RMweb seems to have been very under the weather over the last few weeks, with pages loading very slowly or not at all - anyone know what's up? Seems to have coincided with the display of generic popup videos which manage to be both pointless and highly annoying. Or is it just me?
:hmmm:
Ian. I have found RMweb to be slow and full of annoying ads, events that are not happening listed and after checking my browsers and clearing my cache came to the same conclusions. Happy Christmas. Chris
Hi
They have been testing advertising for some time hence what you are seeing. If you are a gold member then you don't see so many ads and they are going to introduce another subscription level in the new year.
Cheers
Paul
And your point is?
There are several comments from Andy on RMWeb explaining about the verious problems since the last update.
Some of the problems have already been addressed and fixed, some have been temporarily fixed pending more changes in the New Year which it is hoped will address a lot of the problems that have occurred recently.
Phil H
Why the aggression, Phil? It's a valid question.
I've found several times the site simply won't load. Today was one. Yes theres a long running thread about the advert testing, but that's full moaning and Andy getting annoyed at the moaners. And that assumes you can even access that site if the page loads.
For a large, commercially backed site the performance is shambolic. At least once a week I just get a Cloudflare outage page.
Indeed, my point is it's gone from normally usable to something between painfully slow and just broken (at least when I've tried accessing it), and I haven't had the patience to try and click through the site to work out what's up, on the other hand the bit which does seem to work quite well are these pointless popups, so was merely wondering if anyone has any insights (or if it's just me).
The adverts are irksome and slow things down. I liked the forum the way it was and it isn't important enough for me to pay a subscription for it. Having said that the bottom line is that Warners is a business and can only continue to exist if it makes a profit. It is quite reasonable of them to try to generate some income from a service that cost them money to provide. So no complaints from me; it's been great that it has been provided for free and without pop up advertising for so long.
Quote from: crewearpley40 on December 23, 2021, 12:49:06 PM
Ian. I have found RMweb to be slow and full of annoying ads, events that are not happening listed and after checking my broswers and clearing my cache came to the same conclusions. Happy Christmas. Chris
I have found RMweb to be slow and full of annoying
people and rarely bother with it these days so I have no idea or interest in whether it works or not. Just my opinion of course.
Part of the NGF upgrade involves the sabotage of their site. Normal service will never be resumed as they have been assimilated into the Borg collective >:D
Quote from: Chris Morris on December 23, 2021, 01:52:51 PM
The adverts are irksome and slow things down. I liked the forum the way it was and it isn't important enough for me to pay a subscription for it. Having said that the bottom line is that Warners is a business and can only continue to exist if it makes a profit. It is quite reasonable of them to try to generate some income from a service that cost them money to provide. So no complaints from me; it's been great that it has been provided for free and without pop up advertising for so long.
Well put
The 'business' element is really the problem.
Hobby forums are much better when they are managed by willing (and all such people deserve everyone's unwavering support) and able volunteers. I would much prefer an RM Web style forum but 'non-aligned'. The trouble is it is impossible to get everyone interested in one subject to support the same one forum so you end up with dozens of similar forums with different groups of people on each one, which arguably spreads the 'gen' too thinly.
QuoteThe adverts are irksome and slow things down.
https://adblockplus.org/ (https://adblockplus.org/)
The "problem" with RMWeb is the sheer number of very knowledgeable people who use it.
If I wanted to know which style of lamp irons were used on an 1897 vintage Furness Railway kettle, someone there would probably have the answer.
On here, forgive me, not so much :P
However I no longer post about my layout on RMWeb, just here. :D
John P
I post a bit more on here, but my interests extend outside of N (sorry) and it's just a far busier forum.
I used to spend a huge amount of time on a cycling forum which was very similar - commercial, attached to a magazine publishers (albeit they only published the eponymous mountain biking magazine). They messed around with adverts to the extent the site became a right pain, but they also introduced a membership tier for £1.50 a month to get rid of all adverts. I happily paid up and actually I'm still paying, even though I only visit the site every couple of months now. RMWeb should've had a better alternative to "Gold", which is very expensive and includes too many bells and whistles, in place before they started messing about with it.
Quote from: railsquid on December 23, 2021, 12:27:14 PM
both pointless and highly annoying. Or is it just me?
I don't think any one would describe you as "pointless and highly annoying" Ian. ;)
Quote from: njee20 on December 23, 2021, 09:58:39 PM
I post a bit more on here, but my interests extend outside of N (sorry) and it's just a far busier forum.
I used to spend a huge amount of time on a cycling forum which was very similar - commercial, attached to a magazine publishers (albeit they only published the eponymous mountain biking magazine). They messed around with adverts to the extent the site became a right pain, but they also introduced a membership tier for £1.50 a month to get rid of all adverts. I happily paid up and actually I'm still paying, even though I only visit the site every couple of months now. RMWeb should've had a better alternative to "Gold", which is very expensive and includes too many bells and whistles, in place before they started messing about with it.
STW?
Indeed!
Quote from: njee20 on December 23, 2021, 10:33:20 PM
Indeed!
Agree, almost unusable at times on an iPad, slightly better on a PC with an adblocker.
Sorry but being something of an old f**t and ignorant of forum speak what does STW mean?
Singletrack World. The cycling forum I was referring to, of which coyote is also a user!
Quote from: dannyboy on December 23, 2021, 09:58:47 PM
Quote from: railsquid on December 23, 2021, 12:27:14 PM
both pointless and highly annoying. Or is it just me?
I don't think any one would describe you as "pointless and highly annoying" Ian. ;)
Clearly you have never met my co-workers :P
Anyway this is what I see more often than not when accessing the site (usually after a delay of quite a few seconds):
(https://japan-train-blog.infogogo.com/static/misc/rmweb.png)
It's their prerogative if they want to show more ads of course, but it would help if there's something else to see... Anyway from this thread I understand it's a known issue and hopefully will be resolved.
Quote from: jpendle on December 23, 2021, 09:33:10 PM
The "problem" with RMWeb is the sheer number of very knowledgeable people who use it.
That may well be true John but too often I have seen people shot down, ridiculed, posts deleted etc if their knowledge isn't up to a certain standard on RMWeb. There's absolutely no need for that. I avoid the place unless someone posts a link on here to something which I may find useful. Or if I want to annoy someone of course as they bite so easily over there >:D
Yeah, the only time I ever go there is through a link on here.
:NGF:
Quote from: jpendle on December 23, 2021, 09:33:10 PM
If I wanted to know which style of lamp irons were used on an 1897 vintage Furness Railway kettle, someone there would probably have the answer.
Unlikely - the FR didn't get any new locos in 1897. However, the 1896 Sharp Stewart built K2s (Larger Seagulls) appear, from one photo, to have the type of lamp irons where the bracket is on the back of the lamp.
:P
Quote from: njee20 on December 23, 2021, 10:52:38 PM
Singletrack World. The cycling forum I was referring to, of which coyote is also a user!
Thanks njee. I thought it might be a new one of those TLAs like HTH or LOL.
Quote from: tunneroner61 on December 24, 2021, 09:28:25 AM
Quote from: njee20 on December 23, 2021, 10:52:38 PM
Singletrack World. The cycling forum I was referring to, of which coyote is also a user!
Thanks njee. I thought it might be a new one of those TLAs like HTH or LOL.
Going off-topic (hey it's my thread), am I the only one who keeps reading "BRB" as "British Railways Board"?
@railsquid (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=profile;u=3832)
(https://www.dictionary.com/e/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/birb-2-380x380.jpg)
Quote from: tunneroner61 on December 24, 2021, 09:28:25 AM
Quote from: njee20 on December 23, 2021, 10:52:38 PM
Singletrack World. The cycling forum I was referring to, of which coyote is also a user!
Thanks njee. I thought it might be a new one of those TLAs like HTH or LOL.
I can see why, without context it made little sense! Secret code for us cyclists ;D
Quote from: railsquid on December 24, 2021, 09:45:52 AM
Quote from: tunneroner61 on December 24, 2021, 09:28:25 AM
Quote from: njee20 on December 23, 2021, 10:52:38 PM
Singletrack World. The cycling forum I was referring to, of which coyote is also a user!
Thanks njee. I thought it might be a new one of those TLAs like HTH or LOL.
Going off-topic (hey it's my thread), am I the only one who keeps reading "BRB" as "British Railways Board"?
LOL ! (and no, that's not Lots Of Love)
RMWeb is basically only viewable with an armada of adblockers set to full block, even then that doesn't deal with the frequent server issues that now seem to plague it.
People keep posting on RMWeb about slow performance and 'What is with all the adverts?' type questions but the threads are quickly locked and any mention of using adblockers even just to make the site actually readable gets quickly leapt upon by the Management.
I think I will be spending more time here in the future. Any site that refuses access to me because I have an adblocker will no longer get my custom.
They don't mind you using an ad blocker, they don't want you telling everyone to use ad blockers. Hardly unreasonable.
Especially when the adverts pay for free access to the site.
RMWeb has also got a huge amount of contents - NGF is tiny in comparison. Recent slowness has also been down to folk looking at Hornby's latest new product announcements.
Steven B.
Quote from: Steven B on January 14, 2022, 08:41:11 AM
Especially when the adverts pay for free access to the site.
RMWeb has also got a huge amount of contents - NGF is tiny in comparison. Recent slowness has also been down to folk looking at Hornby's latest new product announcements.
Steven B.
Is that so bad? We're a closer knit community catering for N gauge.
Quote from: Bealman on January 14, 2022, 08:44:42 AM
Is that so bad? We're a closer knit community catering for N gauge.
Neither site is bad; Both have their good and bad points. I wouldn't want to be without either.
There are some very talented N Gauge and 2mmFS modellers that can be found on RMWeb rather than here. There's also a much wider breadth of prototype knowledge to be found on RMWeb.
Steven B.
NGF wins for having the more helpful and supportive members. NGF also feels more cosy and of course concentrates on our special area of interest.
RMWEB wins at being a fantastic knowledge base on all things railway related. Both work in their own way.
The adverts are a bit irritating on RMWEB but the way some topics go on and on and on with nothing of interest being added is much more irritating.
Quote from: Chris Morris on January 14, 2022, 12:52:05 PM
NGF wins for having the more helpful and supportive members. NGF also feels more cosy and of course concentrates on our special area of interest.
I very rarely visit RMWeb and then it is usually as a result of a post on here, but what I have seen gives me the impression that it is just more a source of information than anything else. For 'friendliness', I agree with Chris. :thumbsup:
I think the risk with "closer knit" is that it can equate to cliquey. I do sometimes think the NGF isn't nearly as 'approachable' as some think. A number of threads are full of in jokes and 'banter' between a small number of members, which can be off putting. He says. I've probably put twice as many people off, mind ;D
Like Steven i wouldn't be without either; RMWeb is inherently OO biased, just because the whole hobby is, but I like how active and diverse it is, and I'd generally seek advice there rather than here. But I like N, so this place is good too! I've got twice as many posts here, so I guess that suggests a natural preference; but I definitely browse RMWeb far more.
I agree with a lot of what has been said on here, I prefer this site anyday. I understand the reason for the adverts and pop ups etc which are hard to stop on a I-pad. But it would not be so bad if the adverts were relative to model railways and not some of the junk that is advertised.
I can tune out the adverts there, but it annoys me that when going into threads you don't land just after the last post you viewed, and when going back to new content you end up in a different place on the page from where you were before you clicked the thread. That seemed to start at the same time the video adverts started appearing, so I assume it was a consequence.
If you click the circle (or star) to the left of the thread title it takes you to the first unread post. no change for me since the advert invasion.
They're taking too long over a 'freemium' model IMO; bring in a £2/month forum membership with no adverts. I'd pay.
Quote from: njee20 on January 14, 2022, 05:02:23 PM
If you click the circle (or star) to the left of the thread title it takes you to the first unread post. no change for me since the advert invasion.
It frequently puts me 4 or 5 unread posts further down than it should.
It also doesn't return you to where you were when you entered a post but that may be a function of the number of posts being added/replied to at any given time.
Regards,
John P
Fair enough. Never consciously noticed that. You've also got the "unread posts" page break, which is good.
I used to visit RMWeb frequently and agree there are some extremely knowledgeable and talented people on the site. However, it has got to the point where I have almost given up.
The need to generate revenue from advertising is understandable but this needs to be seemless and not interfere with the normal operation of the site. You attract ads by visitor count and if people start to leave then it could turn in to a slow death spiral.
If it was me, then I would remove all the non working ads until the technology has been worked out. At present, they are simply running the risk of damaging their product and brand.
Kind regards
Paddy
Quote from: Steven B on January 14, 2022, 08:52:03 AM
There's also a much wider breadth of prototype knowledge to be found on RMWeb.
Not an issue for me as I model based on the enjoyment of it
I try not to get hung up on the prototypical details and just let them serve more as 'inspiration'
RMWeb seems to be have yet more server problems this morning. For the supposed jewel in the crown of Warner's railway publications section, it is being neglected/treated very poorly lately what with this and the ongoing advertising pop ups fiasco.
Hmmm, Moose just visited RMWeb, perused some of the forum posts, and did not experience and issues with ads. Did experience some depression from seeing such skilled modelers' work, but no ad pop-ups, etc. Not sure what others here are experiencing...
:confused1:
It's intermittent. Sometimes it works, sometimes all you're left with is an almost blank page and the inane popup video.
It's been really flaky for me again today.
Quote from: Moose2013 on January 20, 2022, 02:05:12 PM
Hmmm, Moose just visited RMWeb, perused some of the forum posts, and did not experience and issues with ads. Did experience some depression from seeing such skilled modelers' work, but no ad pop-ups, etc. Not sure what others here are experiencing...
:confused1:
The full screen popup ads are only on mobile I think; probably 1:5 page clicks. On desktop you get an annoying video in the RH margin.
Quote from: njee20 on January 20, 2022, 04:07:03 PM
It's been really flaky for me again today.
Quote from: Moose2013 on January 20, 2022, 02:05:12 PM
Hmmm, Moose just visited RMWeb, perused some of the forum posts, and did not experience and issues with ads. Did experience some depression from seeing such skilled modelers' work, but no ad pop-ups, etc. Not sure what others here are experiencing...
:confused1:
The full screen popup ads are only on mobile I think; probably 1:5 page clicks. On desktop you get an annoying video in the RH margin.
Mmm, well I get the popups and videos on my Windows 10 PCs, iPad and iPhone. Very annoying and frustrating.
Kind regards
Paddy
Quote from: njee20 on January 20, 2022, 04:07:03 PM
It's been really flaky for me again today.
Quote from: Moose2013 on January 20, 2022, 02:05:12 PM
Hmmm, Moose just visited RMWeb, perused some of the forum posts, and did not experience and issues with ads. Did experience some depression from seeing such skilled modelers' work, but no ad pop-ups, etc. Not sure what others here are experiencing...
:confused1:
The full screen popup ads are only on mobile I think; probably 1:5 page clicks. On desktop you get an annoying video in the RH margin.
I find the video mildly irritating some days, but other days I rather enjoy watching the 'Minic motorway' type cars and the large ship serenely moving along the river
None of this stops me from viewing or posting the forum
Hi
You can get your iPad to serve the desktop website then You only get the video which is easy enough to get rid of.
Click on the aA in the url entry window and select website settings then request desktop website.
Cheers
Paul
Quote from: Gordon on January 20, 2022, 04:29:08 PM
Quote from: njee20 on January 20, 2022, 04:07:03 PM
It's been really flaky for me again today.
Quote from: Moose2013 on January 20, 2022, 02:05:12 PM
Hmmm, Moose just visited RMWeb, perused some of the forum posts, and did not experience and issues with ads. Did experience some depression from seeing such skilled modelers' work, but no ad pop-ups, etc. Not sure what others here are experiencing...
:confused1:
The full screen popup ads are only on mobile I think; probably 1:5 page clicks. On desktop you get an annoying video in the RH margin.
I find the video mildly irritating some days, but other days I rather enjoy watching the 'Minic motorway' type cars and the large ship serenely moving along the river
None of this stops me from viewing or posting the forum
Never said it did me, just that it's annoying, and I'd gladly pay a couple of quid a month to not have it. I don't get why they're dragging their feet so much on it.
The adverts really cheesed me off and like others have stated the site has slowed down that I've given up using it. Plus this web site is better for me everything I need is on here.
Quote from: tank63 on January 21, 2022, 07:09:53 PM
this web site is better for me everything I need is on here.
You know it makes sense. :) :thumbsup:
Quote from: tank63 on January 21, 2022, 07:09:53 PM
The adverts really cheesed me off and like others have stated the site has slowed down that I've given up using it. Plus this web site is better for me everything I need is on here.
glad that you enjoy this forum and it's of use and help to you. Like me great for resources and help and made many friends
Quote from: njee20 on January 20, 2022, 07:31:32 PM
I don't get why they're dragging their feet so much on it.
Hi
Neither do I, though they are going to have to improve the experience before I part with money as yesterday and today I got lots of errors or cannot load content messages. If they are going to run it as a paid for service they need to fix the underlying issues.
Cheers
Paul
I had a look yesterday while using the Mac and couldn't really see any issues? I didn't get any pop ups apart from continually having to agree to cookies if I went back at any time. I still find the site a tad boring, rather like the magazine, which I find a bit sterile and written by a team rather than by "real" modellers (which I know they are, but not from the great unwashed!). I much prefer Railway Modeller (other magazines are of course available .....).
Dave
I agree the no advert Gold Lite membership version that has long been promised is the way forward for RMWeb but this has now had more waiting time than a Dapol Class 59 it seems. In the meantime those who have not initiated an armada of adblockers just to make the site readable (and/or have no interest in the Gold subscription version) are probably being driven away from the forum.
In the meantime, any genuine attempt to enquire as to what is going on results in immediate closure of the thread, often without explanation and I expect the result is that slowly, more and more existing and potentially new members are gradually ebbing away.
Ah, the penny has dropped! I have ad blockers on all devices so I don't get the issue. I only use one on each device though, and it seems OK on each
Dave
Quote from: Southerngooner on January 22, 2022, 08:37:42 AM
I still find the site a tad boring, rather like the magazine
I can't speak for the magazine (don't take it, and like others would prefer to pay directly for the forum) but the "site" isn't an authored website, it's a forum. So whether it's boring or not is down to the contributors, not the moderators or site owners. I find it a useful resource, provided you learn to tune out the odd regular "club bore" contributor (the ignore user button is sometimes a god-send!)
I agree that sometimes the moderation can look a bit heavy-handed, but having seen how some posters to RMWeb can take the p&!s if left unmoderated then I can't blame them for occasionally erring on the side of caution, and inevitably sometimes they get it wrong, as they are only human.
As for adverts, I access it generally via Safari on my iPhone. When clicking through from the index to a topic I get a full screen advert about one in every five times. Hit the "x" and it disappears. Frankly, I can live with that.
Richard
Quote from: tank63 on January 21, 2022, 07:09:53 PM
The adverts really cheesed me off and like others have stated the site has slowed down that I've given up using it. Plus this web site is better for me everything I need is on here.
100% agree - there's a couple or 3 threads I shall continue to follow over there with interest, but that's yer lot
Rmweb appears to be down this morning I'm getting a code 524.
Moose just checked website on Moose mobile. Website is up, no pop-up ads or irritant videos. A bit slow to open a photo-heavy thread, but that's to be expected with this phone. Really puzzled by others' difficulties with the RMWeb website.
:hmmm:
It seems to be very random. For example, first thing this morning all was fine until the third or fourth page click whereupon it would freeze. Later it was all right for about seven or eight page clicks (all be it loading VERY slowly) and then freeze. This afternoon straight to the 524 server error page.
It has been like this on and off for a while now and it seems to me that Warner's senior management don't really care about it enough to get on and fix it, maybe they are trying to get rid of it? This along with the pop up advertising debacle means I am seriously considering giving RMWeb up which is sad as I was one of the very first members when it was first established some fifteen or more years ago.
Hmmm, just tried to log on from desktop, only to receive an Error 522 connection timed out message ... Drats! Moose thought everyone else was just hallucinating...
:uneasy:
...and it's down again.
Abysmal...
It is definitely still highly problematic. I saw Andy saying it was something to do with the hosting company, but that he was struggling to get them to care (to paraphrase!) which doesn't bode particularly well.
The problem is that if it becomes too much effort then people really will just stop trying, and that is self perpetuating, and without traffic it dies.
Quote from: Moose2013 on January 23, 2022, 05:22:14 PM
Moose thought everyone else was just hallucinating...
:uneasy:
Still, even more annoying than RMWeb being flaky is you constantly referring to yourself in the third person!
Quote from: njee20 on January 27, 2022, 01:30:59 PM
It is definitely still highly problematic. I saw Andy saying it was something to do with the hosting company, but that he was struggling to get them to care (to paraphrase!) which doesn't bode particularly well.
The problem is that if it becomes too much effort then people really will just stop trying, and that is self perpetuating, and without traffic it dies.
Quote from: Moose2013 on January 23, 2022, 05:22:14 PM
Moose thought everyone else was just hallucinating...
:uneasy:
Still, even more annoying than RMWeb being flaky is you constantly referring to yourself in the third person!
Just your opinion. If you don't like it add Moose to your 'Ignore' list
Probably should be a smiley face in there. Nick apologises. Nick can't stand the ignore list either, mind ;D
Quote from: njee20 on January 27, 2022, 01:30:59 PM
...constantly referring to yourself in the third person!
Third moose, surely?! :P
I did pause, given one presumes he's not called "Moose", as to whether it is actually the third person, or indeed just referring to oneself by a pseudonym. Regardless njee20 is confused! Doesn't take much! :doh:
Dragging us back on topic of talking about other websites, RMWeb seems a bit more stable at the moment. Shall reserve judgement...
Seems to be back to "Chocolate Teapot" mode again today. I've given up trying to continue posting on a topic i've got running on there until it gets back to some sort of normallity .
According to facefart they are reloading RMWeb (again) so you can't post at the moment.
I also notice that stupid video is reappearing every time you click a "like" and the screen jumps around not landing back where you started..
Funny how the ads load so quickly, whilst the content takes ages or never arrives. Does not augur well for the Farish Spring announcement today, if there is anything to announce.
Quote from: The Q on February 02, 2022, 07:29:10 AMI also notice that stupid video is reappearing every time you click a "like"
That's an easy fix, don't press like.
Yes that's publically un-supportive to the user but you could always send them a PM?
Quote from: woodbury22uk on February 02, 2022, 07:38:48 AMFunny how the ads load so quickly.
Don't get any ads and don't use an adblocker.
Google was, in terms of not receiving ads, my friend. It also helped to stop the annoying videos.
Worse than ever today, slow, no images appearing in any post and in the last few minutes as I was about to report the problem, the ability to reply/post anything has now packed up.
I did read a post saying they are in talks with a new hosting provider so I guess even they have had enough of the current ones who seem to be utterly useless.
Yeah keeps crashing for me too. They're teetering on the brink I'd say. They've got a big membership, so can weather some attrition, but if it doesn't improve then people will leave. A week of this is poor, 3 months? C'mon!
:NGF:
The other annoying thing is I use two other forums (not railway) that use the same basic software as RMWEB, one is a comparatively quiet forum, the other makes RMWEB look tiny. Neither have the problems of RMWEB.
Quote from: The Q on March 08, 2022, 09:38:56 AM
The other annoying thing is I use two other forums (not railway) that use the same basic software as RMWEB, one is a comparatively quiet forum, the other makes RMWEB look tiny. Neither have the problems of RMWEB.
Perhaps they're configured more for the forums rather than advertising platforms?
Quote from: tutenkhamunsleeping on March 08, 2022, 09:45:19 AM
Quote from: The Q on March 08, 2022, 09:38:56 AM
The other annoying thing is I use two other forums (not railway) that use the same basic software as RMWEB, one is a comparatively quiet forum, the other makes RMWEB look tiny. Neither have the problems of RMWEB.
Perhaps they're configured more for the forums rather than advertising platforms?
The quiet one has no Advertising as it's users sponsored and run by volunteers.
The big one does have adverts, but not as many as Warners are trying to inflict on everyone. They also are direct from the sponsoring companies not via google ads
I'm certain they could have done a better job of it. There are thousands of forums out there relying on advertising revenue, but their implementation started poor and has got worse! Not really helped by the fact Andy York is pretty hostile whenever anyone asks a question, admittedly I'm sure it's exasperation at the situation and the constant questions, but a banner saying "yeah we know it's rubbish" and curt messages with threats of bans for 3 months isn't really a solution!
(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/120/1490-080322101720.jpeg)
Just out of interest, I did a quick visit to both sites without browsing/clicking through to any further pages. Basic data from my browser (Safari) ::)
Comparisons like that are useless though. RMWeb is a commercially run forum many orders of magnitude bigger than the NGF, which is run on a shoestring by one bloke, with no offence to Tank! That doesn't mean they're doing a good job of it though.
Quote from: njee20 on March 08, 2022, 10:31:23 AM
Comparisons like that are useless though.
Quite the opposite. Comparisons like that are fundamental to where I spend my armchair time ;)
Quote from: njee20 on March 08, 2022, 10:31:23 AM
Comparisons like that are useless though. RMWeb is a commercially run forum many orders of magnitude bigger than the NGF, which is run on a shoestring by one bloke, with no offence to Tank! That doesn't mean they're doing a good job of it though.
I would generally prefer a forum run on a shoestring by one chap - there is far less danger of abuse of power in that case.
Surely there's far more scope for abuse of power? If our glorious leader Tank decided, he could ban half the membership and say that all photos not of NSE locos will be deleted. I doubt Warners would approve of that on RMWeb...
Wasn't passing judgement either, I like both forums, as has been discussed as nauseum, I was merely observing that a screenshot showing that there was more adverts on RMWeb is meaningless. Be like posting a photo of the O gauge threads on here and pointing out how deficient it is.
"All photos not of NSE locos will be deleted"
;D :smiley-laughing: ;D
Please don't put ideas in heads :no: :worried:
Well, it's the first morning of Ally Pally and RMWeb has finally, completely collapsed it seems.
Working fine for me, much faster than recently as well.
Not working now but then I never need it anyway, I was just bored :o
Im starting to suspect that Warners are trying to indirectly kill it off
Yes, been dead all day hasn't it? I'm minded to agree; it's even had a banner saying it's operating in basic mode while they diagnose a fault for about 2 weeks! Madness. I certainly wouldn't rush to take a paid membership now.
I just found out today that the GWR.org.uk site appears to be hosted on RMWeb when I went to look at the layouts on there and it timed out going to RMWeb :(
That's a major shame as GWR.org.uk is a really good reference for GWR modelling.
It's effectively been 36 hours since RMweb was available, and it was getting ropier by the minute before that..
The latest Facebook info says "Dediserve" are looking into it..
Hopefully because it's failed totally it will be easier to find the fault..
I managed to get on there about this time yesterday (08.00), but photos weren't loading and it was all painfully slow. Been unable to get any form of access since then though.
I've got the Impression that the provider of the Host Server don't seem to be bothered about it (presumably "Dediserve"), so an alternative Host was being sought....
If it weren't for the fact I also do US HO as well as N, I would have given up on it. Shame as I was a member when it began many many years ago. Of course, if there is an equivalent of this forum for US HO scale modelling then I wold consider giving up RMWeb altogether.
Simple solution here... stick with THE forum. :thumbsup:
Quote from: Bealman on March 22, 2022, 08:23:55 AM
Simple solution here... stick with THE forum. :thumbsup:
You have an EM gauge Section?
I can't help feeling that Warners are interested in making a profit (which they should be) but not all that interested in supporting and developing our hobby.
For instance, they have moved into exhibitions ion quite a big way, is this at a cost to club organised exhibitions? There is usually a high trade to layout ration at Warners exhibitions. On the other hand it does appear that Warners rescued the Bristol show at the request of the association that used to run it . So maybe not all bad, or are they keen to get a stranglehold on all the large exhibitions in the country?
OK, I'll put my hand up - it's my fault. I went a bit OT and made some comments on RMWeb about the supply & morality implications for model railway kit if China increased its support for Putin in the current crisis, so obviously now RMWeb has been taken down by a Kremlin revenge cyber-attack.
Alternatively, it might not be that or any of the other conspiracy theories, but just a big IT glitch which they are finally tackling properly. But... that's what they want you to think! Wake up sheeple!!! ;-)
Yours, in tin foil hat,
Richard
Quote from: Chris Morris on March 22, 2022, 08:48:17 AM
I can't help feeling that Warners are interested in making a profit (which they should be) but not all that interested in supporting and developing our hobby.
For instance, they have moved into exhibitions ion quite a big way, is this at a cost to club organised exhibitions? There is usually a high trade to layout ration at Warners exhibitions. On the other hand it does appear that Warners rescued the Bristol show at the request of the association that used to run it . So maybe not all bad, or are they keen to get a stranglehold on all the large exhibitions in the country?
Hornby Magazine have also upped their sponsorship of shows too under the Keyworld banner, there is one in April at Statfold Barn. I think it's a response to Covid, some organisations remaining nervous of big shows and getting sponsorship reduces the risk to an individual modelling club. To be fair to Warners, they used to have three shows, they still have three shows with Peterborough replaced by Bristol, whether Peterborough comes back is down to the new owners of the showground.
Quote from: zwilnik on March 21, 2022, 11:16:12 PM
I just found out today that the GWR.org.uk site appears to be hosted on RMWeb when I went to look at the layouts on there and it timed out going to RMWeb :(
That's a major shame as GWR.org.uk is a really good reference for GWR modelling.
It's not hosted by RmWeb, some people have simply used RMWeb content to showcase the layouts rather than set up a dedicated page on the GWR site - but as seen with fotopic, using someone else as the host for images can backfire later on and leave holes in your website. Unlike fotopic, RMWeb will be back.
I know that Andy was looking into a new host when I last spoke with him, and he'd found a new one to transfer to. It could be that he's bitten the bullet and gone ahead with the transfer. I imagine it's a MAJOR headache to do, as forums are very complex compared to just a website.
@Tank (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=profile;u=2) I think he mentioned the image file alone was a Terabyte of data, that was last week. I think the host change preparations are underway but whether the outage now is related to that or just the existing host having fallen over I don't know.
There's an RMWeb status page on Facebook for when the lights are out and you want to know if it's just you:
https://www.facebook.com/rmwebupdates/ (https://www.facebook.com/rmwebupdates/)
It looks like it is a change in webhost - new landing page whilst the site is down CPanel - they are a web hosting company and not the one it was for RMWeb last week.
Yes I'd always got a Cloudflare error previously.
Their latest server update - "Following the recent issues we are now unfortunately in a disaster recovery position"!
Quote from: njee20 on March 22, 2022, 12:13:01 PM
Yes I'd always got a Cloudflare error previously.
It was dediserve that Warners used, CloudFare is a company that provides security for websites against attacks not a web host, it's like a wall.
What we are now able to connect to is possibly the new host, but as the new site is not up and running it is going to their default web page.
Quote from: thebrighton on March 22, 2022, 12:51:43 PM
Their latest server update - "Following the recent issues we are now unfortunately in a disaster recovery position"!
That's worrying. I wonder if they've lost the database? :( If so, hopefully there will be a backup at least. In any case, good luck to them rebuilding the site. It will be a stressful time - I know from doing it on the NGF some years back.
Quote from: Woodenhead on March 22, 2022, 01:00:18 PM
Quote from: njee20 on March 22, 2022, 12:13:01 PM
Yes I'd always got a Cloudflare error previously.
It was dediserve that Warners used, CloudFare is a company that provides security for websites against attacks not a web host, it's like a wall.
What we are now able to connect to is possibly the new host, but as the new site is not up and running it is going to their default web page.
Correct, but that's because the hosting company (ie Dediserve) were using CloudFlare - and it was returning a 522 error (Connection Timeout). That we're no longer getting a CloudFlare error is indicative, albeit not conclusively, that there is some backend change. CPanel is just a configuration UI, and isn't indicative of any change in the host necessarily. They are not a hosting company, but it's different to what went before!
All links are now returning 404s, so they're obviously trying a DB restoration. I imagine that'll be Herculean! having worked for a few big FinTechs DR was never the top priority, I hope for their sake it works well!
@njee20 (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=profile;u=1147) it was the Cpanel that made me think perhaps they are attempting to recover to their new webhost rather than dediserve as I'd not seen that screen before.
But sadly searching Dediserve and Cpanel show they do use it, so it's just updated software with the present host.
Oh well, as we were, and awaiting a phoenix rising from the ashes of the last full backup.
Yes I think we're agreeing - the presence of CPanel makes me wonder if Dediserve has said - "go on then, you have a go"!
Quote from: Tank on March 22, 2022, 10:15:31 AM
I know that Andy was looking into a new host when I last spoke with him, and he'd found a new one to transfer to. It could be that he's bitten the bullet and gone ahead with the transfer. I imagine it's a MAJOR headache to do, as forums are very complex compared to just a website.
Reading the latest Update on RMWEB server issues, although he doesn't say it, the implications of his words, are that they have gone for the move to another server service.
Some of his words...
"Following the recent issues we are now unfortunately in a disaster recovery position as a consequence of Dediserve's woeful performance and inability to address issues as they were being flagged up. This will take quite a bit of time (please do not ask me if we're there yet at any point)*"
A holding page has appeared for RMWEB, so you don't get a 404,With an apology on it saying they will be back when the migration is completed.
The holding page has changed to update in progress..
which I think means there is some progress...
I would guess that RMWeb doesn't make any money for Warners and therefore it isn't a priority.
One presumes as much, otherwise it's pretty shoddy business practice.
I'm amused they created a Facebook page to update on issues and haven't updated it, although I know it predates this migration.
It has made me realise how often I actually check it!
The most recent attempts to monetise the site through extra advertising and Gold Membership seem to have coincided with the steep decline in the speed and reliability of the site. It is a treasure trove of member generated information on the full breadth of railway and model railway subjects, but of little relevance if it is hidden in an underperforming server. Warners might lose patience with it if it cannot breakeven financially, and the loss of the content would leave a massive void.
The advertising issue was hotly debated in the weeks and months until it finally collapsed. Repetitive intrusive pop ups were making it almost unusable.
Complaints seemed to be lengthy and frequent but were usually quickly shot down.
It was either stump up for Gold membership (fine if you wanted all the extra bells and whistles but many did not) or install an armada of adblockers.
I reckon if they don't get any return on this seemingly last gasp, they'll pull the plug for good.
There is something that more resembles a web page appearing there now, but nothing working as yet.....
Quote from: 70000 on March 31, 2022, 09:47:44 AM
There is something that more resembles a web page appearing there now, but nothing working as yet.....
I note they've already got the pop up adds working even if nothing else is. Priorities?
I would feel happier if the now important resource known as RMWeb was in the hands of a not for profit organisation. I'm a little uncomfortable with it being subject to the whim of a business whose only interest is to make a profit. Running a model railway forum is certainly not their core business.
The problem with RMweb was with the server company, who weren't doing what they were paid for..
IN the meantime.. RMWEB is back, though with some limitations at the moment..
Quote from: Chris Morris on March 31, 2022, 11:32:15 AM
I would feel happier if the now important resource known as RMWeb was in the hands of a not for profit organisation. I'm a little uncomfortable with it being subject to the whim of a business whose only interest is to make a profit. Running a model railway forum is certainly not their core business.
More generally, there is much to be said for Berners-Lee's personal data pods idea, which would essentially mean total decentralisation of resources like these and an end to online platforms as we know them. In the long-term, that is the far better way of doing it.
Quote from: The Q on March 31, 2022, 12:09:16 PM
The problem with RMweb was with the server company, who weren't doing what they were paid for..
IN the meantime.. RMWEB is back, though with some limitations at the moment..
Correct! Here's an explanation on what went wrong from Andy
https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/171078-rmweb-site-outage-and-change-of-hosting-april-2022/ (https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/171078-rmweb-site-outage-and-change-of-hosting-april-2022/)
Eye opening to what one guy has been trying to sort out
Jo
It may be back and rocking my adblockers but they have lost almost all images uploaded to the site in the last year or so. Just spent over an hour tracing which ones were missing from a thread I was working on and reinstating them.
Wow, that's a lot of lost content. What a shame.
Having painstakingly tracked down and then reuploaded images to two threads I created over the last eighteen months, they have all disappeared again. Supposedly it is only a temporary thing and they will be back but quite frankly I am not at all convinced...
My images posted over the past week have all reappeared OK this morning (thankfully). The results of yesterdays outage seemed odd, as some of the pictures were there and others weren't!
Quite a lot of my pictures went west or maybe south on a revamp of this forum in the early days. I got over it. :thumbsup:
"Suck it up" what a helpful contribution. ::)
I'm not bothering to fix anything for now, the whole site is so unstable. I've not even redownloaded my avatar, as I don't trust them not to either suddenly recover all the old images, meaning I've wasted time trawling around fixing photo links, or delete them again. I'm sure Andy is tearing his hair out, but it's utterly farcical. On the plus side adverts are still working perfectly though. :doh:
Sorry, I'm not sure what you mean by that. This forum ain't broken, is it?
No, but the thread isn't about this forum...? People voiced their frustrations about another platform, and you flippantly replied 'yeah that happened to me, I got over it'. Which isn't helpful. Hence my comment. Of course people will get over it, but it is annoying that tens of thousands of images have been lost from what is a vastly helpful resource, entirely reasonable for people to be irked.