Site to be offline for required updates / may not return

[Miguel]

One week to live or die.

...

Our Web host is transitioning to the latest version of PHP -- a server-side scripting language that's the backbone of the site. The version of the forum software that Haleyfans is running is not compatible with it.

An upgrade is in order. It's actually way, way overdue because I failed when I last made the attempt. It's possible I may not succeed this time either.

This will not be a simple task because many iterations of the software will have to be located and updated one at a time. This includes a big, defining jump in the forum software's advancement (we're talking years of updates).

When things went wrong in the past it was supposed to be a simple move to one slight update. So that represents the first hurdle to be made.

...

A troubling sign... the host turned back the clock on the PHP for a week so I could regain access to the site and work on this.

The first thing I did was a database backup.

This generated an error message I had never received before "Fatal Error: allowed memory size of xxxxxxxxx exhausted..." Checking another portion of the site though I see that backups were created each time. For some reason though they compressed files are about 3 MB smaller than the last backups (14 MB vs 17 MB).

Over time the backups have always become slightly larger. They haven't been this small since December 2015. So if something goes wrong and I have to resort to them I don't know if they'll work.

The error message might also be an indication the attempt to do the upgrade will fail/not complete b/c something is wrong.

[Tusk]

There’s nowhere you can get instruction about this error?

i wouldn’t want to attempt something like this w/o someone to bounce things off of and you do something that can’t be undone

[Miguel]

I'll likely inquire of the host after some more investigation. It's possible they may say it's a forum thing (not their job to troubleshoot 3rd-party software).

[rmd1064]

Miguel---does this site cost you money? And to maintain it or update it, will it require money?

Perhaps have a GoFundMe page set up and Haliens could contribute?

I would hate to see this site go away....sigh.

[Tusk]

Miguel has been paying for a site host since the beginning, nothing that requires a go-fund me (I’ve probably spent more than any Halien “for the cause” w/o compensation )

That’s not the issue.

The site host has been trying to get HF updated for years, unfortunately that didn’t happen, so it has become somewhat of a security risk for the other accounts it hosts as well as becoming incompatible/obsolete with the upgrades the server has gone through. (how many times did you see a bbb error page when trying to connect to the site?)

Miguel has been tasked to bring the site back “up to code” but may not have the technical know how to accomplish that task, if it’s even possible with how outdated HF has become compared to the other sites they host.

The week extension was time given to Miguel to accomplish this. If he can’t?....

Besides, HF is no longer the community it once was, where there was interaction...about the only people that post are Miguel, John and I...
It has become a reference destination which makes it no fun for me personally.

One of the early things that was fun about being a Halien was the community...now all I do is find stuff and post...in an echo chamber, so no fun at all :/

[Tusk]

Sweet.... !

[Miguel]

Now that the back-end has been updated we'll have to see what can be done in the way of added features -- once I get the formatting/theme straightened out. The software has been out-of-date for years, but most of the reminders from the host though have been of an automated sort. They announced the change to PHP 7 (which is incompatible with the old version of the forum software) in early May. My father passed away at the end of April. My mother subsequently developed a heart ailment. So the update is one of many things that fell by the wayside.

[yanni5]

I haven't posted here in quite some time, but I still check in pretty much daily, so I'm happy to see that the update was successful. Thanks Miguel and everyone for keeping us up to date with all the Haley happenings!

More important though, Miguel, I'm sorry to hear about your father passing away and your mothers heart ailment, sending my best wishes for your moms speedy recovery.

[XAtlantic]

You are my hero knights sailing on the stormy seas of bytes!

I cannot imagine all the complexity this involves, and all the obstacles (though I have an inkling given that I deal with numerical computer simulation professionally).

Thank you so much for the hard and tedious work under difficult circumstances!
(My father passed away a year ago and now my mother is in our care, so I know how that is.)

An important point is raised by Tusk: that the discussions are not happening anymore. I also dropped out at some point. I do come back a lot to read, but find I rely more on twitter feeds. But it is not the same. This requires some careful thinking. The function of HF as an archive of the beginnings will remain important for the future historians, but for the us and now, I agree with Tusk that the community is what made it. For me, one problem has been that there are only so many times that one can state how fantastic things are, how wonderful the music, how great the talent. Or speculate on what may be next, or how Haley works, or what she might do. It starts becoming repetitive. Much has been said many times. While of course new things come up. So what, besides the flow of information keeping us all updated - which here indeed totally is a hard labor of love by Tusk, John and Miguel + a few others, which is greatly admire - what else could be done to create new discussion that is fun to join? I am not sure I know the answer but it is worth thinking about. Because the next step would be silence. I, for one, would be pretty cut off from keeping up to date with what is developing. But I seriously understand that for those still posting it is more of a task by now and not that much fun anymore, despite all the dedication. And half of the fun is feedback and thoughts and commmunity around the information. Or did people wander off to be engaged with new discoveries? The world of music is endless, thankfully. So that is going to happen, too, which does not mean of course leaving interest in Haley behind, as she is unique. Or is it just that a dedicated niche following necessarily changes character when the act breaks more into sucess? For me, HF was always characterized by two things, an open and friendly community of great people - wonderful meetings online - and a joint deep love of music from different perspectives. HF never was superficial fan tabloid talk but always paired with passion for music in all its forms.

In any case, great that HF is alive still and hats off to you, Miguel, for not deciding that the dynamics no longer warrant the huge hassle your took upon yourself. At least now there are options! I don't know if the operation has ended or is still in full swing.

As an aside, what are the archive mode options? That could be looked into, if the site were to freeze at some point, how to keep it up to date as an archive. Not that we're there yet, if ever.

[Tusk]

It should be noted that a Halien (I forget his name, he posted on HF a couple times) has done quite an amazing job of keeping Haley’s Wikipedia entry updated somewhat, so there are other resources that are keeping some records about Haley

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haley_Reinhart 

And in so far as, what is there to talk about? I, for one, have been posting on Twitter, Instagram, Haleyfans, have even started engaging my subscribers on Youtube.  While it's true, one might feel it's redundant to continue posting how much we love Haley, she hasn't stopped performing.  TeamHaleyFans and I are still providing videos, consistently, one or two per week for SIX years.  Has Haley not grown as a performer?  Has she now become a one note singer?  Is there nothing going on in her career?

I find it ironic that many things that we complained about not happening for Haley, now is happening, that people have stopped posting....shouldn't we be happy that Haley's channel is actually posting videos?  Personally, I'm a bit disappointed that I FINALLY was able to help in that cause by making #TeamHaleyFans videos good enough that Team Haley is posting them on Haley's channel, and no one seems to care. 

I couldn't believe that I was given the opportunity to be the exclusive source of video (and Greg photos) at the Troubadour and the Hotel Cafe....and crickets from fans....  There are seven #TeamHaleyFans videos on Haley's youtube channel.

There is a reason I've been very appreciative of #TeamHaleyFans.  Most of these people don't post at all, most of these people have entrusted me to use their media to support and promote Haley.  I could have done none of this without their help and support... if there's a reason I continue to do what I do?  It's thanks to people like Rachel, Miguel, John and #TeamHaleyFans, and of course Haley...

Add to that, we FINALLY have a manager for Haley that is over the top promoting her.  Jay is the complete opposite of the passive managers Haley had in the past.  Subscribers to Haley's channel has doubled since Jay came aboard.  Look at the explosion of promotion, recognition and activity that has occurred these last few months since Jay came on board....can we truly say there's nothing to post about?