Alpha Centauri 2

Community => Council Room => Topic started by: Buster's Uncle on June 11, 2025, 11:17:53 pm

Title: Forum Downage
Post by: Buster's Uncle on June 11, 2025, 11:17:53 pm

I still don't know just what happened - the hacker script that was breaking the forum w/o accomplishing anything seems to have gone away in mid-April while no one was looking.  Then there were server shenanigans for the last month, possibly something the script did as a going-away present, possibly just because iFast, our hosting service, sux.

I'm trying to arrange for a migration to another host, fingers crossed.

---

-Now, to what I really want to talk about...

Quote from: Buster's Uncle on June 11, 2025, 04:27:44 pm

I just wanted to observe here that the newest theme, Alpha Centauri, never had a good chance to catch on, what with our downage problems --- it's excellent; check it out, please.

(https://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=4304.0;attach=24195)

Title: Re: Forum Downage
Post by: Fibonacci on June 12, 2025, 05:09:10 am

That sure was some sunspot activity!

Title: Re: Forum Downage
Post by: Dio on June 13, 2025, 03:18:21 am

The forum returned with some functionality. :)

Title: Re: Forum Downage
Post by: Buster's Uncle on June 14, 2025, 09:22:30 pm

-Anyone who does Reddit, word that we were back got out within a day at r/alphacentauri - please generally be bumping that news, and convey this message, s'il vous plait:

Quote

Hi; I'm Buster's Uncle, the Owner and Manager of Alpha Centauri 2 Forums.

There are plans in the works to head off future downage like the extended period we just seem to have passed, and I think this forum is a superior format for SMACers to come together in.  We have patches, mods, and custom factions, wallpapers, over 15 years worth of content accumulated, including -my personal favorite part- conversations as early as 2010, and it's WAY easer to find the old stuff than most social media formats, to put it (ridiculously) lightly.

We're a community, and we're made out of people.

I'm in it for the PEOPLE, and always have been, much as I love SMAC(X).

We see a lot of traffic, and always have, from people cynically following links to something in our Downloads, downloading and running.  -And that's okay; in addition to being great gaming content, the various patches, for example, also serve as bait to the percentage who go up a level or two and have a look around the forum, and the percentage of those who sign up and join in.  MORE people to do tech support with/ teach game art modding/post AARs/discuss SMAC(X) in whatever way/ discuss other games -we've got a subforum for that and several dedicated to specific other games-/ and even talk about whatever we please in our Off-Topic, Recreation Commons. (And that's not even getting into a lot of optional fun forum bells-and-whistles like Shop items and the 20 themes/skins.)

I invite YOU to be one of those people.

Title: Re: Forum Downage
Post by: Vidsek on June 18, 2025, 02:25:50 pm

Awesome!!!

After almost giving up hope, I had an impulse to check the site and here it is!

My sympathy for the pain and suffering you must have gone through, my withdrawal symptoms were probably trivial compared.

Here's hoping lots of folks migrate back and we see some life in this prehistoric game.

Title: Re: Forum Downage
Post by: Buster's Uncle on June 18, 2025, 02:54:44 pm

Possibly someone -one of our tech d00dz or iFast staff- did SOMEthing and hasn't told me yet - the .php file the hackbot kept at size zero -the tell I used to see when it was active- is at 4004 bytes and hasn't been overwritten since the 17th of April.  I don't actually know how that file works or who posted it -forum auto function, maybe?-, mind you.

Title: Re: Forum Downage
Post by: Buster's Uncle on June 25, 2025, 10:35:31 pm

Quote from: Buster's Uncle on June 14, 2025, 09:22:30 pm

-Anyone who does Reddit, word that we were back got out within a day at r/alphacentauri - please generally be bumping that news, and convey this message, s'il vous plait:

Quote

Hi; I'm Buster's Uncle, the Owner and Manager of Alpha Centauri 2 Forums.

There are plans in the works to head off future downage like the extended period we just seem to have passed, and I think this forum is a superior format for SMACers to come together in.  We have patches, mods, and custom factions, wallpapers, over 15 years worth of content accumulated, including -my personal favorite part- conversations as early as 2011, and it's WAY easer to find the old stuff than most social media formats, to put it (ridiculously) lightly.

We're a community, and we're made out of people.

I'm in it for the PEOPLE, and always have been, much as I love SMAC(X).

We see a lot of traffic, and always have, from people following links to something in our Downloads, downloading and running.  -And that's okay; in addition to being great gaming content, the various patches, for example, also serve as bait to the percentage who go up a level or two and have a look around the forum, and the percentage of those who sign up and join in.  MORE people to do tech support with/ teach game art modding/post AARs/discuss SMAC(X) in whatever way/ discuss other games -we've got a subforum for that and several dedicated to specific other games-/ and even talk about whatever we please in our Off-Topic, Recreation Commons. (And that's not even getting into a lot of optional fun forum bells-and-whistles like Shop items and the 20 themes/skins.)

I invite YOU to be one of those people.

I'm never signing up at Reddit, yet would REALLY like to see this invitation/sales pitch posted there.

Title: Re: Forum Downage
Post by: Trenacker on June 27, 2025, 02:19:49 am

Done.

Title: Re: Forum Downage
Post by: Buster's Uncle on June 27, 2025, 02:26:55 am

SIR!  :salute:

Confirmed.  Thanks, so much.

Title: Re: Forum Downage
Post by: Buster's Uncle on July 01, 2025, 03:24:43 pm

I got an offer this morning to set up and pay for a droplet on Digital Ocean for us, from someone I trust about as much as I can trust anyone.

I was told to relate to techs:
"AC2 is currently hosted on an old VPS, with circa 2013 hardware and a Debian 8 system. Likely a typical LAMP stack for that period, but with no significant software updates since circa 2015. A proper modern host is available but, even if the current AC2 hosting setup is simple, it will likely take some work to move hosts because of various compatibility issues that would have accumulated over the years."

-Of course, we'd have to add to the work with a SMF upgrade -for several obvious reasons- but it seems obvious that since migrations and upgrades both break stuff left, right, and center, just as well combine the two and eliminate redundant fixing.

I still need someone to do tech...  Still trying to reach out to the old standard d00dz.  It would be SO much better if guys who knew AC2's backend already, know me already -and vice versa- stepped up.  Maybe we can get someone new to do ongoing maintenance if we're moved and set up better, maybe the other way around.  Dunno, but I'm trying to get something going.

Title: Re: Forum Downage
Post by: Buster's Uncle on July 01, 2025, 07:44:02 pm

This just in - I finally got a nibble from one of the pre-existing d00dz.

Title: Re: Forum Downage
Post by: Buster's Uncle on July 02, 2025, 12:30:53 am

He's since had a quick look on the server and said he'd get back to it this weekend.   ;danc

Title: Re: Forum Downage
Post by: bvanevery on July 07, 2025, 09:03:08 pm

I'm absolutely baffled that I'm getting to post here again.  I'd written it off for good as a seriously dead duck.

Um, how do I spend my quite unexpected time here now?  This isn't what I thought I'd be doing today.

Title: Re: Forum Downage
Post by: Buster's Uncle on July 07, 2025, 09:09:13 pm

Hey man - I was worried Helene got you when you didn't find AC2 up as fast as I did - so why not start your own thread and tell stories about it in Rec Commons?

Title: Re: Forum Downage
Post by: Buster's Uncle on July 08, 2025, 02:39:02 am

Back to topic, I've been remiss in mentioning wilkesreid, our new tech volunteer -good attitude, and knows his stuff- if you see him, be nice; it seems like that migration we've wanted for twelve years is actually going to happen this time.  Soon.  Being set up NOW.

Happy days are almost here again.