Some not-so-good news

[ellie]

I vote for downgrade also. I enjoy being able to chat with my friends there. We could try that first before scrapping it. If the site works fine with the downgrade then there's no problem right?

[logcabincreations]

I just learned how to chat in the chatroom yesterday (Wednesday) and I met Margo, Dibby and Christie -- it was a lot of fun. I hate to see it go. Would getting rid of the shoutbox make a difference? I also loved the music in the chatroom and hated to see it go. I say downgrade. If this doesn't go too well, then get rid of it

Jan

[Sherry]

Thanks for your votes and comments ladies. I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to let me know what features you want to see on this website.

Let me address the shoutbox for a moment. I installed this on a trial basis for two reasons. The first was because I thought it was cool, haha. The second is because I thought it would provide a quick way for someone to say hello to a friend who just logged on. It was never meant to be a chat room or a replacement for the chat room.

In regards to the chat room, we can always give the downgraded version a try and see how it goes and how it works before we totally scrap it? If it is total crap, then we'll give it a big ol' hug and send it on it's way. The only thing is, the chat room will not be integrated with our website like it is now (ie, you will have to register your username and type it out with your password every time you log on). And, you will not be able to "see" who is chatting online via the "What's Going On" section at the bottom of the forums page. That nifty little feature went along with our current chat room.

I am willing to try anything if it means that the website is more stable and you guys don't keep getting the royal boot. I may be taking some features away but I also hope to add some cool new features too. I may even temporarily suspend the shoutbox to see if that makes a difference. If NOTHING changes in terms of server load, I will put everything, including the chatroom, back and we'll find a host that can accommodate our needs.

[Christie]

Sherry I'm so sorry you are having so many problems. I know that this is hard to keep up with. I think that if you are paying for thier service that they should be able to accommodate at any means. That's just my opinion. I was going to recommend that we downgrade and then if that doesn't work then scrap it. I think that the server should do what it takes to make this site work right, that is what they are getting paid for. I just don't understand how they can say it's our problem.Sorry for the outburst! Thanks for being to kind and asking our opinion on things and thanks for all of your hard work you put in here.

[flyingflower]

I hope we will still have a chat capability!

[spredbirds]

I did not get a chance to vote before the poll closed but I love the chat room and would be very sad if it went away. I'm fine with removing the music. I'm fine with downgrading but pleassseee don't get rid of it!!!

-Chelsea

[lost luggage]

Sherry- the chat room is taking up to much of the server...but if we get rid of it, it may not relieve all of the problems. (I get hiccups when leaving messages sometimes-little delays..) Why don't you tell everyone what we need to keep things A+ and upgrade the host? I am sure we can come up with the money... right everyone?

[flyingflower]

Julie, we're on the same wavelength here! There are 750 users, if everyone gave $1...

[Sherry]

Sherry- the chat room is taking up to much of the server...but if we get rid of it, it may not relieve all of the problems. (I get hiccups when leaving messages sometimes-little delays..) Why don't you tell everyone what we need to keep things A+ and upgrade the host? I am sure we can come up with the money... right everyone?

Julie -

You're absolutely right, getting rid of the chatroom may not alleviate our problems at all. I was chatting with our webhost and asked them if there was any specific file or application that was causing the sever overload. Their response was that they could not pinpoint an exact file or application but they did know it was centered around the forum. Umm, okay. That answer doesn't help me one bit as our entire website (gallery, swap board, and chatroom) is centered around and integrated with the forum. Sooo, I'm thinking to myself "Now What"? The only answer I came up with was to start deleting applications to see if I can pin down the source. There is NO way I'm giving up the gallery or swap board so I decided to start with the shout box and chatroom to see if this makes any difference at all. These are both things that we can really live without if we have to.

I'm really touched that you guys would want to offer monetary assistance but, honestly, I don't feel right asking for or taking your money.

I'm waiting to hear back from the webhost. I sent them all of the particulars on the chatroom to see if they might be able to test it and see if it is indeed the problem. I highly doubt it is though. Do we really have that many users logged into the chatroom at one time? The most I think I have ever seen was 10. Surely to goodness that wouldn't bog down the server so badly that it caused our website to be suspended, would it?? On a positive note though, the webhost does seem very willing to help us out. I really, really hope we can find the source of the lags, boots, hiccups, and errors that we've all been receiving. Short of finding a new host, the only other option I see is to get a dedicated server meaning that we are the only website on the server. Unfortunately, this is quite costly at $100 US per month.

[micemom]

I don't use the chatroom often. If the downgrade is done, does that mean that you couldn't add more to the site itself because of resource usage? I vote scrap it.

Jean