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Site recovery

Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2015 11:56 pm
by Tech_zeroguy
The site has been recovered, again. We should not have lost any posts or anything this time, since I still had access to the old database; I didn't recover from week-old backups or anything like that.

However, for now I've only restored the forum software and forum database. There were a few other directories of files hanging around on the old server, but I haven't gone through and seen which things do what, or what we actually need, etc. But regardless, the forum works. I also upgraded phpbb to the newest 3.0.x, but not to 3.1.x, since I believe that would break themes or something.

Further "other stuff" can get restored soon; I just didn't want to mess around with too much stuff right before going to sleep.

Oh also, I own the domain and the hosting we're on now :) I can grant access to other people soon, too, but for now, just direct issues or whatever to me (or Gravity Defier, who will tell me). If we want to host the site elsewhere, or change the forum software, or even have a real non-forum part of the site again, that is all very possible now, if we want.

Re: Site recovery

Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2015 7:19 am
by Gravity Defier
I said some of this in person but it bears repeating. THANK YOU for making this happen and for putting up with my impatience. You are, truly, the best. :kisses:


I'll keep an eye out for broken things, besides the chat, and let you know about them. And if people care to discuss ownership stuff and domain access, I'll pass that along as well.

Re: Site recovery

Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2015 8:32 am
by steph
:bow: All hail Andrew!!!

Re: Site recovery

Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2015 11:37 am
by Noodle
All Hail Sandwich boy. All Hail Sandwich boy!

What this site needed was yet another resurrection.

Re: Site recovery

Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2015 11:40 am
by buckshot
Thanks! A lot!

Re: Site recovery

Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2015 7:02 am
by Young Val
I know nothing about how any of this works, so to me it's like you did magic. Yer a wizard, Harry!

Ok, but sincerely, thanks again for all you do.

Re: Site recovery

Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2015 4:43 pm
by starlooker
Just echoing the thanks. Cannot tell you how much this is appreciated! :hatsoff:

Re: Site recovery

Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2015 5:26 pm
by thoughtreader
I agree with Kelly.... thank you for the magic :D

Re: Site recovery

Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2015 6:00 am
by Claire
THANKS Zero, we all really appreciate it!!

Re: Site recovery

Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2015 4:17 pm
by TerresaWiggin
:grouphug: yay! :stamp:

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Re: Site recovery

Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 10:59 pm
by Cassandra
I'm so happy that PWEB is back up and running! It felt weird when the site was down... like something was missing.

On the subject of ownership, I would like to come out and say that I would gladly own and care for PWEB. I really consider Ender's Ansible and PWEB sister sites and whatever happens I hope that we can maintain our (sweet) partnership :)

Some highlights: Dave and Alea created two Philotic Ansible episodes plus one other interview. Thomas and I did one or two after that. Shannon helped me transcribe audio during SDCC madness. User philoticweb has helped me organize Ender's Ansible in ways I can't even begin to describe. Thomas and Chris have both helped me troubleshoot tech problems. TheresaWiggin helps me run the EA tumblr! (There's more, but I'll stop now!)

I know that some of the longtime fans are burnt out, but my love and coverage of Ender hasn't stopped with the movie release. I continue to cover and review each additional book release.

Something that I haven't shared with most of PWEB is that myself and a moderate of /r/ender have been in contact with Centipede Press. We outlined the need for the full short story anthology and submitted the idea of asking Card to produce new content for the collection. For anyone who hasn't read the update on EA, Centipede Press loved the idea and it's totally happening! (Originally Centipede Press was going to republish Speaker or maybe Ender's Shadow.) My point is that I would never lose interest in Ender and PWEB :)

For the last couple years, I had considered contacting Ami and making her an offer, but I didn't because I don't know her personally. I thought she might be turned off by the idea of selling to a stranger. If you guys like the idea of keeping the sites together by ownership, I would be open to any changes/ non changes. I have a lot of idea in my brain haha

Re: Site recovery

Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 11:41 pm
by Gravity Defier
Disclaimer 1: Everything I am about to say is representative of me, and only me. Not zero, not anyone else on the board. Just me.
Disclaimer 2: I believe it was 4 years ago that I went rather batshit crazy over some things Pweb-related, regarding leadership, so take this was a grain of salt. Should have never happened, it did, can't take it back, but always sorry for it.



With that out of the way: Cassandra. I appreciate the offer to take over ownership and love all the examples of your involvement in the Ender community; I don't think anyone, myself included, has ever for a second doubted your enthusiasm for the Enderverse. It's also true that a lot of us (most? all?) are burnt out on, if not EG, then at least on OSC's politics and what they mean for and how they affect the potential enjoyment and quality of the Ender books.

But...here's what I didn't see in your post: the recognition that, to so many of us, Pweb morphed from a community of Ender's fans to a community of deeply committed friends, many friendships of which have lasted the entire 15 years Pweb has been around, many others which have been shorter but still a majority of some members' lives. The way that Pweb has carried over into our lives away from the board.

The man I am living with, whom I met here and have been living with for over two years and with whom I have talked to more or less every day for the past 7 years, means more to me than Ender. I was lucky enough to be a part of a former mod's wedding. I've cried, literally, on Pwebbers' shoulders, slept on their couches, driven them around, been driven around by them, and witnessed (sadly, from afar) their weddings and marriages, their children joining this world, etc. And all of that means so much more than the reason we all came together in the first place.

And that is just my Pweb story.

If folks are comfortable with, and want, you or anyone else to have ownership, I hope I've learned my lesson from a few years ago and can gracefully step back and let that happen. It may even be that zero doesn't want the responsibility of caring for this forum and does so only because he knows what this place means to me. (Speaking of which, boyfriend, if you read this, my feelings are a little hurt you don't seem to care more given that we wouldn't have met without this place. Bitch. :wink: )

But I am a bit hesitant to give my blessing to anyone, not just you, who might not understand what exactly this place means to the few of us who still come here. To me, it's not about getting tired of Ender; it's about not getting tired of the non-Ender interactions.

With all that said, I will point zero to your post because I want him, along with everyone else, to have their rightful say.

Re: Site recovery

Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 2:18 am
by Cassandra
Let me say that I'm absolutely not trying to be confrontational. I'm just responding to your concerns.
Pweb has carried over into our lives away from the board.
I know exactly what you mean and that's one reason I love PWEB so much. I could have started my own Ender forum like the other fansites if all I wanted was Ender discussions, but I didn't because I really value this community. I know what it means for a fansite to grow into much more. When I was 12 I moderated a different site that sadly doesn't exist anymore, but I still keep in touch with some of those friends that I met 10 years ago! I might not have as close of a connection to a lot of the original pwebbers, but I've definitely made some life long friendships here.

:grouphug:

Just like you, I met my boyfriend here. We've been together 2 years and even if we broke up tomorrow (not happening) I know that we would be best friends for always. I really love how this community has transformed my personal life. User philoticweb and I have been friends since I joined PWEB three and half years ago; we chat and email at least once a week about non Ender stuff. And TerresaWiggin and I text sometimes too. I’ve spent countless hours in the chat with many of you talking about growing families, new jobs and the like. I love all your Facebook updates, like Thomas’ wedding and Steph’s homemade bike wash! Even seeing that Darian’s Black Panther fanart got picked up by some major websites made my day!

I don’t know if I made this clear enough in my last post, but I wouldn’t want to change much if I gained ownership. I have no interest in holding a leadership position (mod/admin) on the forum or changing the mods or the rules. It’s my dream to make sure that PWEB and EA both stay around forever in a way where both sites support each other more. I still worry about PWEB crashing or going down and I want to make sure, just like all of you that the sites are taken care of. I would try to make the sites more cohesive in terms of similar banners and links so that the sites feed each other. I want to send more fans to PWEB and I want PWEB to be reminded that maybe there’s a special edition of the book being produced that would make a great Christmas present to another pwebber.

I think any hesitation at trusting someone with PWEB is completely justified given the past. All I can really say is that I value the community aspect of PWEB and all I would ever want is to improve upon that by trying to make sure that as many people find this forum as possible.

Re: Site recovery

Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 5:23 pm
by Gravity Defier
I still worry about PWEB crashing or going down
I did with Ami. zero, on the other hand, I trust more than anyone in the world. I also asked him to increase frequency of backups so that the current potential for a one-week loss of posts goes down to a few days max.


I did, however, tell him you have made the offer and that I am not capable of objectivity on this, so it's up to the community and him who gets ownership. My preference is for him to keep it. That may not be his or the community's. Sorry if my previous post came across as trying to say my experience was worth more or something. I was just trying to make it clear Ender kind of doesn't matter to me (and I think a lot of the others) and when I see the emphasis put on the books or even bringing in more, new fans of the series, I get worried. Preserving our history as a community is what I care about and I trust zero to do that.

Re: Site recovery

Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2015 9:58 am
by buckshot
I am much pleased and grateful for all the actions and time spent saving Pweb. I pledge my support in any way any time. :hatsoff:

Re: Site recovery

Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2015 1:59 pm
by Luet
Thank you so much, zero and Alea, for all of your hard work at bringing pweb back to life. I am not here often but pweb will always have a huge piece of my heart. :love:

Re: Site recovery

Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2016 9:10 pm
by Gravity Defier
Hello (ello) (ello) (ello) (ello).

Quite the echo. Anywho. Yesterday, about 6 spambots posted over 800 posts (a few ~260 each, a few ~76 each). It was rather easy to delete but it's basically an everyday occurrence these days.

Would anyone object to turning off sign-ups? zero doesn't feel, with the amount of real activity that takes place, it is worth the effort to try to find a more precise fix for the issue.

If people are okay with it, but are worried about real users, do you have a suggestion on how we might allow them to join without being able to add themselves? Leave an email address that is checked?