A word about the reliability of RFF

[MP Guy]

Lately we have seen some serious problems with the availability of RFF. We are working on identifying these problems and applying a solution which will bring an end to them. I know some of you have become frustrated and visit less often than you use to due to these issues which keep plaguing the site. Our hosting facility keeps saying it’s the hardware and keeps trying to sell us better equipment/service. One of the reasons for the subscription is to help fund the high cost of moving our system to a more powerful platform. At this time, I can only wait and see what they come up with as far as addressing our issues. If you know of a facility which is capable of handling the RFF hosting more reliably, please do not hesitate to let me know. I know this has been frustrating to many. It has been taking up all of my time and then some. Believe me; I want to put all of this behind us. Just a little more time is all I ask of your patience.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Thankyou for working through this, Jorge.

 

[XAos]

I hate to bail out, but ... these problems have come at a time when I've already been shooting less and using SLR's more when I do. The gallery subscription thing just sorta kicked me over the edge - it's not worth paying to host the pics I had when I'm not even visiting like I used to. Seems strange to leave a forum without being mad at anyone. That and I find forums like these really fuel spending...so yall take care and have fun, shoot film, especially big film, and maybe even burn up a flash bulb once in a while. (I don't have many of those so I try to use them sparingly.)

 

[BJ Bignell]

XAos: You don't need to pay to use the gallery, you only need to pay to get the premium services. You can still upload five pictures per day, of 300KB each, and will have unlimited disk space to fill (as you did before subscriptions appeared).

 

[back alley]

nothing changes with remaining a member.
we still have a gallery and can still upload 5 pics per day.

subscribing offers more uploads per day.

 

[Fedzilla_Bob]

I'll be buying in once I have made a few ebat sales. More to help support the forum, than to get the extra privilages.

 

[Fred]

Jorge, thanks for the update. I wasn't sure if there was a problem with my PC, net connection or whatever. It's always good when service updates are sent. It certainly saves some worry.

Keep up the good work, I'm sure everyone here appreciates your effort.

 

[ch1]

As a Gallery fan - I like the opportunity to upload more pics.

But I consider my "subscription" to really just be a donation to help keep up the site.

There has been no "diminunation" of any member's "services" just an optional "enhancement".

If this "galls" too many - I can live with the old Gallery limitation and my "donation" remains.

 

[JoshRoot]

Ah, don't worry about it too much Jorge. RFF is a good place, and it will all get fixed at some point.

In the meantime, maybe some of us will actually get out and shoot photos instead of talking about useless crap on the computer.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

I have an idea: how about a 1% (or 2%) sale pledge? Voluntary, of course.

Anybody who sells something on RFF for a given month, then gives 1% (or 2%) of the purchase to RFF. That may boost the sale, perhaps?

 

[XAos]

Thanks for clearing the gallery business up. I wasn't offended at the subscription, I just no longer use the site enough to bother with it.

 

[dreilly]

I second Gabrielma's sale pledge and I'd be totally willing to do that. I know APUG does something similiar, I believe?

 

[keeds]

I assume the software running the site has been looked into? vBulletin 3.0.6 is not the latest, and there appear to be some comments on their support forum about how to improve performance?

 

[MP Guy]

If I were to upgrade, to the latest version, the styles would all go and I would have to start the design from scratch again. Everything will be there except for the look you are use to now.

 

[George S.]

I think this request for cash from the users couldn't have come at a worse time. It also smacks of desperation. Many many here are already frustrated from the seemingly continuous problems the site has been having since mid-March. I also notice several big name sponsors are gone- KB, Adorama, Robert White.

I'd feel a lot better about this site if you'd just come clean with us and admit the site was hacked several times and stop blaming everything on a server move. But i guess you're afraid of dozens more members leaving, along with more sponsors. I'm sorry if this sounds blunt, but myself, and a lot of others, are frustrated and are seriously considering leaving.

 

[einolu]

I hear that mediatemple.net is a very high quality host.

 

[MP Guy]

George,

Nobody is forcing you to stay. You visit from your desire to do so. If youare frustrated and feel like leaving, I cannot stop you. This website has been free to everyone and still is. I run this as a hobby and it cost me money on a regular basis. If you know of someone who is willing to fork out several thousand dollars to run a site that makes no profit and keep it running for a community that enjoys it,let me know. I will see if I can move RFF to there place. This site is run110% out of my own pocket with no obligation to anyone. I do this as a service for those who enjoy it. On many occasions my wife has asked me to refund all the money people have donated and just shut down the site. But, I wont do that.

As far as admitting anything, the onlything I need to admit is that I am doing this out of my love for RF cameras. I admit I would like to have advertisers pay the big bucks but I dont even seek advertisers like I should.

As faar as Adorama goes, they were never a sponsor. They just had a promotion that if someone bought something from a click through they would send a small commision. That never happened.

KB camera has other plans and I cant get into a discussion about that.

Hacked. we were not. Poor configuration and server issues yes.

Like the old saying goes, Just switch the chanel if you don't like whats on.

 

[einolu]

Yes, the site definetly does not need any more 'drama', it has been hairy for the past few weeks now.

I am glad there is now a 'membership' system, and one that doesn't exclude anybody at that. I think this will really work out and many regulars will feel honered to help out.

Do check on mediatemple though, I have delt with them before and they are very professional. I think they are a bit pricy but they are very well regarded, espcially for high bandwidth sites.

 

[back alley]

hear, hear!!

i'm not looking to send people away, but if you don't like it here so be it!!

start another site, find another site...be all you can be!

joe

 

[George S.]

Jorge,
I did not intend to get into a pissing match. I have a habit of not holding my tongue when it's the politically correct thing to do. I am just expressing one side of the issue. It's certainly not the sole side, and maybe not the "correct" one either, it's just there. From the PMs and emails I receive from other members, i am not alone in my feelings. I know no one is holding me hostage to stay here, and I feel its a little hostile for you to say so. What message does a remark like that convey? That I'm only welcome here if I agree with everything you do? I could say the same thing to you. If it's a bother to run the site, then hang it up and go look for a replacement. If I didn't like the site (or what it was a month ago) and enjoy the other member's company, I would simply go and not look back.

Many members here are savvy enough when it comes to internet security and protection to know when something has been hacked. Maybe your definition of "hacked' is different from mine, but even one of the moderators referred to the "attacks" (plural) that was being done to the site in a posting (around March 28th, IIRC).
Maybe they weren't successful in entering and changing something, but their attempts to do so certainly damaged your software and perhaps compromised all our security. But unlessa full accounting is done and publicized, we're left wondering.