2013 Mar 7 Server Blip

[Good Times]

My bad guys... Something was running on the background causing the site to crawl to a halt. Had to restart the server to kick start things but then the server decided it didn't want to so I had to kick the sucker a few times..

My bad for the timeout / delays on getting this back up.

[Good Times]

on second thought, I'm still on the server performing some maintenance so the site may be a bit on the "slow" side.... doh!

[Seanz0rz]

It's super sloooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww for me. maybe I'll stop hitting F5!

[CJM]

slow......stilll.....

[Good Times]

still trying to fix this pos....!

[Seanz0rz]

It's like being stuck behind an old lady at the grocery store. She takes FOREVER putting stuff on the belt (that's the page loading), then gets to the cashier and writes a check, very, very slowly (that's the pictures loading).

[4x4mike]

It looks like it's back up and working, yah. Thanks guys.

[Seanz0rz]

Looking good! I like the topo map background that just popped up!

There is lots that has happened since the site went down. I will do my best to get all of that up in the next week or two.

[Cebby]

Hey guys - we aren't out of the woods just yet...

We are still fine tuning the server settings, so there might still be some flaky performance (but maybe not - might be all good!)

A couple of odd things that were the result of the export/import routine:
-Signatures will need to be cleaned up - came in as HTML (text color tags, line breaks, etc show up as coding that will need to be redone in bbcode)
-IMG BBcode that included sizing information (IMG width=800 height=600) came in as HTML. This affects a lot of posts using photobucket type accounts where the image output was sized.

[Seanz0rz]

The spam seems to have exploded as well, but i'm sure you are aware of that.

[Cebby]

I've spent most of today banning IP addresses from these freakin' spammers (and the site just got turned on today). The recaptcha image routine for new regs isn't much of a deterrent. I can do a Toyota Q & A which might be more effective. Any ideas on the question?

[Seanz0rz]

abbreviation of Toyota land cruiser is: TLC
how many lug nuts does a 4runner wheel have? 6

some basic questions like that maybe.

[Cebby]

It's a spammer flood! Damn these pricks.

Did the question for regs - "another name for the 3.4"

[DHC6twinotter]

Woohoo! Thanks for all the work you guys are putting into this! Looking good!

[4x4mike]

On the home page of the old site it would show the newly registered users. I was always amazed at how many new users there were and figured they were spammers. Was there a filter on the old site that hid what they posted or were there that many random new users reading our posts?

Either way thanks for all the work you guys are doing. I've missed this place.

[Cebby]

I think the anti-spam measures on the old site were similar - the staff has done a great job of keeping on top of removing spam comments.

I have another site UZswap.com that is on the same platform as the old UY site and I had to shut off registration because of how bad the spamming got. I have to get new users to contact me via email and register them manually - if I turn registration back on, I'm faced with hours of purging spam comments and deleting users (SMF's admin tools for dealing with spammers might be slightly better than vB's). Kind of a pain, but the traffic numbers aren't huge so its manageable.

This site gets a lot of guest traffic too, so that contributes to the big traffic numbers. (this will increase further once everyone realizes we're back online)

[Cebby]

Bumped up the attachment file size so the images can be a little bigger...

[4x4mike]

It's a spammer flood! Damn these pricks.

Did the question for regs - "another name for the 3.4"

Paddlenbike is having trouble registering. He's a noob and the question has stumped him. He's put in about 10 different guesses and it won't let him in. Cebby can you PM me the answer.

[troyboy162]

You cant put the dash in lol. I had to try twice

[4x4mike]

Thanks, I'll let him know.

[paddlenbike]

Dash or no dash, couldn't get in. Finally cleared my cache and cookies and it worked. I'm here. :) Thanks all for getting the forum up and running, I missed it!

[Cebby]

no dash - sorry for the confusion

[YotaFun]

It will be weird getting use to this new layout, but I am very happy to see the site back up and running!!!

[CJM]

Im not sure wtf happened but it wouldnt accept my password at all. I reset it but it took me like an hour b/c stupud 5 attempt thing (it lies it wasnt no 15 mins Cebby).

But yea Im here. Was worried wtf happened when it went down and didnt come back up for a LONG time.

[Cebby]

Im not sure wtf happened but it wouldnt accept my password at all. I reset it but it took me like an hour b/c stupud 5 attempt thing (it lies it wasnt no 15 mins Cebby).

But yea Im here. Was worried wtf happened when it went down and didnt come back up for a LONG time.

Old passwords won't work, for security that's something we are not able to restore from the DB - everyone needs to reset their passwords so they don't endure the lockout from trying to guess it 5 times (use forgot password feature and then check spam folder since that were forum generated emails generally go). I did it for one of the test accounts I had on here and it worked as it was supposed to.

The vB will take some getting used to - I forgot how cumbersome the vB backend can be for some tasks that SMF did easily. In the long run its a good move for the community though.

[fenrisx]

Welcome back UY! New and improved now that we're on VBulletin, eh?

[CJM]

No big deal, just was annoying b.c I had no idea

[Robinhood4x4]

Dude, I couldn't figure out the 3.4 question either!

Glad the site is back up and running. I've had a bunch of stuff I've wanted to post lately.

[YotaFun]

Curious, this 4 pics per post thing, is that permanent??

[Seanz0rz]

when I go to a forum, none of the threads are organized. I have to click the date twice to re order them by more recently posted in.

search is also only working on the posts since the move. not sure if we can fix that.

[Good Times]

we'll be tweaking the site and changing the configs accordingly. So many options that it's just hard to find all of em and get them back to the way we all liked it. we're also in the middle of trying to optimize the server so hopefully it'll speed up accordingly (if it's slow..)

[Cebby]

Curious, this 4 pics per post thing, is that permanent??

I have it set to 5 for attachments - what was it before? Or are you limited on the number of IMG tags you can use?


when I go to a forum, none of the threads are organized. I have to click the date twice to re order them by more recently posted in.

search is also only working on the posts since the move. not sure if we can fix that.

We have to reindex the DB for the search - were waiting on that to make sure it was working right.

For thread organization, I'll need to look into it. Might be a setting in your individual control panel as I've not experienced the issue you described.

[Swede]

Well I for one will accept the growing pains anytime to have the wealth of information and experienced opinions back at my disposal! You really don't know what you've got until it's gone!

[YotaFun]

I have it set to 5 for attachments - what was it before? Or are you limited on the number of IMG tags you can use?

My Bad IMG tags is limited to 4.



We have to reindex the DB for the search - were waiting on that to make sure it was working right.

For thread organization, I'll need to look into it. Might be a setting in your individual control panel as I've not experienced the issue you described.


I was having the same issue as Sean, I would have to organize by date to see the latest, I will play around with personal setting later to see if that changes anything

[Seanz0rz]

Thanks guys! I just want to point out the little issues I find so they can be handled when it might be easier to fix instead of months down the road.

I'm amazed everthing is working so well! Thanks guys! Must have a Hell of an eye for details!

[DHC6twinotter]

Is the 4 IMG tag limit a permanent cap, or is that something that can be changed eventually? I'm trying to figure out if I should go ahead and update my trip report now, or wait till tag limit is increased (if it can or will be).

BTW, love this auto-save thing.

[Good Times]

Dan, I changed it so you can add 8 images..

http://www.ultimateyota.com/images/AlleyCat/elements/header.png
http://www.ultimateyota.com/images/AlleyCat/elements/header.png
http://www.ultimateyota.com/images/AlleyCat/elements/header.png
http://www.ultimateyota.com/images/AlleyCat/elements/header.png
http://www.ultimateyota.com/images/AlleyCat/elements/header.png
http://www.ultimateyota.com/images/AlleyCat/elements/header.png
http://www.ultimateyota.com/images/AlleyCat/elements/header.png
http://www.ultimateyota.com/images/AlleyCat/elements/header.png

Unless you guys want more.... let me know I finally found where to make the changes... this new version of vb is totally different from what I'm used so it's taking a bit longer to find everything!

[troyboy162]

The only thing I can complain about this forum is the lack of a 2013 mojave road event report...Sean Hamilton, JD Dale, Mark, Kevin lol

[Seanz0rz]

I am working on it right now! just popped in to grab some links!

[troyboy162]

hahah I mind controlled you into starting it.

[DHC6twinotter]

Thanks Lance! 8 should be ok I think...I'll just have to pick and choose my pictures a bit more carefully. :D

Troy, when Sean gets the thread going, I'll have some pictures to add.

[Seanz0rz]

thread is up. i used your pics dan, but you might want to pick different ones to highlight, since there are sooo many. i had to span it over 7 posts!

I did get a message of "9 img tags" when I only had 8. not sure wtf is up with that, but no worries.

[Good Times]

Sean,

To be safe I upped the number.... to like 15! I hope this doesn't slow the site down... ha

[DHC6twinotter]

woohoo! I just posted an update to my trip thread, but I think I'll go back and add a couple more pictures. :D

[Seanz0rz]

Thanks Lance! I usually try to keep them under 8 in a post anyways. Nice to have options though!

I think I will give the blog a try...

Cool! it works! I think I am going to LOVE this feature for doing gear reviews and such. what do we think?

http://www.ultimateyota.com/entry.php?3-So-you-want-to-drive-the-Mojave-Road



also, I figure out that the threads are being sorted by title by default. I dont see anything in the user control panel to change this, but there must be an option somewhere on your end.

[Nick]

Paddlenbike is having trouble registering. He's a noob and the question has stumped him. He's put in about 10 different guesses and it won't let him in. Cebby can you PM me the answer.

Hey that had me stumped too! I kept trying...and trying...had to copy and past from wikipedia :p Go figure...

Glad the forum is back and running!

[Robinhood4x4]

15 sounds good. After all, we're out of the dark ages that was dial up. :cool:

[Seanz0rz]

I found I can't upload an avatar. no option to.

[Cebby]

Settings > Edit Avatar

[Seanz0rz]

Thanks! that lower part wasn't there before!

[Bob98SR5]

Yipee my first post!

Thanks to Lance and Cebby (hey Ceebs!) for all their hard work.

I too could not figure out the 3.4 question. I got frustrated, came back today and saw the question "Name Toyota's full size truck". You mean its not "Tundra?" Confused! Hey guys, let's keep it more simple. The peanut gallery is pretty good at reporting spam posts.

When we are all done supporting Breast Cancer awareness, can we change the colors from pink and red to something more legible and masculine? :) I'm fine with the basic colors. White, black font, Red is fine. My eyes are getting really strained with the topo map background too. My eyes are small enough, i'm straining even worse now. I look like Lance now! hehe

[Seanz0rz]

ROFL! I love the background, and the color scheme on my monitors is beige and orange, so it looks good!

Also, the minimum number of PM's must be very low, because I cannot send anymore because my box is full, as is troys!

[Good Times]

Sean, just changed the PM number. Sorry missed that one!

[troyboy162]

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/forum/vbulletin-legacy-versions-products/legacy-vbulletin-versions/vbulletin-2-how-do-i-and-troubleshooting/31225-how-do-i-change-the-thread-order-from-oldest-to-newest

http://www.pokeraffiliatelistings.com/forums/wordpress-web-design-coding-technical/22424-posts-showing-oldest-first-cant-figure-out-how-get-newest-first.html

these seems to talk about how to change what posts show up first, old or new. Not sure if it will help

[Good Times]

great find Troy! let me work on this when I'm in front of the computer.

thx

[mastacox]

Yay we're back!

Let me know if there's anything I can do to help. And on a related topic, what's become of all the Wiki content? Should we (I) try converting it all to tech articles or something? My feeling is it might not be worth installing a new WIki plugin since it doesn't get used much...

Thanks for the hard work, the new site looks good!

[mastacox]

LOL I'm going to have to fix the rest of my sig...

[Good Times]

Brian, I know we can publish articles so that might be an option. We're still evaluating everything but will take recommendations from everyone. We want to make this home for everyone so don't be bashful and just tell us what you want and we'll try to accommodate everyone's request.

thanks :)

[fenrisx]

I have to agree with you on this one... I do like the background, but it definitely puts a strain on my eyes, especially the contrast of it and the orange color in the theme. Still glad to have the site back! Thanks for the work guys.



Yipee my first post!

Thanks to Lance and Cebby (hey Ceebs!) for all their hard work.

I too could not figure out the 3.4 question. I got frustrated, came back today and saw the question "Name Toyota's full size truck". You mean its not "Tundra?" Confused! Hey guys, let's keep it more simple. The peanut gallery is pretty good at reporting spam posts.

When we are all done supporting Breast Cancer awareness, can we change the colors from pink and red to something more legible and masculine? :) I'm fine with the basic colors. White, black font, Red is fine. My eyes are getting really strained with the topo map background too. My eyes are small enough, i'm straining even worse now. I look like Lance now! hehe

[Seanz0rz]

I vote we just convert them to the article or even blog format. There are some that are very out of date and need to be updated and some that need to be discarded or rolled into other articles.

maybe we can add a more standard skin, but I happen to really like this one.

[rworegon]

New site looks good. The background is a bit busy and tough on the eyes, IMHO.

[CJM]

Agreed, background is a bit busy and hard on the eyes.

Maybe alternative backgrounds could be loaded?

[Good Times]

I may nix the background. Also still mulling over the current color combinations..

[CJM]

Something darker I think would work better with the current background.

[Good Times]

yeah I'm trying to make two templates. One that's using a dark background and another light background so they're opposites. not gonna be overnight but I'll be trying to get something together soon. :)

[jrallan26]

Thanks guys for the all the hard work..... Great job!

[Cebby]

I can darken up the BG. I wanted to get something other than the default theme up ASAP when the site was back among the living. Something isn't right with the logo for me now...

[Good Times]

slowly updating all of the sorting of posts/threads for everyone. figured out that the import didn't do this correctly so I'm manually making the adjustments one by one... will take awhile but I'll get this done in a few hours. :)

[Crinale]

I can darken up the BG. I wanted to get something other than the default theme up ASAP when the site was back among the living. Something isn't right with the logo for me now...

Thank you for that, I HATE the default theme of vBulletin :P

[DHC6twinotter]

This isn't very important, but is it too soon to ask about the smiley options being expanded?

[Good Times]

damn the smiles! where's my flip off smile ;)

i'll ask Mike to see if he can work on that tonight. there's an update on vB so we're working on the updates tonight so we'll tie it all in together if possible