Forum is very slow and times out at times

[Nikolas]

Is anyone else encountering slow loads and timeouts with the forums?

Maybe time t turn off and turn on again? this took nealry 5 minutes to get this far

[MortonH]

Same here on all my devices.

[RB]

Yes, same here.
I thought it was just me.

:shrug:

[alpal]

yes - it's been at worse than dial up speeds all day.

[RB]

Leon !!!
What have you done now?

:lol:

[peter_4059]

Same here

[xthestreams]

Ditto. I thought it my home connection, good to know it’s not just me, kinda…

[RAJAH235]

Just in case...

Try this site for any probs you have with any site...
> https://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/

Still reports that this site is DOWN.
Really?

Well, It is very, very slow to load...at times.

Someone tie a knot or 2 in the extension cable?

[xelasnave]

The must be a reason.
An attack from a disgruntled ex member perhaps?
I presume it can be done by someone with time on their hands and a bitter and evil mind....so how?
I know ask Google.

alex

[alpal]

The forum speed seems OK now.

[leon]

I don't know, you guys are always blaming me :sadeyes:

I was only trying to fix something Andrew and it all went cranky :shrug: :lol:

Leon :thumbsup:

[RB]

Yes back to normal.
:thumbsup:



:lol: :lol:

[xelasnave]

Yes...the attacker no doubt saw my post and realised he would be exposed and so backed off his attack :lol::lol::lol:

alex

[Startrek]

Yesterday arvo I posted M8 in Deep space and took me 20minutes or so , I nearly gave up on it
Today it’s perfectly fine
Gremlins again
???

[ronson]

I see at the bottom, it says "Powered by vBulletin Version 3.8.7". This maintenance version was released in Feb 2011. There have been multiple vulnerabilities discovered and fixed since then.

The latest vBulletin version is 5 and I appreciate vBulletin is a paid product. Are there any intentions to upgrade the forum to the latest version, or look for a newer alternative?

[Nikolas]

That's up to Leon our resident expert :)

[Saturn488]

That’s a bit worrying!

[AstroViking]

Yikes. That is bad. An upgrade is definitely called for, just for the fixed vulnerabilities.

I suspect that you can't go from the current version to the latest, so it would be a massive job to export the current database, set up the new forum and then import the data - praying that the DB schema hasn't changed too much and the import script (if they exist) are up to the task.

[ronson]

Theoretically seems it's possible: https://www.vbulletin.com/docs/html/upgrade. However, in reality it might not be straightforward: https://forum.vbulletin.com/forum/vbulletin-5-connect/vbulletin-5-installations/4319857-upgrade-procedure-for-3-8-4-to-5-x. The new version expects newer preprocessor language, database and library versions, so it will most likely end up a full server upgrade, before you get to upgrading vBulletin.

[Cyberman]

Speed seems ok now, but I was trying to up load an image to beginner's astrophotography and it would not load. It was a 9MB jpg file but usually IIS will convert it to 200KB and upload. Message says " Your submission could not be processed because a security token was missing."
Any advice how to upload?
Thanks,Rob

[alpal]

Why don't you resize it before uploading?

[Cyberman]

Thanks alpal for advice. Had to resize to 1.8MB before image would up load to 200KB
Cheers Rob

[Crater101]

...but the forum has "timed out" four or five times in the last ten minutes, and is very slow to load. This is my third attempt to post this mesage and not get booted out.
Is someone trying to tell me something? :shrug:

[peter_4059]

Slow again for me tonight

[Saturn488]

Yep still an ongoing issue.

Hoping it will be rectified sooner than later.

[blindman]

Must be climate change

[gts055]

Over the last week for IceInSpace I often get the message "site cannot be reached..... reload", while other websites load without issue.
Cheers Mark

[alpal]

This site has been super slow in the last 24 hours -
it's almost unusable.

[MortonH]

It's still very slow for me most of the time. Quite frustrating when I just want to have a quick look.

[leon]

Hmm, I too am having long waiting times, I am sure it will be fixed soon hopefully

leon

[Saturn488]

Still a major issue

[Crater101]

I've got no doubt the mods / admins are doing what they can.


FWIW, clicking on any link at the moment results in a wait of about a minute before anything loads. I've sent PM's to a member and on hitting send, the site has thrown me out - and the message hasn't gone through.


Have cleared cache, history, run virus / spyware checks, etc.

[g__day]

Very slow all Saturday

[peterl]

This site is not behaving normally.

[wavelandscott]

Like others, it is really super slow…but at least I was able to gain access. First time in a few days.

[Nikolas]

AND again today

[Mickoid]

On my mobile, it takes about 30 seconds to load a page from the time you press a link - if youre lucky. It's running at dial up speed. Very frustrating but it's a 1st world problem, I will survive! :lol:

[alpal]

I hope it's fixed soon - it's super slow.

[netwolf]

could not load yesterday today its loading but very very slow.
This link is showing IIS url as down at the time of this post.
https://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/iceinspace.com.au?proto=https&www=1

[Outcast]

Ditto...

been having major issues for the past few days... very slow to load, often times out...

I have tried the following browsers with the same result: Brave, Safari, Edge & Chrome. It is even worse on my mobile phone, irrespective of whether I am on our home wifi connection or mobile data.

I am on a 100/25 FTTP NBN connection

Hopefully it is a minor glitch which can be rectified easily.

Cheers

[xelasnave]

Does this mean that the issue is at the provider level?

I sure would like to hear what the site owners have to say...do they care?

alex

[RB]

Sorry guys, we mods do not have access to see what the problem is.
It's the same problem for us too, the site is extremely slow.

Only Mike and mojo have admin access and they're the only ones that can fix the problem but I haven't heard from either of them.

RB

[rmuhlack]

Are these the final IIS death throes?

As has already been mentioned, the forum platform hasn't been updated in 12 years. The IIS home page is still featuring the 2016 calendar "IceInSpace Astronomy Calendar 2016 On-Sale NOW!". Projects, articles and equipment reviews are similarly out of date. The site doesn't seem to be getting much love, and maybe that's why the forums are so quiet: there are lots of other social media options these days to engage with other like minds, that are more active and don't require a 30 second wait to get a page load...?

[AnakChan]

MySQL issues I'm guessing? I used to run my own forum (but used myBB instead of vBulletin).

[leon]

Hey Guys just a thought.:question:

If there are problems that only a few dollars can help to fix, why don't we all pay a $10.00 to $20.00 yearly members fee, surely that would cover some costs if that is what is needed.:shrug:

Just a thought, because if we want to keep this Forum that we all love maybe we can step up and help.;)

I am happy to do that what about the rest of you:question:

Leon:thumbsup:

[alpal]

Do you have any way to contact them? -
email address?


Allan

[Startrek]

The site is not going to miraculously repair itself as it would have done that by now
It’s probably going to get worse
As Leon suggested, I’m happy to pay a $20 per year membership fee to keep it active and reliable for the benefit of current members and future members
I don’t of any other bonafide Astronomy open forums in Australia. Most others are club related or supplier related.
It would be sad to see it eventually shut down

My 2 cents ……

Martin

[glend]

Martin, I don't want to get sucked into a debate about the merits of a pay for use service, but can point out the site does attract advertising revenue. Hosting is pretty cheap. Without owner input we can only speculate, and risk being banned.
:shrug:

[Startrek]

Glen,
What I should have said is any call for help by the owners , I’m happy to listen and help
I guess we’ll just sit tight and be patient and hope this issue dissolves
Martin

[RB]

The site seems a bit better today I think or is it just me?
It's making it very hard to do the everyday moderator jobs. :sadeyes:



I've only got the email address for Mike and the usual IIS PM.
Mike is very hard to get a hold of lately.

[RB]

Here's the contact info if anyone wants to reach out to Mike or mojo:

https://www.iceinspace.com.au/contactus.html

RB

:)

[mldee]

There's something jaw-droppingly strange in this situation. When, as one member commented, the home page still has ads for a 2016 calendar, it's pretty indicative that there's been a problem developing for some time, and not just an unexpected domestic crisis or such causing the sudden silence from the owner. I hope that the teddibly teddibly polite posts here help, but I has me doubts.

And no, I have no suggestions for a solution as I know nothing about the forum's business arrangements. There doesn't seem to be many other paid membership astronomy forums around the world, and to go that route would just be another step down the great Australian penchant to overcharge for everything. A cash donation if that's the problem, yes, paid membership, no way. Fresh advertising must cover the ongoing cashflow needs. My 2 cents.

[xelasnave]

Well I am concerned for Mike.

I remember how once he was so dedicated and involved ..even giving talks around the place.

He produced planetary images that were recognised world wide.

It seemed that he would become a leader in Astronomy...another Brian Cox ... an even more famous presenter.

I cant imagine why he just quit...

Anyways I wish him well and I must say this place has been wonderful while it lasted, and it is sad to see it slowly dying for the want of some input by its creator.

What would be nice is if Mike passed the thing over to someone like he used to be when this site was perhaps the best in the world.

alex

[Wussell]

It looks like an issue with the back end.

Ping time to the site itself is fine, so can only think that the database requires some tlc.

[mojo]

The problem should be fixed now. The issue involved a bad web crawler that was indexing 1000's of pages at once and exhausting all the web server connections.

I have blocked the crawler with much prejudice. Should all be good now.

Cheers.

[RB]

Thanks Terry.

RB

:thumbsup:

[Leo.G]

Google AI (chatGPT)?


Relating to what a few members suggested about financial assistance, I run a small forum, a band of misfits from a much larger (over 3,000,000 members worldwide which just suddenly vanished) now defunct site we all gathered at back in the day.
A few of us keep in touch via the forum, some drop in every now and then to say hi, some come in once a year if that.
It's not paid membership but it recently cost $410 US to renew the contract for two years along with the site name. It's not a subscription based site, I asked members for donations to pay, many of whom don't want to see the site disappear and in no time I had most of the cash. I had to contribute around $100AU but I didn't mind, people I've known for 18 years online and despite never meeting them in person we've become friends.


I'd be happy to contribute if it helps with site costs here!

[AstroViking]

Thanks for sorting the issue out, Terry! The forum loads almost instantly now. :thumbsup:

[xelasnave]

Is this "spider" consistent with an attack?

Googling it seems one could use a spider for an attack if you had time one your hands and a hate filled attitude such as you find with these nut jobs who hate the world and consider themselves superior...

I have someone in mind and I bet our problems will continue one way or another ...which raises a question ...is this something that the Commonweath Police would act on?

Realistically I presume I am wrong but seeing we can now chat again everyone please offer their two cents worth:lol::lol:lol:


alex

[AstroViking]

It's an attack of sorts, Alex. Not a malicious "trying to break in and do damage" attack, but what's called a Denial of Service attack that degrades the site's performance so much that it becomes unusable.

There are a lot of search engine 'bots' out there that will try and download an entire website to help people find content on the 'net. (Think Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, etc.)

There are also bots out there that will copy an entire site and then try to find configuration errors or vulnerable software versions so that malicious attackers can find a way in.

Most bots are well behaved and don't make thousands of connections at a time and will obey the "robots.txt". Sadly, there are far too many that don't.

Regards,
V

[leon]

Well that is much better, thank you to the fixer.:thumbsup:

Isn't it sad that all this malicious stuff keeps on happening some people are just so horrible, and all they want to do is steal and cause misery.:sadeyes::sadeyes:

Leon

[xelasnave]

Thanks for all that.
Maybe I am just too suspicious but one must ask ...who and why?

I would love to track down the "who" as I am pretty sure that would explain the "why"...probably really ticked off his earlier nonsense was dealt with...motivation..thats what its all about...

alex

[Startrek]

Thanks RB for alerting
Thanks Terry for fixing
Much appreciated
Martin

[alpal]

It's working - yay - thank you. :)

[mldee]

Thanks Terry, all seems OK here.

However, while on my soapbox, it would be good for the creators/maintainers of the site to initiate a formal discussion with members as to the overall present situation, both personally and financially, so that possible solutions to any ongoing problems could be discussed and decided upon, to keep IIS relevant and technologically up to date for our collective benefit and enjoyment of the forum.

[Crater101]

Working well!
Humble thanks to the technical gurus who keep the site going! I am not worthy...:2thumbs:

[Nikolas]

Thanks to everyone involved who fixed up the issues all good again hopefully forever

[pmrid]

Mike has a point.. The recent slump in IIS performance (now seemingly fixed) is a reminder that this is a free facility but one many of us use (and value) as a means of keeping in touch with developments and one-another. It is something I, for one, would consider as a subscription service if that is what it took to keep it going and perhaps even improving.

[Nikolas]

I am a moderator on another forum and we do have a flat fee of $10 which allows users to have full membership benefits including the classifieds etc. I have no issue with a fee whether annual or one off.

[xelasnave]

If we are considering fees perhaps consider what needs to be done in terms of an update...
One thing maybe is to be able to host decent sized astro photos...

AND to ask if the owners want to do something.

So does anyone have an idea of cost to move forward?
That number may show if it is worthwhile or not.

I am confident that the money could be raised..at least hopeful...revenue can come from more adds...we only have astro but there is no reason George the plumber can't have a spot here... a member ship fee maybe..a fee to place an add to sell your gear..$5 could not hurt...

It all turns on what the owners want for the site..but doing nothing will deliver expected consequences.

alex

[slice of heaven]

There is a Donate button at the bottom of the left hand column if anyone has overlooked it.
I've certainly found the site to be of great value to me over the years.

[leon]

At a quick count there are just under 20,000 members here, 50% join up but are not really active with no activity at all with zero posts.:sadeyes:

So at half the members donating say $10.00 dollars a year at least $100,000 could be raised easily, even $5.00 would get some decent revenue.;)

Just a thought, maybe.:thumbsup:

Leon:thumbsup:

[pmrid]

The IIS site has 2 basic parts - one is social and science and the other is the buy-and-sell section. In the latter, buyers seek a bargain and sellers a fair price. It is commercially driven whereas the former is not.

To avoid the likely disinclination of most folks to pay a fee in order to read Alex's latest witty riposte,the answer may be to levy a small fee to enable read/post access to the Classifieds might be the way to go.

I assume the motivation here is to keep the site going and improving. It is still a fairly archaic structure - based almost entirely on the old (very old) Bulletin Board concept of the early days of internet and even before.

I can remember using a dial-up modem to download files from obscure sites at 32 bps. That goes back to the 70s and 80s. IIS is just a visual version of the same. Perhaps a plan to morph it into something a bit more modern would not be out of place. Of course that takes money to design and develop.

I for one would support such a structure and plan and be happy to pay a fee to underwrite it.

[leon]

It seems that I am not that technology advanced and really don't know how all that you have described works.:shrug:

My suggestion was if funds were needed to keep us going and update as you mentioned then I'm 100% for it.

I joined many years ago 2009 and am the 911th member, yea I know 911 was not a good number so I am still here and if I have to pay to be here I would be happy as this place is just the best:thumbsup:

Even reading Alex's last post would deserve a $1.00 or two.:lol:

Leon :thumbsup:

[mldee]

Glad to see some discussion on the potential solutions to the present situation.

I also would be quite happy to stump up a modest annual fee for the privilege of using the site's facilities.

It's probably a little premature to be discussing "emma chisit?" but as per Leon's post, my gut feel is that an annual $10 fee to support the forum operations and maintenance costs would not be a great impost for most members. About the same as a bottle of cheap lens cleaning fluid...Shiraz or Merlot, your choice.

[kris85au]

Fees???

1. What value do you expect to provide for charging fees that many other forums don't provide x1000 better for free already?

2. Context / knowledge / discussion wise, there is very little traffic here except some people posting nice AP images.

3. Classifieds? 80% of time old gear with 90% asked price of the brand new equivalent gear. In other words, most of the time, people try to offload old junk for hefty price.

3. Friends? Online? Social media mirage.

4. This side engine is two IT epochs behind. We did that 10-15 years ago. Times have moves.

5. As evidently expressed, the owners of this site stopped carrying from about 2016, for whatever reason.

So, for what exactly should I pay the proposed fees?

[xelasnave]

I think I could generate income by promising not to post;)

I don't know but I think the best thing each member can do is to contribute...even if you have nothing to say then say it..like me:P

Now I don't know so opposing views are welcome..maybe we need to save space..I don't know.

I look at the hits on my thread on my observatory build and would like to think all those hits mean something for the site when presenting reasons why someone should place adds here in so far as it adds to the numbers in some way...no doubt so many of those hits are bots but for whatever reason the hits come in...the main reason I keep posting in that thread is in the hope that I generate traffic that helps the site..in fact my motivation overall in posting is to provide something that may have folk checking in to hear a funny yarn or to see how that old mug is going ...

I suspect that many folk here are somewhat introvert , just like me, and really don't want to say too much..I get that because believe it or not I am an introvert...but I feel by telling your story, and we each have a story that will interest someone, the site will benefit...heck you get a paper cut..start a thread to initiate a chat..I never get paper cuts these days...Hearing about a paper cut would have me reliving those times and how my secretary would fuss over me receiving such an injury at work and making me a cuppa..just like Mommy would do...and now they are both gone along with the paper cuts...

I post images so often that I am not happy with in the belief that others will feel more comfortable posting their efforts...

AND for goodness sake owners place the donate button with a bit more impact...the day before yesterday is the first time I have ever noticed it...I still have not made a donation but I plan to if I see some direction...and I am happy to make a rather big one if it remains annonomous.

But please folks what are your thoughts on my suggestion that maybe each member could be a little more active in posting? Does it help?.

AND look at folk who post to entertain.
Flash drive for example..he gives and keeps on giving.
My attitude jumps when I see "Poppy" has made a post because I know it will be fun.
He gives his time to bring us joy and I ask for folk to emulate his fine work.

So many times I have showed my daughter something he has posted and we are both happier for it.

Good on your Flash drive.:thumbsup:

AND Hans ...always bring something of interest.:thumbsup::thumbsup:


OK I know it's out there so you say..but we are here and how nice to be greeted with something joyful or informative giving folk good reason to visit the site even if they are not selling something or have a problem they need advice upon.


alex

[leon]

Money, donations or not IIS is a great place to be, have some fun as Alex mentioned, chat with friends at times, learn and ask some dumb questions and get some great answers.:)

Leon :thumbsup:

[Nikolas]

Mate you have 7 posts and barely a contributor so maybe not comment about fees. Why are you here? Serious question

[xelasnave]

A more serious question is ...who are you? Note the grammar ;)

Judging from his involvement so far he is a very negative person that seems to be grinding some sort of axe if you read all his posts.... seems bitter and hateful and small minded with a misplaced superiority complex...probably thinks evolution is just a theory;)

Don't feed the troll.:lol::lol::lol:

alex

[kris85au]

What is not helping collecting fees is the kings of the sandbox sitting on high mountain in white towers. IIS is a clear prove of that.

Have you ever crossed your mind that this kind of attitude might be driving people away from engaging with this forum in the first place?

[xelasnave]

Here is a small morsel troll...IIS dont levy fees so you are as usual wrong...and your grammar is like a heavy accent..I can spot it a mile away...run away you loser...2% loser that is.

[Nikolas]

Actually it's your preconceived attitude of the forum regulars
There would be no obligation to pay unless you want to go further, much like on our motorcycling forum where non members cant use the classifieds and some other parts. A very small area of the forums no one would or should be forced to pay so no need to get your back up

[RB]

Cue the Jaws theme song…..

:fishing:

[xelasnave]

:lol::lol::lol:

Yes but I can see the hook;)

alex

[RB]

Donations?

$10000 for me by myself.
For That you Get the Head The Tail The Whole Damn Thing

:lol:

[xelasnave]

I would not insult you with such a small offering that is way below your value and given your expertise is priceless indeed any figure would be an insult...I will offer you my respect and admiration which also is priceless...money is of little value in these matters.:D

alex

[RB]

Yeah, love you too Alex… :lol:
Party at Martha's Vineyard, later…

:cheers:

[netwolf]

Is this crawler thing similar to what’s happening with reddit where sites are scraping data causing increased traffic?

I’d be happy to pay yearly fee. These forums have always been my goto for help and support.

[xelasnave]

All we need do is identify " spiderman" and sue him for damages :lol::lol::lol:

Hey that is entirely possible particularly if you have a good idea of who it probably is.. someone who thinks they are very clever and has covered their tracks but their bitterness has them overlooking little things they don't think important ... like their lack of understanding on something..say grammar..they can't be too clever as there is no profit in running their spider ... so they have time on their hands.. and no doubt will hang around the scene of the crime..mmmm..maybe use different names after being banned.

I propose a reward of half the damages recovered from this criminal to go to who ever tracks him down and enables his successful prosecution. I know we have members who can get this criminal.

I think it is only a matter of time before we nail him.

But clearly to think someone who obviously is so bitter and delusional can run a spider probably means we need better software but then again we would not have such a problem if we just step on Spiderman and crush him...crush him crush him crush him...



alex

[xelasnave]

It just occurred to me..if you are reasonably confident of who is the villain you can sue them so as to start proceedings and then get a court order to inspect all their records...computer records of course but also bank records which can point to purchases of say software, ...anyways if you are sure you and want to ruin them just involve them in legal proceedings that has their lawyer bleeding them dry...sure it will cost you but the satisfaction gained from showing someone they are just not as clever as they tell themselves is well worth it... ;) and of course they will always settle when they realise they just can not win..even if they win:lol::lol::lol:
AND in cases where the villain is being malicious you can seek punative damages which means the court can award damages which don't reflect actual damage but are more like a penalty... so let's seek $10,000,000:D isn't that something to think about..ok we can settle and just take their house...or farm for example...so many villains think they are so smart but the courts just chew them up and spit them out...mainly because they are just plain fools.

Crush the spider man...

alex

[leon]

Maybe I should never have brought this money business up.:shrug:however i still reckon we need to do something like this.

Leon:thumbsup:

[RB]

I've set up a GoFundMe page.
Feel free to send me money.

RB
:D

[leon]

Ya know what Andrew, if you need some help I would be first to donate.

Leon:thumbsup:

[EpickCrom]

Ok, Andrew deserves a GoFundMe page just for his consistently hilarious posts :lol:

I'll be the first to donate:thumbsup:

[RB]

:lol: :cheers:

[Nikolas]

Leon I have a computer business you may be interested in I will make you chief technician and troubleshooter, all you need to do is click on the link in the email I will send you to apply, make sure you have pay-id


:cool2:

[leon]

Thanks Nik I will give it some consideration and get back to you soon. ;) :lol:

Leon :thumbsup:

[AnakChan]

has the IIS interface changed in the past 24 hrs? Looks a little different (updated) today.

[kris85au]

Nikolas, appologies.




Xelasnave,

maybe you should execute your line of though you build here publicly online?

But I would strongly advice you to take the proper action. Particularly in relation for insults and insinuations you spread around. You may find yourself very quickly in the other side of the stick you are cooking here. The record is pending.

[xelasnave]

Yawn

[xelasnave]

In considering the strange responce of our troll I am reminded of a legal case for defamation in which the judge said " the lady would not object to it being said that she had a large red nose unless she did indeed have a large red nose" ...

Someone who trolls similarly objects to being called a troll and when someone gets the fact that this site does not charge a fee wrong complaining does not make them less wrong...and one must ask why someone responds in a hurt fashion to imagined "insinuations" that clearly have hit a soft spot...

AND what are we to think when someone makes a veiled threat in responce to being pulled up for trolling and just being plain wrong...red nose syndrom I suggest.

I would like an answer to the question.." why are you here?" and I would also ask " who are you?" Just your first name to be clear...who could object to that?

alex

[leon]

I would like an answer to the question.." why are you here?" and I would also ask " who are you?" Just your first name to be clear...who could object to that?

Alex

That will be very unlikely to happen Alex, these people hide behind their keyboards and just cause mischief because they are weak.

Leon :thumbsup:

[xelasnave]

This chap is one of those people who thinks he is smarter than everyone else but he is as transparent as the lens in my scope...I set a trap and he fell right in...a self made fool.


Just look at his reply who else would respond in that manner and that's because he specifically responded to my trap.

AND remember the saying that you learn by your mistakes ..well this chap will never learn because he thinks he is never wrong ..ever..will not and can not face the truth.

Now if he is not who I think he is we will get a reply giving his name and his interest in astronomy and why he can be so critical given his short membership...but you watch there will be no admission that he was out of line or that he was wrong about the fees.

But the thing to remember he is here to stalk me ...think how deranged that is..having a 76 year old man dieing of cancer as your target.

AND his veiled threat gave him away entirely... what a coward.



alex

[RB]

I’m locking this thread, it’s going off at an undesirable tangent.
As soon as I have a spare few minutes I’ll be doing some checks and taking appropriate action.

Thanks everyone.
Glad the forum is working properly again thanks to Terry.

RB