October 2018 Site Downage

[z929669]

Hello all ...

 

I want to apologize that the site was unavailable between Oct 10-20 ... this was due to an as-yet unknown server issue that cause an unrecoverable database problem. At first, I thought it might be related to the FL hurricane, as our then server was hosted in TX, which may have relied on a hop through a FL server (I was able to access the site as normal up until the 12th). However, this may not have been the case. I do suspect that our host may have rebooted our server after a hurricane-related failure though, which may have cause our aged MySQL instance InnoDB tables to get out of sync. At this point, I don't know for sure, and we aren't sure we ever will know.

 

We lost our server guru (StoppingBy4Now) about a year ago without word. s4n was (is?) a Solaris expert, and he constructed our serer using a highly customized setup that was extremely difficult for me to follow and troubleshoot outside of normal more commonplace fixes (restarting services, checking logs, etc.). Furthermore, he left no comprehensive documentation or the critical notes needed to update the software dependency trees ... I couldn't even reinstall the database software without breaking other stuff.

 

The solution was to rebuild the server using more standard practice and relevant software. We will provide a detailed update of exactly what we are doing over the next couple of months on the adjacent Step 3.0 thread.

 

Anyway, thanks for sticking around and for all the support cast our way in light of this latest failure. It makes it all worth it.

[Diana_TES_GotH]

I am very glad to see STEP back up. I might be inactive on here for a couple of months myself due to some obligations I must attend to irl. Nevertheless, I'll keep up a monthly monetary contribution (although it isn't much) and hope it helps to 'keep the lights on'.

[baronaatista]

You guys taught me how to mod my games... from a person who could barely navigate folder structures, to one who now can fully manage a personal modlist and make custom patches.  You folks have done that with a small team of volunteers investing time whenever you can - and of course an enthusiastic support community.

 

A big thank you to everyone that contributes.  Just glad the site is back up and we're pushing forward towards the future.  

[rootsrat]

No worries Z. Really glad to see STEP is back!

[Shadriss]

Been here a long time - don't see myself leaving anytime soon. Thanks for the update and the hard work trying to understand someone else's technobabble - and for getting the lights back on. I almost didn't know what to do with myself while the site was down - apart from schoolwork, this is just about the only site I visit anymore.

[z929669]

Thanks for the support all .... still working on a few things, but glad the site can be reached and used in the meantime.

[DarkladyLexy]

you are a superstar and always Z