a community, and we all should do what we can for the site, for ourselves. If you have not already, contribute to the site - this might make a difference to moving the site to a better server. Thin your PMs from your message boxes (you can archive them).

When this site is functioning well it is a great community to be a part of. Show your support and love for SM.org with a bit of cashy money.

I'm currently researching hosting providers, this site has some pretty high requirements, the database is nearly half a gig, and current traffic levels are at about 75 Gig a month. This limits the options somewhat. What's odd is that gossi said that it was only about 20 Gig a month. But, there ya go.

And for the record the best reliable service I have found so far that meets our requirements would be about $1200 a year, suffice to say, I am still looking.

http://www.xo.com/smb/hosting/websites/Pages/standard.aspx

VERY solid servers. $420 - $960 (USD) per year. (Not sure what other tech requirements you might need, but I HTH.)

Cheers for that.

On their site they only mention MySQL 4 and they dont list how large a database they will allow, I'm contacting them now to see if they can answer my questions satisfactorially.

If anyone else has any suggestions, please feel free to let me know

Here is another hosting company that I've used:

http://hostek.com/web-hosting-plans-linux.asp

Even more attractive prices, if they do what you need done. (Do you need MySQL 5? Hostek has 4 and 5.)

http://www.portal360.com/

I use them and they are solid and reliable.

This is great....Fly and Mav are right (they would be so good together, if only they knew eachother IRL) we should do this together. I don't have any experience with hosting or servers but I can certainly send some money and would be more than happy to. More than happy. If the very best we can get will cost $1000 a year, that should be easy enough to raise, no? $25 from how many, 40-50 people? And if that is too much for some, maybe some of the rest of us could pony up an extra $10. Does this make any sense or am I hallucinating? I wish I could help more in the technical department but, alas, I cannot.

I can also certainly contribute some cashey money to help move to more reliable servers.

And I'll clean up my pms, too.

I'll clean up my PM's this weekend. And I'll contribute money as well. Happy to. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_smile.gif)