nebben123

Several recent threads have disappeared, including a review that I wrote about Shure E2C headphones. Another recent thread that is now gone was titled "Where do you camp?" by maximan1. "What do you use for a stake hammer or mallet?" by Shemp is gone too.

What happened?

Shiznaz

Database problems resulted in some new threads being lost. My condolences to your thread.

centexwoody 

Not enough folks are going for their Red Star (i.e. 25 bucks for lifetime membership). Hosting BF is not free & the level of participation is belied by the few who have actually contributed - sorta like the percentage of listeners to public radio who actually respond to pledge drives...

maximan1

Does BF rent a server? There is a way to hook up a lot of regular PCs (using Linux) to make it into a huge supercomputer and host on that. Or would that still not help?

maximan1

And my "Whats a good tourer?" thread died too

Shemp

Don't worry, there are 3,563 other threads asking the exact same question in one form or another. I highly encourage you to check out this link: https://www.bikeforums.net/forumdispl...to_forumsearch

Oh hey, that's a red star next to my name, sweet!

nebben123

So I guess this means there is no nightly backup of the db? Why not? I could understand losing a day worth of threads, but everything that was posted this past weekend? Damn.

I'm just kinda pissed, because I put a LOT of effort into the writeup of my review of the Shure E2C headphones including taking hi-res pictures and everything. Now it's gone?

I love this site, but why should I contribute if they can't even make nightly backups? My web host provides that as part of their service... what would my $25 membership be buying, exactly? It seems like the ads probably pay to keep the site running as it is, and I click on them whenever I'm going to make a purchase at Performance or Nashbar. If I'm going to donate, I'd like to see what it costs to run this site.

If I recall, I think I saw some ads saying "Help us pay our $1,000 monthly server bill" or some such nonsense. If it costs that much to run this site, they are with the wrong provider, especially if they don't have nightly backups of the db! This is a forum site, it's mostly text, so it shouldn't take up much bandwidth or database space at all... It's not like this is YouTube and they're serving hundreds of millions of video files every month.

Just curious...

Ben

gpsblake

I'm not a premium member but if you find an ad you like to look at, click on the link here instead of typing the url. You'll be helping bikeforums and possibly find yourself a good deal.

countrydirt

Gosh, the missing threads contained my postings at my most witty, smart and handsome. I'll probably never be able to be that creative again

BTW - I just made my donation, so I am a Red Star member! Pretty painless too.

Rowan

Don't be surprised if you get a deluge of guilt-trip comments if this gets out into the mainstreams. There is a bit of momentum building (led by a former moderator) for this to become a closed-only set-up for those who pay up. If that happens, of course, I am out of here.

I can understand there are costs involved in hosting, but the public image seeking donations isn't a good one when ads appear asking for donations to pay for chimchangas, then as an afterthought, help to pay the server costs.

Frankly, I think Joe has worked himself into a very difficult corner as to the future viability of the site. He has basically sold a lifetime membership to quite a few subscribers, but no can't renege on that by saying that to continue access, he requires monthly or annual payments. Or maybe he can convert those lifetime memberships to shares... make everyone feel good about ownership, then put a call on them for capital.

As for mine, well, I think I contribute enough knowledge and assistance without having to pay a sub. There isn't particularly much I learn from here now. The site is public and that is the deciding factor, and I don't take kindly to guilt-trips imposed on me by anyone when I am not required to pay for access.

As to the management of this current downage... there have been problems with the databasing for some time. I was getting into the habit of copying my longer posts so if they did go missing, I could feel I didn't waste my time.

There is a post elsewhere that states the administrators have decided against restoring the previous day's back-up because it would take eight hours. Of course, collectively, there have been thousands of hours of post composing gone down the drain; there is a suggestion some threads might be restored. Now if there was a parallel system in place... things might be easier to replace.

super-douper

i wouldn't really feel right complaining about something that's free. And the fact that I have just donated $25, doesn't mean that it isn't still free. It was a donation, not a purchase. I didn't have to donate $25, but I felt like it.

Your review of the headphones was great, very well thought out and even with photos. It sucks that it's gone, I'm with you there. It's an unfortunate side-effect of providing a free service.

In addition to posting here on BF, you might also want to get your own site to post your reviews and such on. You could also repost other tidbits of advice or reviews that you write on your site. Who knows, after a while your site might be like sheldon brown's as a great resource for cycling related info that might outlive bikeforums.

BigBlueToe

Whoever is responsible for providing this site, I say, "thank you!" (Of course, you probably wish I'd say thank you a little more tangibly with a check for $25. I'm thinking about it. I'll get around to it one of these days, probably after the Christmas drain on my wallet.)

I lost a thread too, and some thoughtful posts (to my mind, anyway), but I'm not going to complain. I know stuff happens. I'm just thankful the site is still here.

knobster

Yes you could, but then you'd have to support it. Not to mention the high cost for the circuit required to support the traffic that such a site demands.

centexwoody 

well, my my my, aren't we self-confident...and prompts my offer below:

Being public doesn't mean free - just as being a citizen of a democracy doesn't mean a lack of responsibility...and you obviously feel that your responsibility to the forum is satisfied by imparting your cycling wisdom.

But I'll agree to support your knowledgeable contribution to BF - I'll consider part of my 25 bucks a subsidy for your contribution. How's it feel to be subsidized for your expertise? Do you feel better? Will my support improve your humor?

But you're NOT getting any of my Red Star...

stokell

"Support the bikeforums.net administrators raging mexican food habit, upgrade your membership today!

Money not used for chimichangas will help pay the $1013.00 monthly server bill as well as other miscellaneous costs associated with running bikeforums.net

Upgraded members see an ad-free version of this site,"

I'm not really sure what 'chimichangas' are, but I assume it might be some form of Mexican food.

I'm unlikely to support this forum financially, when they tell me they will spend the money at some taco dive. I'll continue to see the ads and wait for some genuine reason to contribute. If they are serious about fund raising, then they can seriously ask members for support.

Shemp

I had no idea so many cyclists had no sense of humor.

centexwoody 

Would you prefer 'stealth solicitations'?

Or that they claim they'll spend the contribution on camo hammocks?

Or that their support request is seriously hidden behind lots of trees and shrubs and therefore nearly invisible? That's what the chimichanga reference is...

centexwoody 

congrats on your Red Star...

centexwoody 

more congrats on Red Star status!

centexwoody 

and here's another Red Star!

Machka 

He could do what a certain gym I once became a member of did. They had "lifetime" memberships. Pay several hundred dollars and you get to go to their gym forever ... just to add to the deal, they even had agreements with other gyms in other cities so that if poor suckers happened to go for that deal, they could go to the gym elsewhere too. Great deal! I didn't go for it.

Two years later, the gym closed down for about a month. When they reopened, they had a whole new name and were "under new management" ... funny ... the staff all looked the same to me. But because they were supposedly a whole new place, that "lifetime" membership was null and void. I guess the suddenly realized that if they wanted to make any upgrades to the gym, they were going to have to start sucking more money out of the members ... and had locked themselves into a financial corner.

I had decided to go for the annual membership instead of a lifetime membership because of my inherent distrust of lifetime memberships. Because they did this little close/reopen trick right in the middle of my annual membership, according to them I still had to pay for the remainder of my year with the old place AND get a whole new membership with the new place. That didn't happen. Legal action took place instead. I'm just glad I wasn't suckered into the whole lifetime membership thing ... those that were, were out quite a bit more than me.

And interestingly ... the gym closed down completely within six months. I guess I wasn't the only dissatisfied customer.

There is no such thing as a "lifetime" membership to anything.