tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84856360695600992322024-03-12T20:48:10.299-07:00ConstantSunThis is the status and upgrade blog for ConstantSun products (<a href="http://editthis.info">editthis.info</a> and <a href="http://cueflash.com">cueFlash.com</a>).Rob Kohrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14011841852767765694noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485636069560099232.post-37997269791063274462009-12-07T15:16:00.000-08:002009-12-07T15:24:38.707-08:00No more bloggingI created a google group here:<br /><br /><a href="http://groups.google.com/group/editthisinfo">http://groups.google.com/group/editthisinfo</a><br /><br />from now on status messages and updates will be posted there. A blog is very much a one way form of communication, and I feel it goes against the collaborative nature of a wiki service. This group will be where problems and enhancements will be discussed.<br /><br />If you are simply requesting a feature be added to editthis.info, please use the uservoice page:<br /><a href="http://editthis.uservoice.com/pages/35672-feature-requests" rel="nofollow">http://editthis.uservoice.com/pages/35672-feature-requests</a>Rob Kohrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14011841852767765694noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485636069560099232.post-64602208949342738142009-11-30T17:36:00.000-08:002009-11-30T17:46:26.263-08:00cueFlash now on SlicehostAfter being on Dreamhost for a long time, I have switched for Slicehost. They have great uptime, cheaper prices, and allows you to do more geeky things with your webserver.<br /><br />This isn't a big jab against Dreamhost though. I am still a big user of them, but their VPS service doesn't give me the configuration ease that I need. Too many times I am harassing their customer service to do X, where X would have been something I could do in 5 minutes with root access. If I were a more basic user (as I used to be) they would be golden, and most of my requests would go against serving basic users.<br /><br />I will slowly be pulling bits and pieces of other sites (such as editthis.info and constantsail) over to slicehost, and then just using dreamhost for subversion and domain registration management.<br /><br />Some discount codes:<br />Dreamhost: RobKohr<br />Slicehost: https://manage.slicehost.com/customers/new?referrer=38c309ee9e8ab330cb30559973734835Rob Kohrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14011841852767765694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485636069560099232.post-64456627993524157052009-11-30T09:47:00.000-08:002009-11-30T10:23:53.382-08:00Editthis.info upgradeEditthis.info has gone through a major upgrade over the last week. It has been moved to a new database system (mysql->sqlite) and has been upgraded from mediawiki 1.5.5 to 1.15.1. This is basically a 3 year jump in versions.<br /><br />Some of the reasons for the upgrade:<br />*Stability - The massive MySQL db has reached its scaling limit<br />*Security - More up to date usually is more secure<br />*Extensibility - Many extensions that I would like to add were not available in the older mediawiki<br />*Portability - With the ability to use sqlite with the new mediawiki codebase, I can easily move wikis and their databases (sqlite databases are single files) from one server to another. I may be adding a feature where you can download your wiki and host it elsewhere or on a flash drive.<br />*Features - There has been many subtle changes over the years that I wanted to catch up on.<br /><br />I probably have about 5 other bullet points. The hesitation has been partly due to the complexity in making the transition. The other reason was that until recently the sqlite support has been very much in beta.<br /><br />The change upgrade has not been smooth. I have had web server config issues, database overloading issues (trying to export too much at once), and database syntax issues (the database systems use slightly different syntax which has caused many problems).<br /><br />Most of the wikis are now imported correctly, but there are plenty that have errors or no content. I am revisiting them and seeing why they didn't transfer correctly. I am suspecting it is just syntax issues. If your wiki is not working ... DON'T PANIC. The original that I am working off has been untouched, and it is just a matter of finessing it so that it translates correctly. If your wiki has problems, please post the url to the wiki here:<br /><a href="http://editthis.info/wiki/?title=Wikis_that_are_broken&action=edit">http://editthis.info/wiki/?title=Wikis_that_are_broken&action=edit</a><br /><br />Other things that are missing but will be added in the next week:<br />*Control panel to manage logo, wiki title, and permissions<br />*Cookie error when you log in (it shows the error, but really the login worked)<br />*Create wiki and create wiki page not availableRob Kohrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14011841852767765694noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485636069560099232.post-40799137859465064832009-08-29T05:59:00.001-07:002009-08-29T06:01:31.937-07:00Character encodings for different languagesEditthis.info now handles foreign characters properly (just tested cyrillic and french). <br /><br />For those that are a little geeky, it seems that the php function htmlentities doesn't have a multibyte string version.Rob Kohrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14011841852767765694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485636069560099232.post-70240293637716600802009-04-27T09:43:00.001-07:002009-05-02T07:12:37.948-07:00Server ErrorsThere have been a lot of server errors recently, and they are the result of system resources being overwhelmed (using up system memory and processor). <br /><br />I suspect that this is due to another app I have been working on - a real time web game called constantsail.com. <br /><br />I am now setting up a separate server for the that game so that it's performance does not effect editthis.info. I expect it will be set up within the next 48 hours, and hopefully this resolves the issues. <br /><br />Thanks,<br />Rob<br /><br /><h3>Update</h3><br />This problem has been resolved and you should not see any more server errors relating to this problem. The app has been moved to another server.Rob Kohrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14011841852767765694noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485636069560099232.post-84266086663707386022009-04-16T14:25:00.000-07:002009-04-17T08:39:32.103-07:00AttackedIt seems that editthis.info was attacked by a distributor of malware. I have reverted the site code that was modified and removed the offending code they added (they add iframe tags that make it so when you visit editthis.info, you were also visiting their site in the background).<br /><br />I have since changed the passwords on the servers, made a further backup of all data, and am switching the site to a separate account in case there is a compromise that still exists in the current account. <br /><br />In the last 24 hours since the attack, google has labeled editthis.info as a malware site, and I have requested a rescan of the site since it has been cleaned up. <br /><br />I am uncertain as to the vector of the attack, so I am taking a number of simultaneous paths to close down possible holes. <br /><br />If you would like to help, a great help would be to do a view source on any editthis wiki you use for the next couple days. If you see a hidden iframe on the page, just report it here:<br />http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=pwTWRDXAdLN84h6Bk0oA4Pg<br /><br />Thanks,<br />RobRob Kohrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14011841852767765694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485636069560099232.post-56916109407903702002008-07-11T10:28:00.000-07:002008-07-11T10:32:26.709-07:00islandwarfare.com coming soonI am currently looking for users to beta test <a href="http://islandwarfare.com">Island Warfare</a>, which is a new game I am developing. In it you start with an empty island that you can build various types of buildings on, train soldiers, and sail off to conquer other players islands. <br /><br />To sign up to become a beta tester go to:<br />http://islandwarfare.comRob Kohrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14011841852767765694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485636069560099232.post-83547261963430562352008-07-06T10:12:00.000-07:002008-07-07T11:37:38.842-07:00Image upload issuesSo <a href="http://dreamhost.com">Dreamhost</a> recently locked out creation of new files on the account that hosts editthis.info. It turns out that that account had 250,000+ files, and huge file systems have been a problem for them regarding stability. Almost all of the files were in the image upload directory. <br /><br />The problem is mediawiki creates a large number of directories, thumbnails, and archive files for every image uploaded. Many of the directories it creates are actually empty, and every directory in linux is really just a file. <br /><br />I went into the image storage location and ran the command:<br /><pre><br /> nohup find -depth -type d -empty -exec rmdir {} \;&<br /></pre><br />Which deleted all empty directories, which brought me back under quota, but it won't be long before file count gets to a point where real files will have to be deleted... so I am blocking image uploads for right now. <br /><br />The solution I am looking at is possibly making image uploads a premium service only, and just charging a small cost for this. So many users create wikis on EDI, upload a few images, and then stop using the site. This will make it so those users don't have an impact on the usage, and the more heavier users most likely won't mind paying a few bucks to host their images. <br /><br />As always, if you ever want you can host images elsewhere, and then include them in your pages. You simply put the url to the image in your page, and it automatically shows up there.Rob Kohrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14011841852767765694noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485636069560099232.post-54937511108213133062008-06-07T07:57:00.000-07:002008-06-07T08:08:09.601-07:00Transfering old wikisSome of the wikis still reside on the previous server. There is now a transfer system in place. Simply go to your wiki's url and it will ask you if you want to transfer. Click the link and it will add you to the transfer queue. <br /><br />If the transfer queue gets stuck (no wikis are disappearing off the queue after an hour) feel free to send me an email (account robkohr and I use gmail). It was hacked together the other night, and sometimes needs a little push.Rob Kohrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14011841852767765694noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485636069560099232.post-91525940913740999532008-06-07T07:44:00.000-07:002008-06-08T23:05:16.165-07:00Wiki Creation back up and running<a href="http://www.editthis.info/extensions/add_wiki.php">Create a new wiki today!</a><br /><br />.....<br />UPDATE: Ok, not quite working yet. Debugging...<br /><br /><br />.....<br />Updated update: didn't really do anything, but it seems to be working now.Rob Kohrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14011841852767765694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485636069560099232.post-83444590593135264152008-05-18T18:40:00.000-07:002008-06-07T07:44:37.233-07:00Editthis.info downtimeUPDATE at the end of the posting<br />---<br />Editthis.info will be down from Friday May 23rd to roughly Friday May 30th. My family and I are moving from New Jersey to San Francisco, California, and it will take about a week before the server is set up out there. My goal is to have it set up in 5 days, but I think 7 is more realistic. <br /><br />I will rush and push to get this set up immediately, and I am sorry for any inconvenience this causes.<br /><br />Thanks,<br />Rob<br /><br /><img src="http://si.unm.edu/abq_2001/mpadilla/mpadilla_wq/Golden-Gate-Bridge-3.jpg"><br /><br />UPDATES:<br />This will be a partial downtime. I am transferring some of the wikis with the highest traffic to a dreamhost private server, and moving the domain temporarily to point to that server. Unfortunately all of the wikis cannot be transfered and will be down for the week. These are the wikis that are currently being transfered in the order that they will be transferred:<br /> 'choose_your_own_adventure', 'scp_wiki', 'code_wiki', 'londonbirders', 'timesplitterswiki', 'psy3241', 'psy3242', 'bs01_game_team_', 'bloggerhacks', 'elimine', 'rickyrab', 'superdickery', 'vandalpedia', 'glitches', 'runewiki', 'sonar', 'kaiserreich', 'charas_project', 'ben10versepedia', 'usgs', 'jtv_wiki', 'sotf_wiki', 'dxx', 'cecilia', 'undertherainbow', <br />'top_trumps', 'inselkampf', 'flab', 'egs_mayhem', '20803', 'sandboxwiki', 'expanding_your_horizons', 'bidoof', 'kokorodatabase', <br />'deathmenwalking', 'pornopedia', 'wormpedia', 'wolfapedia', 'fat', 'wikiventure', 'hanfburgwiki', 'cod', 'roach_busters', 'super_formula', 'ms_paint_brawl', 'banarte', 'dexnet', <br /><br />This is based upon google analytics for count of unique vistors. The rest of the wikis will be back up by the end of next week.Rob Kohrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14011841852767765694noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485636069560099232.post-43053649037642921012008-04-06T09:26:00.000-07:002008-04-06T09:31:30.332-07:00cueFlash version 2 is here!The new version of cueflash is now out. It has been rewritten from the ground up with the following goals:<br />*Easier to add features to - my previous version was pretty poorly coded<br />*Decks are no longer copied when imported by new users - this created a bloated db<br />*People can edit each other's decks, making the system more wiki like<br /><br />There are lots of other features I have planned, so stay tuned. This is just the first iteration.<br /><br />All of the data from the prior system has been imported into the newest version. You can still access the old version at http://old.cueflash.com , but keep in mind that it isn't being maintained and nothing you add to it will be imported into the new version of <a href="http://cueflash.com">cueFlash</a>.<br /><br />Thanks!<br />RobRob Kohrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14011841852767765694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485636069560099232.post-5280658143114757202008-02-11T11:56:00.000-08:002008-02-11T11:57:51.221-08:00EditThis.info .... fastThe network seems to be back up to speed. I am still going to moving off the current ISP, as I haven't been happy with their service recently.Rob Kohrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14011841852767765694noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485636069560099232.post-66656819241463690202008-02-11T10:21:00.000-08:002008-02-11T10:35:32.260-08:00EditThis.info .... sloooowwwI am currently research new ISPs since recently it has had intermittent slowness/outages. I didn't really have a problem with them when they were out for a power outage, or a downed line, or a nearby transformer bursting into flame. That is just the way the network crumbles. Now it just seems to be random and frequent. Obviously their success in signing up new customers has led to me losing customers as their network gets saturated.<br /><br />Current options I am looking into:<br />*Signing up with a new ISP. Most seem to be more expensive for what I want to do and/or provide slower outbound bandwidth<br />*Moving back to a web hosting company, except dedicated<br />**This would be more expensive, but may be worth it in the long time as I am looking to host more products and they will be more relyable<br />**I will have to do a rewrite of editthis.info so my tweaks play nicer on another companies server... this may be good since ETI is in desperate need of an upgrade.<br /><br />In the end it comes to a cost/time issue. <br />C)EDI makes just enough in ad revenue to support its current setup, and dedicated hosting would put it in the red. There is a lot of free wiki hosts out there, and I don't know if charging a premium would really increase revenue enough to make up the difference<br />T)The system would have to be revamped to both upgrade it and to move it to most servers. <br /><br />In the end, I think rewriting it will be the best plan. I am not satisfied with its current lack of portability and a number of structural issues. I also admit I am a better programmer than a sysadmin, and it is better to hand this off to be hosted by professionals. I expect to have cueflash out the door by the end of the month (another project I felt needed a rebuild) and after that I am going to try my second crack at rebuilding EDI.Rob Kohrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14011841852767765694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485636069560099232.post-48657627809633803472008-02-11T10:13:00.000-08:002008-02-11T10:20:14.517-08:00cueFlash version two!A new version of cueflash is in development and will be released shortly. It will feature deck ratings, ajax card loads (just loads the content of the cards to speed up card viewing), comments, and a cleaned up interface.<br /><br />The current design (not really functional) is at:<br /><a href="http://robkohr.com/dev/cueflash.com">http://robkohr.com/dev/cueflash.com</a><br /><br />You can see the current working system at:<br /><a href="http://cueflash.com">http://cueflash.com</a><br /><br />Feel free to comment here with any suggestions.<br /><br />Thanks,<br />RobRob Kohrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14011841852767765694noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485636069560099232.post-92211719020002912402008-01-23T12:22:00.000-08:002008-01-23T12:28:27.252-08:00ConstantSun blog moved to blogger<span idspanfor="frame" mlb_idspanflag="true" style="border: 1px solid black; padding: 0px 3px; z-index: 500; position: absolute; top: 0pt; left: 0pt;font-family:sans-serif;font-size:xx-small;" >1</span>In an effort to maintain information flows during down times, I have moved the ConstantSun status blog to blogger.<br /><br />Please go here for to check for updates:<br /><a href="http://constantsun.blogspot.com/">http://constantsun.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br />Thanks,<br />Rob<br /><br />PS: Old posts will still be available <a href="http://www.constantsun.com/blog/">here</a>.Rob Kohrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14011841852767765694noreply@blogger.com1