Hi all,
Im having major problems connecting to this site now and 9 times out of 10 I cant connect.
I know Brad is working on this problem and I'm not hassling about it.
But how how are we going with it??
Fill us in and let us know ,because its getting impossible too connect.
This is a topic I know nothing about and I just want to know how we are going with it and how close are we to fixing it.
Thank you ,
All the best Pete

I've been unwell for the last week so no further progress has been made as of last Wednesday.

The new server will come online some time this week. If I don't get a result with it then I will be left with the task of considering the future of the site because I am at the end of the road as to what is causing the issue.

I see,

There are some very smart and knowledgeable people on this site ,that maybe able suggest possible answers to the issue.
Many of them have worked in I.T and networking and I'm sure that they would be happy to throw some ideas on the table .
Im afraid I'm no help to you Regarding this problem as its out of my area,

All the best Pete

There have been some suggestions from members, which have been gone through, with no improvement. The issue, related to that, is that I am not able to allow access to the site's account, for privacy and security reasons. So we've all been as far as we can go with it.

Another option is to start afresh either with the existing site or with different software on a commercial webhosting account. I'm not prepared to do that for a number of reasons. One is cost, the second is that we lose approx. 14 years of site history.

I dont know Brad. We are all on the same side here and want the same
things .
Well maybe your new server will fix the problem and if not maybe you could allow one professional to access the site. Lets just hope the new server will fix the issue
Pete

Hi all and Brad, i'm not a IT person but I know that my Son and Daughter in law had to bite the bullet 10 years ago and move their servers to a made for purpose site in Sydney for professional hosting, the business could not survive otherwise in the changing computer world.
Since then they at least have someone else provide and maintain the basic power and internet connection structure in a secure environment and only then be responsible upgrading the server hardware and running the business operation.

I am in awe of how you are doing it all now but I have a gut feeling the site needs to be moved to another level where you just administer the site and let the certified drones stoke the boiler and keep the pipes clean.

I hope you get well and manage to get the site running smoothly with the hardware upgrade. The reason I logged onto this site in preference was the simplicity of access and the hands on approach of the members without the stuffiness I find in some other vintage sites be it cars bikes coins radios or whatever.
Cheers Fred Lever.

Hopefully, things will improve once Brad gets the opportunity to install the new server.

Yes, lets hope so. VR is one of my favourite sites and I have found enjoyment here and met some good people through this site with similar interests.
The thought of it not being here is not very appealing to me.

Pete

The thought of it not being here is not very appealing to me.

Rest assured, there won't be any rash decisions. VR's been the home page setting in my browser since 2003.

I'll take this opportunity to mention that any photos that have been submitted for hosting in the last few days have been uploaded tonight. I apologise for the delay with this, due to spending a large amount of time in bed with a heavy cold.

Brad I agree with all the guys here. This site has been invaluable to me and I know how much work you put into it. I suggested in the past and I will still suggest it that the members should pay a small fee to help keep it running, Much like what the HRSA does by charging 35 bucks a year for its members to get those awesome magazines every two months.
I don't know how may people agree with me but this site is like a encyclopaedia and social site all together and its very proactive compared to other groups that I am in.

The site's been down since 10:00 today and again, I do apologise, for what it's worth. Unfortunately, charging a membership fee is the last thing that could happen whilst I cannot guarantee access.

That said, even in better times I've always been reluctant to go down the membership subscription route. The site once had ad banners on it, similar to those found on the US forums. I even got to the stage where I didn't even want those there even though the ad campaigns well and truly more than covered the cost of everything.

Provided I can be awake in time to do so, I plan on switching on the new server very early this Saturday Morning. There will very likely be a disruption of a few seconds as this happens however given the nature of things lately it'll probably go unnoticed.

I am on my knees with hands joined!

They will never replace the type writer!!!

Good luck with it Brad.
Pete

Brad, I for one would pay for this service. Even if it breaks from time to time.

Brad, I am another one who would not have a problem contributing $$wise to enable good & reliable server hosting.

I am a member of another Forum (which is a closed forum) & from time to time the controller asks us to pay a small amount to enable the forum to continue. This is done so that we do NOT have to put up with adverts etc which originally were there & were a nuisance.
He sets a figure of roughly what each member needs to pay & most times the target is over subscribed as we are keen to keep the site going like it is.

But if you are going out to one of the big website hosters be careful who you go with as some are rather rough & ready & my past experience having my small business web page hosted by a group that I will not name here (but are based in Melbourne) were swines to deal with whenever there was a problem. Data was often lost or if retrieved after a glitch quite old stuff got put back up & it took many many irate phone calls to get them to find the correct stuff & reload. Their rates were reasonable but the ongoing service was shite.

Lindsay