Site is/was down...

[Scott]

Our host, 1&1, has been up and (mostly) down for the past two days. I'm not sure what the problem was as I could never get hold of their customer support :rolleyes:

It wasn't just our site that was affected, millions of their hosted websites that are database driven were down.

If we continue to have issues, we will be moving hosts.

And to those members wondering if this is an issue related to .org, it's not, and if you would like to move your conversation elsewhere, feel free; however, please do not advertise it on this forum.

[Scott]

Site is still extremely slow. I finally got through to customer support at 6:00 a.m. and they said they were having issues with some arrays on multiple servers--which is affecting a ton of websites right now, not just ours.

[Scott]

Seems to be running a little better now... Keeping my fingers crossed that they will have this completely resolved soon.

[Timcredible]

we really need to move this site - it doesn't work all the time, it's not free, and there are plenty of other choices that work better and are free. since you don't want people advertising an alternate site, well, ok, i won't do that (although this is the logical place to do that). but, if you're going to continue doing this, please find another host. don't get me wrong, i'm very grateful that you've put in the time/effort/money to provide this forum for us, but i remember the old site being down for months, and then having to do google searches to find the new site (the old site dying was not your fault). i'd just like it to not happen again.

[Smak Runner 2K]

we really need to move this site - it doesn't work all the time, it's not free, and there are plenty of other choices that work better and are free. since you don't want people advertising an alternate site, well, ok, i won't do that (although this is the logical place to do that). but, if you're going to continue doing this, please find another host. don't get me wrong, i'm very grateful that you've put in the time/effort/money to provide this forum for us, but i remember the old site being down for months, and then having to do google searches to find the new site (the old site dying was not your fault). i'd just like it to not happen again.

WHAT??? I don't want to turn this into a stupid argument or anything, but when you put as much time, effort, and your own $$$ into a website about HDTV in a local area - a limited subject at best, with no real hope of ever running anywhere close to black - you can comment as to it's operation all you want.

The internet is a large place...there's lots to see...I'm sure Scott and his Team are doing everything in their power to keep the site up and running as much as possible. When it's down, go look at something else, and then try back later. Furthermore, if you're that concerned about it, feel free to become a site sponsor and help Scott afford a better host. Bandwidth isn't free...or even inexpensive.

Comments like the one you left are unhelpfull, and having been in exactly Scott's shoes before with my own site, only push the people who work the hardest in bringing this wonderful URL to you closer to saying "screw it"...which is not what any of us want in the end.

Again...not trying to start an argument...it's just the way I feel. I think Scott does an amazing job with this place...it's one of my daily stops on the WWW. Let's cut him some slack on things like this...it really is out of his control.

PS: Free hosts are free for a reason. If you'd like 1/2 the content and 1/2 the features...fine. That's what you'd get. Along with banner ads....

[Scott]

we really need to move this site - it doesn't work all the time, it's not free, and there are plenty of other choices that work better and are free. since you don't want people advertising an alternate site, well, ok, i won't do that (although this is the logical place to do that). but, if you're going to continue doing this, please find another host. don't get me wrong, i'm very grateful that you've put in the time/effort/money to provide this forum for us, but i remember the old site being down for months, and then having to do google searches to find the new site (the old site dying was not your fault). i'd just like it to not happen again.

I'm not really sure of how to respond to this. The .org dealio was a completely different situation than what we have here.

First, I was never a part of the administration team on the .org site and I have really no idea what caused the demise of it. I've only heard rumors and speculation; but, no factual evidence to prove or disprove any of it.

Second, our hosting is provided by one of the largest web hosts in the world--completely different than .org (which I believe was hosted by a small company or at someone's home). Our host includes hundreds of features in our package that allow us to implement the software used on this site. Because of this, we're easily accessible from the major search engines so that people from the Columbus area can find answers to their HDTV related questions.

The event that occurred with the site over the past few days was a mere case of bad luck. We just happened to be hosted on a web server that was failing, and after multiple unsuccessful attempts at trying to fix the server by our host, they decided to move all of the websites to a different web server--which of course, caused more downtime.

I'm not sure of what your background is, but this is technology, man--it fails time and time again. I see it every single day and often have to deal with lay responses, such as yours.

No one felt more stressed about the website being down than me, I can assure you of that. And not being able to do anything about it made the situation worse. Hastily jumping to a new host with one major outage (ONE, not "doesn't work all the time" as you suggest) in 15 months would involve a lot of time and more downtime for the site.

Additionally, I challenge you to find something that is "free" and "better" that can deliver an equal experience this website aims to give its participants--send me your suggestion with your validity, and it will be considered (I don't mean setting up a Google Groups Beta account). Don't just tell me to "move hosts if I plan on continuing to do this."

One last thing, I'm not completely sure how advertising your alternative on this site is logical as you suggest, it's ludicrous.

[Robbiee19]

Scott. I completely back you on everthing. I like this site. The site went down because of the host having problems. That happens. It happens all the time out in the whole world. I work out at Wright-Patt and guess what they have problems too! Things break. I think we are lucky the the site has been stable for a long time. I vote to keep the way it is.

[jpdublin]

Scott, I also appreciate the amount of work and effort you and your team puts into making this site available. I was so happy to find this site, back after .org came to ashes. For all of us that appreciates the site, you will find someone that is not pleased. Plus, I agree with Smak, if you can't get on the site for some reason or another, go elsewhere.

[DublinDoodah]

Stuff happens. Let's not overreact. As much as I enjoy visiting this site regularly, it's hardly mission critical. If the host hiccups for a day or two, I'm not going to kick my dog or slash my wrists. I know Scott is doing everything he can to remedy the situation. I'll add my voice to the chorus of appreciation for his efforts.

[Captain_Rob]

Here's another voice of support and appreciation for Scott and this site. Please don't let a few server glitches or unsolicited advice get you down.

[Timcredible]

first of all, my comments were directed at the hosting company, not the people running the site, but apparently i either didn't make that clear or people didn't read the post.

my background is that i'm a ccnp (cisco certified network professional) and cisco certified wireless field engineer, and i understand every detail of what is required to keep a site running, from the pc, the os, the web server, the internet connection, the telco circuit, the dns entry, the routers, switches, etc. and i've been installing lans/wans/servers/pcs/circuits for 18 years. i installed compuserve's first 7 internet nap connections in the us and europe when i was there, so i understand internet routing better than 99.9% of IT people in the columbus area. from the posts on this forum, it's obvious i'm the only one here that does understand this. and no, there's no reason other than incompetence for having a site down for 2 days. and while bandwidth and server space is not free, we can pay for it with ads (just like we do on this site) on web servers that don't charge the users anything. and btw, a dns entry in the .org space means nothing with respect to how the site is managed, and having a .net address means nothing either. it's just a way to translate a name into an address. as for smak runner, i have created another site for us to use, it's free, and i'm willing to manage it, so that should take care of your concerns. it's also obvious that you weren't on the .org site when it went down, or you'd be more concerned about using a hosting site that's pathetically slow and goes down. if you don't want to hear from me on this forum anymore, that's fine, delete my account and i'll go away. otherwise, you might want to consider my concerns with an open mind.

[snodgrass23]

We understand, you know more about all of this than anyone else. I'm also glad you think the small amount of ads on this site pay for the hosting costs. I've seen the numbers and it isn't even close. Other than the issue those few days, the site isn't slow and that's the first time I can remember it being down for hosting reasons. It's been down a couple other times, but those were on purpose by us for software upgrades.

I'm not sure what the .org and .net clarification was about. Thanks, I had no idea that's how it worked. :rolleyes:

I've heard this a million times on several different forums. Everytime one of those people started their own site because they thought they could do it for free and make it reliable and fast, it always ended up crashing if they actually got any real traffic.

Would it be preferred that we bog every inch of the site down with ads like some other sites?

I'm still not sure why one unexpected server downtime in over a year means that out hosting is horrible. :confused:

[Scott]

first of all, my comments were directed at the hosting company, not the people running the site, but apparently i either didn't make that clear or people didn't read the post.

my background is that i'm a ccnp (cisco certified network professional) and cisco certified wireless field engineer, and i understand every detail of what is required to keep a site running, from the pc, the os, the web server, the internet connection, the telco circuit, the dns entry, the routers, switches, etc. and i've been installing lans/wans/servers/pcs/circuits for 18 years. i installed compuserve's first 7 internet nap connections in the us and europe when i was there, so i understand internet routing better than 99.9% of IT people in the columbus area. from the posts on this forum, it's obvious i'm the only one here that does understand this. and no, there's no reason other than incompetence for having a site down for 2 days. and while bandwidth and server space is not free, we can pay for it with ads (just like we do on this site) on web servers that don't charge the users anything. and btw, a dns entry in the .org space means nothing with respect to how the site is managed, and having a .net address means nothing either. it's just a way to translate a name into an address. as for smak runner, i have created another site for us to use, it's free, and i'm willing to manage it, so that should take care of your concerns. it's also obvious that you weren't on the .org site when it went down, or you'd be more concerned about using a hosting site that's pathetically slow and goes down. if you don't want to hear from me on this forum anymore, that's fine, delete my account and i'll go away. otherwise, you might want to consider my concerns with an open mind.

Thanks for explaining your technical background. I'm a little surprised, with your extensive knowledge, that you would be so quick to move our little site to something else after a couple days of downtime.

Please understand our position, although you had good intentions, we have all (the entire forum population) invested a good deal of our own resources to make this site what it is. Of course, we are going to take a defensive stance when "pathetic" and "always down" are used to describe HD Columbus--I realize you are attacking the host and not the community, but it still puts us in a defensive position.

You ask the admin team to have open minds--and I argue that we have always had--and will continue to--have open minds and take the input from every member into consideration. Again, you need to put yourself in our position. Your initial reaction to the site being down was not to ask what the problem was or how you could help, you posted, "HD Columbus is down, moving the site to xyz." I deleted the post and only referenced it without calling you out.

You state that you are only attacking the host; however, when your only suggestion is to uproot the site and move it to a Google Groups page, you are attacking HD Columbus and every member who has spent time participating here. When I wanted to bring HD Columbus back after .org went dark, it was after several weeks of downtime and I contacted every member of the .org admin team and nakedeye responded. I asked how I could help--and invested time trying to repair the .org site. When it was decided the .org site was not repairable, only then did I ask nakedeye for his opinion on re-opening the site elsewhere. Do you see the difference? I had respect for what that team had built and that's what we are asking from you.

No one wants you to leave HD Columbus, you have always provided good insight here; however, I only ask that the trolling stop.

I think that everything has been said here that needs to be said.

[nakedeye]

.org was a billing dispute with the host. plain and simple. i don't know where this being hacked stuff started, but its not the case. Jon simply was tired of dealing with it, his wife was pregnant and this problem with the bill came up and he just said screw it.

this site cam up a few weeks after .org was going wacky. at the time I still had limited access to it and set up scott as an admin so he could try and grab an arcive of the posts off of there. sadly it did not work. scott asked me to help out here and i agreed, but said i did not want to be as involved as i was before.


hope this helps.