As I'm sure most of you know, there's been a message on the front page of WMTDB for a long, long time now explaining why the site is only a skeleton of its former self.
For the two and a half years that Kelly and I have been working with the site, it has always been a struggle to keep up with its amazing growth. The hardest part has been finding the right balance between allowing user-submitted content and the time required for us to actually get that content on the site. After a couple of failed experiments, the last one ending when spambots flooded our server/database with tons of crap, we've decided to try again.
I've written a custom application that allows the posting/sharing of fic, icons, videos, and site announcements. This ties every aspect of the site together under one script instead of having a separate script each for fic, image galleries, etc. The problem is this custom script doesn't really mesh with the current eFiction script we're using, so there's no easy way for us to transfer all of that fic, user info, etc. over. Before you ask why we're attempting to fix something that's not really broken, here's the deal: For what we're currently getting in terms of bandwidth and space for the amount of money being spent, we could be doing a lot better. We're currently working on moving to a new hosting provider that will 1) run the custom script I've written and 2) give us about ten times the amount of storage and bandwidth we currently receive (10,000 MB storage and 600GB transfer/month). This means that we can continue to host videos, which are our huge bandwidth and storage drain, for a long time and the site can continue to grow without us having to worry about storage and bandwidth limitations.
It also means that now I'll actually be familiar with the system running the site and can make changes and updates to the system much more easily. This way we can continue to add new features and functionality as the site expands and grows.
This is the important part, though: We're currently hosting just shy of 1700 fics, not mention all of the videos and graphics. There's just no feasible way Kelly and I can transfer all of that content over. This is what we're asking: Please, start saving ANY fic you want to keep NOW. We think we'll be able to get all of the videos and graphics by ourselves, but the fic is another story. We simply cannot promise that everything will be transferred. So if there's a story you'd like to make sure you'll always have, save it now. We will be sending out a mass email and posting an announcement on the site soon asking authors to save their content and upload it to the new system (when it goes online), but there are many people who aren't active in the fandom anymore. Of course Kelly and I have our favorites that we'll make sure get carried over regardless, but everyone likes different things so our favorites probably aren't your favorites.
We are currently looking at following these phases:
1) Let still-active authors save and transfer their own work
2) Kelly and I will then look at what hasn't been transferred and do as much as we can
3) Let other users save the work and then add it to the new system (the original author will definitely still receive credit for their work)
We realize this is not an ideal situation. We're not at all happy about the idea of leaving things behind. However, it's been clear for some time that unless we somehow integrate all functions of the site into one system, we're going to be struggling trying to keep the site updated.
You can check out a test version of the new site at
this link. Please note that I'm still working on the style of the pages and I haven't even started in some areas, so things will look a little odd. There are two test fics currently uploaded and I will be adding some test pictures and videos later tonight so you can have a feel for how things will work. There is not currently a way to leave comments/reviews but that will be one of the first additions I make after we get things (mostly) transferred. Feel free to register an account and look around and even add some content, if you want (the video component seems a little unstable at the moment so you might have some trouble adding video). Please remember, though, that anything you add to this test site will not be transferred over to the final new site.
I'm sure I'm leaving a lot of information out, so if you have any questions or comments about what's going on, just leave a comment here and I'll do my best to answer them. Also, if you have an suggestions or concerns about the new system, please also leave those here and I'll do my best to respond to them, too.
Currently, our present hosting expires at the end of the month. Kelly is looking to see if we can purchase an additional month to give us more time to transfer things. But in case that doesn't work out, please do not waste any time before saving fic you'd like to keep.
Thanks,
matt
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xloveisinocentx , "Could you maybe write a story were Greg goes off to war ..., and how it effects Nick, and have him come home all safe and sound with lots of boy kissing? And have that classic reuniting kiss ..." This is what I came up with darlin', I hope you enjoy *hugs* MC
