re: A bit of a problem with the site

[HarborSpringsPiper]

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Ladies and Gentlemen,

It seems we have a bit of a problem with the site. We are getting reports from a couple of our members that they are being denied access to the site. Almost like they have been banned. I assure you this is not the case.
We have at least one person who is unable to even load the site in his browser.
There may be others but because they cannot log in have not notified us. So we don't know how large the problem is or exactly what is causing it.

We do not yet know if the problem is with the vBulletin software or with the hosting or at the data storage facility.

Please know that we are working on it.

I apologize for this inconvenience.
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Steve Ashton
Forum Owner

I frequently run into periods of time when I cannot access the site and get this message on my screen "Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage". I was assuming it might be some kind of bandwith issue related to the number of users at the time or such. Frankly I'm not computer savvy enough to have a clue what the issue might be.

I don't think I've ever tried another browser when this occurs, but that might not be a bad idea to see what happens.

[Sammac]

I've had that happen a few times, but usually if I just try again I'm able to get on.

[Woodsheal]

I frequently run into periods of time when I cannot access the site and get this message on my screen "Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage". I was assuming it might be some kind of bandwith issue related to the number of users at the time or such. Frankly I'm not computer savvy enough to have a clue what the issue might be.

I don't think I've ever tried another browser when this occurs, but that might not be a bad idea to see what happens.

That's what I was experiencing, and then I couldn't get on for a week (last Friday until today). I was one of the folks Steve was referring to.

It's not a browser problem. An on-line tech person showed me how to track a connection from server-to-server (basically from your computer to the website you're attempting to access). My connection was failing at a "washington dc data center" before it ever got to the X-Marks server!

Don't know why it happened, or why it corrected itself, but I'm back...!

[NewGuise]

I'm another of the problem people. Two different computers here at home, with different operating systems and a few browsers between them, could not gain access for the past week. While I still do not know what the problem was, or its source, I seem to have gotten around it. To get there, I ultimately had to reset and completely reprogram my router, which was apparently no longer able to communicate with this IP address (interestingly, along with others hosted by the same provider).

I got a scare this evening when, just after signing in (at long last), I suddenly lost access again, but the loss was just temporary, as it often was before. Everything was fine after a short while.

I missed you folks!

Thanks in particular to Turpin of Thorfinn Custom Sporrans, and especially Slohairt/John of Keltoi Gaelic Clothing, who together kept me from going into kiltie withdrawal this past week.

[Steve Ashton]

The Washington DC Data Center you found is the actual site where all the X Marks data files are stored. I am told that it is the same site where the non secret files for the pentagon are stored. I think that is pretty secure.

But I also suspect that they periodically maintain those data files and it seems that during a regular maintenance cycle our site may be unavailable.

But why some can log in just fine and others not at all seems to be a mystery.

We are still investigating.

[GDub]

No problems here. My guess is that certain ISPs might be blocking access to the site for some reason. Might be an email/PM thing going on behind the scenes. ??

[Woodsheal]

Problems originating in Washington, DC: now THAT'S a shock...!

[Bugbear]

I have had problems all along, three years, but it was the phone line wiring in my house. It was very old, and I finally just replaced it the other day.

[MacKay71]

I frequently run into periods of time when I cannot access the site and get this message on my screen "Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage". I was assuming it might be some kind of bandwith issue related to the number of users at the time or such. Frankly I'm not computer savvy enough to have a clue what the issue might be.

I don't think I've ever tried another browser when this occurs, but that might not be a bad idea to see what happens.

I had the same problem and Mike suggested using the ip address number instead of the name address and it worked like a charm! No problems since my computer found the site!

[JRB]

I've had problems with the site not loading for the past month (at least). It happens like this...I'll be on the site reading posts normally for 10 to 15 minutes and then get the "Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage" message when I try to refresh. If I wait at least a half hour and refresh again, the site loads normally. It's gotten so annoying that I've cut way back on how often I visit X-Marks. I used to check the site at least once a day. Now I check in once a week or so.