Saving the site?

[U2Lynne]

I've had many people ask about what it would take to save the site, so I thought I would try to write down what was needed.

1. Someone who is a coder who can update the PHP code. Having someone who is also familiar with vBulletin 3 software would be a bonus, but not completely necessary. Also, a little bit of understanding regarding trackers.

2. Someone who is familiar with servers and server settings. Getting a "Connection Was Reset" error? Well, what settings do we tweak? Getting a mysql "too many connections" error? Again, what settings do we play with. I also never used cPanel as a server interface because it cost a bit extra every month. So, someone who can just use terminal would be a plus unless y'all decide to spend the extra money to get cPanel.

3. An Administrator to take over the site. I just really need a break from this after 18 years. This person will be responsible for managing the people who do all of the tasks listed here.

4. Some new moderators. They need a break too. Many of them have been here for the full 18 years also.

5. Someone to handle donations Thank Yous and keep track of server costs and make sure we can pay the bills and is willing to pay the bill when there are not enough in donations.

6. Someone to play with the backend tracker and get rid of all the goofs that get uploaded. Or someone to fix the upload script so that we don't get these goofs uploaded in the first place (I could never figure that one out).

That is what I can think of right now off the top of my head.



I have had someone contact me regarding the PHP coding. I have not responded back yet because we really need all these things handled as I just cannot do them all anymore.

[jerryholmes]

Originally Posted by U2Lynne

1. Someone who is a coder who can update the PHP code. Having someone who is also familiar with vBulletin 3 software would be a bonus, but not completely necessary. Also, a little bit of understanding regarding trackers.

2. Someone who is familiar with servers and server settings. Getting a "Connection Was Reset" error? Well, what settings do we tweak? Getting a mysql "too many connections" error? Again, what settings do we play with. I also never used cPanel as a server interface because it cost a bit extra every month. So, someone who can just use terminal would be a plus unless y'all decide to spend the extra money to get cPanel.

3. An Administrator to take over the site. I just really need a break from this after 18 years. This person will be responsible for managing the people who do all of the tasks listed here.

4. Some new moderators. They need a break too. Many of them have been here for the full 18 years also.

5. Someone to handle donations Thank Yous and keep track of server costs and make sure we can pay the bills and is willing to pay the bill when there are not enough in donations.

6. Someone to play with the backend tracker and get rid of all the goofs that get uploaded. Or someone to fix the upload script so that we don't get these goofs uploaded in the first place (I could never figure that one out).

Everyone bitching about the site closing...

[magpiepie]

I'll post around and see if anyone might be able to help, you and the staff have done a great job. I'd be happy to mod in future if it stays around

[xavier242]

Some weird database or connection errors are the result of race conditions that occur when peak loads happen.

The proper fix is in software, but usually that's not necessary with modern hardware. In particular is the database drive's performance. Intel's MLC flash drives are a must- like the DC S3700 or one of the PCIe or NVMe variants. They have IOs/sec hundreds or thousands of times higher than spinning rust and long life (you'll be gone before they fail). They vastly outperform consumer TLC and QLC SSD drives.

If that's not fast enough, there's ramdisks, which are stupid fast though pricey.

I use the DCS3700 for boot drives and audio-video work drives. The 400GB drive is rated at 7300TBW and often lasts several times longer. Compare with consumer TLC and QLC drives that fail after 200 to 750TBW. At my prior Systems Admin job, I used them on any multiuser database and never had any strange issues.

I'm partially retired and have over 20 years of PHP MySQL experience in both Windows and Linux environments. I have selected hosting providers, installed, configured, admined several PHP based sites and modded lots of PHP. I'm also a Systems Engineer with extensive programming experience in C++, C#, Delphi, Lazarus, assembler (any CPU or microcontroller), AutoIt, Python, Javascript, VBS, BASIC, and scripts in various shells.

I'm an analog, digital, and power electronics Design Engineer and an AutoCAD and Solidworks guru and 3D printing expert. I'm a web developer too- PHP, ASP.NET, and Coldfusion. I've also done a lot of expert systems and a few simple AI designs. I automate as many tasks as possible. I created a VIP-files downloader in AutoIt (this is about the 100th thing I've automated with AutoIt). I can probably automate stopping goofs.

I'm an audio and videophile and experienced with post production and audio-video mastering and restoration (I have Avisynth and Topaz VEAI dreams). Drones and fast chargers for batteries- blame me... I was a pioneer in that field in the 90s and helped design the first brushless DC motor technology and automatic fast chargers for the RC model airplane market. I tape gigs and recently learned the tricks to getting great recordings. I build my own gear.

A lot of that is not really relevant but the point is that I'm a problem solver with good social skills. If I can't solve a problem, I find someone who can. Due to lack of time (and so I don't go insane), I often delegate tasks to other qualified individuals. I have a CS degree but most of what I know is self-taught.

I would be honored to admin The Traders Den and manage the site and moderators, do fundraisers, as well as fix the server and tracker issues. If interested, please send me a PM.

And folks thought xavier242 was just a silly thread. No, I'm an actual real person.

[AlexPhoenix]

I really hope this is the start of a successful rescue operation.

I would be happy to volunteer my services as a moderator if it's of any help. I was a moderator at HungerCity a decade ago before we discovered the owner was milking it for funds and we all jumped ship!

A suggestion re the overload issue: Lossless Legs have had similar problems amd their solution is to ask folks NOT to leave old torrents seeding indefinitely when there are no leechers. Instead, if a member wants a torrent they press a request button and a message goes out to those folks who have completed the download previously, asking them to reseed. This seems to work for them - I wonder how feasible it might be for TTD to implement this?

Good luck in your endeavours - I will be pleased to help in any way I can (including donating to a fundraiser)

[dorrcoq]

Originally Posted by xavier242

Some weird database or connection errors are the result of race conditions that occur when peak loads happen.

The proper fix is in software, but usually that's not necessary with modern hardware. In particular is the database drive's performance. Intel's MLC flash drives are a must- like the DC S3700 or one of the PCIe or NVMe variants. They have IOs/sec hundreds or thousands of times higher than spinning rust and long life (you'll be gone before they fail). They vastly outperform consumer TLC and QLC SSD drives.

If that's not fast enough, there's ramdisks, which are stupid fast though pricey.

I use the DCS3700 for boot drives and audio-video work drives. The 400GB drive is rated at 7300TBW and often lasts several times longer. Compare with consumer TLC and QLC drives that fail after 200 to 750TBW. At my prior Systems Admin job, I used them on any multiuser database and never had any strange issues.

I'm partially retired and have over 20 years of PHP MySQL experience in both Windows and Linux environments. I have selected hosting providers, installed, configured, admined several PHP based sites and modded lots of PHP. I'm also a Systems Engineer with extensive programming experience in C++, C#, Delphi, Lazarus, assembler (any CPU or microcontroller), AutoIt, Python, Javascript, VBS, BASIC, and scripts in various shells.

I'm an analog, digital, and power electronics Design Engineer and an AutoCAD and Solidworks guru and 3D printing expert. I'm a web developer too- PHP, ASP.NET, and Coldfusion. I've also done a lot of expert systems and a few simple AI designs. I automate as many tasks as possible. I created a VIP-files downloader in AutoIt (this is about the 100th thing I've automated with AutoIt). I can probably automate stopping goofs.

I'm an audio and videophile and experienced with post production and audio-video mastering and restoration (I have Avisynth and Topaz VEAI dreams). Drones and fast chargers for batteries- blame me... I was a pioneer in that field in the 90s and helped design the first brushless DC motor technology and automatic fast chargers for the RC model airplane market. I tape gigs and recently learned the tricks to getting great recordings. I build my own gear.

A lot of that is not really relevant but the point is that I'm a problem solver with good social skills. If I can't solve a problem, I find someone who can. Due to lack of time (and so I don't go insane), I often delegate tasks to other qualified individuals. I have a CS degree but most of what I know is self-taught.

I would be honored to admin The Traders Den and manage the site and moderators, do fundraisers, as well as fix the server and tracker issues. If interested, please send me a PM.

And folks thought xavier242 was just a silly thread. No, I'm an actual real person.

WE NEED YOU!!!!

[marksg]

If you have a coder, a far easier solution would be to simply build a new site based on Gazelle. The source code is free. Think Redacted, Orpheus, IPT, Speed. Yeah you lose your past history, but that's the point. Cleaning up MySql after all these years can be a challenge.

Of course that doesn't address the need for new blood. After spending the last 10 years operating Planet Rock and handling funds, I couldn't continue that level of work either.

That's why we decided to adapt. Why pay for a server? Why have to deal with running one? Freeforum.net does it all, setting up a similar site on it is not hard. Trade using the cloud. Since you are strictly ROIO it's a piece of cake. Simply post hyperlinks instead of torrent files. Or use DHT torrents and post magnet links.

It's what I did with Planet Rock. I pruned off everyone that hadn't logged in for 2 years. We have more trade activity now than when the tracker worked. The site costs nothing, we spent about 40$ on some extras, but that's it. The site runs itself, no maintenance concerns or updates. Torrent Trackers are not worth the hassle anymore.

Bit Torrent traffic stands out, your ISP knows what you're doing. HTTPS is faster, and it blends in with normal traffic. I spent months researching everything from repair/rebuild of the original to a Replacement. We actually created a mockup using UNIT3D. Didn't care for the forum, it's more for the movie/tv show crowd, but XBTIT ran torrents right out of the box. The developer never finished it, you can find that source code too.

In the end the cloud just makes sense. It places the burden on the members, instead of staff. They can choose to subscribe to a cloud service or use free accounts. Seedbox users can install OpenCloud or nextcloud and share https hyperlinks. Synology users can do that as well. Best move I could've made. You should Try one with a test crowd while you have time, that's what I did, we ran a test forum with about 50 veteran traders. We were ready to go when we opened it up to the membership. Took off and never looked back. Now it practically runs itself.

[marksg]

Originally Posted by dorrcoq

WE NEED YOU!!!!

All that horsepower is unnecessary. Having operated a similar Vbulletin forum with XBTIT [torrent tracker] stitched on with a custom integration, I can tell you what happened to mine. Deprecation of Apache and CenTos, combined with some database errors in MySql. Updating component software is one thing, modifying the integration code to function is another when the author is MIA. Just like Yeeshkul, Hungercity, crosstown. All were built by Toolman Will who wrote VBitty to stitch XBTIT to Vb.

That's why I say if you're gonna do a new tracker, forget Vb. Start with Gazelle.

https://whatcd.github.io/Gazelle/ https://www.opensourcecms.com/gazelle/

[jerryholmes]

Have you considered using GeoCities?

[daddyray]

eWorld!

[magpiepie]

Originally Posted by jerryholmes

Have you considered using GeoCities?

lol what

[U2Lynne]

xavier242 and I are talking about him taking over the site.

[AlexPhoenix]

Originally Posted by U2Lynne

xavier242 and I are talking about him taking over the site.

That is great news, indeed! A lot of folks would be mighty happy to see the site continue.

[rollenran]

Well that's way over my head. But I'd rather you guys just take the site off of line for a year or something and come back on. If you find the right people.

[xavier242]

I can confirm that I will be doing my best to keep TTD up. There are a number of major issues that I'll be working on over the next few weeks. I have recommended shutting down the forums during the peak weekend hours to prevent database corruption. I don't know if that means taking the tracker down too. I'll know more in the coming days.

Please continue to seed and share new torrents. TTD will make it through this.