Digital Don'ts
You may have noticed that it's been a few days since my last posting. It all started a couple of days ago when I logged on and discovered that my web site and my e-mail had both vanished from the face of the web. Normally this isn't a huge deal. It happens every now and then. The web host I'm using (EV1.net) runs some update or has some server issue and things go loopy for a couple of hours.
But not three freaking days.
Apparently, Tumlinson.net is on "the old system." I'm somewhat tech savvy, and I realize that from time to time people update their systems. I've done it numerous times myself. Over the years, I've upgraded from DOS to Windows XP and various other operating systems in-between. But when I upgraded, I took my files with me. I made backups and I copied them into a nice, neat folder on the computers new upgraded hard drive. My files never stayed on "the old system." They were important... they came with me! Anyway, so my files are in "old system" limbo. A sort of digital purgatory. And the only way to get my site back, apparently, is to have the tech guys migrate it over to one of the new Plesk servers (the "old system" was on a Cobalt server... very bad server apparently. Unless, of course, it's 1999 and your trying to sell the server to J. Kevin Tumlinson at exorbitant prices).
I agreed and the process was begun. I knew the risks. My files would be lost (I had back-ups) and there might be a bug or two I'd have to contend with. And the site would be down, they said, for a couple of hours more.
A couple of hours turned into a full day as the site had to "propagate" around the web. I'm still not sure how that whole thing works, but apparently the EV1 servers have to tell every other server on the planet where to find my web site. Meanwhile, no web site and no e-mail for Kevin.
I waited for the web site to "propagate." When it had, I saw that my domain name brought me to a Plesk page holder. I managed to figure out what my host directory was supposed to be and started uploading my site. While that was happening, I tried to check e-mail.
Problem. No e-mail. Still.
I called tech support after I got the error message for the sixth time. As it turns out, by sheer coincidence, the e-mail servers were down. Some unknown problem. Sorry, Kevin, no e-mail for you. I get a lot of e-mail. I get somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 e-mails per day on that account alone. Not to mention the 10 or 15 other e-mail accounts I check daily (I'm a prolific e-mailer, what can I say?). At this point, the horror of realizing my e-mails are being bounced and valuable contacts are being lost is starting to sink in. A
s of this posting, I STILL don't have e-mail. My site is FINALLY back (as you can see!) and I'm no closer to knowing what the heck started this mess in the first place than I was 24 hours ago. Remember when your problems were basically things like, "The batteries are dead in my TV remote," or "I don't have the fifteen bucks for a pizza?" EV1.net has been a great web hosting service, but I'm starting to wonder if I'd be better off moving my 20 or so domains to someone else.
Any suggestions? I need easy, lots of e-mail addresses and a personal guarantee that I'll NEVER have to deal with this garbage again. Hook me up!
But not three freaking days.
Apparently, Tumlinson.net is on "the old system." I'm somewhat tech savvy, and I realize that from time to time people update their systems. I've done it numerous times myself. Over the years, I've upgraded from DOS to Windows XP and various other operating systems in-between. But when I upgraded, I took my files with me. I made backups and I copied them into a nice, neat folder on the computers new upgraded hard drive. My files never stayed on "the old system." They were important... they came with me! Anyway, so my files are in "old system" limbo. A sort of digital purgatory. And the only way to get my site back, apparently, is to have the tech guys migrate it over to one of the new Plesk servers (the "old system" was on a Cobalt server... very bad server apparently. Unless, of course, it's 1999 and your trying to sell the server to J. Kevin Tumlinson at exorbitant prices).
I agreed and the process was begun. I knew the risks. My files would be lost (I had back-ups) and there might be a bug or two I'd have to contend with. And the site would be down, they said, for a couple of hours more.
A couple of hours turned into a full day as the site had to "propagate" around the web. I'm still not sure how that whole thing works, but apparently the EV1 servers have to tell every other server on the planet where to find my web site. Meanwhile, no web site and no e-mail for Kevin.
I waited for the web site to "propagate." When it had, I saw that my domain name brought me to a Plesk page holder. I managed to figure out what my host directory was supposed to be and started uploading my site. While that was happening, I tried to check e-mail.
Problem. No e-mail. Still.
I called tech support after I got the error message for the sixth time. As it turns out, by sheer coincidence, the e-mail servers were down. Some unknown problem. Sorry, Kevin, no e-mail for you. I get a lot of e-mail. I get somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 e-mails per day on that account alone. Not to mention the 10 or 15 other e-mail accounts I check daily (I'm a prolific e-mailer, what can I say?). At this point, the horror of realizing my e-mails are being bounced and valuable contacts are being lost is starting to sink in. A
s of this posting, I STILL don't have e-mail. My site is FINALLY back (as you can see!) and I'm no closer to knowing what the heck started this mess in the first place than I was 24 hours ago. Remember when your problems were basically things like, "The batteries are dead in my TV remote," or "I don't have the fifteen bucks for a pizza?" EV1.net has been a great web hosting service, but I'm starting to wonder if I'd be better off moving my 20 or so domains to someone else.
Any suggestions? I need easy, lots of e-mail addresses and a personal guarantee that I'll NEVER have to deal with this garbage again. Hook me up!