Darknest Blog

Gallery Returns! ... again!

2010-08-11T13:50:00.003-05:00

Yup, the gallery is now back up for August and it has been purged. This is to make way for artists that have been giving upload access to upload their own art without someone else doing it.

We felt (including the community) that the gallery before was just becoming another porn dump and was moving away from the community aspect that Darknest strives for.

Things will be slow but should pick up with more uploads from community artists.

Notice: Sorry for the delay but Rainfall was a way all weekend and work has been very demanding.

Domain Expired?!

2010-07-27T12:43:00.000-05:00

Yes Darknest is down. We had some billing issues that are hopefully worked out now. Site will take up to an hour to come back (hopefully not longer than that).

Gallery Down July 15 to Aug 1

2010-07-13T23:06:00.000-05:00

IMPORTANT NOTICE - Gallery will be closed July 15 to 31

Since the return of the gallery, Darknest's bandwidth has skyrocketed by 50%! As a result Jason will be changing the server's bandwidth plan for next month, but to avoid serious overcharges for this month we're forced to lock down the gallery temporarily.

Again this will only be for the last half of the month and will be back up begin of August 2010.

Access Issues for Some

2010-07-02T14:02:00.002-05:00

One reason for the lack of updates on this blog is because DN has a twitter...so check it out on the right there.

Also, it has come to our attention that some are having issues accessing DN. We've been trying to figure out why and so far all we can tell is it isn't on DN's side.

What I want some to do, if you are one of these people that can't access DN, is to email me at ackanime @ hotmail DOT com with your country, IP address (not a proxie you're using to access DN if you are) and if you can access Ackanime.com

We're trying to collect info to help pinpoint the problem and we need your help.

Since so many of your seem to be unable to read the forums....

2009-08-06T19:34:00.001-05:00

Well, seems a lot of people can look at the announcement stickies, you know those big red icons at the top of every board you enter, so I'll post it here too.

GALLERY IS STILL DOWN.

You'd think with the lack of new info that people would realize we don't have any new stuff. I know a lot of people don't like the silence, but there you have it.

Now the reason why? Simple fact that we're trying to make sure we don't get hacked again. We weren't sure what caused it that last 2 times, and we just want to make sure there are no leaks in the code that would allow backdoor access. It's very disconcerning to do all that work to get the gallery back up and stuff tagged and then lose it all :\

Mind you we are also busy with real life stuff so it's hard to get it done in a timely fashion, and I'm not about to get someone I hardly know to do the work for us (unless I were to pay a pro) because I don't want to risk having this person stick something malicious into the coding.

You can sort of see where I'm coming from.

Again, we're just as unhappy with the gallery being down AGAIN as everyone else.

Darknest Back Up

2009-04-18T04:30:00.002-05:00

Ok, the main forums are up. Some things aren't fully operational (ie: badges, the gallery, avatars are gone, etc.), just a few things that need to be tweaked here and there.

Rainfall has put up a global announcement so if you find any errors, bugs and what not just let us know (on the forums, not here).

Slow and Steady

2009-04-15T16:17:00.000-05:00

Ok, the server's back up and Jason is slowly getting sites back up and running. A lot of work is involved and he's checking things out to look for wholes in the code. Hopefully we can avoid another hack from happening.

Darknest will be up when it's up and I'll be sure to post it there, but be happy knowing we have control over the server again and Jason and I will be looking at a much better place to house the server that's much closer to him.

Time to Ditch This Company....

2009-04-09T16:40:00.006-05:00

EDIT April 10: Some questions answered below

Low and behold, it seems when shit hits the fan it's one BIG pile.

Looks like the lovely company that houses Jason's (the server guy) server that Darknest (as well as OekakiCentral, Drawntobondage.ca and a host of other artist sites) is on does officially all bugger off on the weekends. So no after hours/weekend support should something go wrong.

Once Jason did get a hold of them they take anywhere from 15 mins to an hour to reboot the server every time, making extremely difficult for Jason to work on the server. All we know is this: some stuff on the server is corrupt.

Today Jason was able to get a system tech to go over and deal with the server. The company personel were late meeting up with him and had to take time to set up a station (which should be already available) for him to work with the server. So that's money down the drain for an hour of work the tech couldn't do because he had to wait.

Well, the tech did what he was told to but now there's another problem. Good Friday is up so Jason can't call them if something happens, they won't be there on the weekend, and we're finding out if they'll even be open on Monday.

We're also investigating if the corruption is not so much a hack attempt as a power problem at the company. They mentioned to Jason that Saturday there will be no power to the build all day. No explaintion.

So that's what we're dealing with, and as soon as Jason can he'll be moving the server to a new and closer place. We had no idea this company would be such a pain.

----------------------------
EDIT April 10: Some questions answered

Q: Has there been any significant loss of data?

As far as I know, the database, web files and images are fine. Jason won't know the full extent until he has a chance to look at the server. So lets hope for the best.

Q: What about DtB.ca memberships?

Not much I can do to extend memberships for the lost time since Verotel doesn't give me that option. Best I can do is give 1-2 extra updates to make up for the lost week.

Q: So do you know when the server will be back online?

Not a clue. If the company was easier to contact and work with this wouldn't of been a problem and the server would of been up last weekend. We're HOPING this week, so cross your fingers.

Gallery is now FINALLY live!

2009-03-15T07:14:00.002-05:00

That looooong awaited moment is here and the Darknest gallery is finally back up and running.

We finally discovered the problem with shimmie not running, and with Rainfall's help upload a ton of images to get the gallery started off again!

In order to upload, tag and comment you'll have to create an account on DN's shimmie gallery.

Also, we still have lots of works (about 620 images) that need help being tagged! Look for the 'tagme' tag and help the gallery out (be sure to delete the 'tagme' off the image once you've done that so it's taken out of the queue).

NOTE From Rainfall:
And a quick reference on how to tag images:

- Tag characters with "race race-gender" - ie, an image with a female night elf would be tagged night_elf-f night_elf ("futa" is considered a gender)
- Tag couplings with "m/f", "futa/f", "f/f", "f-solo", "m-solo", "futa-solo" etc.
- Tag authors, if you know them, in the Source box.

Getting Access to DN

2008-08-07T02:30:00.004-05:00

If you can't get to Darknest then try the following:

- clear you browser cache
- flush your dns (google it to see how)

If that doesn't work then you're going to have to be patient until your connection eventually clues in that DN is there :P

Darknest Is Back Up!

2008-08-06T23:23:00.004-05:00

Yup, DN is now back up though for some it might be awhile until your dns flushes and you can see the boards. Right now only the forum exists as I'm looking for new software to use for the gallery. It doesn't look pretty at the moment but I'm working on a new template for DN when I get the chance this week :)

EDIT: Use the main URL!

Time to Rebuild

2008-08-06T10:49:00.002-05:00

I now have access to Darknest, though it is not live right now. I need to make some minor fixes such as a new template since Jason has upgraded the forums to phpBB3 and the old template will not transfer. Other than that the forums is indeed intact :)

If you know of any good web-based galleries I can use on Darknest please suggest them so we can look into these programs.

Not that this is important but Drawntobondage.ca is back up

Update

2008-08-05T15:16:00.003-05:00

Well, talked to Jason and he's in the process of assessing the damage on the server, and fixing what needs to be fixed before allow the server to go live again. I mean, no sense in making it live if there's stuff broken.

Here's what we know. Darknest's database (ie: forums) is all in contact, but the gallery is lost. I've been thinking of using this 'bad news' to look for something better programmed them Coppermine, which was a piece of shit gallery :P For those that go to OekakiCentral, seems that some of the database was corrupted, how much I don't know.

But for the most part, like I said, the forums are ok! So all posts are still there, and even though you can't look at the gallery you can still look at the artists' posts where they update their works.

When the server will be up I don't know, and I'm not going to pester Jason since these things will take time.

Some More News

2008-08-03T19:31:00.004-05:00

Well, just talking to Jason and, according to Amanah, it's an issue on his side. Really, I don't know why it took this long to find out this information from them :\ If we had found this out this first day we'd have had it fixed by now.

So tomorrow Jason will be working on dealing with the issues concerning Amanah and the server and we hope to have the server up and running soon...pending nothing else goes wrong :\

Some Glimmer of Hope

2008-08-02T14:00:00.003-05:00

Well, talking to Jason right now and he's found out that Amanah is still there and running, so the company hasn't just upped and vanished. Problem is still trying to get through to them by phone, we can't seem to get in contact with them but Jason is still going to try.

See this business is apparently not new and has been around since 2001, having it's Canadian start in Saskatchewan...not that would be any safe guard from them just screwing people over but I have my fingers crossed for some good luck.

What We Know So Far

2008-08-01T22:57:00.007-05:00

Below is a discussion between Jason (a.k.a jterlecki), our server guy, and the rest of the Darknest IRC channel from this evening.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

jterlecki has joined #darknest
[Kojin] hi j
[lolotar] sup jterlecki
[jterlecki] I put up a temp page saying sites are down
[jterlecki] but ...
[jterlecki] I dont know man
[jterlecki] I cant get in touch with the company
[terlecki] so I worry they are out of business
[lolotar] Wouldn't they send out an email or something
[Sutra] So.
[jterlecki] Sutra, I am more worried about the 3000 dollar server that is there
[jterlecki] and the priceless content
[Kojin] even if they went out of buisness tho, you should have heard something
[jterlecki] Kojin, be my guest and all
[jterlecki] call
[Sutra] My point is that if they did go out of business, they'd be forced to give you your stuff.
[jterlecki] I dont know what to make of that message
[lolotar] Does it just say "Goodbye" and nothing else?
[jterlecki] yes
[jterlecki] nothing else
[jterlecki] nada
[Sutra] "I can't let you do that, Jason."
[Kojin] sounds like a broken auto direct..
[jterlecki] for 3 days?
[jterlecki] there is always a fucking kill switch on those things
[jterlecki] which allows you to answer manually
[lolotar] maybe the power got fucked and they're having trouble bringing things back online or something
[Orthorf] for 3 days??
[jterlecki] and no answer to email?
[lolotar] I dunno :/
[Kegluneq] What kind of company just lets itself implode like that with no communication to their customers?
[jterlecki] I dont know
[Sutra] A bad one.
[Kegluneq] Maybe the building blew up.
[jterlecki] no, it is still there
[jterlecki] see, I dont need *much* support for a server
[jterlecki] I am a system administrator
[jterlecki] I know how to run shit
[jterlecki] I do this for a living
[jterlecki] but...
[jterlecki] when I do need support
[jterlecki] I need a person to be actually there
[jterlecki] and I am not getting that
[jterlecki] I tried contacting sales
[jterlecki] billing
[jterlecki] info
[jterlecki] support
[jterlecki] the one who *was* my account manager (his email is no longer active)
[jterlecki] the person I contacted in regards to a billing issue
[jterlecki] I have NO CONTACT
[Kegluneq] Wow.
[lolotar] Hopefully someone can go over there I guess :/
[jterlecki] I am about to post about them on /.
[Kegluneq] Did this company have multiple branches?
[Dethraivn] "Goodbye" eh?
[Dethraivn] Not very professional
[jterlecki] it had a branch in Dubai
[Kegluneq] Deth, neither is fucking leaving your customers hanging.
[lolotar] I notice that THEIR website is still up. faggots.
[jterlecki] someone tried calling them in Dubai and he gave me ":-("
[Kojin] =/
[Kegluneq] Oh dear.
[jterlecki] so I guess it is not workign there either or something
[Kegluneq] I Google news'd the company earlier and nothing turned up.
[Dethraivn] Hmmm
[jterlecki] anyways
[jterlecki] I will have to wait until monday
[jterlecki] unless I find a way to contact them
[jterlecki] and before you ask
[jterlecki] as soon as I can my server back
[jterlecki] and I can find someone I can afford
[jterlecki] I am moving OUT of there
[Kegluneq] Beats me lolotar, just a thought.
[jterlecki] they are in a telecom center
[Amp] lets return to the "you've funded terrorism theory" would that show up in the news?
[Dethraivn] Maybe someone was stupid enough to host a CP site on their servers, and they didn't bother to stop them?
[jterlecki] the entire building is a telecom hotel

Fucked Up Turn of Events

2008-08-01T10:50:00.005-05:00

This is going to blow your mind, and not in a good way.

So about 5 mins ago Jason calls me and says "got to the company site and phone that number. Please tell me I'm not crazy." So upon going to said company that houses our server I called the Toronto number and I get a very interesting message from their answering machine: "Goodbye." and then it hangs up.

Yup that's it, no business hours stated, no technical or RL issues that might be apologized for. Just "goodbye."

We were totally blind sided by this. So in desperation, Jason is now calling his boss to see if he knows anyone in the Toronto area that can head over there and see if there's even a notice on the door or if they're open, or whatever the hell is going on.

Company - http://amanah.com/
Their Toronto number - +1 - 416 - 603 - 9825

If the message should change before I have more info for you guys, then let me know and I'll pass this on to Jason.

Darknest Down

2008-07-31T15:01:00.001-05:00

I've making this blog to help inform visitors about what's happening with Darknest at the moment.

As of Wednesday, July 30, Darknest was inaccessible. Upon looking into it was apparent that the server was down and that all sites (including Drawntobondage.ca) were down as well.

After waiting until Thursday morning, hoping that maybe it was just sort of power outage, I called Jason (the server guy) to see what was going on. Unfortunately, he was not able to access the server remotely.

He called the company that houses said server and even after talking to them, they have not yet gotten back to us on the problem. As you could imagine this is very frustrating since we've been waiting all day to hear from them.

Now before you go assuming, yes the bill was paid and no this is not Blizzard's doing :P

I will keep everyone posted as I get the information.