SF back online--technical difficulties resolved
 

Hello everyone!

Just wanted to apologise for the fact that SF was down for a day or so. There was a system overload, and the hosting company had to temporarily suspend the site until we could get the issue resolved.

Thanks to Inspirit making some adjustments internally this morning, we are now back online! :dog: :smile:


Thank you for all your patience, and welcome back!!:icon_cheers:

I was wondering what was going on, afraid that I was the only one experiencing the problem! Glad that everything is okay now! :D

If I may ask, what was the source of the overload?
If it was a malevolent one, it needs to be reported.
Random overloads could mean that something in the back-end is clogging the bus.

Thank you Inspirit -nice job:icon_cheers:

Well, let's just hope that the overload was not due to an overlord! :icon_eek: :tongue: :smile:

Thank you everyone--YYYaaayyy SF is back..

I just heard back from the hosting company. They said the source was forum spam sources, and some were crawlers like bing, etc. It looks like the majority were spammer situations that overloaded the system. I am forwarding the info to Inspirit to see if we can work something into the system that will prevent spammer overload again. The hosting company told me a couple of things we could try.

Thanks again everyone for your patience!!

Big thanks to Inspirit!!

Hee hee---amy green---yes, good thing it was not an overlord! I think we would be powerless to stop that one!

Glad to see the board is back up and that I was using the correct password after all.

Yikes !! ....... :icon_eek: .......... I thought the site was TOAST again !! ........ well done to all involved in getting us up and running once more. :D




(altogether now in your best Monty Python voice) ......... ahem !! ............. "spam spam spam spam ....... spam spam spam spam" :tongue:

Thank you, third time for me.......im getting to be an old hand at living through SF crash.....thank you lord it doesn't happen often......many blessings to all the people who worked to get us back on line quickly.......

Thank you to all who got this site back on and running.

Hope that whatever caused it is taken care or will be.

Nice to see the lights on again.

Still some minor glitches?
 

Thank you to all who fixed SF!!! When I went to post something just now, though, it said the server was too busy and to check back.

I don't know if this will post, but thought I'd give it a go.

Thank you very much Inspirit & annonafox ! :hug3: :hug3:

Dream Angel xx

i got this a few mins ago

"The server is too busy at the moment. Please try again later."

A few bugs left to fix server says busy and keep getting booted off. Keep up the great work sf!!!!!

Ironically I just got the same "The server is too busy at the moment. Please try again later." while attempting to access this thread.

Sorry to add more work, still thanks for keeping the site going.

another site i use (ukhippy) has also been crashing recently due to spambots. here's what's on the top of the forum page, might help..

SPAM CONTROL

Due to an incredible amount of spam received recently we've decided to install some powerful anti-spam software on the forum. This checks new members against a database of commonly used spam phrases, IP addressess, emails and usernames.

While this stops the majority of spammers in their tracks, it can occasionally block legitimate users too. So, if you find your post placed into a moderation queue then please be patient, we will check it out before allowing it. If you're one of the few people who have your registration blocked, please tell us via the "contact us" form and we'll carry out the checks manually.

Yep same here 'Server is busy' over and over. Dohhh!

G

Welcome Back
 

Yes! Thank you sooo much, SF staff! I missed my virtual community! I sent an email to one of the admin'rs with my frantic message :icon_eek: - "did I say something bad and am not allowed access??" And I got a message soon back after, saying there were server problems.

So a loud round of applause for our SF staff for getting us connected again:hug2:

Ermmmm.... it's still saying server busy intermittently when I try and click on a link

Thank you administrators and moderators for getting SF back up!!! You're the best. I'm stiffed wondering why users were asked to enter their user name and password on their computers before getting to SF during that 2 day glitch. Would spammers alone cause such a problem with the site or is it possible a hacker was trying to get people's user names and passwords for their computers or SF site? I guess I shouldn't worry my little head about it. With such a massive site I can certainly understand overloads. Looks like you're getting to the bottom of the problem as information unfolds. Thanks again for all your hard work administrators and moderators. We all appreciate having this lovely place to spend quality time!

Blackraven

blackraven, that log in box was most likely put there by the server staff, the company that hosts the site, for their use and had nothing to do with SF member's information. It did appear after the company was already dealing with the overload (afaik) so that makes sense to me. If you're concerned... change your password :smile:

hi
 

i keeep on h getng error 401 server a lot on hear 2 day i no im not onlyyy1

Hello

I am getting the same. The issue is being looked at by our Tech.

Lynn
SF Admin

hi
 

thnx lynn
plus thnx for let me joinn on hear:hug: :hug: :hug:

Lots of 500 errors today.

hi
 

i no wot u mean iv bean getng all day on/off

funny its not just me popping in and out of 3D reality

but the whole site is gone to at times but to where ? ;-)

hi
 

it 1st i thrt it wz me i dont now

I keep getting 500 error and have been for days so not really been able to get onto the forum or chat.

Makoiyi

hi
 

me 2
i joind 2 mak buddys i did coz im intrisn in thngs on hear

got simler prob agin lik i did yday on hear servr error 401