Should the forums upgrade? You get to decide.

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Moderator: fonixmunkee

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Upgrade to the private server plan for $120/year?

Yes, do the upgrade
6
38%
No, don't do the upgrade
7
44%
Maybe, let's wait and see
3
19%
 
Total votes: 16

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fonixmunkee
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Should the forums upgrade? You get to decide.

Post by fonixmunkee »

Alright all, I wanted to pose a question to the forums. Since this is *everyone's* forums.

Currently, the hosting bill for the site is $120/year for the hosting (the server in the clouds where the files for the web page sits), plus $10/year for the rights to the domain name "isleroyaleforums.com". All these bills were paid in full on August 27, 2008 thanks to the generosity of the users of this forum.

The new question is this: for an additional $10/month (normally this is $15/month), we can have a "private server." Private servers allow us to control the speed of the website, along with ensuring we get the proper amount of speed we pay for.

Currently it works like this: we use a shared hosting (server) plan. A shared hosting play works like getting online with a cable modem. You share your bandwidth (connection speed) with your other neighbors who also have cable internet. You get faster speeds when you're the only one in the neighborhood online (like at 1am), and slower speeds when you're sharing it with others (like after everyone gets home from work). A shared hosting plan works the same way, only regarding processing power. In a shared hosting plan, the forums reside on the same servers as other forums, blogs, and smaller websites. If they get more visits (or write bad code for their web pages...that's another issue, however), they detract from our processor power--which slows down the forums. Conversely, we detract from other websites if we are busier.

If we move to a private hosting (server) plan, it's like using a DSL modem to get online: your bandwidth is *your* bandwidth, and no one else can take that away from you, no matter how many people are online in your area. With a private server plan, we set how much processor we want to use, and no one can infringe on that when their website becomes busier.

The question is this: do we want to pay an extra $120/year for a private server? The benefits are listed above, but do we really need the private hosting plan? Does anyone see the forums as slow or laggy (besides you dial-up users out there!) With the forums growing like they are, do we foresee a slower forum in the near future? You get to decide.

I the next 24-48 hours, I'm moving the forums to a private server for one week to test out a private server plan. This will allow us to benchmark (or see how much we use and need) to see if it justifies the private server plan for $10/month more. Obviously, I'll report back what I see when we are moved over and we can make the final decision then. For now, I'm just throwing it out to you all to start discussing and provide some feedback. I prefer to pay for the hosting myself/have you all contribute rather than move to posting ads on the forum (blech!), so that's why I ask the question. Post your thoughts in this thread. To help aide in your decision, you can see the attached monthly usage report (in PDF), below. You can also visit http://www.dreamhost.com/hosting-vps.html to see the full benefits of a private server.

P.S., I should also clarify: I also host my own private domain on this site (drunkencomputing.com), so in light of this, I certainly don't expect everyone on the forums to pay for ALL the hosting (just like last time, we covered about 70% of the cost).
Attachments
Analytics_isleroyaleforums.com_20090315-20090414_(DashboardReport).pdf
Monthly usage report
(108.55 KiB) Downloaded 449 times
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Isle Royale Rob
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Re: Should the forums upgrade? You get to decide.

Post by Isle Royale Rob »

I don't recall ever having an issue with the speed. I have DSL at home and Cable at work. I like the fact that these are no ads, but it would not make a difference to me if it did or didn't have ads. I guess my vote would be if it aint broke don't fix it. My 2 cents.

Also, when is the next hosting bill due. I would like to contribute this year, as i stop in daily to this site. I appreciate you have done for this forum and would like to help you out in that regard.
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Nick
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Re: Should the forums upgrade? You get to decide.

Post by Nick »

I've been happy with the way thinks have been going. I also like no ads, pop-ups, etc.

My only question: Would the new server help with the SPAM issue?
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Re: Should the forums upgrade? You get to decide.

Post by ScoutDad »

Ditto to Isle Royale Rob's comments... The forums seem fine to me...but I have DSL at home, T1 at work (when I can sneak on!).

And, let me know when you're taking donations! :)
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Re: Should the forums upgrade? You get to decide.

Post by Ingo »

I concur... no speed/response issues for me, but if it would help with the recent spam.
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fonixmunkee
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Re: Should the forums upgrade? You get to decide.

Post by fonixmunkee »

Hey all,

Thanks for the feedback. Let me address some questions:

1) A new server would not help alleviate spam. What causes all this spam is our popularity, and as we appear more and more on search engines like Google--and our user community grows--so do we as a target for spammers.
2) Glad to hear about the speed...but is anyone currently noticing an INCREASE in speed?

Also, please vote, above. I see a lot of "nay" posts regarding the upgrade, but there's more "yes, do the upgrade" votes above!
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Backpacker534
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Re: Should the forums upgrade? You get to decide.

Post by Backpacker534 »

For what it's worth my "two cents" are basically the same as what has already been written. I have DSL at home and cable at work and have absolutely no problem with the speed of the connection, and moving to another hosting service would not alleviate the spam issue.
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fonixmunkee
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Re: Should the forums upgrade? You get to decide.

Post by fonixmunkee »

Just so everyone is aware, we are currently running on the new private server. This was also the reason why we had login problems from corrupt files (which has since been repaired). I'm going to run it on the private server for a month and then compare it to previous months and see if there's any sort of performance boost. I'll keep you all posted...
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Hikerken
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Re: Should the forums upgrade? You get to decide.

Post by Hikerken »

fonixmunkee, Thank you for all the work you do on this site. This is a GREAT site eventhough I do not post too much. My hiking partner seem to beat me to the post when we talk about out trips to IR. :wink:
Life is short so try everytihing at least once, If you like it do it again.
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