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Thread: All is well now..

  1. #1
    Administrator mjrod seems to have something between the earsmjrod seems to have something between the earsmjrod seems to have something between the earsmjrod seems to have something between the earsmjrod seems to have something between the earsmjrod seems to have something between the earsmjrod seems to have something between the ears
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    All is well now..

    Dear LaTechBBB patrons,

    I am the one responsible for taking down your server over the last couple of days. I had intended on replacing the server a couple of weeks ago, but couldn't get to it until these last few days. When I attempted to bring the system online, everything installed correctly and began working OK until I started migrating the data over to it. During this process we upgraded the database system to use the latest and greatest available for the message board. Unfortunately, it did not go well and took much longer than I had anticipated. After attempting to bring it all up on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, the server began experiencing more severe problems, which later turned out to be a bad motherboard. This was a new one that I had ordered specifically for this website and was part of a long list of planned upgrades. I won't go into why, let's just say that sales guys are not tech guys and I should have known better than to trust a sales guy (please, no offense intended for all you professionals out there who do a great job and make tons of money and take care of your customers.) So yesterday evening and this morning, I rebuilt the entire system and it appears to be running well. All the planned upgrades have been completed and you should be good to go for some time.

    I apologize immensely, as I did not expect to have the problems that were occurring. I also seem to get busy in waves and with my vacation and all, it's just been a very rocky ride. However, I can assure you, we're done and, barring any unforeseen problems (such as a meteor shower, terrorist attack, earthquake, etc), we should have few if any more downtime for the next three years when the next planned upgrade will occur.

    Thank you all so much for being patient. Even though I'm a Kansas State grad, I'm also a huge LaTech fan and I am impressed with your fanbase and the class of people you are.

    MJ

  2. #2
    Champ Dirtydawg has a reputation beyond reputeDirtydawg has a reputation beyond reputeDirtydawg has a reputation beyond reputeDirtydawg has a reputation beyond reputeDirtydawg has a reputation beyond reputeDirtydawg has a reputation beyond reputeDirtydawg has a reputation beyond reputeDirtydawg has a reputation beyond reputeDirtydawg has a reputation beyond reputeDirtydawg has a reputation beyond reputeDirtydawg has a reputation beyond repute Dirtydawg's Avatar
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    Re: All is well now..

    Quote Originally Posted by mjrod View Post
    Dear LaTechBBB patrons,

    I am the one responsible for taking down your server over the last couple of days. I had intended on replacing the server a couple of weeks ago, but couldn't get to it until these last few days. When I attempted to bring the system online, everything installed correctly and began working OK until I started migrating the data over to it. During this process we upgraded the database system to use the latest and greatest available for the message board. Unfortunately, it did not go well and took much longer than I had anticipated. After attempting to bring it all up on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, the server began experiencing more severe problems, which later turned out to be a bad motherboard. This was a new one that I had ordered specifically for this website and was part of a long list of planned upgrades. I won't go into why, let's just say that sales guys are not tech guys and I should have known better than to trust a sales guy (please, no offense intended for all you professionals out there who do a great job and make tons of money and take care of your customers.) So yesterday evening and this morning, I rebuilt the entire system and it appears to be running well. All the planned upgrades have been completed and you should be good to go for some time.

    I apologize immensely, as I did not expect to have the problems that were occurring. I also seem to get busy in waves and with my vacation and all, it's just been a very rocky ride. However, I can assure you, we're done and, barring any unforeseen problems (such as a meteor shower, terrorist attack, earthquake, etc), we should have few if any more downtime for the next three years when the next planned upgrade will occur.

    Thank you all so much for being patient. Even though I'm a Kansas State grad, I'm also a huge LaTech fan and I am impressed with your fanbase and the class of people you are.

    MJ
    MJ. I worked with a guy who once told me to only worry about the big potatoes, don't worry about the small potatoes. Everything that would go wrong, I would get all in a panic. His response would be that it was small potates. Finally, one day I asked him for an example of a big potatoe. His response was it's all small potatoes. So my response to you, don't worry about our inconvenience. It's small potatoes

  3. #3
    Progressive King of 2011 Dawgpix has a reputation beyond reputeDawgpix has a reputation beyond reputeDawgpix has a reputation beyond reputeDawgpix has a reputation beyond reputeDawgpix has a reputation beyond reputeDawgpix has a reputation beyond reputeDawgpix has a reputation beyond reputeDawgpix has a reputation beyond reputeDawgpix has a reputation beyond reputeDawgpix has a reputation beyond reputeDawgpix has a reputation beyond repute Dawgpix's Avatar
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    Re: All is well now..

    MJ-
    Thanks for the post.
    tm
    Louisiana Tech University
    Flagship of the University of Louisiana System

  4. #4
    Champ duckbillplatty has a reputation beyond reputeduckbillplatty has a reputation beyond reputeduckbillplatty has a reputation beyond reputeduckbillplatty has a reputation beyond reputeduckbillplatty has a reputation beyond reputeduckbillplatty has a reputation beyond reputeduckbillplatty has a reputation beyond reputeduckbillplatty has a reputation beyond reputeduckbillplatty has a reputation beyond reputeduckbillplatty has a reputation beyond reputeduckbillplatty has a reputation beyond repute duckbillplatty's Avatar
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    Re: All is well now..

    I'm just glad I don't have your job. I have trouble just keeping my laptop working.

  5. #5
    Champ TechDawgMc has much to be proud ofTechDawgMc has much to be proud ofTechDawgMc has much to be proud ofTechDawgMc has much to be proud ofTechDawgMc has much to be proud ofTechDawgMc has much to be proud ofTechDawgMc has much to be proud ofTechDawgMc has much to be proud ofTechDawgMc has much to be proud ofTechDawgMc has much to be proud ofTechDawgMc has much to be proud of
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    Re: All is well now..

    MJ -- you're the one doing the work. No need to apologize to those of us who are just taking advantage of your efforts. Thanks to you and all the folks who support this site.

  6. #6
    Champ tenacious_dog has a reputation beyond reputetenacious_dog has a reputation beyond reputetenacious_dog has a reputation beyond reputetenacious_dog has a reputation beyond reputetenacious_dog has a reputation beyond reputetenacious_dog has a reputation beyond reputetenacious_dog has a reputation beyond reputetenacious_dog has a reputation beyond reputetenacious_dog has a reputation beyond reputetenacious_dog has a reputation beyond reputetenacious_dog has a reputation beyond repute
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    Re: All is well now..

    Anyone who has ever administered a system, no matter how big or how small, has had days when the wheels fall off, you pray for the return of the stone age, and you swear computers are of the devil himself.

    Thanks for getting it done.

  7. #7
    Champ Brian96 has a reputation beyond reputeBrian96 has a reputation beyond reputeBrian96 has a reputation beyond reputeBrian96 has a reputation beyond reputeBrian96 has a reputation beyond reputeBrian96 has a reputation beyond reputeBrian96 has a reputation beyond reputeBrian96 has a reputation beyond reputeBrian96 has a reputation beyond reputeBrian96 has a reputation beyond reputeBrian96 has a reputation beyond repute Brian96's Avatar
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    Re: All is well now..

    Thanks for the hardwork, and thanks for the explanation. I was starting to wonder if they finally broke down and blocked BB&B from Tech computers! Glad to know it's not that bad---yet.

  8. #8
    Administrator TechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the rough TechDawgFan's Avatar
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    Re: All is well now..

    Side note, I called John yesterday midday and I think he was SERIOUSLY considering a career move!

    Chris

  9. #9
    Champ Amos Moses has a reputation beyond reputeAmos Moses has a reputation beyond reputeAmos Moses has a reputation beyond reputeAmos Moses has a reputation beyond reputeAmos Moses has a reputation beyond reputeAmos Moses has a reputation beyond reputeAmos Moses has a reputation beyond reputeAmos Moses has a reputation beyond reputeAmos Moses has a reputation beyond reputeAmos Moses has a reputation beyond reputeAmos Moses has a reputation beyond repute
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    Re: All is well now..

    Call me stupid and ignorant (you will probably have to stand in line to do it), but how do folks like MJROD, et. al. get compensated for all this hard work? With no advertisement monies coming from BB&B and a lot of us demanding fans, how and why do they do it?

    I have wondered about this for a long time, and being from the era when the one and only computer at Tech filled up the entire basement of Keeny Hall, I am totally in the dark to how all this works.

    Can someone take time to briefly educate an old fart??

  10. #10
    Administrator Dwayne From Minden has a reputation beyond reputeDwayne From Minden has a reputation beyond reputeDwayne From Minden has a reputation beyond reputeDwayne From Minden has a reputation beyond reputeDwayne From Minden has a reputation beyond reputeDwayne From Minden has a reputation beyond reputeDwayne From Minden has a reputation beyond reputeDwayne From Minden has a reputation beyond reputeDwayne From Minden has a reputation beyond reputeDwayne From Minden has a reputation beyond reputeDwayne From Minden has a reputation beyond repute Dwayne From Minden's Avatar
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    Re: All is well now..

    We pay MJ a hosting fee each month -

    This money is form monies we have "banked" through the year from various projects and donations -

    The rest is a "labor" of love - I guess...

    Chris is the one who does ALL the work -
    ''Don't be a bad dagh..."

  11. #11
    Administrator TechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the rough TechDawgFan's Avatar
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    Re: All is well now..

    Let me delve a little deeper into it because I was going to do it in another thread anyway. Let's turn the clock back to around 2000 Delphi, the old forum for BB&B decided to start moving toward paid features. In order for a member to be able to do things like format a message, have a signature, etc., they had to upgrade their membership to a paid membership. Several of us thought this was bogus so Dwayne and some others starting working on a private site. They were kind enough to bring me in a couple of months before we went live. We were using one of the admin's server space and made the switch in 2001. It wasn't long before that host contacted us and said we were using up too much bandwidth and he was booting us off. We had almost no notice. Because I had gotten to know mj through kstatefans.com, I called him to see if he could do anything to help us or had any recommendations. He agreed to host us for what we thought was a reasonable fee. It was more than the "free" fee we had before, but we were confident there were enough people who supported what we were doing to be willing to financially support the site.

    Through the years, our partnership with John has been great. He hosts a couple of other fan sites and is a sports fanatic as well (though he really wonders about the 50 people who immediately hit the site at 2:00 AM when it came back up Wed. morning). He has dedicated servers for us, upgraded when needed, increased bandwidth for us, provided scripts to help us out, troubleshot problems, and given us content that we would have had to pay for from other hosts. And all this time, his price has gone DOWN, not UP!!! He tells me this site accounts for about 40% of the total traffic his hosted sites get.

    We continue to pay for our hosting service, but I often feel we are taking advantage of him for the price we pay and the service he provides. He has stayed up till all hours of the morning making upgrades and troubleshooting problems. He has purchsed new servers which we could never pay for and installed them during time he should be in bed or with his family.

    How do we pay for this? We do it with your contributions. We get a lot of unsolicited PayPal donations that just say "Put this to use for the site." And we do.

    I'll just say that if KSU ever comes to the Indy Bowl, I hope John can make the trip so we can buy him some tickets and thank him in person.

    Chris

  12. #12
    Champ Amos Moses has a reputation beyond reputeAmos Moses has a reputation beyond reputeAmos Moses has a reputation beyond reputeAmos Moses has a reputation beyond reputeAmos Moses has a reputation beyond reputeAmos Moses has a reputation beyond reputeAmos Moses has a reputation beyond reputeAmos Moses has a reputation beyond reputeAmos Moses has a reputation beyond reputeAmos Moses has a reputation beyond reputeAmos Moses has a reputation beyond repute
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    Re: All is well now..

    Thanks, Chris and DFM for the great response...and thanks John for all you do!
    I don't know how all of us Tech fans would have ever been able to keep up and communicate amongst each other if it wasn't for you guys, and all the other administrators.

    I have been a member of all the Tech boards over the years and have been eternally grateful to those that take the time to put this great forum together.

  13. #13
    Administrator TechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the rough TechDawgFan's Avatar
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    Re: All is well now..

    I need to add as well that since day 1, we have remained committed to keeping BB&B a FREE site and totally free of 3rd party pop ups and ads. We believe this will help to keep us and everyone else honest here. We will stick with the support of our members to keep this site running and will not sell ourselves out to make money. And I should also add that we HAVE been approached about selling ad space (vB has a VERY advanced banner ad system that we do not use) and have also been aproached about selling this site to other sports forums. Our response is always the same, "We thank you for your interest, but no thank you. It is not in the best interest of BB&B or Louisiana Tech Athletics for us to move in that direction."

    Chris

  14. #14
    Champ Dirtydawg has a reputation beyond reputeDirtydawg has a reputation beyond reputeDirtydawg has a reputation beyond reputeDirtydawg has a reputation beyond reputeDirtydawg has a reputation beyond reputeDirtydawg has a reputation beyond reputeDirtydawg has a reputation beyond reputeDirtydawg has a reputation beyond reputeDirtydawg has a reputation beyond reputeDirtydawg has a reputation beyond reputeDirtydawg has a reputation beyond repute Dirtydawg's Avatar
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    Re: All is well now..

    Quote Originally Posted by TechDawgFan View Post
    I need to add as well that since day 1, we have remained committed to keeping BB&B a FREE site and totally free of 3rd party pop ups and ads. We believe this will help to keep us and everyone else honest here. We will stick with the support of our members to keep this site running and will not sell ourselves out to make money. And I should also add that we HAVE been approached about selling ad space (vB has a VERY advanced banner ad system that we do not use) and have also been aproached about selling this site to other sports forums. Our response is always the same, "We thank you for your interest, but no thank you. It is not in the best interest of BB&B or Louisiana Tech Athletics for us to move in that direction."

    Chris

    What kind of money we talking about, Chris. You might want to rethink that stance if it can generate enough to help with some of the projects we talk about. Imagine if we could raise the money to build a women's sports "fieldhouse". Or something of that magnitude.

  15. #15
    Administrator TechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the roughTechDawgFan is a jewel in the rough TechDawgFan's Avatar
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    Re: All is well now..

    We're not to those kind of $$$. If someone starts talking that, we'll rethink. But generally, one of the clauses of those sort of deals is that you won't start another site within X number of years. It isn't the kind of money and sacrifice that would bring any substantial improvement to Tech or the mission of BB&B.

    We evaluate these opportunities on a case by case basis.

    Chris

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