I'm sure a few of you noticed the site lagging a bit. Slow to respond. Etc.

 

Well I've had a nice long chat with the hosting provider and going to try moving the database to a new server see if the server is just bottled necked or what.

 

If that doesn't work out they suggested I move over to their new hosting plan which is all new servers and hosting layout. The current hosting plan is no longer sold so we are sitting on a obsolete server but they currently have no way to migrate to the new servers or hosting. So the only way it can be done is buy a hosting plan move it over to the new hosting plan and then get the pro-rated credit of the existing plan and place it on the new plan.

 

So when I get ready to do this I'll throw more information up to let you all know when and where.

You've gotten that big already?!

They sold you a server knowing it was already replaced with a newer version?

They sold you a server knowing it was already replaced with a newer version?

 

Ummm... Domain package was sold to me in Oct. 2007. (7 years ago) I'm sure they are just updating to catch up with the times.

I might of found another solution with the forum software itself. I found we have a archiver function that will archive up all the older post of the site that are older than lets say 1 year. From what I understand the post are moved to a archive database and still viewable. So the information is still viewable and can be seen by search engines but no longer can be posted to.

 

http://community.invisionpower.com/blog/1174/entry-7053-ipboard-33-dev-update-archive-system/

 

So my question to the family here what would you call a cut off time worth archiving a post at? 1 year? 2 Years? Months?

 

Let's hear some feedback on this though.

Oh I see...I assumed you were referring to the new site you switched over to. When it comes to computers, I don't exactly have the most megabytes on file. (meaning I'm dumber than a bag of hammers)

I would say 1 year. IMHO most of the time a topic gets reintroduced by a newer member. Also, important information would have its own write-up at the start of the forum.

So if set to...

 

6 months or older - The current rules will archive 87.43% (6,984 of 7,988) topics

 

1 Year or older - The current rules will archive 74.22% (5,929 of 7,988) topics

2 Years or older - The current rules will archive 49.27% (3,936 of 7,988) topics

3 Years or older - The current rules will archive 28.58% (2,283 of 7,988) topics

4 Years or older - The current rules will archive 9.2% (735 of 7,988) topics

5 Years or older - The current rules will archive 2.92% (233 of 7,988) topics

6 Years or older - The current rules will archive 1.53% (122 of 7,988) topics

 

Give you a feel of history and age doesn't it...

I would say 1 year. IMHO most of the time a topic gets reintroduced by a newer member. Also, important information would have its own write-up at the start of the forum.

This also keeps the forum fresh and people can't have the attitude that it's been covered before. But sometimes it's nice to do research on topics without waiting for discussion. So I can see both sides of the issue. But if cost is an issue, then limiting archives seems like the best solution.

I've not noticed a thing.  In fact, I think it's actually quite fast…………….but I'm not a computer nerd!!!!

Here is the effect of the archive when I did the 6 year old stuff.

 

http://forum.mopar1973man.com/index.php?/topic/78-new-thememopartheme/

 

So would everyone be good with a year period with archiving threads ans post? This means the threads and post are locked and no longer be replied too or modified. Nothing is deleted but simply moved over to a different table lightening the load on the server working with only a the last years worth of data and not 7 years of data.

Some of the pictures do not show in the archived threads. It happens periodically and I do not know whether it's a setting on my end or whether the pictures just disappear after certain time. I think the articles are the most important things in the archive. But even some of those periodically do not show pictures on my computer. Next time I see one, I will post it.

If a topic has not been replied to in a year then it is no longer viable. Most of the time it seems that newer members do not do research, they just start a new thread anyways.

Some of the pictures do not show in the archived threads. It happens periodically and I do not know whether it's a setting on my end or whether the pictures just disappear after certain time. I think the articles are the most important things in the archive. But even some of those periodically do not show pictures on my computer. Next time I see one, I will post it.

 

When things change around, so do the picture URL's so it links to nothing, so the pic is also nothing..  I try and do things externally such as photobucket or something so it doesn't happen.  With limited funding we have to constantly change things to get the most out of every penny.  

 

I would do 6 months if it were me.  I don't wanna read old crap.  In fact if it were truly me I would do a week lol.  

This is just my , but I would say 2 years since its about 50%.

 

As well, it may be a good idea to just make sure we get subjects stickied that seem to have the most inquiry.

This is just my , but I would say 2 years since its about 50%.

 

As well, it may be a good idea to just make sure we get subjects stickied that seem to have the most inquiry.

 

I can add a filter to exclude sticked post so they don't get archived and held out. (Food for thought)

Another idea is to cut discussion time length way down. Maybe just 30 days. Then delete them. Then have a nice archive of FAQ threads that get closed but not removed. Be like an encyclopedia of good topics. Like the articles. Great info for reading. Not sure how this would be administered. I'm not a computer nerd at all. I have friends who are. One runs a medical group web in Alaska and they send x-rays etc over the web to specialists for diagnosis. This has nothing to do with the subject matter. Lol.

Deleting is not a option then our search engine base will shrink and traffic will fall off. Keywords and search engine phrases are very very important. If I trimmed the the site even back to the last year then all the search engine hits would fall off and the site would die from lack of information.

Well being most of you agree a year is long enough and it seem to becoming policy to terminate at a year period. Be it user account that are unused or post that are final. There is a bit of a silver lining to this and it will stop the old threads from coming back to life again. The only way this can occur is if a thread author request to un-archive a thread then it can be brought back to life.

We are up to 1000/8000 archived as of right now and the system is archiving 250 threads at a times when scheduled to prevent overloading the server. So far so good.