It's that time again - the server needs rebuilding and the only way I can do so is build a new one, ship it out and then migrate the data between them. I did look at AWS etc but it becomes incredibly expensive very quickly once you factor in backup storage and having more CPU cores than a smartphone. I looked at some places offering dedicated servers which are slightly cheaper but then I saw the reviews and struck those off the list. The host we have now has been pretty good about support etc.
It's probably also going to force a software upgrade, something I'd been wanting to do for a while now, the theme will probably be a somewhat default one for a bit but I'd want to get back to something that looks this way eventually, it suits the place.
Some of you will know and some won't, but this place does cost some money to run, it takes about $1250 a year in hosting bills against donations of about $24 a year. It would be greatly appreciated if anyone who uses and values the forum who is in a position to do so, would consider donating towards the costs of the new server hardware. The more donated the better thing I can buy, the last one did pretty well as it's been going strong for 7 years but it's a bit over a decade old now and after the migration it will be donated to a local community network project or the computer museum. Any excess funds will simply be allocated against the hosting bills.
As with last time, I won't be setting up ranks, badges and so on but I will post a thank-you (no amounts) in this thread at the end unless directed otherwise. There's a reason for this, I personally feel that it's a form of peer pressure and actually this is why so many forums do it. There are a lot of reasons someone may not want to or be able to donate and I don't think it's fair to them. It also adds clutter.
So if you'd like to help, here's the link!
I'd like to help out with a donationIf you do want to be thanked when it closes please include your forum name in the donation note!