What's with the site - can't access it, says "The web service to this account has been limited temporarily!" Didn't my dues pay the bills?
Don posted on the 1954Ford facebook page what the issue is. https://www.facebook.com/groups/54FordClub/
what if you do not do faceplant I am sure there are others that would like to know.it would bea shame to lose it after all these years.
The web master that provides the space for 1954ford.com is claiming that because of increased traffic the bandwidth needs an increase and they want more $$$$ the dues won't cover it. I call B.S. on that one because some days no one will post for 2-3 days on the site and then usually only a few posts will show up so "increased traffic" is a lame excuse to line their pockets. My suggestion to Don was to start a 1954 Ford Group here: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/social-categories/brands.84/ so the members could transfer to here at no cost except if Don would still want to send out the news letter. The 1954 Group on facebook is actually more active than the old group,the downside is with the old group shut down a lot of tech info from the archives may be lost but that happened here when the H.A.M.B. did it's "upgrade" but with help from members we gained a lot back.
Here's a graph of the website's bandwidth usage....it goes absolutely nutso in December. I requested a list of IP addresses and what pages they were clicking on, it was a lot of different computers doing the clicking but it was a small group of around 10 people on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day that were looking at tons of photos of cars and looking at photos on the forum....without logging into the forum. Anyway....I've used up my allotted bandwidth until Jan. 1st and I just can't afford what they want for the next level of bandwidth. So, the website may just have to wait a few days before it's visible again. It's great that people are viewing 54 Fords with such gusto. If it continues, I'll have to find a way to make it work.
The 1957Ford forum went thru similar problems last year, only worse. Costs just getting out of hand on the www.1957ford.com forum to the point it had to be shut down. John Gambil, the owner/founder posted that he had invested over 60K since the site's start 16 years ago and he just couldn't do it any more. The last bill he got from the people"upgrading" the website was for 3800, and the site almost immediatlely crashed. Sounds to me the company he was using didn't know what the hell they were doing, but if your not a computer whiz, how do you know?? Most of us would be at their mercy. John offered all the rights and info to the '57fordsforever site for the 3800 to cover his last bill.Fortunatly, James from the '57fordsforever site came to the rescue. A go-Fund-Me site was set up and donations come in to cover it in a matter of a few days. James has been hard at work merging the two forums. Sorry for the hijack, Don, Jeff....I just think most guys like me have no clue what it takes.
I had Brenda get in touch with Don on facebook to let him know I was at a loss as to what to do since the site was down,administrator of the forum is a ***le but doesn't mean anything when it comes to the ins and outs of paying the bills..it seems the provider has gotten greedy. I have had a lot of PM's and several people have ask what is wrong on the '54 Ford G-mail account. Don told me we have exceeded our allotted band width and due to the cost involved the site will be down until the first of the month,it ****s but the members that are hambers cab stay in touch here on Jeff's site and the facebook users can check in there... I am not a FB user so until the site is back up you can find me here. HRP
thank you and Jeff for the full story.it is typical of most things look they are using our service.then they think they have you by the short and curlies lets use our power to have **** *** with the custumer
Thanks Texas57....and yes, you're correct, most folks have no idea the amount of work and $$ it takes to keep something like this up and running. The previous club President (and Club Founder) was an independently wealthy guy. He p***ed away earlier this year and I loved him like a father, so this isn't a slam on him at all. But, he ran the club at a loss financially and it didn't bother him even a little bit. It was a labor of love and he had the money so it was no big deal. It's certainly a labor of love for me also, but I can't afford to run it at a loss. I try to break even on things and keep the 30 year old club alive because it's meant a lot to me since I was 16 years old. The online side of things has gotten increasingly more expensive lately and I also publish a printed newsletter. Don't get me wrong....I'm not griping....I'm a big boy and will be fine. I just wanted to let all the 54 Ford Club guys who are looking at this site know that it's not me being lazy or not paying bills. The club isn't going anywhere and it'll be around for another 30 years if I have anything to do with it.
I have had a several emails complaining about the site being down. I did my best to explain the problem and told them if the had a FB account they could go there or check out this site,Jeff does a great job as does Don with the '54 Ford Club of America site,I honestly believe Holiday surfing overloaded our site. HRP
I struck a deal with the web service provider for a limited amount of extra bandwidth for a reduced price.
Don, can you give me a month by month breakdown of bandwidth used by the site for say the last 12 months? You can PM me if you want.
I was looking for more of a monthly total. I just sent you a pm. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
After reading this i gotta admit i didnt have a clue of what was involved. Thanks to those that keep these valuable resources up and running.
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