Site issues.... hiccup again this morning

[nchoney]

So... we had another hiccup this morning with the forum not working.

The long and short of it is... our site is way past some much-needed updates. The versions for the site, itself... and the forum part... aren't talking nicely to each other. One tries to update because there are parts of it that require being updated. And then the chat part isn't keeping up. They get all haywire and then the forum becomes inaccessible.

About the only option to keep this from happening is to get the site updated. I don't know WordPress or phpBB (the forum bulletin board) programming. One of the hosting site's suggestions is to hire their upper level techs to assist with either upgrading this setup or creating a whole new one. It's $99 for a month's worth of services... but they don't just do it for us... they'd have to walk me through things step by step.

Currently... I don't have that kind of time. I'm also guessing the forum would be down for the duration of whatever work gets done.

If we don't do something to move forward... it will continue to crash. And... most likely... they won't continue to fix it for us since that's just putting bandaids on it.

I'm open to suggestions. The easiest solution would be to have them help me create an updated, fresh, site. We may lose all our past data, though... that wouldn't transfer over, I don't think. I can double-check on that before we make any final decisions.

thoughts?

[pamcook]

I feel like we need to update it if we're going to keep it.
I am happy to help pay for the tech fees. We can use the facebook group while the site is down.

I'm a bit confused - if we pay the tech to update the site - does that require your time as well?

[nchoney]

Yes.... that would require my time... the tech would just be able to walk me through what I'd need to do

[Monica]

I use WordPress for our city website, but I didn't code it. I just admin what was done according to our specifications. I'm okay with things being lost if it means the upgrades will keep it from bombing out, we need our family.

I've a tech friend who does backend WordPress stuff and could help with upgrading for less than it would likely cost for their techs and your time, Debi. I can put you in touch with her if you like. She currently lives in my guest room until she can find a place to rent.... Also, she says it would likely be a day or two that the forum would be down, but not weeks.

[paddlegal]

I too am ok with losing whatever is here rather than not being able to communicate with you all. Whatever it takes. I am also good with FB particularly if it’s a closed forum and not public. I just don’t want Debi inundated with hours of work.

[nchoney]

sounds like a wonderful idea, Monica!!

[Debbie J]

Sounds good and since Monica has a friend that knows that stuff it would be cool!

[Debbie J]

You would still have to have approval to join etc?

[nchoney]

We won't be changing how the forum functions... it just needs updates on the back end... like a Windows update or a new Apple iOS ... just to keep it running smoothly

[pamcook]

I think Shimelle’s site had a similar update not too long ago.

[Monica]

Speaking as someone who uses WordPress on a regular basis, it does tend to bork random things when it does updates, and having a tech to babysit means less of that and fixing on the fly to keep the errors to a minimum. Our tech for my website actually does the back end upgrades on weekends so if something goes wonky he can deal with it without also dealing with other people needing things at the same time.

[Keitha]

I replied to this while I was at work yesterday - and then hit the wrong key and deleted my entire message. Can we please get an 'undo' button when we update, LOL? Second time around I'll try to be more succinct: agreed we probably need to do something, although I'd be sorry to lose all the history here as I do refer back to previous posts when I'm looking for something specific. But a working site is the priority. While I am a FB user I don't care for how their algorithms determine what we see, so would definitely prefer a forum-based community where messages are organized by topic. I'd suggest we don't really need a gallery; while an updated forum may have one I don't think anyone needs to spend any time or resources setting it up. I'm happy to pitch in to help offset costs.

[nchoney]

Once I get the chance to talk with Monica's tech, we'll see how things go... I don't think we'll have to ditch the site since he seems to know how to do these updates.. yay!!!

[pbp908]

I would just suggest that before we do the updates that we make a list of all swaps that we've signed up for in case the history is lost. That way we're not wondering what we owe to whom.

As for the site amenities, we never use the chat option anymore, and the gallery, IMO, can go. As long as we have the board index we can start over again with all new posts.

I'll hate to see the history gone, but I did spend a lot of time some while back attempting to clean up some of the topics and there's a heck of a lot there that really could be deleted. It's great to be able to refer back, but in order to keep the forum going it'll be worth it.

Let us know about additional charges, Debi. We can always open our wallets a bit more. This place means too much to each of us to not keep it in tip top shape.

Now if I only looked at my body in the same way.

[wannabescrappin]

I vote for whatever our "techies" feel we need to do...I'm not much of a Facebook user (I find it difficult to navigate all of the clutter on the pages). I really like the fact the when you open PAO, what you see is what you get! Consider me in for a donation if needed. Thanks to the admins for all they do!