Site Outages

[LadyHitchhiker]

I will help wherever I can!

[razz]

another blackout


So lonely

[gsvec]

Yeah, I was just clocking . . . but we're baaaaack!!!

[Matt]

I was on it quick this time. The people at Hostrocket are trying to come up with a solution which includes tracking the problem.

We're going to do whatever it takes to get it solved. Really sorry for any inconvenience.

[razz]

No inconveniences, Matt. We just can't stay away from your wonderful site.

[razz]

btw was there an outage this morning? around 6:00 AM est?

[Gunkslinger]

I'll pony up some cash to keep this site running just as long as others follow suit..

I donated a sizeable amount to .net. Then it tanked. What a great investment.

[Matt]

I appreciate that man. I also donated some money years ago.

This is basically the reason why I want to make sure the site stays free to everyone, it matters to me that people feel like they get their "money's worth"

Some kind of paid membership is being talked about and I am overwhelmed by how generous people are being. I'm glad folks like the place, it's a dream come true for me.

[turtlex]

( to paraphrase an older Letti sig )

Yeah... we like it a little bit... a little bit like the Earth !

[Merlin1958]

I will help wherever I can!

To quote Patrick Swayze "Ditto"

And why wait til after haven season? If folks are going to help out then they will regardless. I understand your concern but I would bet you'd be surprised. One thing sort of has nothing to do with the other. Or something like that. I just want some cool sigul by my name LOL

[Matt]

During Haven Season (I like that), I would much rather any extra funds a person has go to that.

But the sigul is a cool idea, I may do that for contributors this year.

[Merlin1958]

During Haven Season (I like that), I would much rather any extra funds a person has go to that.

But the sigul is a cool idea, I may do that for contributors this year.

Why Thank you My Good Man!!! (#101 LOL) And feel free to use the "Haven Season" all you like lol.

You know, The Tower and Guns sigul of DT.com might be a good (and original) idea. Or the Ka or Crimson King eye? Just spitballing.

[Hannah]

The monthly server fee is the main cost of site upkeep, and it is not enough for us to feel like we should accept any donations to offset the cost.

This site is, and always will be, a place where anyone can come free of charge. Any money that is being paid should be for a service or product, and not a donation. At least that's how I see it. So if we are going to introduce some sort of paid premium thing, there will certainly have to be advantages that come with the payment. Ya dig?

[Matt]

Yep, no "something for nothing" on the site.

And there in lies the problem.

But overall I really appreciate you guys thinking about us, we're going to figure out a way for people to help if they would like at some point

[Merlin1958]

The monthly server fee is the main cost of site upkeep, and it is not enough for us to feel like we should accept any donations to offset the cost.

This site is, and always will be, a place where anyone can come free of charge. Any money that is being paid should be for a service or product, and not a donation. At least that's how I see it. So if we are going to introduce some sort of paid premium thing, there will certainly have to be advantages that come with the payment. Ya dig?

Actually M'am, and with all due respect, what I was suggesting was in no way a membership and/or advantages thing. People who have been over at .Net will more readily understand but, if you enjoy the site, and WISH to make a donation (sort of like putting a buck in the SA bucket) AND/OR would like to have a cool sigul next to your name on the boards then you participate. If not. nothing changes. You would just be allowing people who would willingly and selflessly, of their own individual accord, contribute if they like. Receiving the sigul would be akin to getting a poppy pin when you donate to VA members? The KEY is there is no obligation whatsoever!!! Especially if you set a nominal minimum like say 5 or 10 ten bucks. I don't know works for me. Anyone else have thoughts?


P.S. Personally, I think that the first people to donate and rec the sigul will start a buzz on the boards. Where did you get that cool sigul? because I donated to the site. Ahhh, I wanna get me one!!! (or not, makes no functional difference the site remains the same) cool?

[Matt]

It's actually a beautiful problem to have, weather or not to do this I mean.

So I want to make sure everyone understands how much Aaron, Dora, Hannah and myself appreciate the desire to give back to the site, it means a lot to us.

However, this should be the last word on the subject for a while.

1. The slowdash and flat outage the site is experiencing may or may not be related to our server cost. If it is, we're going to fix it and don't mind the money outlay that would create. We love the place like a child.

2. Ideas for a paid membership will continue to be kicked around but the site itself will always remain free. I love the idea of giving and in a case like this, I think (for now) we would be better served if we point that idea at charity.

3. TheDarkTower.com is not accepting any simple contributions to the site at this time but would love it if people wanted to get involved with the fundraiser.

4. If we ever do allow some kind of paid membership, it will be in return for something "extra" that does not include the free benefits of the site.

Again--I really appreciate the desire to give back and I want everyone to know I'm all for it. We can focus the community to do amazing things, the cost of the site is a pittance to have that opportunity.

[herbertwest]

what happened to this site those last few days?

Is it fixed or will it MAYBE occur again soon?

[Hannah]

The problem (as far as I understand it) is a combination of different things, including Host Rocket and we also need to upgrade to more memory. We're working on fixing it, so hopefully it won't happen again anytime soon.

[herbertwest]

So basically, what's happening is the same thing that happened to thedarktower.net, right?

Too successfull...

[Aaron]

I am going to be doubling our RAM space in the next couple of days, which should hopefully fix the issue for now. The double-edged sword of high activity on the site. But the upgrade is pretty inexpensive, so no worries. Sorry that it was down for so long; I think there were actually issues with HostRocket in general yesterday, as everytime I tried to call support they couldnt take my call due to extraordinarily high call volume--all five times that I attempted.

It is similar to what happened at tdt.net, but not the same at all. On top of their storage issues, they also had a ton of faulty code, because the original owner had altered it when experimenting with new features. We don't do that at all with this site, so our only issue is storage, which we should be able to remedy through server upgrades.

[Unfound One]

I'm so glad we're back on line!

And I also want to give a big thank you to our directors who are working so hard to keep us up and running!

You guys rock, and thanks so much.

[Brice]

*clings to .com*

[sarah]

wb tdt.com. thanks Aaron for working it out.

[Daghain]

Woohoo! We're back!

Thanks to the Directors for working to keep all us crazy people in one place.

[Randall Flagg]

Feels good to be here.