February 2020 Site Updates and News

[Steve E.]

Dear Lathe Trolls,

I have been working hard to upgrade the site. Over the past few months, it has been almost a full-time job. You've probably noticed the changes, but I would like to record the major ones here:

• Significantly: After weeks of trial-and-error testing, the chat forum has been moved to upgraded phpBB3.2.9 software, crucial for it to continue functioning in the current PHP 7.2.x environment. Out of necessity, I redesigned the formatting of the “skin” of the site from scratch, to allow it to work in this new environment. So far, so good: The site seems more stable, and the software upgrade adds several helpful features, which I am still discovering. Quotes function beautifully, and link back to their source posts! And as of this week, in a modification I made, we have cute little default phonograph avatars! Usernames are color-coded in threads to give shout-outs to current and past sponsors, and to mods.

• Interface languages have been upgraded where possible. I’m still making efforts to improve the outgoing registration messages; I am aware these have been confusing and inaccurate for non-English speakers for a long time. I’ve put out a request onsite for some translation help. (Can you help?)

• A DDoS attack by some 7000 spambots forced our host servers to shut down the site a few weeks ago. I have had to invest in additional firewall software to keep them at bay, through SiteLock. I blocked some IPs that seemed to be the main source of the bots, as a short term solution. But if you receive a “403” message and can’t access the site, let me know and I’ll make sure this is fixed. (I may have been overzealous.) Temporarily, I have had to block most images from appearing, unless one is logged into the site. Once the firewall is stable, I will try removing that block.

• Bluehost shut the site down again twice, this week, and they are offering inadequate explanations or data. It appears they just don't like the sizes of the MYSQL databases--even the unused backups. I am hoping that the firewall will calm them down. If not, I am considering moving to a dedicated server with another provider, but I fear this will increase the site's expenses by 300% per year. (Recommendations are welcome.)

• You will notice that the menu at top links to the upgraded “Magazine” (or blog) of the chat forum. It is called "Making Records”. (This is not to be confused with our allies at “Making Vinyl”—our members voted on this name for the blog a few years ago.) It is my hope that this blog will be an outward-pointing, end-user oriented showcase of the work our members do; entertaining, educational and promotional. I’m looking into a system that will allow approved users to post in this new blog with a minimum of fuss. This may take a little while to implement, and I'm concerned that it may double our firewall expense.

• The “Our Sponsors” page has been upgraded to list the sites’ recent sponsors. And as illustrated above, current sponsors that I have successfully identified will appear in royal purple in the online topic chats, with matching default avatars. I am grateful to you all. Please make sure that you are listed correctly. (The purple color codes do not apply to the Sponsor pages themselves--on those, it is external links that are color-differentiated, and current sponsors simply get their own page.)

• Through weeks of customer service calls that were a little like playing the lottery, I was able to get the hosting service to reconfigure the site's automatic backups (knock wood). I've recently had to use my own manual backups more than once, because Codeguard (the paid service) didn't actually work. Fortunately, I do make manual backups before executing any major change, but that is little reassurance in case of a hosting catastrophe. (We have had those before.)

• I am working to make sure that the site is compliant with EU Cookie Directive (2012), and the privacy requirements under the GDPR Directive (2018). This may mean that you will be asked to give or refuse certain cookie permissions, one time, when logging on shortly.

• I cleaned up/updated several hundred old links referring to topics from prior versions of the board. (In other words, links to topics from the ".net" days should work more reliably now.)

***
And there you have it! All of this takes time, patience, persistence, software know-how, and attention to detail. This is time that I must take away from the other income-producing work that keeps a roof over my head, here, in Flatbush Brooklyn. And, now, it appears it will take even more money to keep the site from these ongoing take-downs by Bluehost.

Thanks again to all who have contributed so far to the fundraiser. It made the list of improvements listed in that link possible.

For me to commit those resources to keep this site afloat, I need the financial support of those who rely on the site. This recent fundraising drive has helped. But we still need more thorough participation by our site's members.

Please click the golden "Contribute" button at the top of the page, and help to keep Lathe Trolls helping you.

Thank you.

Your admin,

Steve Espinola