Site hosting

Submitted by TIMMMAAY on

Question for the powers that be;

What will it take to upgrade the hosting of this site? Seriously, anytime there is heavy traffic here there are constant 522, 502 errors like clockwork. This is the only site that I visit that has this problem.

Please fix it. The hamsters on the wheel aren't keeping up anymore, and really haven't for several years now. I think maybe they be dead, I don't know.

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mGrowOld

December 16th, 2016 at 12:45 PM ^

Everything here works just fine as long as several thousand of you log off immediately and dont try and visit pages and stuff.  Pretty selfish if you ask me of some of you to act like you can just come here any old time you want and go to any page all willy-nilly.  There needs to be order and I've got a plan to fix things.

Because it's clear there's that server capacity isnt going to change anytime soon I say we all get assaigned time slots for our visits that way there's no log-jams.  Each of us will get a random hour each day (WD might get two) where we can come visit, post things and look around without any fear of back end fetches, site temporarily off-line and all the other error messages we've come to know and love.  Keeps dreaded traffic down and managable.

It's our fault really.  Too many of us are here - lifeboat's only so big you know?

Joined: 10/04/2010

MGoPoints: 212947

uncle leo

December 16th, 2016 at 12:52 PM ^

Is that for a site as well-visited and popular like the Blog here, it's completely unacceptable to have the thing come to a screeching halt ANY time something big happens. I haven't been active all that long here, but that error has popped up on my screen at least 25 times in the past 3, 4 months.

If we all pitched in like 2 dollars and it could fix the problem, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

This isn't JV man. This is one of the best sites out there for Michigan athletics. You can't have stuff like this happen, period.

Joined: 07/29/2012

MGoPoints: 34636

jmdblue

December 16th, 2016 at 12:48 PM ^

1 ) Brian is a smart guy and understands computers 2) he understands the server issues 3)) he is aware of various funding mechanisms 4) he takes his business seriously Given all this, I think it's inappropriate to complain or offer advice given how great the blog is.

Joined: 12/01/2010

MGoPoints: 8655

TIMMMAAY

December 16th, 2016 at 12:56 PM ^

That's weak sauce, man. It's a two way street. The readership is pretty important to the success of the blog, our opinions should be weighed. Dave Brandon would not agree with that statement. Don't be like Dave Brandon.

This has been an ongoing issue for quite a while, and people have been very patient about it, all things considered. I just asked the question, I'm not throwing a hissy fit about it.

Joined: 09/08/2008

MGoPoints: 56287

jmdblue

December 16th, 2016 at 1:45 PM ^

Overly aggressive in my suggestion that we not criticize.  It's a free site for those users who don't support it.  I am 100% sure that Brian has thought much more about these issues than we have and that he knows the issues at a far, far greater depth.  It's his career and his business.  I say respect that.

Joined: 12/01/2010

MGoPoints: 8655

ryebreadboy

December 16th, 2016 at 1:49 PM ^

I will never understand this attitude. You're directly responsible for the money he makes (either by donating or by being part of the population he sells for ad revenue). If he takes his business seriously, he should fix his infrastructure. I hope you never complain when you go to a store and there's no one to help you, or if you find a bug in your food, or if it takes the contractor 5 months when he quoted you 3. After all, it's their business and they know better than you do.



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Joined: 12/02/2010

MGoPoints: 5946

jmblue

December 16th, 2016 at 3:08 PM ^

I really don't understand your responses here.   What are you defending?  A bug-ridden server that can't handle elevated levels of traffic?

This site has had these problems for a very long time now, and it's quite irritating.   People have repeatedly offered to contribute money towards a software upgrade, and this is a community that has put its money where its mouth is - witness the annual HTTV fund drives.  I have no reason to doubt that if money is a concern regarding upgrading the software, the MGoBlog readers would step up to the plate.

Joined: 11/07/2008

MGoPoints: 102835

jmdblue

December 16th, 2016 at 7:44 PM ^

The quality of the server... I'm defending Brian's decision making and rightly or wrongly assuming he's making reasonable choices. My complaint is with people with far less information and far less on the line being critical of a dude who provides such a great service. Cheers and go blue.

Joined: 12/01/2010

MGoPoints: 8655

TIMMMAAY

December 16th, 2016 at 2:32 PM ^

How many websites do you pay for? Almost all sites are free nowadays. Revenue comes from advertising. Free shouldn't enter the discussion of quality (and I don't mean content quality, which is great).

And I'd say you are clearly in the minority opinion on this.

Joined: 09/08/2008

MGoPoints: 56287

M-Dog

December 16th, 2016 at 4:47 PM ^

To your point, I'm surprised the advertisers don't complain.  

The site freezes up when there is the most activity . . . when there are the most compelling events like games and recruiting announcements.  

This is exactly when an advertiser does not want users turned away by 502/503/etc. errors.

 

Joined: 07/06/2008

MGoPoints: 257515

Magnus

December 17th, 2016 at 9:55 AM ^

I'm not trying to be condescending - my site gets a lot less traffic and fewer advertisers - but I don't think Moe Sport Shops and some local mortgage lender are going to be too upset if the site freezes up once or twice a month. We're not talking about some global company paying for maximum ad impressions. Moe's and Homelender Guy are probably perfectly happy with the exposure they're receiving.

Joined: 07/17/2008

MGoPoints: 166007

snarling wolverine

December 16th, 2016 at 1:01 PM ^

This has been a problem the entire time I've posted here (five years now).  At some point it's got to get fixed.  If no one complains, why would it?  

I don't understand why some posters are defensive about this.   We bring this up because we want to help the site continue to thrive and for some reason, people take it as some kind of personal attack against Brian, which it isn't.   I would be happy to donate to a funding page to buy a new server.  I think a lot of people would.  

 

 

 

 

 

Joined: 12/14/2011

MGoPoints: 98364

jmdblue

December 16th, 2016 at 2:46 PM ^

Is usually horseshit, but yours is really really good!  How much will it cost to upgrade? How much will the upgrade improve blog experience? How long will the upgrade last?  Where does an upgrade fit into my long term planning?  If I collect a bunch of money from blog members will they be happy with the upgrade?  Will it Piss people off and drive them off?  Does an upgrade prevent me from affording more and better content and/or retaining talent? .............

 

I'm pretty sure I can have political opinions without claiming to know how Brian should run the hardware aspect of a blog.

Joined: 12/01/2010

MGoPoints: 8655

snarling wolverine

December 16th, 2016 at 2:58 PM ^

Is this a general principle you follow - don't complain or provide constructive criticism, because other people are smart enough to figure out problems on their own?  

This problem has been going on at least five years (the amount of time I've posted here).   We've basically followed your "no complaining" philosophy - these threads only come up once in a while - and it doesn't seem to be working.

 

Joined: 12/14/2011

MGoPoints: 98364

bronxblue

December 16th, 2016 at 12:49 PM ^

This literally comes up every time of the year the team loses and/or big recruiting goes on.  Brian says there are fixes in the works, but I'm not sure what has happened since then.  I do know they are moving to a new version of Drupal, so maybe that helps a bit.  But this is probably an overhaul of the entire infrastructure, as buying more powerful machines isn't an option.  But yeah, at some point a site in 2017 shouldn't fall over after what I assume is a (relatively) moderate spike in traffic.

Joined: 11/22/2008

MGoPoints: 171777

bo_lives

December 16th, 2016 at 2:11 PM ^

http://mgoblog.com/content/mgojob-drupal-8-migration

Did anything come of this? Would it be better to just abandon Drupal altogether?

I imagine Brian is lax to revamp the entire format of the site given the fanbase's (and his own) resistance to changes in tradition. Not to mention it would make Brian's life a lot harder for a while in terms of getting used to the format. Lots of extra work for him, none for us. Probably seems easier atm to just let the occasional crashes continue. It's probably not driving away total unique views per month or w/e metric is used to justify ad $$$.

Joined: 04/10/2011

MGoPoints: 7867

wayneandgarth

December 16th, 2016 at 12:50 PM ^

How does the "Buy Stuff at Amazon" work on here?  Can I get everything the same as going straight to the Amazon site myself?  How much does MGoBlog make on it?

 

I buy a lot of stuff through Amazon but never go through this route - hadn't really crossed my mind.  I guess it would be simple to change that.

Now - would it go towards servers, nobody here would probably answer that.

Joined: 10/10/2012

MGoPoints: 12961