Problems with the board

[_Dr Exiled]

The beating heart of the board is the database. We can't do a database backup through the ACP without getting an error. I believe the backup is probably good, but there's uncertainty. Getting certainty would require backing up from the linux backend itself, but the mysql configuration doesn't allow it, and fixing that requires the su access I don't have.

I think this is the highest priority. Does anyone know someone adept at solving these back-up issues? Is it a question of money? What about this su access (whatever that means?) How does one get that access?

[_Gadianton]

Dr. Exiled, the board owner would have to either grant that access, which isn't going to happen, or be willing to run the commands I need for us, and so far no response.

Like I say, I do have a backup of the database, there is a question of its integrity. if somebody wanted to assume ownership of the board and work out with shades where the server space is going to be, then I (or whoever technical) can try and plant the database on the new server and see if it works.

[_Dr Exiled]

Dr. Exiled, the board owner would have to either grant that access, which isn't going to happen, or be willing to run the commands I need for us, and so far no response.

Like I say, I do have a backup of the database, there is a question of its integrity. if somebody wanted to assume ownership of the board and work out with shades where the server space is going to be, then I (or whoever technical) can try and plant the database on the new server and see if it works.

Understood. Too bad the owner won't cooperate. Is there some bad blood? Would granting such access harm the other sites?

[_honorentheos]

Excuse my ignorance, but would it be possible to test the backup without taking down this board? Could a new site be set up and hosted, the backup applied, and its condition determined while this board remained in its current state?

If so, perhaps.we could front the cost of a site and hosting to test it out? With the explicit intention of not migrating permanently to bypass the ownership issue but instead as a troubleshooting measure? Then allow it to laps and not renew? Just thinking about ways to break this down into more manageable bites.

[_Icarus]

I asked shades a few months ago if this was a matter of funding and he laughed saying no. Apparently Shades doesn't really have as much control over this forum as we all thought. It is owned by some guy he seems to barely communicate with anymore. Someone who hasn't posted since 2009 when he posted "It's true. I love the cock." viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8572&p=227990#p227990

Back in the day around the same time this forum was created I had a website that provided a message forum alternative to MADD, and it was fairly busy with just as much traffic as this one and we shared many of the same posters. Mine had a nicer interface, was very user friendly, had the latest PhPBB updated regularly and a search engine that worked well. Around that time Shades made a comment that gave me the impression he was upset that I was trying to compete with his forum, so I went ahead and took mine offline thinking he was right about there being too many Mormon related forums that everyone was trying to be involved with.

But if I had any idea at that time that his forum would have been nearly abandoned management-wise by the one guy who had control, after more than a decade of our involvement debating issues with some truly epic threads, I never would have taken mine offline to begin with.

Steelhead said he would easily fix the issues with this forum in a day if "Keene" would hand over administrative rights. But he won't. He won't let the people involved on this forum for more than a decade do the necessary things to keep it working; things he clearly has zero interest in.

[_Gadianton]

"Excuse my ignorance, but would it be possible to test the backup without taking down this board? Could a new site be set up and hosted, the backup applied, and its condition determined while this board remained in its current state?"

Yes, that's possible. Above I said, "Unfortunately, I have my reasons, but I don't want to be the board owner, so that's why I haven't already footed 12$ and tried getting the database working elsewhere."

If I put all the effort into getting it fully functional elsewhere, then even if the intent was just to test, I'm pretty sure it will go beyond that and I'll end up owning the board.

[_Gadianton]

Icarus: "Around that time Shades made a comment that gave me the impression he was upset that I was trying to compete with his forum, so I went ahead and took mine offline thinking he was right about there being too many Mormon related forums that everyone was trying to be involved with."

If owning a board like this is still in your interest, then I would say take over this one. You could probably even fire Shades if you wanted a change in management style. :) (I kid, but seriously, we have to think of the good of the board, if Shades doesn't want to own this board and somebody else is willing, then he would need to accept that for the greater good. Ideally, I think Shades has a rare talent for managing a free-speech forum, but...)

Icarus: "Steelhead said he would easily fix the issues with this forum in a day if "Keene" would hand over administrative rights. But he won't. He won't let the people involved on this forum for more than a decade do the necessary things to keep it working; things he clearly has zero interest in."

I have been given the same level of access as Keene had. If Shades approves, I can give the credentials to Steelhead and he can have at it. Or I can transfer whatever knowledge I have and then he can have at it. That level of access *might* not be enough. But Steelhead may know a great deal more than I do about phpBB.

as H above suggested, if you get the server space, either I or Steelhead (or whoever) can try to get the board functional in the new place, and then it's a matter of how to negotiate the fact that somebody else apparently, technically owns that database. (we really don't know, Shades doesn't remember what his contract with the owner says nor does he have a copy of it, and the arrangement as described by Shades makes no sense to me)

I had a message relayed to the owner regarding moving the database and no response. clearly, he doesn't care, unless one morning he wakes up and does care, and so ultimately it would be worth it to do this gracefully.

[_Jersey Girl]

Doesn't Shades want to own the board? If not, why not?

[_Temp. Admin.]

I don’t mind owning the board. The problem is, I’m not very technically savvy.

[_Icarus]

Doesn't Shades want to own the board? If not, why not?

I think he does, but the problem is the mysterious character Keene. I'm not sure how he even got involved to begin with more than 14 years ago. I suspect he was a friend of Shades from work and he had some IT background so Shades asked him to create a forum. But it seems to me like Keene's interests, however Mormon-related they were back then, have drifted over the years and the last time I spoke with Shades he was frustrated because he was having trouble connecting with him. This guy wasn't returning his calls about the meltdown the forum had earlier in the year and Shades said he didn't even have administrative rights anymore so there wasn't much he could do until Keene fixed the problem, which I'm uncertain if he did.

I would be interested in buying the forum if it meant fixing everything the way it should be. I'd make sure that it was managed/maintained by folks who have a background in IT and who have been posting here for years.