Announce List/2005
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Jan 25, 2005Website down during move
We are currently in the process of moving webservers to provide us with more room to grow! As such, the website may be down on a temporary basis while we make this move. In the mean time, please do NOT update any pages on the website, including your UPDS profile. We will send a notice to this list when the move is complete, which should be very soon. Thank you for your patience! Jan 30, 2005Moving News
I'm sure some of you are wondering what's going on with the forums, and I wanted to make sure no one was in the dark... As you may be aware, we've hit some bumps in the road during the move to a new host. This is /supposed/ to be an easy type of thing, but it has turned out to be a royal hassle. The forums are the latest casualty of this, and despite my best efforts, I cannot seem to figure out what went wrong. It appears that somehow the main configuration file for the forums was corrupted and I can't figure out how to fix it. However, there is good news: the database which stores all the forum users, posts, forums, and threads is still in tact. It's just the front end that we're not sure about. I've contacted Invision Power Board support and am awaiting their reply. My hope is that they will fix the problem and bring the boards back online within the next 48 hours. I apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate everyone's patience in this matter. Meanwhile, if you find any other errors on our website, please be sure to report them to me as soon as possible. Thanks again! Feb 4, 2005Forums Online Again
From all that I can tell, the forums are online and working properly again! And, it appears that we didn't lose any of our posts or threads. If you've never been before, head to: http://www.starbase118.net/forums to check them out. You can register and get started posting in just a few minutes. However: we have had to shut down our chat service for a number of reasons, one being the fact that our new host does not allow IRC-based web clients on their server. The other reason being that our license with Invision Power Chat has expired and I do not wish to renew it again, due to (what I believe) is a poor service. My hope is that we will launch a new chat area within the next month or two hosted on another server but still linked to our website. I will post announcements regarding that to this list server. Thank you everyone for your patience! Feb 7, 2005UPDS Online / Forum Glitches Fixed
In what will hopefully be the last two real "issues" with the server move, I have corrected the error causing the UPDS issue, and have also fixed the issue with the forums which prevented avatars to be changed or files being uploaded. Thus, as far as I can tell, the UPDS is working correctly as are the forums. Thank you to everyone who sent in e-mails concerning the problems. Your diligence is appreciated! Feb 15, 2005New Captain At Large
Captain Theodore Draigon has been appointed to the position of Captain At Large for the year of 2005, and has accepted that position. The Executive Council would like to congratulate him on his appointment and hope that others will do the same! Mar 3, 2005New Members Area of Website
The New Members Area of the website has formally opened as of today. I encourage everyone to go take a look: http://www.starbase118.net/members/ Please keep in mind that we're still in the processing of building the site, so there are some areas that are still not open. Nonetheless, it is functional (moreso than the "old site," that is), and contains the major areas of the old site that were necessary for reference and such. The remaining areas that are still unopened will be opened in the coming weeks and months. If you have any questions or comments, you are free to contact me at this e-mail address: t.wolf@... Mar 8, 2005Calling all "Reporters"...
When we put the "UFOP Reporter" to rest over a year ago, I received a number of e-mails from folks who were interested in helping bring it back. I notified them that it was simply too much work, and that we would soon have a new way of disseminating this information to our group. Now that the new website has launched, we have that easier, more convenient way of getting articles and news bits to members via the Main Menu news. So now I'm calling everyone who was/is interested in writing for the Reporter before to come help write for our new news. Anyone who would like to write feature articles should respond. News on the main menu will include any of the following: - Intereviews with staff about what they do, IC and OOC. - Ship closeups for our vessels, exploring their crew and what makes them unique. - Ongoing Trek news. - Misc. articles on SIMming, discussing better ways of SIMming, etc. - Species profiles for Trek species - Trek Book reviews For ideas on what we'll be doing, you can head to: http://www.starbase118.net/reporter/reporter and check out some of the more recent Reporter issues. (Eventually these will all be moved to the "new" website -- we're still working on that.) I encourage anyone and everyone who is interested to please respond. We won't be requiring any committment -- folks will be able to write articles at their leisure as long as we can keep the stuff coming! E-mail me directly to get set up on our YGroup! Mar 8, 2005January TDR & Staff Awards
The Staff Awards for 2004 have been released via the January edition of the TDR. Please go take a look, at: http://www.starbase118.net/members/news/archives/tdr/01-2005.php In other news, the Awards area of the new website will open in its entirety, including ALL 2004 award recipients and the 2004 staff ceremony text, sometime today -- Wednesday, March 9th. We're just putting the finishing touches on it now! Check the Main Menu of the website, http://www.starbase118.net/members/ this evening to see when it goes live! Mar 10, 2005Server Issues
Much to my chagrin, our host is having serious connectivity problems. You may be encountering errors on our website and/or our forums when trying to load pages. This could include simple inability to load a page, and/or a "Too many connections" error. This is NOT a forum problem, and is also NOT a problem that I can fix. It is, unfortunately, 100% due to issues our host is having. All we can do is sit tight and hope they figure it out soon. Thank you to those who e-mailed. Your diligence is always appreciated! I will e-mail this list if/when I know more. Apr 26, 2005UPDS Pictures
Thank you to everyone who has sent e-mails regarding the current issue with uploading pictures on to your profile on the UPDS. I am attempting to get this fixed. I will post news on the Main Menu of the website (Community News area, see here: http://www.starbase118.net/members/ ) when the issue is corrected. Apologies for the inconvenience. May 23, 2005FltAdml. Wolf E-mail Address Update
Just as an FYI, I've been alerted that some folks are still using my (very) old e-mail address to try and contact me. Please be aware that the ONLY e-mail address you can reach me at is "t.wolf@...". I am NO LONGER available at "wolf530@...". That address has been officially turned-off as of last week. If you forget, you can always go to: http://www.starbase118.net/members/forms/general/ ... To reach me, or any of the other EC members. (Reach this via the website, http://www.starbase118.net , click on "Personnel" / "Contact Forms." Jun 24, 2005Keeping Aprised of the News?
f you haven't noticed, our main menu page on the Members area of the website has been absolutely brimming with activity lately! Our very active "Team Newsies" has been putting together some great stories about our fleet, and Trek. See: http://www.starbase118.net/members/ Also, if you weren't aware, you can find the monthly ship summaries for every one of our vessels going up on a daily basis. If you want to see the archive, head to: http://www.starbase118.net/members/news/ If you're interested in joining the Newsies, or you want to suggest a story, head to their taskforce page: http://www.starbase118.net/members/taskforces/teams/newsies/ Jun 28, 2005Website Down
It appears that the back-end database for our website is currently not in operation. I have not received anything regarding this matter from our webhost, and it does not appear to be something that I can fix. I have submitted a trouble ticket to our webhost's support department, and hope to see a reply soon. I will e-mail this list when the website comes back online. Sorry for the inconvenience! Jul 4, 2005Status of the Website
Greetings Earthlings! I wanted to send out something updating everyone on the status of our website. There is some good news, and some bad news. So, here goes: As most of you know, our previous host "Hostdeal.com," lost 10 of our 11 mySQL databases. These databases run a good deal of our website, including our forums, our wiki, our live help engine, and our community news on the main menu of the members area of the website. We have no idea what caused the loss of data, and apparently neither do they. After the databases dissapeared, I contacted their support department seeking for them to replace the data with backups I assumed they had on their server. All reputable hosts provide full backups of every website at regular intervals on a daily and weekly basis. Note my use of the word "reputable." Although you will find what /looks/ to be a reputable host at hostdeal.com, you would be very wrong. I was told by the support department "manager," that the loss of data was probably my fault, because we probaby had a breach of security somewhere in our system. I was also aghast to be told that they don't DO backups of the server which holds the mySQL databases. I was also referred to the "backup" utility on our server's control panel, and told I could use that in the future. I advised him in no uncertain terms that there would be no "future" between them and us, and that I wanted a full refund immediately. As far as I am aware, that refund is on its way. In the meantime, I have had to find us a new host. I have succeeded, and you can find the website for our new host at http://www.micfo.com So far, they have been nothing but cheerful, efficient, and helpful. I changed our DNS today, and was quite surprised to find that it has updated already. (In layman's terms, the DNS is our site's "address" on the web, behind the scenes. If it's not updated, it would still point to our old host. Now it points to our new host.) Usually this process takes 24-48 hours, but at least on my end, I'm seeing the site on the new host at starbase118.net So where does that leave us? - Loss of data: Luckily, I had backups of most of our databases. The forums, wiki, and news are now back online, but in a version from June 18th. I can only apologize for the inconvenience this has caused, and I do hope that we will find a way to rebuild any lost data that may have been posted to either of those two areas. The "links" area of our site is currently down, as I did not have a backup of that database. The Live Help area is online, but will require me to re-enter all necessary users. - UPDS: We lost no data from the UPDS. That was the only database that was not erased. - New Host: We're doing things a bit differently on the new host, and now each vessel will have its own Control Panel to their website. This will give webmasters of the ship sites an easier way to access things like e-mail addresses for their ship (etc). Once again, I can only apologize for all this. I can assure you I will be doing more regular backups of our data to avoid this kind of issue in the future. Nonetheless, I hope that our new host micfo.com will be more reliable. I have been reassured by their sales staff that backups are done daily, and they also have support available by phone 24x7. Jul 12, 2005Get Involved, Bring a Friend!
Howdy, Homo Sapiens! I wanted to make you aware of some new activity in our fleet, and ask everyone for their thoughts, ideas, and Picard-willing: participation! You don't need any experience in the area, and all it takes is some willingness to better the group. All ranks are welcome from Ensign to Admiral. The project we're working on right now is publicity for the group. We simply can't survive without new cadets, and right now things are a little lean in that area. We need everyone's assistance to spread the good word about our group and get some new training groups going. There are plenty of things you can do, from five-minute activities to things that will keep you busy for a few hours. If you want to get started right away, head to the link below and Request Membership in our Yahoo! Group: http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/UFOP-advertising There's also a Publicity Team area where you can spend some time looking over team information: http://www.starbase118.net/members/taskforces/teams/publicity/ Remember: we need everyone's help to make this group a success! Your participation can make a difference! OTHER PROJECTS: If you're interested, there are some other areas where you can get involved... Guilds There are two new guilds foruming: the Guild of Trills, and the Guild of El-Aurians. If you have a character of either persuasion, you can help establish either one of these guilds. Learn more about them on our forums: http://www.starbase118.net/forums/index.php?showforum=99 We also have established guilds: the Lambda Alliance (GLBT characters), the Readers (telepathic/empathic characters), and the Guild of Vulcans. More about them here: http://www.starbase118.net/members/taskforces/guilds/ Teams Team Newsies is also in need of some folks to help write news stories for our Main Menu news. You can work on just about anything you'd like, and there's always room for it on the main page! Learn more here: http://www.starbase118.net/members/taskforces/teams/newsies/ Donation/Shopping Area Finally, even if you can't help with anything above, perhaps you can give in a different way? We now have our Donation/Shopping area back online, and there are a number of ways you can give: - Donating: You can donate money directly in a secure manner via PayPal or Amazon. - Micfo Affiliates: If you have a website and are looking for a new host, you can help us by signing up for micfo.com, a great webhost, through our site. We get a referral fee for each person we help sign up! - Amazon Stores: If you regularly shop at Amazon.com, use our website to do so, and help us earn some referral cash! More information is here: http://www.starbase118.net/members/shop/ Aug 9, 2005Website Connectivity
Our hosting provider is currently experiencing a malicious "Distributed Denial of Service" attack directed at the specific server our site is housed on. (Note: not directed at us -- just the server we're on. We share the server with a number of other accounts.) To learn more about this type of internet terrorism, see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDoS The attack has been going on for at least 24 hours now. Barring serious work on the part of our host, there is not much they can do to fix the situation for us. And, the assumption is that the attack will be over before they go through the entire process of changing our site's IP address and/or moving us to a different machine. In the mean time, please sit tight and be patient. This is one of those situations where you have to blame the aggressors, and not the victims (us, our webhost). When the attack is over, you will find that you are able to access the site normally without connectivity time-outs, or "Document contains no data" errors. Aug 30, 2005Important announcement regarding "Rocket"
Members of the UFOP: StarBase 118 RPG, It is with regret that we inform you that the Executive Council has been compelled to take disciplinary actions against one of our members. The member known as "Rocket" has been notified of his expulsion from the group, due to a number of charges against the UFOP: StarBase 118 Constitution, including: ARTICLE VIII - DISCIPLINE OF ALL OFFICERS C. Rude or abusive language disproportionate to the issue at hand and at the discretion of the disciplining authority. D. Intentional deceit in the course of conduct either IC or OOC. E. Public breaks with discipline, such as questioning the decisions of a superior officer in or out of character in an improper or disrespectful way at the discretion of the disciplining authority. G. Disobeying IC or OOC Orders. I. Other such acts as may from time to time be deemed inappropriate or incompatible with the philosophy and purposes of the United Federal of Planets. His rank has been reduced to "cadet," and further discplinary actions include this public letter of reprimand and his expulsion from the group. Furthermore, he has been notified that any further contact with UFOP: StarBase 118 members that is initiated by him without the consent of the contacted party is in violation of his expulsion from the group. More importantly, we wish to notify you, our members, of steps you can take should you feel harassed by a current, or former, member of our group. Please use the information below to your benefit to prevent any further contact from: 1. Use dedicated aliases: Keep your personal instant messenger name(s) for personal friends, or only those you know well within the group. Create a new instant messenger handle for online communities where you may come in contact with some people you may not know very well -- not just UFOP: SB118, but also other forums or chat areas. Trillian is a free messenger program (http://trillian.cc) that allows you to connect to more than one messenger handle at a time over numerous services. 2. Log everything: If your messenger service provides a logging capability, turn it on. If possible, log all conversations -- you will want a record from the very first message whenever someone is harassing you. 3. Stay calm: Reacting with foul language or threats is exactly what a harasser wants -- to see you become excited. Instead, calmly respond to the situation. 4. Be firm: Request that the harasser do not contact you again. Advise them that any further contact will result in them being reported to their service provider. 5. Block the contact: All instant messengers allow you to block, or ignore incoming messenges from someone. Do so as soon as you have requested no further contact. 6. Spread the word: If it happens more than once, tell your captain or another staff member immediately. Give them any and all information you may have, including your log file. And, if the issue continues, contact the service provider. (For example, if using AOL Instant Messenger/AIM, go to the AOL/AIM website and find a way to report service abusers.) If the abuse is coming through e-mail, the simplest way to avoid any further issues is to set the SPAM blocker on your e-mail client to send e-mails from the harasser directly to your trash or junk folder. Our primary goal in continuing this group is to build and maintain a community atmosphere. We strive to maintain a cohesive and positive community. We hope that everyone will help us in keeping nefarious and inappropriate elements from invading our community. We sincerely apologize to all those who have been the victims of misbehavior by the offending member, and hope that we can all put this behind us and get back to making our group the best on the internet. Oct 30, 2005UFOP: StarBase 118 Awards Ceremony, 2005
The time has come for this year's award ceremony to begin. I am happy to announce that nominations began today, and will continue for three weeks, closing on November the 20th, at midnight EST. For those of you who were not a part of last year's ceremony, I hope that this first ceremony gives you an idea of what it means to be a part of this community. For those of you who got a chance to experience last year's ceremony, I can only hope that you will help us acknowledge some of the amazing work that has been done in the last year. So, to get started, head here: http://www.starbase118.net/members/events/awards/ You can learn about the awards and the process of the ceremony. Once you've taken a look at the awards, it's time to log in to the UPDS and start nominating fellow officers. Just go to: http://www.starbase118.net/lcars You should see "Award Nominations Panel" near the top of the page on the left hand side. That area will give you the further instructions you need to begin nominating. I can't wait to see what we come up with for nominations. If you have any questions, please direct them to your captains! Nov 2, 2005UFOP: StarBase 118 Enthusiasts Needed!
Hey folks! Wanted to drop everyone a line about our publicity committee, and see if we had some group members who have interest in keeping our community fresh and growing with new members! We have some really neat things coming up on the horizon for our group, but we need some people who want to make new projects a success. You DON'T have to have a background in marketing (although that would be great, too!), or any special skills -- just a desire to participate in a team that is working to bring new crew into our group! If you'd like to know more about some of our upcoming projects, and be part of the team that brings these projects to fruition, then we need you. You can expect to be part of a discussion Yahoo! Group. Timewise, we have projects for folks who have 10 minutes to spare, and projects for folks who have three hours to spare. You choose your involvement. And of course, we can always use people who want to help spark discussion and give us creative ideas on how to spread the word about our group! Now's the time to join. Respond in one of the following ways: 1. Directly to "t.wolf@..." and request an invitation to the Yahoo! Group, or; 2. Request invitation at the Yahoo! Group: http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/ufop-publicity/ We hope to see many of you soon. Your creativity and energy will help us create new bridges for our group to cross! Nov 13, 2005Profile Pictures
Just a quick note regarding the issue with profile pictures on the UPDS system. If you are still having an error message when uploading your profile picture, please attempt to upload once more. If you are still receiving the message, e-mail me DIRECTLY (t.wolf@...), and copy the EXACT error message you are receiving. The system is not giving profile folder the proper permissions to upload. I have implemented a fix that will hopefully resolve the issue. However, if it does not I can directly fix each profile as necessary for the upload to work. Just need to have the error message received. Hope that helps! Nov 17, 2005Two days left for award nominations!
Don't forget your last minute award nominations! The nomination period ends on November 20th, midnight EST time! http://www.starbase118.net/lcars Log in, click on "Awards Nomination Panel," and start nominating! Dec 25, 2005YGroups Downtime this Week
From the staff of UFOP: StarBase 118, we hope you're having a safe and pleasant holiday! We'd like to make you aware of news from Yahoo: be advised that some of our YGroups may be affected by a maintenance downtime. We do not know yet if any of our groups will be affected, but if we are, the outage will occur on December 27th, from 9:00 PM until 2:00 AM Wednesday morning. (Pacific time, Wednesday morning 5:00-10:00 AM GMT). Yahoo has made us aware that there is a possibility the downtime may need to be rescheduled. During this downtime, any messages sent to affected groups will be queued in the system and will automatically be sent after the system comes back online -- so there is no need to send multiple copies of your messages. To see if your group is affected during the downtime, just head to your group's YahooGroups page during the outage. More information is available at: |
