Old Forum _was_ Really, Really Old...and Broken
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 12:32 pm
[Thread Title editted by GonzoRon. Just to avoid confusion, now that we have moved to the new board]
Okay, I know I'm the "newbie" here and I have bothered you before. Seriously, though, it's getting a little silly. This forum goes down more than three times a week and has terribly slow intervals for no apparent reason. It went down a few minutes ago and I made sure other folks were having the same issue.
Either your host, BlueHost, has unreliable MySQL servers or the forum is just too old and worn out. My gut says it's the forum because I've been able to access the main FoS site during a forum crash.
So, I've been told that the database is also old and can't handle an upgrade or something. I've been told that people will get "lost" if we have a different skin on a new forum. I've been told that it was a nightmare the last time an upgrade was attempted.
First, there should be a back up of the forum database, even if it's about a GIG, eep! All forums need backups for emergencies! So, if something goes wrong with an upgrade, you know you have the real thing stored somewhere else.
Second, people can handle skins. Please give them credit; maybe the oldest fogeys of the old fogeys cannot find the "Post" button immediately, but they probably have trouble with browsing in general. There are always free options out there for phpBB, and some of them even come with big shiny buttons! (Our current skins are not the most legible anyway.)
Third, the "nightmare" upgrade can be avoided if you give in to a forum archive. Everything is still there to read. If a topic isn't complete, it can be made into a new one, and soon enough all will return to normal. Also, if there are issues during the upgrade process, there could be a temporary chatroom or free forum for people to commiserate elsewhere.
Please, please reconsider upgrading?
I really want to emphasize accessibility here: The forum crashes are noticeable, frustrating, and worse than maybe not seeing where a button is or having to reference an archived post.
/end whine
Okay, I know I'm the "newbie" here and I have bothered you before. Seriously, though, it's getting a little silly. This forum goes down more than three times a week and has terribly slow intervals for no apparent reason. It went down a few minutes ago and I made sure other folks were having the same issue.
Either your host, BlueHost, has unreliable MySQL servers or the forum is just too old and worn out. My gut says it's the forum because I've been able to access the main FoS site during a forum crash.
So, I've been told that the database is also old and can't handle an upgrade or something. I've been told that people will get "lost" if we have a different skin on a new forum. I've been told that it was a nightmare the last time an upgrade was attempted.
First, there should be a back up of the forum database, even if it's about a GIG, eep! All forums need backups for emergencies! So, if something goes wrong with an upgrade, you know you have the real thing stored somewhere else.
Second, people can handle skins. Please give them credit; maybe the oldest fogeys of the old fogeys cannot find the "Post" button immediately, but they probably have trouble with browsing in general. There are always free options out there for phpBB, and some of them even come with big shiny buttons! (Our current skins are not the most legible anyway.)
Third, the "nightmare" upgrade can be avoided if you give in to a forum archive. Everything is still there to read. If a topic isn't complete, it can be made into a new one, and soon enough all will return to normal. Also, if there are issues during the upgrade process, there could be a temporary chatroom or free forum for people to commiserate elsewhere.
Please, please reconsider upgrading?
I really want to emphasize accessibility here: The forum crashes are noticeable, frustrating, and worse than maybe not seeing where a button is or having to reference an archived post.
/end whine