Is it time members were given a full explanation regarding the constant forum problems we're currently experiencing? The twitter feed, when updated, only ever says something along the lines, "Sorry for the interruption. We're currently experiencing server issues." Well yes, I'm sure most of us had deduced that already, and while I'm sure it's unavoidable I can't be the only one who's beginning to find it more than a little frustrating - more so being left in the dark that the forum being down.
I'd suspect someone hasn't fed the hamster recently. Of course there may be an underlying issue around the price of hamster food vs the amount of money left in Daniels purse each month, and the need for more people to volunteer to bring the hamster food and water when they use this completely free forum run entirely by volunteers. It may also be that providing information on the hamsters feeding schedule isn't the tippity top priority compared to you know, feeding it.
Yeah - I don't have any more info than you do, since i'm not privy to the inner workings of the staff room, however I'd speculate (based on experience elsewhere) that the forum database is becoming too big for the server plan its on, thus the increased incidence of server errors. If so one solution would be to move to a bigger (and thus more expensive) server package, but that would cost more than can be covered by the current donations. As I said it's a guess - but I don't feel the need to get all entitled about an explanation ... more regular twitter updates would be nice, but it may be that Wrey doesn't have the keys to the twitter account, or that he's busy with his life, husband, dog etc. Daniel is at university so hes probably busy being president of the frat house and having liaisons with women of dubious moral virtue. (or hell may be something really outlandish, like studying)
Yeah. People are paying for a service they're not reliably getting. And participants in a forum are contributing a lot of time and energy in the form of content. It feels like the beginning of the end, to me. If that's not the case, I'd like to be told what's going on and what's needed to fix it.
It's so that you have more time to write and not just chitter-chatter I did some sorting and deleting yesterday. Found some long lost gems, too!
I have to admit that I've never donated because to me it always appeared that the fundraising ticker was often at or exceeding the goal every month. If I knew that the forum was struggling to keep the lights on I would absolutely make a contribution. And if there's a bunch of people like me out there that's a lot of missed donations that could potential assist with downtime issues.
And until they decide to share with their customers exactly what the server problems are, we'll never know. Which, fundamentally, is my point, despite moose's view that I'm acting all 'entitled'.
Well, I can't help but notice that the server is tapping out on the first or second of every month... at least the last two.
Yeah you aren't actually a customer you know (what with it being a completely free service). This is what I mean about entitlement, if your cable service goes down its perfectly appropriate to thump your chest and demand to know why, when a service you are generously allowed to use completely free of charge has a small hiatus, not so much. I'm sure @Wreybies and co will share what the issues is when a) they have time to do so in an intelligent manner, and b) they know themselves, assuming its not something that is confidential between them and the host. Even facebook falls over sometimes, so lets keep a sense of proportion, its a minor inconvenience not a harbinger of the arrival of the destroyer of worlds
Why you being a @bully? Some guy says he doesn't like the forum being down and you reach for your volunteer's truncheon.
I'm speaking purely as a member (the volunteers arent issued truncheons or any special status apart from the ability to move stuff about in the bottom 3 quartiles) Personally I think this forum is great, well run, and I don't feel the need to stamp my foot and demand "a full explanation" because the forum falls over sometimes.
Okay, so you're choosing to see my polite request for an explanation to the current server problems as a demand. Fine. There's not a lot I can do about that.
I think the important point here is that we would all like a little more information. If nobody knows why the forum keeps going down, that's fine. But we'd at least like to know that much. After all, isn't that why the twitter account is in place? I say that because not the last time the server was down, but the time before... I checked twitter, and there were no updates. So, this time I didn't even bother. Personally, I'm grateful we have the forum. It's great that it's a free service. I don't expect (or demand) answers. But as a regular donator, and someone who wants to see the forum thrive and grow, it would be nice to have a little more info when things do go wrong. That being said, I understand this forum is run on a volunteer basis. People have lives. But, it seems like lately when the forum goes down it's not just a down and then we're up and going kind of thing. It's hours to days. Which I think is why people are worried. This forum isn't just a place to share our work. For some of the members, it's a lifeline. If there is a bigger issue with needing a different plan, or whatever the case may be, we'd like to know, and some of us would probably help in any way we could.
Well no I'm seeing your demand for an explanation as a demand because you started by demanding a full explanation ... there's not a lot I can do about that. Corbyn's post above is what a polite request looks like. Incidentally we've already had an explanation .. it was a sever database error.. which means what it said on the tin - there was a problem with the forum database on the server .... the only person who knows why there was a server data base error will be the server's sysadmin, and I doubt keeping us informed is top of his list of priorities. Whatever I'm done with this daft discussion.
Oh, I'm sorry. I understood I'd simply asked if it were time we were given an explanation. The question mark I put on the end of my 'demand' was what confused me.
You didn't 'demand.' Even if a poster did 'demand' - that particular turn of phrase, judged or ill-judged, might only reflect her anxiety that her place was 'down.' And then @he, in turn, responds in his particular manner, another face of the same die, maybe.. Whether the forum means something, or nothing, to us, it has been unavailable. You/I do feel pretty dumb after a while clicking the button, and must face prospects of a new life, or back to the 8 ball pool website of previous years, or Snake.
I'm a newbie here, and in general I try to take it in stride when I can't access a website (more time to enrich my life in other ways, and all that), so I wouldn't say I'm angry or entitled... but I am curious. The server for this site does seem unusually flaky.
