Why we changed domains
 

You may have noticed we changed domains from .com to .org

This was done simply because Frank still has sole access to the .com domain and didn't get the notice to renew it (because it went to an old email address he no longer uses). Although it may still be renewed, in the meantime, I thought it best to move to a domain where renewal won't be an issue year to year.

Update your bookmarks. Thanks!

John

Thanks for making the changes and keeping us going.

I don't post as much as I used to but I still check the board most days.

yes,

Thank you John for updating us on this change, and doing the required maintenance to keep the site running.

You're welcome... I would like to see this community continue as long as there are Segways running up and down the sidewalks!

Is there a way to divert the .com traffic?

If there is not, is there a way to send a mass email to registered members a notice of the new domain?

I don't have any comment about a mass emailing, but regarding the .com traffic...

This is just a matter of getting the .com domain renewed. After the right money changes the right hands, there may be some technical steps required -- but probably not. (I can help sort that out if needed). If the current services weren't hyper-aggressive about deleting data, it should be just a matter of, pay the bill, and the right records get published to the .com servers, pointing at old domain servers with the important records -- the 'A' (address) and CNAME records for segwaychat.com, www.segwaychat.com, and forums.segwaychat.com.

Even if you have to redo it from scratch, it's pretty straightfoward. But you have to have access to the account.

If it doesn't get renewed within 75 days of December 2, anyone else can register it -- and point it at SegwayChat.org. Assuming John didn't change the server to only work with the SegwayChat.org name, that's all that would be needed.

Frank has 40 days to renew without penalty; after that it gets more expensive.

Or at least that's the theory, when the registrars follow the rules. I know of cases where the rules have not been followed. And there are companies out there dedicated to snapping up interesting expired domain names, and holding them hostage, so there's no guarantee any of us would end up with it!

Some domain pirates have been known to park porn sites there, to further encourage you to pay the ransom. I've been involved in one such case (a family history site!), but was not successful in doing anything about it! (Though eventually, down the road, the pirate did not renew).

I would guess it's probably just a matter of logistics. I doubt he's had to touch it since the last time he renewed, 4 years ago! And if it gets renewed by the end of the year, all should be well.

Anyone familiar with the admin control panel of a vBulletin forum (the software this site uses), they can send email to all or a portion of the members of the site. I would think the administrators would do that, at the very least for those of us that have visited within the last X number of days. That is just one of the many options available.

I kept trying to visit the site at the old domain and kept getting a server not found error. I visit almost every day and tonight I decided to do some googling to see if anyone had posted in a blog or another forum about the site being down. Since Segway Chat's SEO is so poor, it took some searching - I shoulda just kept it simple and used only "segway chat." It's funny that the only direct link to the site is to the calendar with 2 birthdays on it.

The original dot com is still showing as registered to Frank. The registrar is Tucows, which is a pretty decent company. If Frank asked them to, he could probably get them to place an .htaccess file on the root of the domain that does a permanent or temporary redirect straight to the new domain.

I wonder how many others are still waiting for someone to get their stuff together and fix the site's problem, whatever it is? I couldn't imagine doing something like this to my forum members.

Jim

Unfortunately, that wouldn't actually accomplish anything. In order for a redirect to work -- your browser has to actually first contact the old address. The current situation prevents that from happening -- the browsers are being told the domain doesn't even exist.

(When you talk about putting an .htaccess file "on the root of the domain", there's a confusion of terminology here. You're talking about configuring the server for HTTP service on the domain. The problem here lies with the DNS service that is used to locate the server. When the browser contacts whatever domain server your computer is configured to use (typically supplied by your ISP), it, in turn, asks the .com servers where to find the domain. They are responding that the domain does not exist (NXDOMAIN). That is, the domain name itself is gone. That has to be turned back on by TuCows (or the domain transferred to another registrar, who then inform the .com servers what domain name servers supply the actual server location.

They'll do that -- for the price of a domain renewal, which is what it is.)

The only way to to fix this is to renew the domain name. I have no idea of what Frank's situation is or what the holdup would be, but if it's technical knowledge that's needed, I can help. But TuCows's support will be in a better position to do so.

Agreed. I've posted the new location where I can, but that doesn't help very much. We've seen what, four people post since? I don't think any of them have been clued in by me. I may have directed some readers here, but with no traffic to respond to, well, we've dropped far below critical mass.

ANY disruption in service puts a dent in a site's reputation. A long enough one will basically kill it.

Where we stand on that is hard to predict, but certainly, the longer it goes unaddressed, the more the damage.

Yes, I understand the technology. I manage 2 different servers and dozens of domains for myself, another guy and our customers. I know when my domains are up for renewal, even before I get that first reminder from the registrar. I know that I have to keep all my various accounts updated with current addresses and other contact information. And I know that Tucows customer service is excellent. Paying the fees and getting things back to normal is an hours thing, not a days thing. Tucows didn't drop the ball, Frank and the administrators of SegwayChat did.

Jim

Yes. It's beyond my ability to speculate what the holdup is. As you say, hours. Or minutes, once you sit down to do it.

The email to members is a good idea. They have a preference to say whether they can be contacted so it shouldn't really upset anyone.

Email sent.

I appreciated receiving your email. Thank you.

Thank you. Makes the best sense to me.

Hopefully, a flock of folks will come over to at least show enough activity to get the new location easier to find in the search engines. I do not know how the search engines work that much, but suspect that more activity is far better than less activity in getting their attention.

Wow I am glad the forum did not die. I don't post a lot but I read almost every day.

I appreciated the e-mail. I noticed the forum disappeared and have been looking for it for about a week, with no idea where it went. Search engines were no help, at least not yet. I thought it was gone.

Even if I didn't want to participate anymore, it's not like ignoring one e-mail would be that hard. What annoys me is repeated unwanted spammers, which this is not.

And -- Segwaychat.com now works again, too, so we're in a better state than we were before, if we ignore the break in continuity.

Thanks for fixing it, John & Frank, and thanks for your work providing it! And, of course, for the out-of-pocket expenses expended!

And now segwaychat.org should have an .htaccess permanent redirect to take people right to segwaychat.com - and create a notice there to tell people to change their Favorites/Bookmarks to reflect the change.

I don't understand the lax and careless administrative treatment this domain and community receives.

Jim

Hi john
If humanly possible, please bring back the .com url! I have a firewall from hell here at work that required all kinds of hoop jumping to get IT det to give me access to segchat .com. Nw I'm bared from the new .org and can only access from my blackberry. If we need to take up a collection ill be happy to donate. Thx. Bud

Hey Jim, thanks for your thoughtful support of our volunteer efforts here! Frank hasn't been involved in the community for more than 5 or 6 years. So this was just something we forgot about (since he's moved on, and the domain wasn't in my account).

We're not bringing back the .com (only redirecting it) because we already made all the changes to move it over to .org. Sorry.

John

C'mon John, that "volunteer" excuse is getting old. I volunteer on several websites too, but when I do, I take responsibility for doing the volunteer work right. If I make a mistake or 3, I don't blame it on volunteerism.

I'm glad to see someone set up a redirect. I guess it doesn't matter that all the juice went into .com for over 10 years. Long as we can chat about Segways.

Jim

I'm asking you not be a complainer if you're not willing to help out in some way.

Anybody can complain; it really takes no energy or effort to do so. But unconstructive complaints help me or the community out in absolutely no way here.

John

My complaints have been constructive - as well as critical. As I have mentioned before, I manage or work on several forums using the same software you do - I'm a member of vBulletin.com and have volunteered my support to the community of vB3.x users since 2004. I manage 2 servers using the same technology you use. I've shared my experience and helped guide other webmasters (in addition to being helped and guided by others) for years.

My suggestions were legitimate. I offered you help via PM several years ago and publicly now. Any way you think I can be of technical service, I'd be happy to pitch in.

Jim

Wonderful. We don't need help with the software (we've been running much larger vbulletin communities since 2001), how to configure servers, or how to run a website (we've been running much larger websites since 1995).

We need help with the usual moderation tasks nobody wants to do -- removing spammers, helping members understand when they step beyond our guidelines, approving new member posts, stuff like that. If you can help out in those areas where we actually need it, that would be great!

If not, that's fine too. What we don't need are the snide remarks, that's all.

John

Removing spammers is easy in vBulletin. No member of my own websites has ever seen a spam post (well okay, maybe one or two early on). There are excellent plugins for that and all you have to do is manage the moderated threads and posts they do make (but aren't visible to anyone else).

As far as being a moderator, that would be tough. There are some rules that only get enforced selectively and I can't do that. Some rules are somewhat arbitrary and hard to follow. The forum is peppered with insults and personal attacks. But staff seems to allow some and not others - some staff in the past have been allowed to participate in those transgressions.

And it appears that there is a problem in labeling a member's legitimate frustrations and complaints as "snide" when they are actually the fault of the system. It's a fact of forum management life. We make mistakes and we drop the ball. I don't blame that on my members. I thank them for reporting a problem and make an effort to correct it or ease their mind. I don't chastise them for pointing out the obvious.

Jim

And what do you say to members who disagree with you or how much effort you put into managing the forums or when a mistake happens, they don't thank you for your efforts, but instead take it as an opportunity to complain or point out how wrong it was?

No member here ever sees a spam post either; that's not the point. Plugins don't catch everything, and all of it still requires some human input.

But thank you, you've again made it clear you have no interest in helping out around here other than to give advice on how things should be run. Thanks again!

John

PS - And yes, I'm closing this thread, because we're just going round and round about this topic.