Is anything being done to fix the problems

pgp_protector said:

From Another Thread, a bit of 411.

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I dont hate anyone, especially staff, because its clear that the vast majority of them are as much in the dark as us mere members.


I do really seriously dislike the lack of communication though

lincolngreen50 said:

Let us all say a little prayer for those who are trying to fix all the problems on this site.
There are many changes in the works and I am convinced that the powers that be are on to the problems.

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I have no doubt they know what is going on, how could they not, but what I don't understand is why they cannot let people know what they are doing and maybe a guess as to when they may be done. Anything is better than nothing and being kept totally in the dark just makes otherwise reasonable people resentful.

Just give us a little info, please.

Spudgrandma said:

I have no doubt they know what is going on, how could they not, but what I don't understand is why they cannot let people know what they are doing and maybe a guess as to when they may be done. Anything is better than nothing and being kept totally in the dark just makes otherwise reasonable people resentful.

Just give us a little info, please.

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What she said

I agree with you Tenebrae--I don't hate the staff. I'm sure the mods and supers are just as frustrated as we are and can't get their jobs done either. In fact, it's been my observation that most of the staff does their best to do their jobs and be supportive and helpful. So nope--I don't hate the staff.

I also understand if there are big changes being made to the site--code being re-written is pretty major , time-consuming, and tedious work. Plus you have to test the new code you wrote to make sure it doesn't make even MORE bugs than the bugs you just supposedly "fixed." So I understand that too!

What I DO NOT UNDERSTAND and CAN NOT TOLERATE is days upon days on end with no communication, no updates, and no progress reports. ~ NOTHING~ In my opinion that is disastrous customer service, as I am sure LeeD is going to find out. And just telling people to "be patient" does not cut it.

In my opinion, here's what WOULD cut it:

1) As I understand it, they were planning some updates to the site and then due to site issues, the 'update' was forced to happen earlier. However, this is based on RUMOR and not confirmed communication from the site owner or any SA type person. Have someone who is a PR person who GETS REGULAR ANNOUNCEMENTS OUT THERE!
2) Go to each forum, have a place for general announcements, and tell us what's going on.
3) In the announcement, say "These are the issues we have heard of, these are the issues we are working on, and here's what we're doing to fix them."
4) If the site does not work--LIKE NOW--take it down, leave a message on the "server down" page that we get when there's an error, and WORK ON IT to get it to work right! (Leaving it up halfway working like this is NOT COOL!)
5) When you have the site down and the restore is going slower than expected or there is a problem you didn't anticipate, just put an update on error screen!
6) Apologize for the inconvenience you've caused people.
7) Offer some sort of compensation for being patient, coming back, trying again, etc. It doesn't have to necessarily be money but blessing would work--reps--even "you will be credit for the month of March since the site was unusable for most of the month".
8) Take it seriously that people who are oldies, long-termers, and workers here are the people who are voicing frustration! Act as if you care, as if it matters, and like you want to keep us here.

That's my two cents...well probably more like four cents but :lol:

does anyone know if there been any update on the problems lately?

(namely getting a database being repaired message about every other within CF link click, and long loading times followed by an time-out error)
seems to be better today but there are still some.
yesterday was horrible I could only get things to work about 3 times out of 4 hours of trying to get pages to load.

I just had my thread closed by a moderator insinuating I was making his job harder because of my thread. Yet there were no formal announcements made until after we all posted our threads about how fed up we are with the lack of communication.

barb754 said:

Maybe because the owner does not care about the site. If someone is really into their site they would make sure it is up and running ALL the time. This is going on the 4th day now.

I miss Erwin.

Been a memeber for 3 going on 4 years now and this has been the worst of all times.

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Yeah me too! Since my thread is closed, I have to post on yours. I guess you are not seen as trouble but I am. I hate this forum anymore.

For the record, the site-wide announcement program is not functioning so Mnphysicist has been having issues getting the word out. Here is his post which I quote:

First, we had a major database crash, compounded with some issues with the datacenter and server. That was rebuilt, albeit the time stamps are likely still messed up, and likely will be that way until CF is upgraded.

Going forward, CF has been replicated on a second system, including a copy of the database. That is being used as test bed, as well as a dry run for the upgrade. Rather than the original plan of migrate and tweak, Lee made a call to do it carefully, rather than rush and chase bugs for months

In addition, we did discuss bringing the site offline, but the call was made to keep it up, even if its hard to use.

Lee is doing a lot of work behind the scenes. Beyond the 3 server guys we had in the past, Lee has 2 more guys on it. He also has added more tech staff to assist with the upgrade.

I wish I had a definitive timeframe, but alas I do not at this time, either for repair, or for the upgrade. My guess is some things were unearthed which proved a lot more complex than expected.

I also wish to apologize for bad communications. Unlike in the past, where some usergroups were kept alive while the site was down, ie sort of a safe mode on a different server for comms and maintenance purposes, this time out, we are in the same boat as the members. Sometimes we can post and pm, and for much of the other times, we are locked out, or the site crashes on us.

In addition... I hope this works, annoumcements is broken, and I can't access it. This is an attempt to work around it, which may or may not be successful.

Again, my apologies
Ron

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Senior staff is affected by the issues just like the members and we are all equally frustrated. We are all having issues posting/communicating. There is no single answer or solution to this problem, I recommend patience and prayers for the tech team who are working to fix the problems so we can finally integrate the final upgrade. I assure you when all is said and done, crashes will happen on a less frequent basis if not at all and the site will work so much better all around. I've seen the test area and have been impressed overall by the quality of work that is being put into it for the members/staff alike.

Eveyrone can wish for Erwin's return but frankly, what little I have heard is beyond Erwin's scope. There are 5 server/techs for this site and they are trying to fix/repair issues so we can crossover our final upgrade. We cannot give a timeline as we keep coming across more issues that push back our implementation date. I ask for patience and prayers for the Tech team as they have not been having an easy time of it.