As I'm sure all of you are aware, we have had server problems off and on for months. We as Admins, but mostly Malinghi as he has more knowledge of this, have been trying to resolve these issues with no or temporary solutions. This is partially due to the fact that neither of us have any knowledge of web development or how to work the server to it's optimum capabilities with the vBulletin software. It's quite involved, and we've been trying to learn what we can on the fly, but unfortunately it's just not enough. When we go to our host company for support they insist that the issue is on OUR end, not theirs, and therefore they can do nothing. They said to ask our web developer, which we don't have.
So there are two things that we can do at this point. One would be to hire a web developer to come in and look at the site, the server, the host, ect and optimize things to work to it's best capability. Possibly even recommend moving to a new server host if it's not up to snuff. The second would be to go a head and assume it's the server and move to a new host and new server. The problem with both of these is that they are expensive. From what I've been told, we would be lucky to find a cheap web developer to work for $50 an hour. The server would be over $100, though we're not sure how much becuase we have not nailed down alternative options. The reason for this is that we don't know what exactly to look for in a new host, as we are SUPPOSED to have unlimited storage, bandwidth, ect with our current host, but obviously that is not working out.
The GOOD news is that since MerNetwork started up, we have received total donations of $156.63! So happy that you guys are being supportive, and am very grateful for every penny generously given by our users! The bad news is that since it has started up we have spent, out of pocket, $500. And now we're looking at possibly a couple of hundred dollars more just to fix our problems.
So it come down to this: unless we can raise the money to cover a web developer and/or a new server, the server and site issues will continue, and possibly become more frequent as we grow.
I am open to any fund raising ideas. I'm also open to anyone with web development knowledge willing to help with these issues.
Until then, the PayPal donate button can be found on the front page or below. We've had donations of even a few dollars - remember that every little bit helps!
Bookmarks