Forumosa

Yesterday, our webserver needed to be rebooted. This caused the outage that kept all of our websites down for a good part of the day.

We’ve asked our web host to give us more notice the next time they feel a server reboot like this is necessary

Hi folks,

Our webserver went down around 2:30 pm Taiwan Standard Time. We are investigating and will hopefully get things back up shortly.

In the meantime, don’t forget that you can post at TaiwanHo - www.taiwanho.com/talk

Cheers

gus.

We are rebuilding the Keyword Search table - which is an index of ALL the words used on Forumosa. The search function checks this table when you run a search to give you all the possible discussions on Forumosa that have what you are looking for

When we started our Reboot process back in July, we emptied this table - it’s the largest part of the database. Even though it will slowly be rebuilt with each post that is made, for a website the size of Forumosa, it would take a long time. Using this Rebuild Process, we will be back to our July levels (plus 3 months worth of posting) in a few days.

This will mean a slowdown in performance (speed) of the website.

The Rebuild will begin at 5:00 pm today - Friday 28 Sep

As part of our preparations to reboot the forums, we are clearing the Key Word database of the forum search function. This will severely hamper the search function. So if you do try to search the forums, the results may not be very meaningful.

We will rebuild the Key Word database after the new forum code is in place. Please bear with us in the meantime

ADDED 11 SEP 2007

Please note: the forum search can work, it just may not cover all the possible keywords. It’s worth giving it a go before simply starting up a new discussion on something that has been discussed at length before.

The greatest asset of the Forumosa community is the vast wealth of experience that is stored, parsed, criticized and affirmed inside. Think you’ve just encountered a unique Only In Taiwan moment? Think again (and try searching for it before posting)

We’re restarting fresh - but keeping the same database of discussions - and plan a simpler forum by the beginning of August.

If there are any features or modifications that you would like to see when we unveil the new forums, please post about them here

If you do not see your favorite function back after we “reboot” the forums, don’t worry - just let us know. It will eventually make it back.

We cannot dedicate a technical team to work on the forums, so we’ll continue to tweak the website as we always have

Over the past 2 weeks, we have been plagued with an unstable database, probably related to the recent modifications made to the forums. These modifications had changed the profile system and a feature called “Similar Topics”

As much time as it takes to install these tweaks and mods, it can take even longer to undo them, especially if the problematic changes were made after succeeding rounds of modifications have already been made. Sometimes, our (my) personal schedules do not permit us to research exactly where the problem is and what is needed to undo or fix them - so even if the actual fix is ultimately a simple one to make, it takes time to find the time to figure it out and then make the change

Every now and then, someone asks me why we (I) make the changes to the forums. Let me address this again now. Since Forumosa began, back in the “dot-ORG era” circa 1998, we (I) have tinkered with the website and its design. After 4 years in “beta”, I dropped that meaningless qualifier when I decided that tweaks, hacks, and improvements were a part of maintaining a website. Sometimes the changes were brilliant (and these typically were suggested by Moderators and Forumosans who made specific requests for features) - sometimes the changes were disastrous, as some long-time Forumosans will remember 3 server meltdowns and re-boots (not all related to my hacks, mind you)

Two thoughts for those who tirelessly express their frustration about the modifications and changes that occur (and have always occurred) on Forumosa:

1. Be the change - instead of saying, “I don’t like it” point us to a better way. I’m eager to improve and evolve the website, so if you have a better idea, explain why it is better or (if you can and you care enough) find another solution

2. Be part of the process - by joining us in finding ways to fix, improve, change our website.

There are no secrets to Forumosa’s infrastructure - we use Open Source software called phpBB, OpenAds, MediaWiki, WordPress and others. Our goals are plain and obvious - we want to support the Foreign community with a lively discussion website, a great classified ads service, friendly happy hours and charity events and a kick-ass English magazine. To cover our server costs and all these community projects, we seek donations in exchange for advertising on our websites. So the more assistance and guidance the community can share with us, the better - it’s always welcome.

We are upgrading some critical components of our web server today. These should only take a few hours. We hope to be back by noon on Sunday 1 April

We’ve taken your feedback and re-organized the Taiwanted ads.

Now there are 4 basic categories: Work, Buy/Sell/Trade, Housing and Miscellany

Work
Teaching Jobs Offered - Looking for English (and other) teaching jobs in Taiwan? Taiwanted is the place to look.
Teaching Jobs Wanted - Use Taiwanted to advertise yourself. Post your information and have employers contact you.
Jobs from Agents - Jobs offered from employment agencies.
Other Jobs Offered - Non-teaching related job vacancies.
Other Jobs Wanted - For those looking for non-teaching related employment, post your information here.
Misc - For any other work related stuff.
Projects - For one off cases or contract work.
Services - Post your service here, from fixing computers, to making websites to making shirts to legal advice…

Buy/Sell/Trade
Books/CDs/DVDs - Magazines, books, manuals, CDs, VCDs, DVDs, tapes LDs, VHS, Betamax… (please do not advertise pirated or illegal copies).
Clothing/Accessories - T-shirts, jackets, skirts, dresses, shoes, suits, bags, jewellery, bling…
Electronics - Cameras, gadgets, computers, mobile phones - things that need a battery.
Furniture - Beds, chairs, tables, desks, sofas, cabinets, mirrors, carpets, rugs, love seats…
Household - Lighting, TVs, stereos, washing machines, ovens, irons, air conditioners, dehumidifiers, barbies, vacuum cleaners, heaters…
Misc - For anything else, post it here

Housing
For rent - Find a place to rent. Apartments, flats, houses, offices, mansions, factories…
For sale - Sell your property here.
Looking to rent - Post here if you need a specific living arrangment or location.
Seeking roomates - Looking for the perfect roommate? Ease the rent and help share the bills here.
Short term deals/timeshare - Getaways in Taiwan, around Asia and beyond and short term rental offered or needed.

Miscellany
Activities - Trips and events, clubs, societies, churches, parties…
Announcements - Specials of the day, special deals, discounts, free pizza, free beer, birthdays, anniversaries, births…
Everything Else - Have we forgotten anything? Can’t find the right place to post your ad? For everything else, post here.
Language Exchange - Find the right partner for your language studies.
Lost and Found - The Taiwanted Lost and Found zone.
Personals - Looking for someone…
Pets - Pet adoptions - find your pet.

Let us know your thoughts and suggestions. We want to build these into the most useful ad website (in English) for Taiwan.