Polverone
Now celebrating 21 years of madness
Posts: 3186
Registered: 19-5-2002
Location: The Sunny Pacific Northwest
Member Is Offline
Mood: Waiting for spring
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We're back
Yesterday morning I was editing all the trash out of the POCl3 thread when I started getting some MySQL warning/error messages. I tried to use the
automatic DB repair tool, but after it was done I was getting errors about how tables were not found at all (members who tried to visit saw them too).
I tried inspecting the database from the command line, but it looked as if all the data files were gone. I had a backup from less than two weeks ago,
so I started uploading it yesterday and attempted to restore it this morning. It turns out that the backup itself was bad (it only contained one
table)*. I contacted Micfo (our web host) asking if they had any backups of their own, and found out that the database was not hopelessly corrupted:
they'd just disabled it because the server load was too high from all the edit/repair operations I was trying to do yesterday.
I wasted hours of time and much needless worrying on this problem -- and nobody could use the forum for 24 hours -- because a few people can't stay
civil and on-topic.
*I'm definitely making a better backup, and verifying it, today.
PGP Key and corresponding e-mail address
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chemkid
Hazard to Others
Posts: 269
Registered: 5-4-2007
Location: Suburban Hell
Member Is Offline
Mood: polarized
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I thought the forum had beeen"busted" by the DEA or something. 
Chemkid
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jokull
National Hazard
Posts: 506
Registered: 22-2-2006
Location: Everywhere
Member Is Offline
Mood: Ice glassed
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It's good to be here!
I was thinking something like chemkid was, or about a hack attack. I'm quite happy that is not the actual situation.
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Phosphor-ing
Hazard to Others
Posts: 246
Registered: 31-5-2006
Location: Deep South, USA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Inquisitive
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I just thought it was a serial hacker or something. Good to have the forum back so fast. Thanks Polverone!
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Antwain
Hazard to Others
Posts: 252
Registered: 21-7-2007
Location: Australia
Member Is Offline
Mood: Supersaturated
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I too was worried that the site wasn't working. Don't know how much longer I could have gone without my mad science fix 
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BromicAcid
International Hazard
Posts: 3245
Registered: 13-7-2003
Location: Wisconsin
Member Is Offline
Mood: Rock n' Roll
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Being a more seasoned member I had faith that it was a technical issue and that Polverone had the ability and conviction to get it repaired
expediently. This might be a good time to remind everyone there is a Donation Thread under Forum Matters, you know, to keep the forum up and running 
[Edited on 10/11/2007 by BromicAcid]
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chloric1
International Hazard
Posts: 1142
Registered: 8-10-2003
Location: GroupVII of the periodic table
Member Is Offline
Mood: Stoichiometrically Balanced
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Great work Polverone! There might be some problem with the link bar up top that goes to search, today's post , memebers list,and the text looks
stange like the spacing is messed up but it is great to be back!
Fellow molecular manipulator
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Lambda
National Hazard
Posts: 566
Registered: 15-4-2005
Location: Netherlands
Member Is Offline
Mood: Euforic Online
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I thought the Forum had been hacked, and vital information deleted. Little did I know, least suspected of all, but @Polverone was the hacker afterall
....
After having checked if "www.roguesci.org" was still up and running, and if any information could be found there about what happened here, I turned to
@Madhatters FPT services to see if any messages had been put up there.
Just as a suggestion, but a Folder on @Madhatters FPT services called @Polverone may be a welcome addition. Messages, Backups (Minus PM's and
Passwords) etc.
Sorry to here about your wasted hours of time and much needless worrying on this problem @Polverone, but I am pleased to see that all is up and
running again. Thank you very much !
Regards,
Lambda.
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12AX7
Post Harlot
Posts: 4803
Registered: 8-3-2005
Location: oscillating
Member Is Offline
Mood: informative
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Geez, it takes that much server action to edit a post? How, why?...
(Shoulda asked vulture to do your dirty work...he'd just crap it all into detritus or something, nuff said  )
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Sauron
International Hazard
Posts: 5351
Registered: 22-12-2006
Location: Barad-Dur, Mordor
Member Is Offline
Mood: metastable
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I do not believe that Polverone's editing brought about the outage. I believe a hack did occur, while Polverone was editing.
A member made what I took to be a threat just prior to the outage. It was thinly veiled but clear. That member has bragged about his formal education
in computer science so is in a good position to hack SQL/XMB.
Sadly the post containing the threat has been deleted by a moderator. So only those who read and understood that post will remember.
However, it is my view that a malefactor like this is unlikely to refrain from further attacks, even though the proximate cause of his ire on that
occasion is removed. He will find some other flimsy pretext to extort the forum, or some other member, and he has already proven the effectiveness of
his petty little weapon.
I will not name the hacker, although I have informed the powers that be of my conclusions, as well as a few like minds.
I am not even sure that banning this hacker would keep him out of the system, so the fact that he has not been banned means little. I assume that the
powers that be are reluctant to take draconian measures without harder evidence than this circumstantial case. And given that the perceived threat, so
clear in 20/20 hindsight, is deleted.
Sic gorgeamus a los subjectatus nunc.
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Polverone
Now celebrating 21 years of madness
Posts: 3186
Registered: 19-5-2002
Location: The Sunny Pacific Northwest
Member Is Offline
Mood: Waiting for spring
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It's not the editing that's a lot of work. It's the cleanup -- restoring the proper thread post counts, user post counts, last posts made, etc. Don't
ask me why the software can't manage to keep those values straight when I edit, instead of letting things break and giving me an expensive "fix it"
button.
PGP Key and corresponding e-mail address
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chemrox
International Hazard
Posts: 2961
Registered: 18-1-2007
Location: UTM
Member Is Offline
Mood: LaGrangian
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Wasn't there an attack with similar results last spring? I share Sauron's suspicion. I want to appreciate Polverone's hard work and diligence in
getting us back up and running. Thank you host, friend and benefactor! I'm editing to add a line seconding Bromic's point to the donation link ..
when you can .. whatever you can... Thanks.
[Edited on 11-10-2007 by chemrox]
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Sauron
International Hazard
Posts: 5351
Registered: 22-12-2006
Location: Barad-Dur, Mordor
Member Is Offline
Mood: metastable
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Polverone makes a very strong case for there being no hack involved. Under the circumstances I think it would be unreasonable to not believe him and
accept his explanation.
Obviously kudos to Polverone for his hard work.
Sic gorgeamus a los subjectatus nunc.
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Antwain
Hazard to Others
Posts: 252
Registered: 21-7-2007
Location: Australia
Member Is Offline
Mood: Supersaturated
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@ Polverone - you could just change all the posts to "edit - deleted" and leave it at that. Would probably be simpler.
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Sauron
International Hazard
Posts: 5351
Registered: 22-12-2006
Location: Barad-Dur, Mordor
Member Is Offline
Mood: metastable
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Or dispense with the post counter and ranking altogether, if it is troublesome in cases like this, as it seems to be.
Sic gorgeamus a los subjectatus nunc.
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Antwain
Hazard to Others
Posts: 252
Registered: 21-7-2007
Location: Australia
Member Is Offline
Mood: Supersaturated
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I like post count actually. I realise that we all started on zero posts, myself not that long ago. And that not having posts does not mean you don't
know what you are talking about, and that having posts does not mean that you do
But there is a definite correlation. Not many kewls have a huge post count here.
Also, someone with a large post count is more likely to log in frequently and be able to answer questions you have asked of them.
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Sauron
International Hazard
Posts: 5351
Registered: 22-12-2006
Location: Barad-Dur, Mordor
Member Is Offline
Mood: metastable
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I can tell you that running up a high post count appears to inspire resentment (jealousy?) and gets one slanged for being a post-whore, whatever that
might be. I am not at all sure that the counter means anything at all except to soulless bean counters who ought to be on an accounting forum.
Questions are usually either put to the forum in general, or to a specific member in a thread about a particular topic in common with the rest of the
thread. Rarely have I ever seen a question out of the blue addressed as a start of a new thread, to a specific member.
I have a huge post count and am maxxed out on stars, it brings me no joy. And assholes call me a post whore.
[Edited on 12-10-2007 by Sauron]
Sic gorgeamus a los subjectatus nunc.
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woelen
Super Administrator
Posts: 8012
Registered: 20-8-2005
Location: Netherlands
Member Is Offline
Mood: interested
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Well, no need to speculate on what the real issue was. Polverone most likely knows and takes appropriate action. I also visit this site for a somewhat
longer time, and sometimes such things happen. Technical issues happen with a system, that is used a lot. Only forums, which have no activity do not
suffer from this kind of things .
Polverone, thanks again for taking the effort to make sciencemadness up and running again .
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