Ok. There's a bit more on this in the latest issue of the magazine (
http://www.autosimsport.net)
I'm sorry, but I got as far as this bit (and no futher shall I add)
Web Server: €1.25/month (
www.one.com)
I'm sorry, but (
because by the sounds of it you got a bit of a kick out of hacking us off here, so I'm sure you'll be monitoring this forum for a response) if you believe that a site like RD with the levels of traffic generated can be handled
by a €1.25 hosting package by a company where
reviews seem to quite reguarly swing to the "awful" end of the scale then your very much misguided and then proceeded to publish this!
Most of what I've read in this issue so far is complete drivel and this is icing on the cake, and at the start of the issue your pleading for more donations, well if there was something worth while then maybe more people would donate. You struggle to reach your targets, RD manages to reach its monthly! Says something about consumer satisfaction don't you think.
----------- Part 2 ------------------------------------------------
More fuel for the fire, icing for the cake...
Dedicated Race Server (x2): €25 Each
Source? A dedicated server is no good if it's down 90% of the time.
ProBoards annual licence: (free for life)
How is it back there in 2005? Do be aware there's a recession in a few years.
You're seriously suggesting RD should use a remotely hosted system which restricts us in the way we can customize, where the last major update was April 2008. Even if we could host it ourselves, it's a Perl application meaning that it's quite unlikely that that wonderful €1.25 hosting package would support it. My final issue with ProBoards is I'd rather take my own eyes out with a hot ice cream scoop than visit any website which decides PB is a suitable forum solution, especially when every 10 year old and their mates thinks they can run an active forum just by filling out a
form.
ProBoards Search Engine Optimization (doesn't exist):
You can't polish a turd..
Cheap domain name (.de): €6 per year, equals €0.5 per month
A .de domain name is ideal for an international community! I might just email iRacing and suggest they could lower everyone's membership costs by switching to a .de or alternative domain, even better completely wipe out that cost by going with a
.tk! Who needs branding anyway.
Now I know a web server like the one I would choose will not cope with constant download of large files: The solution is simply to stick the big stuff on a free hosting service. There is noting wrong with this, and just about every big release, regardless of platform, sim, and creator, is put on such mirrors.
They are, but this is a service provided to the users of RD funded through donations rather than adverts and annoying captcha's & countdowns to download. But the one.com package will barely cope with static traffic from RD because it will be on an oversubscribed server, you get what you pay for.
The forum of choice is ProBoards and it can cope with the same sort of load that 'RaceDepartment' and 'RaceSimCentral' experience every day, and then some. And (and this is an added benefit) should the forum by any chance be overloaded with visitors, it has a self protect mode that kicks in before the entire server goes tits up. Perfect for those who do not have a clue about PHP, CGI, Java, or anything technical regarding computers.
Has any 'ProBoard' reached the level of traffic that RD or RSC have then? They'd be far and few between. I also worry that their TOS states it's provided "As is", sounds great if all the forum data is lost, at least we can backup here.
The Provider may at its sole discretion remove any message board for any reason.
Unlikely, but still an event that cannot happen how RD is currently run.
... Personal dedicated server, electricity costs etc, can't quote because the PDF is protected...
Yet, we can run 2 filled 25 slot Race 07 servers on the same machine comfortably, Along with 1 or 2 time trial servers. Then the second machine is left to cover for rFactor, GTL, ARCA etc as required because that is what RD does! It's not a gathering of 8,9,10 people for a few practice laps. We cover that with open servers, but the bandwidth & power the servers have is so that we can race in large 25 car fields without lag. Eric is kind enough to do a similar thing to host events for the US members so that they can have a server with low pings as he has suitable connection & machine.
I'm not disputing it couldn't be done "cheaper", in fact I know it could be cheaper, but it works, there are no ads and all it costs me is a few £/€ now and then. The donation bar is hardly in my face you can get a lot worse.
I've never tried R2P, just like you've never tried RD, but you felt you knew better than those who had already had RD up & running for over a year successfully and then proceeded to bash the way RD works because for a few months there was a low in the donations a time when people were being hit by the recession.
Lets see what else spills over the page in 6 months time if an issue manages to appear.
