whats happened to nb.co.uk

[ranworthbreeze]

Back to topic.

I am sorry to report the NBF is still down this morning.

If anybody has any further information can they please report it to keep NBF forum members informed.

Regards

Alan

[Hylander]

Littlesprite rest assured you are not alone.   I  Dont do facebook (detest its very existence) twitter (I have a life to lead) mobiles that are all singing and dancing , mine just is for emergencies only, pay as you go.       I bet there are more of us dinosaurs about than you would imagine. 

[Oddfellow]

That's much easier said than done I'm afraid.

 

The NBF has developed into a completely bespoke piece of software with a large proportion of specialist facilities not available in off the peg PHP Forum software, which 99% of other forums run on.

 

Richard's familiarity with Coldfusion would take many months if not years to replicate with a more up to date webs server language. It would be like someone totally fluent in Swedish suddenly having to learn Hindi.

 

Coldfusion in itself is quite robust. The big problem that the NBF faces is that commercial hosting for coldfusion is far less competitive than PHP, ASP and CGI, so he hosts the website directly, via a synchronous broadband digital line, much more expensive than remote hosting, and the hardware is local, rather than a data centre's much duplicated racked facilities.

 

 

I guessed as much. The problem, therefore is that he's reliant on dated technology that is without any significant real world suppport. I've rarely looked much deeper than the forum, but it strikes me that much of the other stuff could be stripped out to run alone whilst the forum could be moved to a more common and better supported codebase with links back to the old CF stuff which could be migrated in time.

 

Clearly, I don't know the ins and outs of this, but the continual speed issues and frequency of down time on what proclaims to be the world's largest Broads forum must be denying plenty of people of their "fix".

[Guest]

..... it strikes me that much of the other stuff could be stripped out to run alone whilst the forum could be moved to a more common and better supported codebase......

 

Yes, a much more economic and reliable solution, being able to be hosted remotely and at a fraction of the running cost.

 

It's a decision that could only be made by the Owner and the very large and loyal user base though. They may prefer the additional facilities.

[Guest]

Littlesprite rest assured you are not alone.   I  Dont do facebook (detest its very existence) twitter (I have a life to lead) mobiles that are all singing and dancing , mine just is for emergencies only, pay as you go.       I bet there are more of us dinosaurs about than you would imagine. 

 

 

I could best be described as a half-Dinosaur then !  

 

I've earned a good living from computers for  25 years, right back to the Prestel days and CPM computers.

 

I started tinkering with websites and programming when hardly anyone even had access via 56k dial up modems, let alone knew how to use it.

 

...and yet the ethos of Facebook and Twitter make me cringe too !  People openly publishing their own and their family's private information for anyone to see. I've heard so many worrying stories, aside from the incredible instances where people like the wife of the head of MI6 publishing her husband's movements.

 

 

I said "half-dinosaur" though, because I seem to be in the middle with mobile phone usage.

 

I've been on pay as you go for 20 years, my last contract being on an analogue Motorola "brick" at the incredible cost of £17.50 plus vat per month, plus calls at 50p per minute, (the going rate then).

 

I do like the versatility of modern mobile phones though. For anyone that is a tight git like me, it is possible to buy something like an HTC Desire HD secondhand for around £100, then run it on pay as you go, which costs me one £10 top up every year or so.

 

That phone gives me GPS mapping, an 8mpx camera, HD video, and its 32gb MicroSD card has around 30 full length films and 300 ebooks, that keep me occupied when waiting for appointments.

 

(and yet it still lets me get by on £10 a year, to be able to stay in contact, and make my 30 second phone calls !) 

[kfurbank]

I have had a text from Richard explaining that there has been a significant hardware failure which he is addressing. It involves replacing one of the servers and this will take time and has to be fitted in around the day job. If all goes well it could return sometime today, if Mr Murphy plays a part then Richard won't be able to do anything until Monday at the earliest.  

 

Being involved in IT and doing large system migrations I know how often the unexpected can crop up and even the simplest of replacements can mean lengthy downtime. I'm sure Richard will sort it, he just needs the time, and to keep up with his day job.

[MauriceMynah]

_{Thanks for the update Keith.}

[Hylander]

Has anyone had any more news about the forum?

[littlesprite]

sorry I have no news of the forum.

 

Lori,

I think I've misled you, I do have a mobile just very old and simplistic, I don't fight against progress or change but think some of it is done just for changes sake. I tend to be selective and try to only go for what improves my life and at the moment that doesn't include these smart phone things, I've already got a tablet thing (2 years ago as a present) and it just spends most of it's time in a draw.

I will shortly be getting a new TV as my 25year old CRT Ferguson is starting to play up a bit so 3D, HD, smart TV could be just around the corner.  

[MauriceMynah]

Oh dear oh dear oh deary me! It's looking like .ORG is having problems too.  Any clues anyone?

[Hylander]

Little Sprite - gosh I thought we were a bit slow with having just disposed of (still working and going strong) our Panasonic which we have had for over 20 years.   It cost £1500 when we bought it, but times march on and we have just bought a 46" TV , not 3D as i have enough job seeing with my glasses to a normal set.      I just sit and watch it in wonder at the quality of the colour and picture.    You just dont realise how good TV's are now.   So although I am still very much a dinosaur , I am creeping in the right direction. 

 

JFT - yes I noticed earlier that they were not there as well as the NBF.

[Guest]

Oh dear oh dear oh deary me! It's looking like .ORG is having problems too.  Any clues anyone?

 

Neither of them are resolving as a valid URL now, so they don't have a home page visible on the web.

 

For the NBF, that sounds as though the hardware is being worked on at the moment, so possibly a good sign.

 

For the NBO, that's strange, as I didn't think that was hosted on a local hardware setup.

[MauriceMynah]

Org is back, NBF not yet. Hope to see it soon

[ExSurveyor]

Someone has it in for broads forums at the moment. I look at all them and see many familiar names. Good to see support from this forum.

Mark

[ranworthbreeze]

Hello Mark,

We try and give support when we can.

I am sorry to hear that the NBO has had problems as well today.

We are deleting 50 to 100 potential spammers per day, I know this has been a major problem with the NDO & the NBF.

Can any member of the NBF that has had any contact with Richard or any news, please let us know so we can that information on.

Regards

Alan

[kfurbank]

I don't want to speak to soon, but I think it's back.

[ranworthbreeze]

Hello Everyone,

The NBF is indeed back on line and its forum members should thank Richard for no doubt the endless nights he has spent on achieving this.

I hope you have enjoyed your time on the forum and are indeed welcome to join us at any time.

Regards

Alan