Debug mode?

[Paul]

Sorry Plep and everyone - it was the same problem yet again. The users table seemed to be the problem this time. I've fixed it but the board ate 9 members in the process. One by one, I've restored 7 of 9 (hee hee - sounds like Star Trek) from backups. One of the remaining 2 was someone who was given a verbal warning for his choice of username and I don't believe posted. Due to the situation I've not restored that person.

That leaves one lost person (user number 771 who joined just after Tomoyo Daidouji and just before ministryofmagic). I think this was lunalovegood. Very sorry, luna I didn't have a backup of your member details, so if you'd like to, please could you to sign up again. If you PM me before making any posts, I'll try to link your new signup to the post you made in your first "life".

* Trundles off to make another backup of the forum *

[Alice I]

Here is a new debug mode problem:
I have messages to go to paul and another member in my out box right now and they are both also on line right now but the messages are not moving to the sent box.
Also I have a message in my inbox that when I try to view I get the following:
Could not query private message post information

DEBUG MODE

SQL Error : 1015 Can't lock file (errno: 29)

SELECT u.username AS username_1, u.user_id AS user_id_1, u2.username AS username_2, u2.user_id AS user_id_2, u.user_sig_bbcode_uid, u.user_posts, u.user_from, u.user_website, u.user_email, u.user_icq, u.user_aim, u.user_yim, u.user_regdate, u.user_msnm, u.user_viewemail, u.user_rank, u.user_sig, u.user_avatar, pm.*, pmt.privmsgs_bbcode_uid, pmt.privmsgs_text FROM privmsgs pm, privmsgs_text pmt, users u, users u2 WHERE pm.privmsgs_id = 10342 AND pmt.privmsgs_text_id = pm.privmsgs_id AND pm.privmsgs_to_userid = 745 AND ( pm.privmsgs_type = 0 OR pm.privmsgs_type = 1 OR pm.privmsgs_type = 5 ) AND u.user_id = pm.privmsgs_from_userid AND u2.user_id = pm.privmsgs_to_userid

Line : 238
File : /var/www/html/wwwsites/broomsticksandowls/forum/privmsg.php

[Paul]

This one should be fixed now, but if anyone has had PM problems with PMs which were sent after 31 march, please say.

[Nobby]

i've had a problem with the Debug Mode thingy coming up today!!

it's stopped me posting about 20 times, but it's alright if i log off, visit other sites and then log back on about five minutes later!

Why does it do this?

[Alice I]

Yeah it's been driving me batty all day too.

[Paul]

Why does it do this?

I wish I had a definite answer. I've checked the phpBB forum, and even posted in the forum of the company who run Li'l monster, but I've still not found a definite answer. My guess is that it's related somehow to the server (overloaded maybe?). The reason I think this is that before moving to Li'l monster, the forum had no problems at all with the old server company.

Unfortunately, going back to the old server wouldn't be an option as the cost of running the forum on the old server was already starting to mount up, and BaO is already 50% larger now than it was in September/October when the move occurred. Li'l monster (the current server (or technically a VDS (Virtual Dedicated Server)) seemed to be a good option as it offered everything I needed at a good price, and I truly expected it to be better than the old virtual hosting....it's not turned out that way though, so moving to another server is definitely in the future plans but it'll be a totally dedicated server (the first was a virtual hosting, and li'l monster is a VDS). With both virtual hosting and virtual dedicated servers, you share the server with (who knows how many?) other people...so I've got little control over the overall server load.

When I can eventually move to a true dedicated server, however, the entire machine will be under my control.

All in all, BaO is probably going to have to be with li'l monster for about 6 to 12 months more....I'm hoping it won't be any longer and if there's any way I can possibly move faster I will. Really sorry for the problems meanwhile.

[Alice I]

Paul,
How can you afford this?
I mean members don't pay for membership.
Are you like rich or something?
I did not know that you were paying for the rest of us to have the privlidge (?sp) of using this forum.
What can we as members do to help defray your out of pocket costs?
Alice

[choki]

Ya, maybe we can donate some cash for the running of BaO but one thing though, you will probably get currencies for all over the world

[Nobby]

yeah we will probably all help out on the money side of things!

i think that the debug problem mainly occurs when there are about ten members online- well that's when it usually happens

[Paul]

Thanks it's really kind of you to offer. Nooo, I'm definitely not rich. If I was even slightly well-off, we'd all be on a dedicated server already. I'm really not sure about asking members for money or donations though. Unless it becomes totally unavoidable (in other words unless BaO's life absolutely depends on it), it's something I really wouldn't want to do, even if you want to, which is truly so much appreciated. BaO has always been here for everyone to enjoy for free and I really want to continue this way if possible, with no-one feeling any obligation to donate or anything.

To help to pay the bills, BaO does have an income-generating side to it, at www.broomsticksandowls.com but I don't think many people from the forum go there or even know it exists. So far I've tried to keep the forum commercial-free (and my promise I made a long time ago of no pop-ups here will still hold true) but if it's going to help move toward a dedicated server, which it seems is getting more urgent all the time (li'l monster crashed twice again in the last 24 hours..aargh!) then I may put some links to the income-generating pages directly here on the forum (probably at the bottom of pages), and will see if I can get some more advertising somehow here on the board to generate some money. I'll try to ensure it's as low-key as possible - no flashing banners or anything horrible like that (yick!).

Thanks again - I'm really quite touched by your thoughts and concerns for the forum.

[Nobby]

the debug thing has been driving me up the wall again today!!!!!!!!!!

it keeps on coming up when i try to submit my avatar as well

[gecko]

Just wondering, and if you don't want to tell this Paul, it won't matter much, but how much does a dedicated server set-up cost?

[Scellanis]

Hey paul, theres an affiliates scheme that google runs that ive seen on several forums....it usually isn't too over powering and doesn't have pictures...and google checks the topic of the page and gives adverts that match.....which works mostly unless the name of the page is something really random.... If you want to add advertising then you could check that out, I'll look up the link if you can't find it....

[Scellanis]

ok, here we go, found the link....

https://www.google.co.uk/adsense/

and if you want to know what it looks like on a forum then here is a place that already has it....

http://www.lotrforums.com/forum/

If you view a few pages you should get a feel for how it works...you get different adds for each page depending on words on that page....

[Alice I]

Well I don't know about anyone else,
But I am going to go to Broomsticks and Owls and buy something.
Hey if I can spend a wad o' cash on Disney World
I can certianly help to support this forum that has
come to mean so very much to me.

Who is with Me?

*Charges off with Charge Card held at the ready!! Da Da Da Dum Da Da!*