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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Rufus X

December 16th, 2016 at 2:11 PM ^

That much is clear. Consider:

  • This thread gets posted regularly, is heavily commented on by the most significant and loyal users, and they NEVER address it directly
  • They continue to post content no one in their target cares about (USMNT, Draftageddon or whatever it's called)
  • Thier "peers" (elevenwarriors, etc.) are so far superior in layout and robustness as to be almost in entirely different categories
  • It's costing them money in sponsorship dollars - which is why their premier sponsor is some mortgage lending dude (who I am sure is a fine fellow) who no one outside of Washtenaw county would ever patronize.
  • They continue to treat this site like a hobby, even though it is their livlihood.

Unfortunately my visits here have declined here dramatically over the past 6 months - not suggesting that my clicks are missed, just suggesting that I am probably not alone.  Come on guys, you're better than this.

Joined: 10/29/2010

MGoPoints: 3997

bo_lives

December 16th, 2016 at 2:40 PM ^

The layout is shameful. I do think you bring up some good points though. However, Brian's philosophy has never been to run this site as a "business", which is what you're implying he should do. After all, Dave Brandon tried to treat Michigan football as a business. That did not end well.

Granted I don't read 11W so I can't speak to their writers' skills, but the fact that the person controlling their twitter handle is a complete clown says enough. Ramzy Nasrallah himself has lamented that he doesn't really have control of it, for whatever reason. I have glanced through the comments of the occasional Michigan related post on that site and it sometimes makes me wonder if they are intentionally acting as a bad parody of their entire fanbase.

Brian's writing skills and objective analytics are what bring me to this site, along with the careful moderation and intolerance for trolls. Brian isn't really losing anything by not fixing the server issue. 

Joined: 04/10/2011

MGoPoints: 7867

Maynard

December 16th, 2016 at 11:38 PM ^

This is a business if it is his way to make a living. And Michigan football is still a business even without D.B. around. And even if it is just a passion or hobby that doesn't mean it should be half-assed when it comes to delivery. Others' concerns are valid and you sound either naive or like you are trying to defend the indefensible.

Joined: 02/19/2016

MGoPoints: 9888

Rabbit21

December 16th, 2016 at 2:44 PM ^

It's a free to use site with tons of diverse and interesting Michigan focused content, no one is putting a gun to your head to come here and given that we can't see the cost benefit calculations they are using, I'm okay with trusting that someone who has been running a website for years has handle on what they need to do to keep it running. Finally, this site is the result of a passion project that turned into a career, it's part of the overall aesthetic and frankly the charm.



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Joined: 11/12/2009

MGoPoints: 30303

cozy200

December 16th, 2016 at 3:32 PM ^

It is odd. We crowdfund magazines but not the actual source for it all. Maybe it's some weird personal thing Brian has. Ego?

Worried it will feel like begging? Not sure and can't pretend to know but it is really strange. Usually when people want to give you money for valuable content you oblige.



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Joined: 01/02/2011

MGoPoints: 2430

jabberwock

December 16th, 2016 at 4:38 PM ^

and i may be 100% wrong here but:

I have gotten the feeling over the years that since Brian created this site from scratch; that it's kind of his baby and he seems resistant to turning over the technical reins to someone else.  Whether that is a philosophical software decision (think partisan politics) or the sheer volume of  digital minutiae that would have to be slogged through I don't know.

I do know from running my own business that once you accept $ from investors (donaters), they expect a voice from then on.  I wouldn't begrudge Brian if that was the case as well.

On another feels note, I thnk these forums are much more of an afterthought for those in charge than for those of us who spend so much time here.  Don't intend to sound resentful or anything, just wish it were different.

I'd donate more $ but I'm not going to randomly spit in the wind.

Joined: 07/04/2008

MGoPoints: 51146

Rufus X

December 16th, 2016 at 10:37 PM ^

no one is making me come here.

But when many of us have offerred funds to update the infrastructure and it gets completely ignored, it gets frustrationg. 

And full disclosure, if Brian and Co decided tomorrow to discontinue this site tomorrow, my life would not change one bit. I would miss it, but life would go on completely uninterrupted.

That is also why it is so frustrating. If they ran it like literally any other successful business, they would realize that their source of revenue (advertising) is handicapped severely by some very basic and easily corrected structural items. And they just don't care.  It's like watching your favorite restaurant slowly go under because they just can't figure out how the get that open 6-top table that's been sitting there open for ten minutes on Friday night filled even though they have an 45-minute waiting list. Pretty soon people are going to stop showing up and next thing you know the proprietor, who makes a really great alfredo sauce, is working at applebees.

 

Joined: 10/29/2010

MGoPoints: 3997

Don

December 16th, 2016 at 2:16 PM ^

Site outages are part of MGoBlog's charm—it's like getting abused by the waitresses at Ed Debevic's. People come here for 502 Bad Gateways.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 148371

poseidon7902

December 16th, 2016 at 2:27 PM ^

This site should be hosted in an environment that can grow or shrink with the usage.  We're not holding PCI data, so concerns with security should be limited to profile data which can be restricted down as tight as the admin's want.  While the idea of donating money for a servier is nice, this site needs to be on a variable cost structure.  So setting up a premium offering with a monthly fee etc would be needed.  It's not simply a matter of slapping a server in the rack and turning it on.  The volume here is just too much.  Let Amazon or Microsoft deal with the backend support.  I'd sign up for a monthly subscription or annual subscription method.  

Joined: 11/09/2013

MGoPoints: 5424

Fishbulb

December 16th, 2016 at 2:30 PM ^

Guys--problem solved. We all donate $100 each. I'm sure that would cover a nice, shiny, 5 star server* whose server equivalent of a 40 time would be sub 4.5 (with 0 fakes out of 5).

*ESPN would only have the server at 4 stars.



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Joined: 07/24/2011

MGoPoints: 31617

LSAClassOf2000

December 16th, 2016 at 2:34 PM ^

I just want a better interface for modding the place in addition to all of that - one of the things that really burns me is that when subthreads go awry, I have to basically delete the entire thing at the expense of the well-meaning, which I hate to do and it kind of looks bad sometimes, to the point where accusations of stifling discussion get flung around. I hate that, but there's no better method that doesn't take hours of painstaking reading, which I rarely have time to do here. 

Joined: 01/07/2011

MGoPoints: 130636

Maizenblueball

December 16th, 2016 at 4:04 PM ^

I would happily make a donation if I knew it was going towards fixing the problem. I also always come to Mgoblog first and click their Amazon link before I make Amazon purchases. I spend a ton of money on Amazon, and I like knowing that my favorite blog is getting a nice cut to help feed the hamsters.

Joined: 12/08/2011

MGoPoints: 12418

ST3

December 16th, 2016 at 4:23 PM ^

Is that anything like changing your government structure in the game Civilization? Because I gotta tell you, I know despotism is really not very efficient, but I hate spending 6-8 turns where my cities are worthless due to political unrest while I wait to become a Democracy or Communist. And I love how you can just slaughter citizens in a despotic regime to produce Modern Armor in one turn.

Joined: 09/11/2010

MGoPoints: 52559

jayhawkM

December 16th, 2016 at 11:13 PM ^

I personally answered the Drupal 8 job ad when it was posted, and Brian said they had already found someone. This was 12 months ago. If y'all need help please let us know. I run a website that sees highly unpredictable traffic spikes and it an area I can help with. Please fix this site! It's a shame the functionality does not match the quality of the content.

Joined: 11/15/2015

MGoPoints: 153

Regalro

July 31st, 2020 at 4:05 AM ^

Hello. If you have problems with your hosting like low downloading speed, some other errors, it will be better to contact support. If they can't fix issues, you should change hosting, it is not so difficult. Just contact guys from https://dteam.dev/ and they will do all work. They are experts in web development.

Joined: 09/19/2019

MGoPoints: 47