Should We Have Means of Informing Members of Forum Status During Outages?

Recently there was a several-day period when the forum was off-line. There was no splash screen to indicate the reason for the outage. And since the period stretched for quite a while I, for one, was concerned if there could be serious problems with the forum. Things like a ransomware attack occurred to me.

I had no email addresses of principle members like DavidF or Kelly. So contacting them by email to inquire was not an option. I did try to contact a couple members through comments on their YouTube sites but that really did not result in effective communication. So, like everyone else, I was left in the dark wondering when and if the forum would return. I was contacted through PM on another website by a couple foundry guys that lurk there asking me the status of the forum. Unfortunately I had nothing to offer.

I think it would be very nice if the admins of this site had a list of email addresses to which they could blast out a message in the event of an outage expected to last more than a few hours. This forum has a listing of our email addresses from when we signed up. However, if the server is "down" that list might not be available at that time. Would it be possible for them to separately hold a list on a separate drive of member emails to be used in such an eventuality. I suspect many members would appreciate an advisory if providing one would not work a hardship on the admins. I guess members would have to understand that asking the admins to reply to a hundred individual follow up inquiries would be off the table.

Maybe I am way off for making this suggestion. FWIW.

Denis

 

Denis, I think something like this would be good. It'd be nice to figure out something that is not taxing to the admin team.

 

I was left wondering what happened to the forum during that period, you imagine all sorts of wild scenarios in the absence of information.

 

And not one of the bipeds at the bank thought to give you a call to ask....right?
David.......do a fund drive announcement.......oh, I guess you just did.
I don't do Paypal, but would be willing to send you a check or money order, if I had a mailing address.

Thanks for what you do.....Roger

 

Thank you DavidF for hosting such a fine forum!
I too was going through withdrawals but figured all would be well at some point in time.

 

Well, David, it sounds as if you are bearing an unreasonable burden financially and perhaps in day-to-day work as well.

On the financial front, I see my banner membership has lapsed and I think I can remember getting a single notice to that effect a "few" months ago. I am sure I had good intentions to re-up. But that notice may have come through at a time when I was not at my computer or when I did not have time to immediately take care of it. And so, like a lot of things I "should" do, it languishes more or less forgotten. So, my apologies for being negligent. But, I would say that I suppose I am not alone in thinking that a reminder here and their has good effects. So, I searched a couple times in the search box and found the appropriate thread containing the link to go to PP and make a contribution.

To save others the trouble, here is the link---might as well make it easy. http://forums.thehomefoundry.org/index.php?account/upgrades

And I guess I will apologize for being ""omg what's the e mail address I need to to contact" To me the forum is important as both a unique place to exchange information with like-minded foundry enthusiasts and as an important repository of a whole lot of work contributed by countless members over the years. So, yes, I was worried when the page went dead without any indication of the reason or any expectation of when or if it might be revived. To be honest, the Alloy Avenue debacle came to mind. And yes, I was trying to reach out to the principals of the forum to offer any assistance I might provide to help it get back on track and possibly to get a "phone tree" of emails going to inform members of the forum status. Those efforts were a dismal failure.

If you are feeling unappreciated and bearing a financial burden, I would suggest not suffering in silence, but rather nudging folks to action and to contribute financially. I doubt any active folks would feel 20 bucks annually to be an unreasonable burden. And if you could use some help on the day-to-day, you might ask for volunteers. For instance, I'd do what I could to compile a list of emails and serve as a contact person in the even of future outages. You don't have to do it all alone. I also would imagine there are other members who would be willing to do some "grunt work" if that would help you and the forum.

In summary, as my mother would have said "Suffer in silence and you are likely to continue to suffer." ;-)

Thank you for keeping the forum alive! It is appreciated.

Denis

 

Given the fact that I would have no information to provide members even if I had their email addresses, there would be no point in compiling such a list. It sounds like the plan going forward is to handle any future interruptions of the forum in the same way. It is my understanding that not one other member of the forum had any idea what was going on.

The other question I have is whether the existence of the forum hinges solely on your continued interest and ability to maintain the forum. Is there any backup plan should you be incapacitated, injured, or worse? It happens.

Denis

 

Hey I run a forgotten automotive forum, it's largely a labour of love and I understand what it's like.
That said, thank you for keeping this place up

 

I'm sure it works great....for you. I however, don't send financial account numbers through an internet connection, sooo......
I take it then, that there's no mailing address available for sending in donations?

Roger

 

Well, that speaks volumes.

Roger

 

OK. Remember, YOU asked me to elaborate.
You said;

and I interpreted it as you felt I most likely wouldn't send enough of a donation for you to put your mailing address out there, even in a PM.
I wonder; How do you know? How do you know I wasn't ready to send you a C-note? Other boards that I frequent, and have fund drives, typically get $50 a year from me, but I'm retired and living on a fixed income. (I assume that others that use the board will help as well.)
Your response could also be interpreted as "I don't care enough about running this board to actually put an effort into a fund drive, so thanks but no thanks."
And if you are that unconcerned about this board, I can see it failing by the end of '24.

THAT'S what I mean when I say; "That speaks volumes".

Just my opine.....Roger

 

Ok.....you're the admin. I'll leave it at that.
Just know that I recognize that software costs, bandwidth, and all the other "incidentals" involved with operating a board aren't cheap, and don't go down in price. And I won't even hazard a guess as to how many unpaid hours you put into the admin duties.
Even though I don't post much, I am here every day, typically twice, and am willing to chip in for a special-interest board that I do like.

Roger.....wondering if you think $50 is a "large donation"?

 

You're welcome.

Roger