Account Suspended

Scott Hardie | January 13, 2008
Don't even get me started about what has kept the site offline for the last six hours. It's bullshit.

There will not be free cards available in RB today, and possibly a few other weirdnesses on the site, because crons (scheduled scripts that support site operations throughout the day) have been deactivated, and will remain so for at least a day.

Eric Wallhagen | January 13, 2008
That sucks dude. You have the worst luck with these hosts you're getting. Seriously.

Erik Bates | January 15, 2008
[hidden by request]

Scott Hardie | January 18, 2008
They took my site offline all night because I was "one of six sites" running a script when the server crashed. Then they insulted me, saying I had violated the terms of service by being one of the six. I deactivated my crons like they asked, but I have manually run those scripts quite a few times since then, and the server has not crashed. I'm innocent!

No matter how many times this webhost has screwed me in the half-year I've been with them, I've been reluctant to bash them publicly, because I don't want them to take down my site punitively. But to be honest, they've been a constant nuisance, taking my site offline and changing my software installations and losing my data and now insulting me. Worst host I've ever had, and I've had terrible ones.

For two months, as my budget and schedule allowed, I've been slowly transferring to a new host recommended by a guy whose expertise I trust completely. Tonight I set out to make the final modifications, and you may have seen the notice that I was in the process of moving. Unfortunately, their server just can't handle my site. I have some very bulky maintenance scripts that parse 15mb of old TC comments, and I disabled those whales. But it couldn't even handle mid-size scripts like one that counts goo guesses and calculates each player's streak, merely counting 400 incremental numbers over 1150 cycles. If you're not a computer geek, let me assure you, that ain't much to ask of a server.

With a heavy heart, I have given up on this new host and come back to the old one with my tail between my legs. I'll continue looking for another host as long as this one continues disappointing me, but we're stuck in place for the time being. And I still can't run crons on a schedule, which means the site is going to remain wonky for a while. I have to activate those scripts manually, so if you sometimes don't see free cards in the Card Exchange until morning, that's because I do it when I wake up. I can rig up another solution, but screw it, I'd rather put my time and energy towards moving us somewhere that can handle us.

Can anyone recommend a webhost that can handle an processor-intensive site and doesn't completely suck at reliable service? Apparently they're hard to come by.

Erik Bates | January 18, 2008
[hidden by request]

Scott Hardie | January 19, 2008
Thanks! After looking at AN and a few others, I have decided to purchase my own Linux server and host the site either at home (with a T1) or at a colocation facility. It will be expensive, and will have to wait until summer, but it will be worth the cost to modify the machine to my liking and live without ridiculous limits on my scripts. In the meantime, we're stuck here at this host, so I'll make the most of it with some modifications to my scripts over the weekend so things can get back to normal.

Scott Hardie | January 19, 2008
Crons have been restored, with a few limitations. The two visible changes are the absence of "goos in the news" and the final RB trade rule. Both will come back in the future. The site should behave normally now.

Steve West | January 20, 2008
Wow! Quite an undertaking. Thanks. Sure hope it's worth the expense. Obviously should take care of any server requirements. Thanks again for your dedication to the site.

Amy Austin | January 20, 2008
Yeah, seriously... your dedication is impressive! Two questions... 1) Would a gift donation be a welcome thing (I have no idea how expensive "expensive" means), and 2) Would it be possible for you to rent out host space to friends with this set-up??? Just a couple of thoughts...

Obviously (at least it should be from my absence), I am still struggling with my own (lack of) computer issues (sorry I couldn't accept your challenges, Justin!)... not sure when or how it might be resolved, as the re-image did not work and likely points to a hardware issue... hopefully, only a low-cost thing like the hard drive and not the motherboard -- I will be trying to discover this very soon. This sucks. Very much.

On the upside... WOOHOO! I got a new R8 by coming to check in today -- SWEET! (That's my first card over R6 since purchasing Elvis in the old auction-style exchange!) Trying to get my sister to join me in RB, even though I don't know when I might be able to play her. And... E is returning from another deployment today. Judging by his itinerary, he won't be home (in NC) until sometime after midnight, but hopefully, I will hear from him soon.

Scott Hardie | January 23, 2008
Thank you both! This site still means a lot to me, and it's a wonder I don't pay more money to run it. This morning it occurred to me that we've had roughly the same prizes in the Oscars contest for nine years now and maybe it's time for an upgrade. Perhaps next year, or the one after for the tenth anniversary.

Speaking of tenth anniversaries, we're one month away from the goo game's. Predictions for that day's goo, #1200? I have one in mind already, but I'm open to suggestions if someone makes a really good request.

Amy, thanks for the gift donation suggestion. I won't say no to free money, but I think I can handle it. :-) The machine and colocation aren't unreasonably expensive, but in the next few months I have to pay for two moves, taxes, and a stack of bills from the hospital, so it will wait until summer. If my time as a developer were worth, say, $50 an hour, then I'd have already put over $1 million into this site over the years, and it's been worth every "penny."

I already have plans to share the server with Kelly and Miah, so if anybody else wants in for cheap (business site) or free (personal site), talk to me.

Good news on the R8. I see lots of R10s going around in the last few days, too. Must be Christmas a month late.