The end is near ! March 04, 2021, 08:20:20 pm For the current server that is. The server that has hosted the site from the beginning is in desperate need of upgrades. Unfortunately to do that on the existing server is not the best path, and instead moving to a new server is underway. The new one will of course have more processing power, memory, disk space, speed all the goodies you get with new(er) hardware. We are currently very tight on storage and memory so getting some breathing room will be nice. Also being updated is the server software, the version we are running is EOL. That means its difficult to patch for security and newer versions of the most important software does not want to run on it. We are now 3 generations back and trying to upgrade that "stack" to the most recent is just ugly. Since that is not enough, the version of the forum software we are running is also EOL, so that will be updated to the most recent as well. There will be some subtle visual changes, and some new features, but nothing that I would call major in terms of how you use it. Everything one normally does should be no different. Lastly we are trying out a new version of the "media" area. Now this is a different software so the interface will be different, but then again the current Media section has a large collection of delightful quirks. This will likely be after the move, but its something being worked on. This weekend is the target to move, which means the site will begin to display an "in maintenance mode" page. I've done as much as possible to prepare for the move so the downtime *should* be only a few hours. The new server has a new IP address, as such name servers need to be updated. Depending on your host that can take some time, up to a day for some, nothing to do on your end it just happens. After we are back, I'd expect some issues that will need to be resolved, email comes to mind, as does search. Those can't be fully prepared ahead of the move so do expect some glitches here and there as things come back to life 34 Likes
Re: The end is near ! Reply #1 – March 04, 2021, 08:54:22 pm Steve, as always, thanks to you and Michelle for hosting us! 1 Likes
Re: The end is near ! Reply #4 – March 04, 2021, 09:37:42 pm Yes, thanks Steve for the heads-up and for all of your excellent support of the site! I am grateful and appreciative of the significant effort involved. Warren 1 Likes
Re: The end is near ! Reply #5 – March 04, 2021, 11:50:22 pm Thanks and ( in my best Obey Won K’Nobe voice...” may the upgrades be with you”. Do ya like how I made him an Irishman just before the day of Patrick. This all in the “ ‘ “ I tel ya.
Re: The end is near ! Reply #6 – March 05, 2021, 12:23:26 am Everything wonderful about LDOF starts with the the kind spirt and dedication of its members. Thanks for leading the pack. Kent
Re: The end is near ! Reply #8 – March 05, 2021, 09:52:41 am thank you - as a ex-sysop I understand the joy of upgrades and server maintenance. Have a beer on me.glen 2 Likes
Re: The end is near ! Reply #9 – March 05, 2021, 01:09:47 pm TANSTAAFL (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch). There are costs involved in maintaining a software platform.What are the economics of this, and are the contributions from the Amazon link sufficient to cover the normal costs? Is there a separate donation mechanism to provide support (electronic tip jar perhaps)?Thank you for taking on this process, the complexity of which you totally gloss over.Joel 12 Likes
Re: The end is near ! Reply #10 – March 05, 2021, 10:11:00 pm Joel stole my thought..... how can we contribute?? Dinner on us for the moderators???
Re: The end is near ! Reply #11 – March 06, 2021, 05:10:53 pm If you are reading this, you know the site is back. As always there were some unexpected difficulties that took a bit of time to resolve but I *believe* most, if not all, of the major functions are working. As you find problems and errors please let me know here or via PM so that I can address them. I expect several theme glitches on various pages. The updated theme works fine with the base software, but we have quite a few addons that have some difficulties with it.I have not installed the new media section software, this is still the old version for now, just to much else going on ATM.I know there are some theme quirks that need to be taken care of, and I've not had the chance to test things on mobile/pad devices. The site is not (yet) running any compression or CDN for the data it servers, this is just to allow me to fix things quickly.So welcome back and stick with us while we get everything ironed out. 13 Likes
Re: The end is near ! Reply #12 – March 06, 2021, 05:59:37 pm Thank you Steve for all your hard work. Much appreciated by the Neighborhood. 1 Likes
Re: The end is near ! Reply #13 – March 06, 2021, 06:16:51 pm Steve, the display was off on my iPhone at first, i.e., categories displayed to the left of the screen with a blank vertical strip on the right. Seems to be resolved now. Thanks for everything! 1 Likes
Re: The end is near ! Reply #14 – March 06, 2021, 06:48:41 pm Thanks, Steve!On my iPad, before I could tell if there was an unread post but now there is no indicator.
Re: The end is near ! Reply #15 – March 06, 2021, 07:16:29 pm Quote from: Joan - March 06, 2021, 06:16:51 pmSteve, the display was off on my iPhone at first, i.e., categories displayed to the left of the screen with a blank vertical strip on the right. Seems to be resolved now. Thanks for everything!Good, that was reported and I made a change which seems to have resolved it.Quote from: HiLola - March 06, 2021, 06:48:41 pmThanks, Steve!On my iPad, before I could tell if there was an unread post but now there is no indicator.Humm .... to check!
Re: The end is near ! Reply #16 – March 06, 2021, 09:23:00 pm The missing "new" flag on the community tab/page is should now be fixed
Re: The end is near ! Reply #17 – March 06, 2021, 09:27:23 pm Quote from: Steve C - March 06, 2021, 09:23:00 pmThe missing "new" flag on the community tab/page is should now be fixedYep!
Re: The end is near ! Reply #19 – March 06, 2021, 11:00:25 pm Steve, as you know, the first 90% of the project takes the first 90% of the resources. The rest of the project takes the other 90%Great job. Now for the gremlins.Thanks Joel 2 Likes
Re: The end is near ! Reply #20 – March 07, 2021, 07:21:35 am Congrats on getting the new server working, Steve!
Re: The end is near ! Reply #21 – March 07, 2021, 05:27:52 pm Hey Steve, I just noticed the new left-right navigation arrows when looking at a post with multiple pictures. Nice... thanks 😊 - John
Re: The end is near ! Reply #23 – March 08, 2021, 05:38:11 pm Thanks Steve, great job!I had initial difficulties when the link I had been using led me to a dead end. But, Lazy Bones 2 rode in to rescue me from certain frustration and helped reestablish the path, not only in IE but Chrome as well.Now I can relax and go happily back to my nappy chair! 1 Likes
Re: The end is near ! Reply #24 – March 08, 2021, 06:00:48 pm Looks great on my laptop, running google chrome, but the Image of the Month is not showing. Not perfect on my android phone. Header is great on the android, the Welcome, Recent Topics and Recent Gallery Images are squashed to the left. After that User Info and everything else shows as normal. Thanks for all the great work on maintaining this amazing resource.
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