We are moving to a VPS

[Daetrin[Admin]]

Despite all our efforts, we've been unable to address the CPU usage that started two months ago and set off the firestorm with our hosting provider, Site5.

 

Lucas, Brent, Eric, Mathias all have put in countless hours analyzing the site usage, tweaking settings, pouring over logs and forums to see what could have accounted for this change.

 

In the end Site5 has run out of patience and we were given the choice of being shut down or moving to a VPS (virtual private server).

 

The only downside to the VPS is that it costs more - a lot more - to host. However given that this host will contain FISD, MEPD, SLD, IOC, and the PacOutpost, between the lot that's a lot of members and if we judiciously and fairly pass the hat we should be able to cover the expenses.

 

What does this mean for you?

 

1. There will be some downtime as we move off of a shared host to a dedicated host. Site5 will perform this work and it should be minimal.

 

2. We will return to the days of asking for support from our membership each year, just like the Legion forums do. Back in the early days (2006) this was not uncommon really and CTN, FISD, and MEPD used to do this (that I was directly involved in). Then we hosted with V'Pier and our costs plummeted, removing the need. However we've grown quite a bit since then and have outgrown V'Piers server, and now have outgrown a shared server. So, think of it as going back to our roots.

 

Mathias & Eric can provide the gory details on traffic usage and actions taken, and perhaps there may be enough bright linux administrator folks out there who can figure out how to do what we did better and bring CPU usage back down, however as of today we are out of time and have to move.

 

If there are any questions regarding this, please chime away.

 

With unquestioned loyalty,

 

Daetin TK-8020

[Dday[501st]]

Have you looked at other hosts to transfer the server to which might not charge as much? Most the places will transfer everything at no cost beyond the normal costs monthly costs.

 

How much are we looking at per month at Site5 for all the sites combined?

[Geaux Saints[TK]]

When will this take place and how will it affect the forum?

[bigironvault]

Will there be an optional donation ($5, $10, $20) where users can donate to fund any costs required? I think it's a good way to spread the cost out a little througout the community. Again, totally optional for people to donate or not. Personally, for what FISD has done for me I'd be open to donating to make this work.

[RedSpecial[TK]]

As far as Im concrened if I have the funds I'll gladly donate as much as I can.

This place has been an invaluable resource to myself and so many others that giving something back to keep things ticking is a no brainer !

[Pickles[TK]]

Set up the pay pal

[Mongoose[TK]]

Not much is free anymore. That being said for what the FISD has given me I will gladly give some back when and if required. If the cost is spread across everyone it really shouldn't be too much. Let's face it, Death Stars and Star Destroyers are costly!

[Clamps[TK]]

Standing by to lend my support to the community that has given me so assistance in such a short time!

 

[Dizzydevil105]

I guess the MEPD has already shutdown when i go to the page i can't do any thing and the whole background is different. at any rate if there is a paypal link i plan to to donate something as I am still new to this community i don't want it to disappear

[Dday[501st]]

I agree,

 

The amount of information available on this page for building my suit has been invaluable. Can you imagine having to start the suit without going through what others have done and just going from 0 knowledge, it would take ages, and many many repeat trips to the store for new supplies. Think of the savings on gas alone!

I've paid for stupid things, why not pay some for a smart thing!

[Darth Aloha[Admin]]

I guess the MEPD has already shutdown when i go to the page i can't do any thing and the whole background is different. at any rate if there is a paypal link i plan to to donate something as I am still new to this community i don't want it to disappear

 

 

I promise that no one is shutting down any websites... and I have no idea why MEPD fell down and went boom this morning.

 

To reiterate... donations are not mandatory... but it will help with your Imperial Karma.

 

Aloha,

 

-Eric

[matt black]

Good to see newer members willing to chip in. Well done guys

[Pickles[TK]]

Good to see newer members willing to chip in. Well done guys

 

This site has been an invaluable resource Time to give back to the community.

[Necron[TK]]

Where do we send our donations?!? I would hate for this site to be down.

[Dizzydevil105]

Good to see newer members willing to chip in. Well done guys

 

Thanks we all start somewhere

[bigironvault]

Good to see newer members willing to chip in. Well done guys

 

If we don't move to help ourselves, who else can we rely on? The value that FISD has blessed me with new and great friends is so much more than a few bucks to keep things running well. Someone should setup a Paypal donation link. I would do it as I've done it for a few websites before but I don't know the inner cogs of the detachment and how it could work with processes that exist today.

Edited August 10, 2012 by bigironvault

[Daetrin[Admin]]

We've done it in our early days but I shut it down as after a bit I got more than the cost of the hosting fees. While on V'Pier's server our cost was so low - $14/year - that I just ate the cost. The plan is to look at the total cost and then break it down by detachment, say if it cost $100 and FISD used 50% of the bandwidth, our target would be $50.

[LadyInWhite[TK]]

I love giving my money (as much as my time) to good causes

 

Timing-wise, if there's any down-time, with CVI coming up and lots of new folks potentially ready to join "the right way" - eek, sounds like crazy decision-making.

 

My question is this: is there any benefit to the Legion's new non-profit status to ensure donations are done correctly and individuals don't get dinged for taxable income?

[TK-2126_MD[TK]]

Absolutely!!!! I helped out with a Brick or two way back when, will gladly help out with a few more bricks for the up grade!!!!! Any money sent your way is a real and actual investment as far as making a TK goes!

If u think about this Detachment is a Haven of the Arts as far as TK go......

The research of the original armors, there making, what was used then. At the same time it cover the same things with current modern armor.

 

This is our way to support, encourage and aid our Detachment, Think of it as Patronage. Arts Patronage if u will.

I took the liberty to borrow this from Wikipedia:

 

From the ancient world onward, patronage of the arts was important in art history. It is known in greatest detail in reference to medieval and Renaissance Europe, though patronage can also be traced in feudal Japan, the traditional Southeast Asian kingdoms, and elsewhere—art patronage tended to arise wherever a royal or imperial system and an aristocracydominated a society and controlled a significant share of resources.

Rulers, nobles and very wealthy people used patronage of the arts Some languages still use the term mecenate, derived from the name of Gaius Maecenas, generous friend and adviser to the Roman Emperor Augustus. Art patronage was especially important in the creation of religious art. TheRoman Catholic Church and later Protestant groups sponsored art and architecture, as seen in churches, cathedrals, painting, sculpture and handicrafts.

While sponsorship of artists and the commissioning of artwork is the best-known aspect of the patronage system, other disciplines also benefited from patronage, including those who studied natural philosophy (pre-modern science), musicians, writers, philosophers, alchemists, astrologers, and other scholars. Artists as diverse and important as Chrétien de Troyes, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, William Shakespeare, and Ben Jonson all sought and enjoyed the support of noble or ecclesiastical patrons.^[2][3] Figures as late asMozart and Beethoven also participated in the system to some degree; it was only with the rise of bourgeois and capitalist social forms in the 19th century that European culture moved away from its patronage system to the more publicly-supported system of museums, theaters, mass audiences and mass consumption that is familiar in the contemporary world.

This kind of system continues across many fields of the arts. Though the nature of the sponsors has changed—from churches to charitable foundations, and from aristocrats to plutocrats—the term patronage has a more neutral connotation than in politics. It may simply refer to direct support (often financial) of an artist, for example by grants. In the later part of the 20th century, the academic sub-discipline of patronage studies began to evolve, in recognition of the important and often neglected role that the phenomenon of patronage had played in the cultural life of previous centuries..

 

Think about the actual wealth of information that is covered in this forum!!!!!!! I remember that i researched for 3, yes 3 yrs!!!! before the FISD exsited. and the information was close to non existent!!!!! Once the FISD was up and running and i found it. in less then 5 hours of reading i had more information then the 3 yrs of research i did!!!!

The way i see it we really should be paying full member ships to be able to have the access of information me have here!!!!!!

We should be honored to be able to help this place run!!!!! We would be the Guardians of TK Knowledge!!!!! We too can be Mecenates

" Guardship of the FISD" " Custodiae custodie FISD "

Edited August 10, 2012 by TK-2126_MD

[HawkTrooper]

I would also donate some money to support FISD hosting costs. It's an invaluable resource and has given me so much information that it is absolutely worth it.

[bigironvault]

Seriously $100/year? I thought it would be way more.

 

We can raise that so quick it would be a blip.

[Locitus[Admin]]

No it will be more expensive than that unfortunately. But we will run multiple detachment forums on the same server, which all hopefully will help to pay the fee.

[Clamps[TK]]

The plan is to look at the total cost and then break it down by detachment, say if it cost $100 and FISD used 50% of the bandwidth, our target would be $50.

 

Shoot, with the knowledge and friends I have gained in the last 5 months here, I would happily pay that $50 to keep things humming along for another year!

Edited August 10, 2012 by chookaboom

[Sonnenschein]

Wow, the positive response of the "new guys" is overwhelming!

 

I, for myself, am just waiting for the paypal link

[89Batman[TK]]

Happy to contribute to FISD.

Great forum, great info anf great people!

 

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