What a Stressful Weekend it Was - Please Read This...

[Unimatic1140]

So on Friday about 4pm Central Time the web server that runs AW, Vacuumland and Automatic Ephemera stopped responding. I gave it a couple of hours to see if it was a network issue and with the sites not coming back up I called technical support and entered a support ticket. All weekend long I have been given the run-around telling me it will be fixed within a few hours. Support over this holiday weekend was not the normal US based support and I was dealing with off-shore (India) not too knowledgeable phone representatives. Finally late on Saturday they admitted to me that they only had a skeleton staff as it is Thanksgiving weekend. I was in contact with them again this morning (normal weekday support) and with everyone back to work they were able to hard restart the server and all seems to be working again.

This brings me to my next point. I have been running AW for 23 years, Vacuumland for 17 years and Automatic Ephemera for 11 years. While it has been a labor of love now that I'm in my 60's I'm getting to the point in my life that I would like to retire. While nothing is imminent but I simply can't keep doing this forever. I'm considering selling the websites separately within 18 months or so. It's going to need someone with web experience to run the day to day operations and troubleshoot problems like we had this weekend.

Some of you guys who love this site may consider thinking about gathering a group of interested members who can raise the funds to buy the site and hire someone part time to run the site and then run the site as a group collective as opposed to they way it has been with just one person doing all the work.

As I said above nothing is happening immediately, however it is something to think about for the not too distant future.

Thankfully this weekend outage now seems to over and I hope it doesn't repeat itself anytime soon.

 

[Chetlaham]

Thank You! This is I am so grateful for your time and dedication let alone creating this site. I LOVE what you do and I hope you stick around forever while getting the rest you deserve to enjoy your collection. I don't think anyone could run this site as well so you do. I hope whom ever acquires it is a member here with a love of collecting and restoring vintage appliances.

 

[seedub]

I am relieved to know that it wasn't the security settings on my home router or my security suite running amok.

Robert, thank you very very much for doing aw.org . I appreciate you.

Love,
Chris

 

[dalangdon]

Robert, this site is an invaluable resource to many people, and you've continuously improved it over the years, but there's a time for everything.

I hope someone can take up the cause and save this fun and informative little corner of the Internet, but I totally get where you are coming from.

 

[circlew]

Robert, while I missed it, please don't get stressed out about it. No one is going to die or suffer harm if it's out of order once in a while. Thanks again for providing this fun and informative forum!

 

[chestermikeuk]

What a Stressful Weekend it Was - Please Read This...

Great to see its all back up & running Robert but can understand how stressful it must be all on your shoulders .

Would it be useful to get a cost from the ISP to see what the costs are for it being managed ? and then throw it out to memebers & subscribers to absorb these costs so freeing you up and getting a managed service ?

Then it does beg the question would you want to be named contact or hand over to others in a group to mamage etc ?

Its the thing like our collections - If Anything Happens To Us and In The Event of Natural Death etc do our Wills Have The Instructions Set Up To Advise & Means For The Service To Continue ?

Fully appreciate all you do and have done over the years Robert !!

Cheers, Mike
.

 

[Unimatic1140]

Good questions Mike!

Would it be useful to get a cost from the ISP to see what the costs are for it being managed ? and then throw it out to members & subscribers to absorb these costs so freeing you up and getting a managed service ?
ISPs do not manage software or the content of a site, they only manage the server hardware and software running the server itself, not what is displayed to the end internet user. FYI, this account is already under a hosting managed account.

Then it does beg the question would you want to be named contact or hand over to others in a group to manage etc ?
I'd like to be completely out of it once I retire!

 

[Unimatic1140]

If Anything Happens To Us and In The Event of Natural Death etc do our Wills Have The Instructions Set Up To Advise & Means For The Service To Continue ?

I should answer this question too. Right now if I step outside and slip on the ice and get hit by the proverbial bus, the site goes dark just like what happened over the weekend. It will probably last a few months until it needs maintenance or the bills need to be paid, but it wont last for long. All the more reason in time to have some kind of collective run the site if you guys want it to last long-term.

 

[ea56]

Robert,
I don’t blame you for wanting to get someone else to take over the responsibility of running this website. It’s a very BIG responsibility and you have done a marvelous job keeping it up and running and also monitoring it for objectionable content that may have been posted.

Having been retired myself for over 18 years, but still being on our HOA BOD since 1995, another volunteer position I can feel your pain. Once you begin in a volunteer position and you perform your duties in a manner that is agreeable with the multitudes its hard as hell to extricate yourself from being a volunteer.

I wish you success in finding someone to take this site over for you so you can retire. You have very BIG shoes to fill and it will take a special person or persons with patience and good judgement to assume your duties as Webmaster.

Thanks so very much for all the personal time and energy that you have put into this labor of love that makes so many of us happy and provides a connection for all of us with common interests. You’re a real mensch!

Eddie

 

[launderess]

Am sorry to hear you had so much bother over holiday

This site has been a labour of love Robert and we all are deeply indebted to you for founding and keeping AW.org going.

We none of us are young as we used to be and it's natural after awhile for even the most dedicated website or online forum founder to wish to step back if not move onto other things.

For now am happy website is back up and all is well.

Thank you again Robert for all you've done and hopefully your Thanksgiving weekend wasn't a total wash out.

L.

 

[peteski50]

Website!

Robert thank you for all your efforts it is much appreciated. I dont think anyone else is suited to run the club like you do.
Best Wishes
Peter

 

[launderess]

"Would it be useful to get a cost from the ISP to see what the costs are for it being managed ? and then throw it out to memebers & subscribers to absorb these costs so freeing you up and getting a managed service ?"

There is more to it than just costs of hosting site. Someone has to know and be able to do the coding which is foundation of any website.

Technical support from host is fine for things that involve that end and or perhaps sorting out why certain bits of code no longer work or are having issues. But again larger share of responsibility involves owner of site who must be cognizant of coding to not only create content and features, but also troubleshoot.

Then there are things such as keeping overall website safe from hackers and others intent on placing nefarious bits of code or simply taking over entirely.

Today of course one can put things up on a cloud with many different persons having authorized access, but that has drawbacks as well.

Then there are other routine and mundane issues such as who after Robert actually legally owns AW.org. Who is going to pay bills for hosting, encryption/security certificate (HTTPS protocol), etc...?

Finally unless person or persons are willing to do all that work for little to nil financial compensation the site must somehow generate income.

Even taking into account members who have gone onto the other place and or for other reasons no longer actively participate, there is a rather large number of AW.org members who basically lurk about or otherwise rarely if ever participate. They do however often extract information.

As technology has advanced and prices come down everyone now has some sort of digital camera or phone for taking and uploading pictures. As such AW.org like many other sites has become heavy with pictures. Many of those uploaded images are not resized or optimized for internet posting thus eat up considerable storage space.

Aw.org is no different than one's home or other computer/device in that respect. At some point either files must be deleted or more storage space arranged to accommodate. Latter costs money depending upon what sort of hosting plan a site happens to have. Servers do not have unlimited space but someone has to pay (or should) for that space.[this post was last edited: 11/27/2023-14:03]

 

[fisherpaykel]

Thank you

Robert, a big thank you for creating and running this site for all of us to learn, share and spend interesting time here. Yes of course do what is best for you in terms of retirement, it isn't as scary as I once thought, in fact it is the goal we spend years working toward.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

And right on that day I'd Upgraded my Membership!

I'm glad the site is back up--wondering how everything I go to worked except AW.org, and I missed the Pics of the Day, beginning with the short glimpse I got of the Gibson W&D ad before it all went out...

 

Thank you Robert for whatever effort you made in restoring and may this website with all your mighty effort you put into always continue...

 

 

 

-- Dave

 

[turquoisedude]

Although I am not very active here (or anywhere for that matter), I'd still be willing to help pay for and maintain the documentation and restoration archives that are stored on this site.  It's an excellent resource for anyone who needs detailed information about vintage appliance restorations, repairs, and maintenance.  And you don't get smartass, rude comments from an archived post when you 'ask' it a question. 

The archives here have gotten me through many a situation and I sincerely hope they can be maintained. 

 

[repairguy]

Robert thanks for all you’ve done all of these years to keep these great sites going. I hope you can find someone with the same affinity for old appliances that we have to keep things going.

 

[supersuds]

We've been very lucky to have a site owner with Robert's combination of collecting/restoration knowledge AND his friendly, even temperament.

If the sites are for sale, that implies they're profitable, which is a big plus. Nobody will have to take them on at a loss.

 

[helicaldrive]

It’s a real shame to hear

That your TG weekend was spoiled with stress over the site going down.

Burnout is such a real thing in our early 60s.

Even though I exercise and take good care of myself, there’s been a sea change and I simply cannot do what I used to do, either mentally or physically, and on top of it, I don’t care to.

It’s perfectly understandable you’re ready to move on.

Even so, you’ll never know how much enjoyment you have brought to innumerable people by serving as webmaster, and how much it has been appreciated.

Sorry to say I have neither the knowledge nor the skills to lend a hand.

 

[westtexman]

Robert,

Thank you for all your hard work. I know this has been a labor of love for you, but when you’ve invested as much time and money into this as you have over the years, at some point I can see where it would just become more “labor” and less “love”.

Here’s the big question - What do you plan to do in your “retirement”?

Bryan