Forum wonk

Testament · Nov 11, 2021, 1:30 AM

@testament Sure! It really is up to Gany.

The DB dump contains everything on the forum, including private messages, and it could be used to spawn clones of MSB (even though why someone would want to do that is beyond me ).

I can only give it to whoever I'm asked to, especially since once it leaves my custody I can no longer control who else might also get a copy.

It'll take me a little bit to get it all put together. I know I have enough spare parts to build another rig, but if I'm going to building something that's solely going to be designed around deep storage and heavy RAM use, I'll have to adjust what I'll need accordingly.

I was going to use some of this into an stupidly overwrought and extreme Ryzen Threadripper build, but I feel like this might be a better use of the stuff I have.

I could potentially increase the data storage to 15 TBs if I can find the one HDD I had laying around that I didn't think I'd ever need that much storage for.

Anyways, @Ganymede, the offer is there.

Arkandel · Nov 11, 2021, 1:44 AM

@testament For the record the specs aren't that high! MSB runs on 20 GB storage and 4 GB RAM (which is our bottleneck - thanks Redis).

Even the CPU is probably almost irrelevant.

Ganymede · Nov 11, 2021, 1:47 AM

@arkandel @Testament

Let us talk about this via group chat.

Ominous · Nov 11, 2021, 6:26 AM

@tinuviel said in Forum wonk:

Disappointing women isn't that unusual.

They make many products to address that.

Tributary · Nov 12, 2021, 7:05 AM

Migrating databases is my day job currently. I'd be willing to help as needed.

Ganymede · Nov 12, 2021, 1:46 PM

@ominous

There aren’t enough products for a face such as that.

Ominous · Nov 12, 2021, 8:11 PM

@ganymede

A paper bag and a really good sex toy.

Ganymede · Nov 12, 2021, 9:23 PM

@ominous said in Forum wonk:

A paper bag and a really good sex toy.

If you just want me to choke you, you could always just ask, y'know.

silverfox · Nov 12, 2021, 9:26 PM

Testament · Nov 12, 2021, 9:30 PM

@silverfox Hey. No kink shaming.

Ominous · Nov 13, 2021, 3:24 AM

@ganymede said in Forum wonk:

If you just want me to choke you, you could always just ask, y'know.

Arkandel · Nov 13, 2021, 4:42 AM

This thread has been derailed more than the average thread gets derailed.

Derp · Nov 13, 2021, 4:43 AM

@arkandel said in Forum wonk:

This thread has been derailed more than the average thread gets derailed.

But getting the thread railed just feeds into the ideas that derailed it in the first place.

It's a no win scenario.

Roz · Feb 3, 2022, 5:54 PM

So rezzing this thread for OBVIOUS REASONS.

I am feeling a bit anxious to put my money where my mouth is to help where I can. I am somewhat technically-inclined, but I am not a fully experienced server administrator, dev, coder, what have you. I can hesitantly and anxiously work my way through clear instructions, but I can tell you that trying to set up something like the Arxcode Evennia was a Trial for me (and then I never did quite get it working).

From going over this thread again, it sounds like the various proposed solutions (or attempted solutions) were:

Stay on NodeBB and migrate the database from Redis to MongoDB. This would either require someone writing a custom migration solution or paying NodeBB to do it for us. When Ark mentioned this, he dropped a dollar tag of $500. (FWIW, I am assuming that was the cost for NodeBB's team doing it, but I could be wrong there.) This MIGHT fix the memory leak issue, but we don't actually no for sure. There may be something else about our setup causing issues.
Stay on NodeBB but expand the RAM of our hosting plan (if that's the right term for it). This won't fix the memory issue but make it less prevalent. However, it could also reach the point where we're just in the same boat as time goes on. This also has a price tag, and I get the impression that it's not felt to be super efficient. (That is, we're making use of all the RAM, but practically none of the CPU, etc.)
Try to migrate to a platform like Discourse which has tools for migrating from NodeBB so as to not lose our board history.
Just start entirely fresh on a different platform and keep the current NodeBB setup live for a given period of time in read-only form.
Move the database from the current Linode VM to the local machine of a member. I assume this would be paired with keeping the current NodeBB+Redis setup.
There was a mention at one point wondering if moving to Digital Ocean would be of any help, I think mostly because they have a Discourse-specific droplet setup that should be pretty simple, so that is in the mix somewhere.

Please correct me if I've gotten any of those wrong.

Here are my thoughts, for what they are worth. I am not a mod here, I am just a frequent poster with very strong opinions about everything in the world.

I think people would absolutely come to regret losing the board history. I know I would. Yes, we would of course all make do without it if it was necessary, but it seems preferable to explore other options before that.
I am a rare person on MSB who likes NodeBB's style/design, but I would not be heartbroken if it was best for the board to move platforms.
I absolutely think there are enough people who would pitch in funds that would pay for the migration cost of the first option.
The idea of moving stuff to one person's local machine makes me weirdly nervous. It feels like a certain loss of control? Unless there's an issue with not having the funds to support a professional hosting solution, which I don't think there are, it seems like a step that could potentially bring its own problems that we don't have right now.

I think 1 or 3 are the most ideal solutions amid all of it. I don't know if there would be any cost savings in moving to Digital Ocean in conjunction with 3, or if it would help reduce the technical lift post-migration since it has that Discourse-specific droplet option. I imagine other folks would have more insight there. I would be absolutely willing to organize a GoFundMe for #1, and/or contribute to one someone else set up. I would also be willing to try and help with #3 with the caveats that I gave up top. I know there was at least a person or two in the thread who indicated that they have experience with database migration stuff and willingness to help.

silverfox · Feb 3, 2022, 6:03 PM

I just need someone tell me who and when to venmo some money. I come here way more often then I need to and it has become a valuable part of my life.

Ganymede · Feb 3, 2022, 6:18 PM

We are currently working on options 1 and 3. The current issues have forced me to consider option 4. My problem is that I lack the skills at the moment to set up a new board, and I haven’t the time right now to teach myself.

But we are working on it. Let’s keep talking. The cost to maintain the place currently is minimal, so there’s no need to worry about it.

Roz · Feb 3, 2022, 6:25 PM

@ganymede I have more time than you and probably at least a slightly higher technical proficiency so I will absolutely at least attempt stuff before you end up having to just start totally fresh without any history. And I have people who I can probably at least convince to help offer guidance if I get stuck. If I cry at them.

Arkandel · Feb 3, 2022, 7:09 PM

@roz said in Forum wonk:

Stay on NodeBB and migrate the database from Redis to MongoDB. This would either require someone writing a custom migration solution or paying NodeBB to do it for us. When Ark mentioned this, he dropped a dollar tag of $500. (FWIW, I am assuming that was the cost for NodeBB's team doing it, but I could be wrong there.) This MIGHT fix the memory leak issue, but we don't actually no for sure. There may be something else about our setup causing issues.

That's correct. For full transparency, this is the actual, and dated, response at the time from nodeBB's agent:

Jul 21, 2020, 11:19 AM EDT

Hello <reducted>

Thanks for contacting us! We can certainly help with this. The cost for this migration would be $500 USD. Please let us know if you'd like to proceed and I will engage our migration expert.

Cheers,

And that is also correct that I can't guarantee the issue is redis. It's however a very good potential root cause since it's always the service that's blowing up requiring more resources, and the one MSB originally used instead of mongoDB which it should have.

Testament · Feb 3, 2022, 7:19 PM

Also in the name of transparency, I've been trying to help with potential migration by creating a VM on my desktop to recreate the forum in the hopes in being able to preserve what we already have then eventually pass it onto a new forum with a larger memory limit.

I've stated privately to others, but I'll say it here as well. I've run into various roadblock due to personal health reasons that I have no desire to go into publicly. This has placed a problem in my path with trying to focus on working on this on my end or generally finding enough time to do. To note, it has been getting better, but I'm not where I want to. But I know I'm very close to finishing the installation, however, I've run into a snag that I haven't yet been to figure out. If anyone is more curious, it deals with the fact that NodeBB installation/authentication failure and I'm unsure what's causing it. The MongoDB install wasn't nearly as troublesome.

With that said, if NodeBB is willing to migrate the server for a fee, I'm willing put $100 towards it.

ETA: This has sat in the back of my mind for the past month and it's eaten at me. I want to apologize for the loss of the forum causing some anxiety for others. I will take accountability on that end.

Derp · Feb 3, 2022, 7:26 PM

@testament said in Forum wonk:

With that said, if NodeBB is willing to migrate the server for a fee, I'm willing put $100 towards it.

We've set up GoFundMe's for all manner of things. I'm pretty sure that all of us could pitch something toward helping to get a thing migrated if it needs it.