WayHay.......Welcome back and a Merry Crimbo

slim123 · Post by **slim123** » 19 Dec 2007, 20:33

Nice to see everything back up and running.

No doubt thanks are due to the silent ones who fix things.

Merry Cristmas to all and lets hope a trouble free new year awaits us all.

Slim.

jonkw · Post by **jonkw** » 19 Dec 2007, 20:51

Merry Xmas Slim.
I can promise that things will be a whole lot better for the future.

meexi · Post by **meexi** » 19 Dec 2007, 20:51

have to agree welcome back i really have missed this site

Post by **CitroJim** » 19 Dec 2007, 21:33

Merry Christmas Slim and good to see you again

meexi wrote:I really have missed this site

Me too. The FCF coming back is a like a big family reunion

It might be a good idea to post a few "catch-up" threads. I for one have had a change of vehicle during the FCF downtime and have had quite a few Xantia adventures one way or another

My 205GTI has gone to a new home and I now have a Xantia 2.1TD Break on my fleet. That makes three Xantias 8)

andmcit · Post by **andmcit** » 19 Dec 2007, 21:40

JUST A THOUGHT...

is it viable to send a kind of 'ping' message to the listers registered for this
forum to say, "HEY, WERE HERE AGAIN, BUSINESS AS USUAL" otherwise
some may have lost the willpower/inclination to log in on the holding page
etc and not even realise the diversion to BXClub was there. My usual site
bookmark in my browser favorites didn't pull up the holding page/link and
many others may not have seen it either!!

As I say, just a thought, but it'd be kind of like a new personal message
has arrived/a reply has been made to a thread you're interested in etc!!

All the best, and YES, Merry Christmas to everyone.
Here's hoping 2008 is a better year for everyone!!

Andrew

Post by **CitroJim** » 19 Dec 2007, 21:50

andmcit wrote:JUST A THOUGHT...

is it viable to send a kind of 'ping' message to the listers registered for this
forum to say, "HEY, WERE HERE AGAIN, BUSINESS AS USUAL" otherwise
some may have lost the willpower/inclination to log in on the holding page
etc and not even realise the diversion to BXClub was there. My usual site
bookmark in my browser favorites didn't pull up the holding page/link and
many others may not have seen it either!!

Andrew

Good idea o wise one

It should be possible for admins to send a broadcast PM or e-mail to every registered member in one hit Andrew.

I must admit I took the FCF out of my list of home pages a week or so ago and I got to hear via a text message from Richard (DickieG)!!! I've also cascaded the information on to others...

Thanks for putting the post up on the Xantiaclub forum to say the FCF is back Andrew 8)

AndersDK · Post by **AndersDK** » 19 Dec 2007, 22:41

Ahhh ... nice being back 8)

Merry Xmas and happy new year to everyone

Yes it is possible to produce a mass email posting to all members in one go.
Dont know however if this has any consequences to forum access bandwidth.

And I'm sure if we are patient, the avatar service will be back and running again

andmcit · Post by **andmcit** » 19 Dec 2007, 22:51

Hi Anders.

Good to see you again!! What 'handle' do you operate under on BXClub then
as I'd expected to see you there with your Bx orientated fleet!?

All the best,
Andrew

andmcit · Post by **andmcit** » 19 Dec 2007, 22:59

Didn't jonkw from BXClub sign FCF and the BX counterpart up to a more
"robust" server with greater bandwith etc etc which was the reason it ALL
originally went flop with FCF in the first place!?

Andrew

jonkw · Post by **jonkw** » 19 Dec 2007, 23:01

This hosting package has 100gb bandwidth a month Anders, so........no sending a mass email is no problem at all.

Can you remember how to do it? ( I have not even looked TBH).

In reply to the above post, in a nutshell (and I shall try not to make this too longwinded) FCF got banned by the original hosts, Sphere in the USA for using excessive bandwidth and server resources on a shared server. Unfortunately, the hosting was subcontracted and resold again. (to me).
I then did get a virtual dedicated server with Pipex, and started to set the thing up, as you do. At this point, the company that actually had registered this domain, and arranged the original hosting, disappeared, and although I was the registrant, it was not at my address, and unfortunately it was not in my name either. This of course gets confusing, and I could not get control of the domain to change it to my own IPSTAG so I could point the thing at the new server. Nominet were of no help either as I'm not really the registrant, one "Sid Boggle". At some point, after a round of phone calls, letters, enquiries on other forums, facebook and all such like, I got the original registrant to do a DNS point to the new server here, although its not quite right, and our man vanished again. Never heard of again. The DNS is good enough to host the site, but FTP and MX mail records are still shot.
Still reading? OK, well in the end I ended up manually uploaded all the site files using an email account on the remote desktop to get the thing up and running, which took, some time.

So it's good enough for the moment. My next stage is to drive to Somerset to the bloke's last known address and see if I can trace him to his new place, and get his Fasthosts login so I can transfer the IPSTAG over to 123-REG and thus gain full control of the domain, and finally sort the DNS.

You see, it's not been easy.

andmcit · Post by **andmcit** » 19 Dec 2007, 23:41

TBH, it's all over my head but you do sound like you know what's going on
which is all that matters really!!

I'M IMPRESSED WITH YOUR PERSEVERANCE!!

MYSELF AND I'M SURE MANY FCF ADDICTS ARE VERY APPRECIATIVE
OF YOUR DOGGED DETERMINATION AND PERSONAL TIME/EEFORT SPENT!!

All the best,
Andrew

AndersDK · Post by **AndersDK** » 20 Dec 2007, 01:14

Hi Andrew -

I'm using the same handle "AndersDK" on any forum I participate in.

On BXclub my avatar is the LHS headlamp on a dark grey BX, my dead TDbreak, which is now to leave my yard this coming spring (I promised wife !)
On other forums I'm using the LHD drivers view from a CX as avatar.

Blakey :
Sounds like it would have been easier starting all over again using a new domain - then creating a subdomain - within that domain - with the original domain name. Then let that subdomain become a public forum server. That would ensure a full control from day one.
But then again - its certainly been some time since I messed around with NT4 and 2000 servers and domain setups, cant really look through what do'es and whats dont's.

back to the mass email - dead easy :
From within admin panel - select Mass Email from the left pane under section "general admin" - and type in the message with a header.
Thats it.

Dont know what happens though, when the mail server receives back lots & lots of UN-delivered mails to fake & spam members - except that forum admin's mailbox may run over

So you better get that bit straightened out first before mass emailing 8)

davek-uk · Post by **davek-uk** » 20 Dec 2007, 15:39

Wow, it's nice to be back. Welcome and a happy Christmas to all.

Ross_K · Post by **Ross_K** » 23 Dec 2007, 11:39

It's great to be able to visit FCF again

I'm sure everyone would join me in saying a big well done to everyone behind the scenes for their hard work in getting the site up and running again. $\:D/$

Happy Christmas to everyone, and I hope you all have trouble-free motoring in the coming year.

Stempy · Post by **Stempy** » 23 Dec 2007, 15:36

Thanks to all involved in getting the forum back on line, have a Xanterific Christmas and a Citroenious New Year.