Hiya Scott---

ENWorld just had a db crash that means that they're currently running on a backup from 12/29/2005 and may lose everything from then until yesterday or so.  eZboard has a spectacular crash/hack/inside job/pure incompetence/whatever last summer that trashed a ton of content across many of their boards, including RJK, Necromancer Games, and many, many others.

The ENWorld crash got me thinking about how often the info from the site and forums are backed up?  I'd hate to lose the collective wisdom that we have dug through on print runs, esoteric product print runs, etc.

Also what's the status on site donations?  Have you been getting them in sufficient amount/numbers that you're in good shape?  I haven't ever gotten around to donating myself, but since I never heard much about it after your initial posts on the subject, I figured you were OK, but I thought it couldn't hurt to ask about the status of that too

Thnaks!

I have already ready done it a few weeks ago

I need to re-up from last year....$20-$30 isn't too much to ask for all the hard work Scott does.  Think about how much time you spend here and all the bang for the buck....it's worth $20 a year.

Mike B.

Beyondthebreach wrote:Not only does it support the acaeum - it's the absolute best deal on web hosting around.

It's worth it for the web space alone. There isn't any commercial space cheaper or with as much bandwidth. If you have a website, it's worth looking at how much you pay your host and what you're getting for your money. The Acaeum is far cheaper.

grodog wrote:The ENWorld crash got me thinking about how often the info from the site and forums are backed up?  I'd hate to lose the collective wisdom that we have dug through on print runs, esoteric product print runs, etc.

Ever since the hacking incident here (two years ago?), I've been paranoid about both patching the software and backing up the database.  The database gets backed up roughly every one to two weeks, and I keep the last two backups in cryogenic storage.

I don't know the specifics of the eZBoard software, but the phpBB forum in use here is pretty stable... if you keep up with the current version.  I don't know of any successful attacks against a phpBB forum that's current.  Few admins keep their forums current, however, so they're inevitably vulnerable to the hackers (who usually take about six months to turn a vulnerability into a working exploit).

On the donations note, it's been a huge success.  We're currently paid up well into next year (maybe even into 2008), so that's why you haven't heard me whining.    However, what several of the others said here is true: it really is a ridiculously good deal on web hosting.  So, your motivations to donate should either be to get a good deal on webspace, and/or to support a worthy cause -- but not because the site is in any danger of going under, or morphing to an advertising-based solution.  Neither of those things will happen at least until 2008.

Foul