I am happy to report that the database is back online and that it is pretty much business as usual on the regular pages.
However this outage has pushed me to move the site again to yet another server after only a month at DreamHost.
This time I am acquiring a dedicated host, so we should see some performance improvements.
On the downside, there may be some more down time as the move is made.
Thinking about how this ‘hobby’ site has grown has gotten me a little philisophical and misty eyed - my how things have grown.
With over 50GB of traffic a month, the shared server approach is not working out.
The downside of dedicated server of course is the costs, and I will probably implement a couple of things to help defray this cost.
Perhaps the most fun will be a subscription membership, with special privileges and services, like the ability to list titles for trade or sale.
I expect that the subscription will be in the $2-3 per month range, and will offer new services - all current free services will remain free.
If you have any ideas for services that could be offered or any thoughts at all about this, feel free to comment.
I want to avoid moving towards Adsense and other intrusional advertising, so hopefully we can build a small community of users that can support the site through this small monthly fee.