PlaymoFriends
Getting Started => Technical Support/Testing => Topic started by: Indianna on September 19, 2008, 04:48:49
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Hi Sylvia!
It sounds like a few of us have had the same problem recently. Sometimes when posting I get a Server Error message. Then when I re-do the post, thinking that the first one was lost, I discover that the first one went through after all. This just happened to me today in the Shopping & Auctions section (http://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?board=25.0) and I ended up with two new topics instead of one. Because it was a topic and not just a post, I was not able to delete the extra one myself. Rasputin mentioned that something similar has happened to him.
I didn't think to save the text of the Server Error message :-[ sorry! If it happens again I will try to copy and save the message for you.
Thanks!
- Anne
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I'm not sure what exactly is causing it.
If it's a server error, then it's not something I am able to fix by myself. I can only alert the webhost about it.
The dreamhost team are pretty good at discerning problems and getting them sorted out, but sometimes it can take several days for running processes to return completely back to normal.
We are on a shared server so if we are experiencing some difficulties, it's reasonable to assume that a few other websites are also affected. This means they will probably already be working on rectifying the situation as I write this. :crossed:
The moderators do check this forum regularly so please don't worry if you accidentally double post on occasion. It's no trouble for us to delete the duplicate posts (gives us something to do actually. ;))
I checked the forum error log and there is no record of the error there. Please copy it for me next time as this helps me greatly when contacting the support team. :yup:
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To tell the truth, it's not a huge problem - for me, anyway. I will try to save the message if it happens to me again and hopefully other folks will also be on the look-out for it. :)
The moderators do check this forum regularly so please don't worry if you accidentally double post on occasion. It's no trouble for us to delete the duplicate posts (gives us something to do actually. ;))
Thanks! :*)
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It was happening for me for a few days and just stopped all by it self ( unless somebody did something )
It was always the same thing . You hit the post button then the screen went to an error page in bold type .
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That's strange. I had the server error message and I'm sure I posted on it in this thread, including the full message.
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That's strange. I had the server error message and I'm sure I posted on it in this thread, including the full message.
I didn't get a notification as I did with the other replies here. :eh?:
I guess that PF's misbehaving server had one more trick it wanted to play on you that day. ;)
I sure hope it's settled back down for now. Overall, the service we get from dreamhost is pretty good and problems normally get sorted out quickly. :)
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Sylvia, thanks for following up on this! It looks like the problem is not a chronic one, fortunately. :)
In the future, if and when something like this happens again, I will copy and save the text of the error message so that you can see what the exact problem is. I hope that other folks will try to do the same! :yup:
- Anne
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This was one i get once in a while trying to open up a page
Internal Server Error
The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.
Please contact the server administrator, webmaster@playmofriends.com and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error.
More information about this error may be available in the server error log.
Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.
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I've done some general maintenance and I've also checked the server error log.
It was completely empty so there are no clues as to the cause of the temporary outages.
I've written to the Dreamhost support team and described the problems we've been having and given them a copy of the error message.
Hopefully they will be able to tell me what is going on and will assure me that it will soon be fixed! :crossed:
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Just got the error, after posting a long response.
When I tried to re-post, it warned me that a post had been made while I was typing, which was of course my own.
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Received this reply from Dreamhost last night...
I apologize for the problem, it looks like your website is over utilizing
it's fair share of memory.
2008-09-25 12:21:07 kill 27720 playmo php.cgi "Process
puts user over total memory limit"
2008-09-25 12:26:53 kill 3802 playmo php.cgi "Process
puts user over total memory limit"
2008-09-25 12:42:35 kill 25858 playmo php.cgi "Process
puts user over total memory limit"
It looks like your sites may have outgrown the shared hosting environment
and it may be time to upgrade to a Private Server (
http://www.dreamhostps.com ). You may also want to check out our wiki
page on finding the sources of heavy usage here
http://wiki.dreamhost.com/Finding_Causes_of_Heavy_Usage
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.
Thanks!
Robert R
Switching to a private server is easy - just a matter of hitting a button on the web panel.
The only real change will be the higher cost, although I'm not sure exactly how much higher it will be. That all depends on how much extra memory the site requires.
I estimate there is currently enough money in the PlaymoFriends PayPal account from membership fees to pay for at least a year's worth of hosting, maybe slightly longer.
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Sylvia, I hope you will let us know if more funds are needed! :yup:
Personally, I am happy to make a contribution knowing that it keeps Playmofriends running well and, hopefully, ad-free if that is possible. :)
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Sylvia, I hope you will let us know if more funds are needed! :yup:
Personally, I am happy to make a contribution knowing that it keeps Playmofriends running well and, hopefully, ad-free if that is possible. :)
Ditto.
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Hear, hear!
Gepetto
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ditto with a star ;D
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Dito: let me know if any support is required.
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Anne, Gordon, Steve, Mark & Jochen ~
Thank you very much for the offers of support! :love:
I don't think I'll need to take you up on them in the immediate future, but I am very grateful that you are willing to lend a hand.
PF is still attracting new members at a reasonably high rate; the 2008 average is around 15 per month. The difficulty, of course, is finding those who are also willing to pay the joining fee. ;) The general stats (http://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?action=stats) don't reflect this accurately. They do show the number of new accounts being created each month, but a large proportion of those accounts get deleted if the person hasn't bothered to answer the registration questions or if they don't respond to the polite email (plus a reminder one week later) requesting payment. :-\
I have thought about raising the membership fee slightly, but the US dollar has weakened considerably since the forum launched and the US members have all experienced a gradual increase in the cost of joining as a result. The converted membership fee was around $6.00 in November 2005 while it is now closer to $7.30. (This is the gross figure only since PayPal takes between 75-80 US cents in fees for each payment received.)
Perhaps it would be helpful if I make up a graph or chart showing the forum's income and expenditure (once I have an exact figure, that is ;)). I could update it regularly (monthly perhaps?) and this would give all members the opportunity to see at a glance if the fund was starting to get too low to meet the hosting costs.
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Sylvia,
While I appreciate your willingness to post income and expenditure figures on an ongoing basis I feel it to be an unnecessary use of your time. If you feel more funds are required I think a post to that effect would suffice, I for one would not doubt the need if you say it is there.
I would rather see your time used on Klicky cards and photos then administrative minutiae.
Steve
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Sylvia,
While I appreciate your willingness to post income and expenditure figures on an ongoing basis I feel it to be an unnecessary use of your time. If you feel more funds are required I think a post to that effect would suffice, I for one would not doubt the need if you say it is there.
I would rather see your time used on Klicky cards and photos then administrative minutiae.
Steve
I agree. Even if we had to pay a year (semester, monthly) fee, so as to pay somebody to help you/do it for you!
(However people here won't like my idea, in general ... :0 )
Playmofriends is worthed paying!
Gus
:blackhair:
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. . . While I appreciate your willingness to post income and expenditure figures on an ongoing basis I feel it to be an unnecessary use of your time. If you feel more funds are required I think a post to that effect would suffice, I for one would not doubt the need if you say it is there. . .
Playmofriends is worthed paying!
Sylvia, I totally agree with Steve and Gus :yup: - I don't think we need to see an accounting of things - it is your website and you are obviously not making any money off of it! Just let us know if and when there is a need and we will answer your call.
- Anne
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Personally, I agree with what has been said but other members may not and, no disrespect to Sylvia, I can understand their view too. So there is a case for producing some figures for them so as to get their support as well. What I wouldn't want to see is very complex figures which not only may take a long time to produce but also not be over helpful - if figures are needed, then let them be simple and clear.
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Has anyone had any problems like this recently?
I haven't moved the site to a private server yet because I wanted to see if the error might resolve itself given a little time. It seems a bit more stable now but then I haven't been on much this week due to other commitments.