Uploading MP3's to the forum server will not be possible

[The Reverend 48]

i'm feeling quite sad about this and feel it could be the end of a golden era, i hope my feelings are unfounded tho.

I can't help feeling this is not good
If it goes ahead I think putting a limit on members of 15mb is wrong.........
some members are very prolific and keep this site going and to put a physical limit on their inspiration is in IMO against the great spirit we have here.....
I also would be sad to loose the archive from here so lets hope Bluehost don't have an issue with us........

[Tony W]

Is that 15mb divide amongst all users, or has consideration been made for active users? We do have a ton of inactive users, which we can assume will never be active.

This is without a doubt a bad suggestion, but.... if this is actually going to happen..... then have the file limit based on board status. The more posts, the more MB. Again, I think this is a ridiculous suggestion, but I'd hate to see somebody who has not posted a single post a year after they joined to have 15mb cap and solid contributors have the same cap.

[Wiley]

I don't know what to think!! But I do know that if something has to give. OUT with the old and in with the new.   I know I very seldom go back through the old posts.  There is so much going on in the new.  And 64 made me a juke box player. But I would give it up to have things basicly remain the same here.  If a song comes across and you want it, get it. AFter 2 months it is history. I feel delete it all  then there would be no broken links etc.  This place needs to live for the future.  I would hate to see it loose the present. The past is the past.!!  I can feel it coming on already. LOL
P.J.

[Pedro]

One last thought:  Before you do anything, don't you think it would be a good idea to ask bluehost about the situation first? Explain to them that your site is a web forum where members can post their own MP3s (so not a copyright concern) and that the songs are an integral part of the forum. Who knows - they might not have a problem with it. If they do, then you can move the MP3s offsite. But it would be a shame to delete everything based on an assumption if it turned out that bluehost doesn't even mind the current situation. As a precaution, I'd backup everything before contacting bluehost - just in case they decide to delete stuff themselves.

Already did that, just waiting for the response. Who knows, maybe they do think it is alright! I've stated clearly that website will grow 2/3 GB a year and that the MP3's are a big part of the forum. Let's see...

[Ferryman_1957]

Fingers crossed, this is slightly worrying but whatever we will have to find a way round it.

Cheers,

Nigel

[Pedro]

Received a response from bluehost:

A database of that size while not specifically against our TOS does generally cause performance problems on a Shared hosting environment such as ours. For larger databases such as that I would normally recommend looking into a virtual private server or a dedicated server, or in some cases just a dedicated server for the database it's self.

Basically, this is not good because although it is not against their TOS, it is frowned upon and will most certainly be a problem in the future, when the database grows. What I want is a sustainable situation, something that could go on indefinitely. Even though I could simply forget them, let the database grow and eventually if they did anything, complain and maybe press charges or something like that but I prefer to keep things simple.

The solution is limiting the database to some relatively small value, such as 3GB, while promoting the use of external backup websites. This is no problem to them, bluehost with this value, and with a little adjustment, no problem to us.

Before I delete anything, a backup with all the MP3 files will be put online in some free backup storage. Which can be a way for users to manually link to their post, using the singlemp3 tag.

Sorry about this guys, this is kind of my fault. I really thought it was unlimited storage, with no problems whatsoever. I guess we will have to get used to it.

[The Reverend 48]

OK it looks like we will need to adapt
Their certainly seem to be a lot of options....However I believe that we should have a BR approved option as many new members will not have the experience of hosting...
As PJ said I have used box net in the past and the Blues test has been up on box nett for over 3months
https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?topic=4840.msg59613#msg59613
I don't know enough about hosting to gauge how good this site is it has a 1gb of free use

What do you guys think about us having a standard site recommended by us?...............................

[SteveB]

First of all, thanks to Admin (Pedro?), for getting such a site as this into being in the first place, and good luck to those who have to implement the forthcoming changes. Responding to 48, it would probably be an advantage if indeed all the MP3s etc could be kept in one place/site. so I for one am with you in this.
Best of luck to everyone.

[Oldrottenhead]

looming at this sitecalled musicwebtown , it allows you to upload and stream 2gigs of mp3s. http://www.musicwebtown.com/community/index.php does anyone have any info on it. am gonna give it a try will let you know how it goes

update its only a months free trial doh.

[Geir]

First of all, THANK YOU Pedro for all the time and effort you put into making this the best place on the web for us!!


And.....
If I read this correctly:

..........or in some cases just a dedicated server for the database it's self.

does that mean that if we could find someone to host the database, we could continue with the site as is ?