Upgrades Coming for AgTalk
We have fixed many of the issues with the new servers. But we have a major problem with our email. Our new IP address seems to be on every blocked spam list known to man. We are working to get it removed, but it is a time consuming process. Live.com is a particularly big problem. If you what a hotmail or live email address, you are not getting email from our server. Anyone that has registered in the last 2 days may not have received your verification emails. Contact us at webmaster@newagtalk.com if you cannot log on. We are working to fix the problems.
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Just to give you an update. We are working on the problem. We have the site running on a new multi-server system. We are still tweaking the software to adapt it to multi-server. We hope to move the site soon, but at this point I can't give a target date. We are waiting on a couple of matters that are out of our control. We have made note of the feature requests. We will continue to work to improve the site. We may be able to pop a couple of enhancements in at this time, but others will take time to develop. The site will be off-line when the move occurs. We have to shut down the database to move it. You will get the "Site closed for Maintenance" message. It will also take time for the DNS servers to update to the new site location. Thank you for you patience.
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As many of you know our current server is overloaded during the peak evening hours. We are working to fix the problem. We will be moving to a new server at some point. Many changes will have to be made behind the scenes for this move to occur. Please be patient with us. These changes will also significantly increase our operating expense. Look for the donations link to return in the near future. At this point I can not tell you when we will be making the upgrades, but our target is sooner than later. When we are ready to do the upgrade it is probable that the site will be down for a few days. We intend to do the job right, not fast.
In the mean time trying visiting AgTalk during non-peak hours. Please only hit the submit button once when posting. We will update this message as our time schedule develops.
Comments
It seems that Agtalk is hit and miss during the evening hours. Frustrating when wanting to reply to a post, and
then finding it suffers an error !!! The other day I had 4 replies that were DOA.
Add a contact link at the bottom of the Agtalk Forum, it helps with a logical communication to the admin.
I am recommending getting things up to speed. This is the slowest forum, I have encountered during the evening
hours. I am not familiar with the costs and efforts involved, and we only see this red banner message, but that does
not communicate a thing in real terms. Communicate, you speak of we, " who is we".
This site is run by a small group of farmers. All administration and moderation is done by volunteers. There is no paid staff. The cost of the servers and software is covered by donations from site users. It is not intended to be a 24/7 staffed site. All of the moderators have farms and businesses to run. We harvest and plant crops just like other farmers. The site is intentional kept advertisement free.
We don't have time to answer every question from users that don't know how to operate their computers. We don't provide computer tech support. I am sorry if this sounds harsh, but we run this site as a service to the AG community.
If this is the place for updates, that would be nice for the site to have. I will start it out.
I would like to see on each subforum, that the latest post will bring that thread to the top. That is common
on many websites like this. It keeps a fresh topic alive and at the top, and not buried many pages back.
It also allows someone to bring back a topic, for discussion that will allow the new posters time to review
and add to it.
Please don't force the changes on everybody that farmboy is suggesting....instead make it a user preference.....like the message format (Flat, threaded, nested).
Thanks for all you do,
iafarmerken
That feature is in our software. We tried it. I thought it would be a nice feature to have. But it was a dismal failure. It works weill in lower traffic forums. But on this forum it is terrible. Threads were jumping all ove the page. You could not find the thread your were looking for. New threads went off the first page before anyone could see them, not less reply to them.
Sdfarmboy seems to think that we do not know what we are doing. We have been running this site for 12 years now. We have tired a lot of things. We have learned a lot over that time also. We will continue to try new things. Some will work and others will not. AgTalk+ is an example. The blogs have not been a big hit, but the classifieds are a big improvement over what we had before.
Thank you for everything you guys do to make Agtalk the best ag related site on the net.
Thank you for keeping things on an even keel and not trying every "improvement" that is suggested from a new member (that can't or wont' figure out all of the options that the site has to offer already) every couple months.
I agree, many thanks to the moderators and administrators. I think we tend to lose sight of how great an asset this site is and the fact that we are allowed to use it. I think tending to the complaints and glitches of this site would be a thankless job. Please continue your good work and thank you once again.
Thanks guys, the speed changes tonight are very obvious. Blazingly fast compared to just the day before.
You are right, I do not know what it takes to run a website. But I do know when things need an upgrade.
Good job.
Nothing has changed tonight. And nothing will for several more days.
Sorry, I replied earlier tonight when things were working faster. You are right. They are not.