Can someone fix the forum?

Genete · Post by **Genete** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 10:19 pm

It seems that most of the people cannot post new threads.
If I can the you can read this one ... he he.
-G

Post by **Víctor Paredes** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 10:38 pm

you can create new threads! i can't

...
seems to be there is no mike or whoever to save us. i wrote him some days ago -about poses script-, but he haven't answered me.
i'm afraid, is there a possibility we could lost all the forum knowledge?

mkelley · Post by **mkelley** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 12:07 am

My bigger concern is not that the knowledge will be lost (as long as the host has backed up data that shouldn't be an issue -- but it might be if no one ever did it) but that people will.

Let's face it, if the forum issues continue for even a few weeks people will just not visit here anymore. As someone who's participated in (and hosted) a lot of forums I've seen it happen time and time again. Soon it becomes a ghost town and then even the experts like Genete and Vern stop coming (at which point there is effectively no forum anymore).

It's an odd situation as "Mike" (who I assume IS for all intents and purposes Lost Marble, both the author of AS as well as the forum admin) doesn't appear to have much to do with his software or the forum anymore. People have pointed out that he did only sold distribution rights to AS and not the software itself, but if he is no longer actively developing it it doesn't matter.

I really really like AS -- whether it never gets any further releases it will work for me and do the job. But this forum is a valuable resource that shouldn't get lost even if Mike no longer wants to support it (heck, if I had the forum database I'd just run another forum with all the threads preserved).

(All of this is further clouded by the rumors of the 5.6 AS release -- supposedly hints were even given by the Smith-Micro people, but with no sign of it anywhere who knows?)

Genete · Post by **Genete** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 12:18 am

You can create new posts but don't see them immediately.
I believe that the database can be safe because I guess that (hopefully) it have a regular backup...
It would be a pity if we add to the sad fate of Moho the forum break...

I want to guess that Mike is having some real troubles to justify not attend the database problems. The more safe and easy thing would be temporary close the forum and fix what happens to it before reopen, instead of allow newbies to ask for simple questions and obtain that nasty reply. Or a lack of response from the forum due to posting afraid.

Even I prefer that the forum to be closed during a long period to allow migrate to a new server instead of allow spammers open holes on the current database.

Cross my fingers. I'll stop posting until there were any message from Mike that tells that the database is fixed. I won't mix it more than it is now.

A real pity

A suggestion to moderators: Can post a sticky thread on each forum to alert users about the database problem?. Maybe you can also post there a advise to use google search instead of forum search to solve any doubt using the forum knowledge. I guess that Mike have several emails on his inbox but as well as his email belongs to the same server it can be also spammed so it doesn't redirect the mail from us to his personal account. Just a think.

don't know how to help in other direction...

heyvern · Post by **heyvern** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 12:52 am

I wish people would STOP re-posting the same posts over and over. When you submit the post is getting through you just get an error.

-vern

DarthFurby · Post by **DarthFurby** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 1:10 am

Well there is always the contentparadise forums if things get really bad.

Rhoel · Post by **Rhoel** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 2:54 pm

heyvern wrote:I wish people would STOP re-posting the same posts over and over. When you submit the post is getting through you just get an error.

-vern

The problem is the error message says the post was not sent when in fact it was - that is the problem. Someone played with the settings and turned the debug mode on which is normally used for diagnostics - only an admin can turn it off.

I';; continue to prune the multiple threads when I see them.

If Agent Smith is reading this, turn off the debug from the admin control panel.

slice11217 · Post by **slice11217** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 3:00 pm

Is this working yet? I've tried in vain to post over the last couple of days and even though everyone says that the posts go through despite the error message... well, I still haven't seen ANY of my posts! Maybe it's a browser thing.

JCook · Post by **JCook** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 3:19 pm

I'm finding that when I click on some posts I get a message saying that the topic does not exist. Somehow this forum seems to have become seriously messed up.

Jack

heyvern · Post by **heyvern** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 3:49 pm

I think it's fixed... maybe not... won't know till I hit submit...

Never mind... not fixed. The forum was completely down for a while. I thought maybe someone was fixing it.

-vern

Genete · Post by **Genete** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 5:49 pm

Nobody has noticed that the post counter is static?

I still having the same amount of post since the problem beguns!!!

And there are new users that never appears in the forum althought they have send posts!!!! There are people with a total of 0 post but they have post five or six times!!!!.

what a pity..., what a pity!

synthsin75 · Post by **synthsin75** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 12:55 am

Here's a trick to see if your post posted. Go to post a reply. In the topic review at the bottom it is actually updated even though the forum doesn't show it yet. No need to post again, but you can read the current posts here.

Lame but works.

slice11217 · Post by **slice11217** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 12:09 pm

can you hear me now?

heyvern · Post by **heyvern** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 12:14 pm

If anyone sees this pay attention:

If you post you get the error. Also you don't see your post or any new ones right away due to the bugs in the forum.

However there is a way to "force" the view to update. If you click the icon on the post topic to display the "last" post, it indicates this with a number at the end of the address in the browser.

Obviously this number is incorrect. Increment that number by one and hit return. There will probably be another error due to the missing data in the corrupted database but the page should "refresh" showing the hidden or missing posts.

THE POSTS ARE GETTING THROUGH! THERE IS NO NEED TO RE-POST! Eventually the database is "updating" it just takes a long time and continuing to send duplicates is not the solution. Either wait for the posts to show up or do what I suggested above until someone fixes the forum... if they even plan to.

-vern

mkelley · Post by **mkelley** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 12:19 pm

If they don't plan to, Vern, this forum will die fairly quickly.

Either that or it will end up a meeting place for about six people (by my count that's about all who would stick around as "regulars" -- any newbee without the info as to what's going on will leave immediately... and probably already has many many times now).