Atari Forum restore options

[1024MAK]

1. All posts after 4th December will be lost.

But as a read only resource this is not a big problem

2. Any Moderator work like deleting spammers through December will be undone (not a big problem)

But as a read only resource, again this is not a big problem

3. The FireBee section created towards the end of December will need recreating (with the correct posts moved)

But as a interim read only resource this is not a big problem and can be left for later if need be...

4. Any PM's sent between users throughout December will be lost.

Again, as a read only resource this is not a big problem

6. Until we know for sure that 250Host are gone and never to return, there is always that feeling that maybe we can get the most up to date data.

How long is a piece of string...

 

We are making the assumption that the backup is 'stable' (We won't know for sure until it is restored by the host provider). The backup has been uploaded to the backend - I just need to give the 'nod' to the host provider to restore it.

But if there is no joy with 250Host at some point the backup will need to be tried..

 

I will need to set all the forums to read only. There is no magic switch for this, it's something that has to be done for each forum (and sub forum).

Is there not a way to prevent normal level users from logging in? That is to say that normal level users will be treated as guests, and therefore would be unable to post items etc. If something like that could be done it would be a lot less work than changing the status of each and every sub forum... Also if the status of each and every sub forum was changed, should the 4th December backup go on to provide the foundation for the future active forum, a lot of these would need marking back to normal from the read only setting...

 

What I don't want to do is spend a day getting all this done only to find 250host return the next day and we have to go through some of the process again...

Until (if) 250Host make contact, there will always be this risk. The less work needed, the less importance is attached to this risk.

 

At the end of the day, it is your time that you are very kindly giving. And you seem to know what you are doing (which is very good ).

 

Of course we would like 250Host to just hit the reset switch and for the forum to burst back to life. But I fear that this is not going to happen.

Atari-forum built up a vast array of knowledge. Even if we cannot get the "lost" information since the 4th December, this past history is worth a lot to the users.

Then, if 250Host does not provide... (it's now the seventh day of January, part way through Monday 10th, it will have been two weeks since the failure)...

 

So to sum up. If it is not too much work, while we give 250Host a chance to recover, it would be nice to have something to browse around. If it's a mega amount of work, maybe just restore the wiki. In any event, finding an easy way to prevent a mess caused by people posting and replying keeps things tidy just in case we get the last lot of data from 250Host.

 

Best of luck!

[Dal_1978]

Is there not a way to prevent normal level users from logging in? That is to say that normal level users will be treated as guests, and therefore would be unable to post items etc. If something like that could be done it would be a lot less work than changing the status of each and every sub forum... Also if the status of each and every sub forum was changed, should the 4th December backup go on to provide the foundation for the future active forum, a lot of these would need marking back to normal from the read only setting...

 

Possibly - Once I have it up and running, I'll look at the practicalities of this. A good suggestion...

 

Like I said, I'm happy to go with the majority. Each option has it's own merit and no option is better than the next. I just want to provide the right service to satisfy the demands/requirements of the AF community.

[KLund1]

Dal_1978,

Thanks for keeping everyone updated on the A-F status. It looks like you have doing a lot of work to get things back together, and I want personally say

THANK YOU for all your effort!!!

Perhaps an appeal to an Atari user in Las Vegas to go knock on 250host office door, and ask them in person to get in direct contact with you?

Anyone..... . . . . ?

Maybe you could load the backup, but keep it offline to test it's integrity? It was posted above somewhere that that might be an issue.

[simbo]

i see no option but too restore 4TH dec backup

 

reading between the lines of what liquidweb says

i think 250host has failed to pay its bill !!

 

by the tone of the guy thair's words

 

accounts are never private unless they are not in credit

its a way for a company to tell another person

thair bill has not been payed to them

and they have pulled the plug

 

any other crash type would not remove there whole domain

even from google cashe

so i think 250 will never come back or may have been struck

for some other reasons

hence the accounts are 'private' and the 'we dont discuss '

 

strange as they would be quick to answer positivly otherwise...

or give more info

could be litigation involved only way usualy to silence a creditor or provider

 

so all there data may infact already have been pulled from liquidwebs server...

[Dal_1978]

I fear you could be right Simbo. I had noticed today that their domain had been flushed from the Google cache (was there yesterday). Also since it went down, DNS wouldn't resolve the IP address of the domain... There are reports of people who have paid for another year's hosting in December and now they have no web presence for their business.

 

Anyway, ever the optimist, I'm still happy to wait for another week unless we get some solid evidence that we're never getting our data back.

 

BTW Simbo, any news for me? PM Me...

[svenski]

I fear you could be right Simbo. I had noticed today that their domain had been flushed from the Google cache (was there yesterday). Also since it went down, DNS wouldn't resolve the IP address of the domain... There are reports of people who have paid for another year's hosting in December and now they have no web presence for their business.

 

Anyway, ever the optimist, I'm still happy to wait for another week unless we get some solid evidence that we're never getting our data back.

 

BTW Simbo, any news for me? PM Me...

 

I'd agree - when a host has been down for so long the problem is usually cash related. Hosting companies usually have built in redundancy and if they use a third party facility that facility has backup power generators and lots more. My host in NY was able to do a hard drive swap at the data center just after 9/11 - was a major pain in the ass for them to get near the place but they did it.

 

I can't see 250host coming back soon.

[Dal_1978]

Ok it appears I can't end the poll myself. So as of now the results are:

Option 1: 48%

Option 2: 16%

Option 3: 36%

 

So unless we hear for sure that 250host are no more, we'll wait a week before restoring the 4th December backup.

[simbo]

Ok it appears I can't end the poll myself. So as of now the results are:

Option 1: 48%

Option 2: 16%

Option 3: 36%

 

So unless we hear for sure that 250host are no more, we'll wait a week before restoring the 4th December backup.

 

 

 

well i am a shrude taktician

 

here is what i got from liquidweb

 

Chat InformationPlease wait for a site operator to respond.

Chat InformationAll operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.

Chat InformationAll operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.

Chat InformationYou are now chatting with 'XXX'

xxx: Thank you for visiting LiquidWeb! My name is xxx, how may I assist you?

simeon webber: hi i am trying to find some definitive info as to the status of 250host.com's web domain i need to know if there service is just suspended or has infact been terminated as there domain has not been around since the 25th december some info maybe not too private can be shared here so myself and a few other friends in the trade can relocate our business to your main hosting's i realise from what ive seen around the net there is a problem with there account

simeon webber: and happy new year ,,,

xxx: looking

xxx: just a second

xxx: unfortunately, I can't offer details but it looks you might want to consider moving to a different server

xxx: from the looks of the situation

simeon webber: i see thankyou xxx and i look foward to dealing in future with a better provider than they are just now

simeon webber: cya again

simeon webber: ill leave you to work sorry i was a pest

 

 

therefore i think choice 2 is the best ...

 

sometimes you just gota ask them direct in a way they cant riggle out of

 

like offer them your business heeh {lol:)}

 

 

in summing up 250host is dead in the water and also not coming back !!

 

i rest my case....! { :roll: }

 

from my own experience from my own domain in the past

if you dont pay your bill

they remove 100% your data and you as a host have to upload your whole domain

as you have ultimatly the data responsability

 

is a sort of indemnifier

so you may find the site is gone anyway ...

and maybe 250host office is already shut up and there equipment up for sale by auction

usualy a provider removes a domain as a last resort

after atleast 6months non payment and only when a court order has been filed / granted

i know this is how its done in the u.s

its the court order that triggers the delete ability

Edited January 8, 2011 by simbo

[simbo]

as for locking all user accounts

this can be done in php by exporting a userdatabase or the file is usualy in the backup set

 

and once extracted change the user atributes in a text file using a wildcard find and change

 

to set them all to read only

then import it once the main site is up on your machines virtual server app

[skeezix]

Or just edit the php/html page that has the login bit and hide the password field That woudl probably take a couple <!-- and thats it

 

jeff

[Dal_1978]

Or just edit the php/html page that has the login bit and hide the password field That woudl probably take a couple <!-- and thats it

 

jeff

 

That wouldn't allow anyone to see their PM's or search by their own posts or see posts they've read etc...

 

@Simbo: Good work man! That pretty much sums it up for me. I'll get the backup we have back online and made active today. If by some miracle we get Decembers data back, I'll see what can be done to make it available in some way (we have unlimited storage after all...)

 

First, I will try and chat with LiquidWeb to see if I can get a backup from them

Edited January 8, 2011 by Dal_1978

[Dal_1978]

Right, here's my attempt:

 

Thank you for contacting LiquidWeb!

General Info

Chat start time

 Jan 8, 2011 5:05:13 AM EST

Chat end time

 Jan 8, 2011 5:19:09 AM EST

Duration (actual chatting time)

 00:13:56

Operator

 Operator

 

Chat Transcript

info: Please wait for a site operator to respond.

info: All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.

info: You are now chatting with 'Operator'

Operator: Thank you for contacting LiquidWeb Sales! My name is Operator, how may I assist you?

Dal: Hello - I'm hoping you might be able to help as I'm a little concerned. I am a site admin for a site hosted by 250host. They were in turn hosted by yourselves. News is filtering through that 250host may have hit the wall and consequently, I have been unable to get in touch with them regarding my data. Is it possible to get my data back through you? if so, what's involved?

Operator: I'm sorry, but that would not be possible, unless you have their account password

Dal: I of course only have my own account password. They were my hosting company so I would not have their level of access.

Operator: right, and that is why we would not be able to assist you

Operator: You would need to correspond with 250host

Dal: but what if I wanted you to host my site in their absence?

Operator: We can host your site, but we would not have access to your data without 250host

Dal: 250host appear to be no more - the main man Brian Salisbury is not answering email, their telephone support is just an answering machine that appears not to be listened to by anyone. Do I have any legal fallback in this at all?

Operator: you would have to take that up with an attorney

Dal: right ok - well I understand your position in all this and I really appreciate your help. If I get my data back, I'll be in touch about hosting.

Operator: sounds good

[/Quote]

 

I think this further compounds Simbo's thoughts on this and they are definitely in trouble. I'm not paying for a solicitor to get 1 month's worth of data back, so on this basis, I have raised a support request with the new host to restore the 4th December backup..

 

The current landing page will probably disappear as they are doing this work and will be replaced by the familiar login page once it's complete.

 

Any problems and I will communicate here.

[simbo]

lets face it

 

the guy brian ! is so slow now as a snail

 

1} has over 250 people chasing him c,me ++ some or - else

2} has no domain as its been (suspended / deleted / removed) = gone only to his inhouse servers

3} obvious account problems with liquid web.. money??? where gone... !

4} there office and i suppose there home accepts is in los-vegas !!!

and no man is made of steel or an island there for sure!!

 

lets face it we all want to live in los vegas

but its dam expensive even a night out never mind the wheel and cards etc...

 

5} many users have payed a year or months in advance blocks and i feel for them!! here

6} the 'name domain' has been "disolved"...

so has become part of the mirky waters of the liquid web ...

 

7} most important the company liquid web has done more than to acknowlaged this fact

in several ways

 

8} liquidweb are not a liquid ship ...! unlike many pubs and have many under heads ..

to pay themselfs

 

so darren your right .. and were in the first place..

 

no matter what or when a fixed ip domain provider disolves your account

and

basicaly tells users to ' find another host' it

means 100% the liquid no longer flows and there is a dam... or motion to sue in progress

or granted as posted most often is been a few tries and last resort so

good on liquid webship without them maybe we never had data back atall!!!!

 

and thats that !

 

ive seen this situation so many times accross the world web

 

and quite right

 

250 were payed by many and did a body swerve...

 

a rogue trader in the end

probably the credit crunch puts pay to there gambeling habits

 

sorry for my poor spelling some words ive written i dont practice myself too often

 

 

 

1 months data soon disolves to only 20 days if you think it over 25-4 -2 = 19 days data

say 15 posts and five threads a max per day

 

no loss people as glad by 5000% the effort to retain any data

and learn a valuable leason where data has become so important

 

 

so the loss is just maybe less than 100 posts ast

 

 

no loss realy

Edited January 9, 2011 by simbo

[simbo]

a disolved domain is one that no longer exists in any cashe

 

and will when you look at the host .com {sells you space} no longer has even an ip address

plug on back bone has one less .. them!!!

 

eventualy 250 will go from whois

when this happens the director has been struck from hosting any web pages

becouse his stature has become insolvent to the degree creditors are left unpayed...

 

....

Edited January 9, 2011 by simbo

[simbo]

i want to personaly pay tribute to atariage.com

 

for putting up with us

 

through the hard times

 

all mukers together!!!!

[svenski]

a disolved domain is one that no longer exists in any cashe

 

and will when you look at the host .com {sells you space} no longer has even an ip address

plug on back bone has one less .. them!!!

 

eventualy 250 will go from whois

when this happens the director has been struck from hosting any web pages

becouse his stature has become insolvent to the degree creditors are left unpayed...

 

....

 

Actually the guy behind 250host is free to register as many domain names as he likes and host them with whomever he likes (apart from hosts and services who won't have him due to unpaid account balances).

 

Just because he has an unpaid hosting account doesn't mean he will lose the domain name . He can keep paying the renewals, move it etc. The only way he could lose a domain name apart from it not being renewed is creditors go after him or his business and get the appropriate court orders to dissolve the business, make him bankrupt etc.

[simbo]

a disolved domain is one that no longer exists in any cashe

 

and will when you look at the host .com {sells you space} no longer has even an ip address

plug on back bone has one less .. them!!!

 

eventualy 250 will go from whois

when this happens the director has been struck from hosting any web pages

becouse his stature has become insolvent to the degree creditors are left unpayed...

 

....

 

Actually the guy behind 250host is free to register as many domain names as he likes and host them with whomever he likes (apart from hosts and services who won't have him due to unpaid account balances).

 

Just because he has an unpaid hosting account doesn't mean he will lose the domain name . He can keep paying the renewals, move it etc. The only way he could lose a domain name apart from it not being renewed is creditors go after him or his business and get the appropriate court orders to dissolve the business, make him bankrupt etc.

 

 

im sorry ive been in the position of a ip domain admin

 

and i can assure you they have been

 

'black balled'

 

the mistake people make when adding hosted domain name services to ip's

 

is thinking admins dont talk and share a list of non solvent users

 

its realy a no brainer for sure

 

 

so

 

1} his host main host 'trusted ssl' is no longer providing secure domain status in any form

 

2} he has many issues

 

3} unpayed bill + interest and prob dudicial court orders served or pending

{served in this case}

 

4} refuses to contact users {withholding data is a federal offence } so the fbi want him

this is why liquidweb suggested an attorney and not a lawyer...

 

 

 

im sorry you just dont realise u.s.a law in this case

 

and i am sure brian will

 

i will eat my shorts on utube ... if 250 again surfaces in its prepresent form

 

unless someone buys there domain and custom

 

the guy left it just 6 months bills late

 

from selling his domain name and its custom as a going concern

to the point it

 

folded...

Edited January 9, 2011 by simbo

[simbo]

maybe a good idea is to simply ask member's

 

not to login

 

 

when the backup comes up online

 

i guess we did ...

Edited January 9, 2011 by simbo

[Grunaki]

Hi. Was trying to post this yesterday but I had to join AtariAge and get approved, etc.

 

Had a bit of a dig around last night to see what I could find regarding 250host.

 

I found the below regarding 250free, whom I gather are/were part of the same company

(Original page.)

 

Ron Wischer, 03rd of January, 2011

Hey folks, here's something that may help you if you had a Domain Name with 250free.

You Domain Name is with enom.com

Their number is: 425-274-4500

Their some nice folks and can walk you through the process of getting your Domain Name back and you can then redirect its pointer to a new site.

Hope this helps someone.

 

 

Don't know if it'll help, but thought I'd let you know.

 

I gather from the Atari-Forum page this morning that you're going to go with the backup from Dec.4 - sounds like it's probably the best option right now. It's horrible when companies that provide a service that people rely on (such as airlines and web hosts) go into liquidation as it usually happens quickly and leaves a lot of people stuck in limbo and out of pocket.. At least you're not stranded 5,000 miles away from home, though.

[skeezix]

simbo -- thats just not how it works; I'm trying not to get drawn into the conversation, but thats not how it works .. theres no big world organization that blackballs anyone or monitors credit reports etc. And I do work for top tier ISPs

 

The _facts_ are few, and the rest is all guessing/here-say, etc. The fact is .. any self respecting company is not down for hours/days and would post announcements and the word would filter out; the only way to be down for a bit is earthquake or something So regardless of what transpired, we know they're just terrible, if not out of business etc. Thats the fact. So we leave them behind.

 

And yes, buddyboy coudl re-open 250host.com somewhere else if he wanted, it'd take 15 minutes; but most likely as simbo suggests,m theres probably a lot of debt etc on those assets

 

Let us hope that A-F didn't have a large balance in there..

 

... sorry, couldnt' reply straight, my kid is flipping out

 

jeff

[Dal_1978]

Hi. Was trying to post this yesterday but I had to join AtariAge and get approved, etc.

 

Had a bit of a dig around last night to see what I could find regarding 250host.

 

I found the below regarding 250free, whom I gather are/were part of the same company

(Original page.)

 

Ron Wischer, 03rd of January, 2011

Hey folks, here's something that may help you if you had a Domain Name with 250free.

You Domain Name is with enom.com

Their number is: 425-274-4500

Their some nice folks and can walk you through the process of getting your Domain Name back and you can then redirect its pointer to a new site.

Hope this helps someone.

 

 

Don't know if it'll help, but thought I'd let you know.

 

I gather from the Atari-Forum page this morning that you're going to go with the backup from Dec.4 - sounds like it's probably the best option right now. It's horrible when companies that provide a service that people rely on (such as airlines and web hosts) go into liquidation as it usually happens quickly and leaves a lot of people stuck in limbo and out of pocket.. At least you're not stranded 5,000 miles away from home, though.

 

I've sent a request to enom.com to clarify if there is any truth in this statement...

[Dal_1978]

Yes - enom will apparently look to honour any domain name the may have been lost through the apparent demise of 250free and 250host. However, they are not able to obtain any data that may have been hosted...

[tuf]

Yes - enom will apparently look to honour any domain name the may have been lost through the apparent demise of 250free and 250host. However, they are not able to obtain any data that may have been hosted...

 

I'd just restore the backup from last month. Every day you wait you lose more data if you think about it.

 

Tuf

[ijor]

... so on this basis, I have raised a support request with the new host to restore the 4th December backup..

The current landing page will probably disappear as they are doing this work and will be replaced by the familiar login page once it's complete.

 

I still don't see any changes. Did you get any news from the new host?

 

Otherwise, and considering that it is already wednesday afternoon (at least), I'm not sure this sounds as too good a start for them. (I'm not complaining against you at all, just against them in the worst case).

[Grunaki]

Found a bit more information:

 

Original Page

 

“If you were hosted by 250Host.com or iSight (Brian Salisbury) please be sure to report your problem to the Better Business Bureau in Las Vegas, NV 89107.

http://southernnevada.bbb.org/

 

 

You can also file a complaint with the FBI (nternet Crime Complaint Center (IC3))regarding fraud at the following website.

http://www.ic3.gov/complaint/default.aspx

 

I have been trying to have my domain name unlocked by the reseller who Brian worked with. You might want to try ENOM, Inc as one of the resellers and also PARALLES Support Center for assistance.”

 

“Everyone, please READ this. Brian did not pay his bill for 6 months, in other words he pocketed our money. Liquid web is who leased to Brian, and from what I have learned he did

not pay his bill for the last 6 months, they went to court because they

legally couldn't just shut it down because of all the websites

involved. The courts issued the shut down. The only recourse to get

your money back is to sue right now.

 

I am on pension and can not afford a lawyer. If anyone can, start a class action suit that is the only way we will get our money back etc. There are enough people on here to join a class action suit. seeing the emails are hidden here, I will leave mine and anyone who wants to get in touch with me can. ladyjudy02@shaw.ca

 

I filled a fraud complaint here:

http://www.ic3.gov/complaint/default.aspx

 

I have found a new host at 50Webs, they have a very good reputation. I was on the Platinum Plan at 250host, but have a better plan now. I lost my domain name, but got a free one with 50Webs.

 

I am working hour after hour to get my pages ready for my new home.”

 

 

Yep, I don't see there being much chance of getting hold of your data now.. Best get that backup online.