Chiari Forum
Mon, 09/28/2009 - 10:05 | 
Chris 
So for the third time in as many weeks!!!
Huuurahhhhhhh! It is with great delight, that I am able to announce that the Chiari Forum at http://www.chiari.co.uk is now back up and running thanks to James!
There have however been a few minor sacrifices that have had to be made.
1. It is a brand new forum and separate from the old, but still at the same URL address.
2. No member details have been able to be saved. This means that everyone will need to sign back in as a "new member" please.
3. None of the "old" posts will be accessible from the "new" forum. However, the old one is still accessible as read only and has been preserved in aspic if anyone needs to refer to it. I think that it still is the most comprehensive database of personal experience relating to Chiari / Syringomyelia in the whole of the UK and will remain to be a valuable resource for us all to pull from.
Please go and sign back up and get it looking like home again.
Thank you James for all of your continued hard work and commitment!
Regards
Chris
Hi all. My name is Nicci and I am from South Africa. My son Jonathan was recently diagnosed with Arnold Chiari and underwent an operation. Is this the right place on this blog to post a comment / - this is all quite new to me.....please advise
Hi my names Michelle i live in Plymouth in Devon.I have Chiari,im awaiting surgery myself anytime now.How old is your son,and how is he since his op.Best Wishes Michelle.x
Does anyone remember the Police? Dodgy haircuts, Sting et al
Well there's been a bit of a
I'm working on it as we speak. Thank's for the patience.
James
ps, it's a "Ghost in the Machine" - my name for a bit of a cock up!
Ok, so the one saving grace is that's its one of my most favourite track from the Police - but the message must have a "sting" in the tale somewhere? (sorry couldn't resist ;) )
Back up and running any time soon?
I've been away for the weekend (no internet access and too much beer!) so I've not been able to keep the hosts on their toes. The database server has again fallen over which has made me rather mad to say the least. We went a week without the forum, I fix it and then it breaks again. I have issued a formal grievance against them, but I seem to be going round in circles.
I personally think that the latest version of the forum software is not fit for purpose and I may have to migrate (again) to a completely new platform as well as asking the hosts for a server upgrade so that it doesn't fall over (like me on Saturday)
Hopefully we will be back soon, in the meantime give Chris some traffic!
James
Hey fella.......how about I add one here?
James,
Don't give up the site offers so much to us all. I for one don't know where I would be without it as really many @experts@ arent reallt that expert are they??
Please keep up the amazing work
Jade
Hi All,
well I'm going to get an expert in to see if the chiari support forum can be got working again - I have worked out a rather circuitous route to log in and post again, but I cannot access any of the administration functions, so all of the backend scary stuff such as clearing up spam, helping with registrations etc are all inaccessible.
I could let the project go, but I feel that it's essential that there is a UK focussed forum that is geared to our needs. I could spend a lot of time trying to get the old forum back up and running (with no guarantees). My other option would be to preserve and lock the old forum, making it read only and then starting again with the latest most secure forum software.
What do you guys think?
James
Hi James,
Could you give me a little more information about the site, such as: What language is the site? (PHP, Perl etc) - What type of database is it running? (MySQL, SQLlite etc).
Can you access the database direct?
Who do you host the site with? Do they do backups? If so, can the site potentially be restored from backup?
Do you know if the problem is with the database, or with corrupted web pages themselves?
Are you able to zip up the site and email it over to me so I can take a look for you? Do you have server logs you can send as well?
I can't guarantee that I will be able to fix it, it's been a few years since I worked on websites, but I'm perfectly happy to try and help if possible.
Cheers,
Jon.
Hi Jon,
That sounds great. The database is mysql and the forum software is phpBB (version 3). If you want to contact me directly, Chris has my email address (maybe Laura has it too?)
The database is still intact and readable (the problem started following a failed upgrade from version 2) The hosts do backups, all they have however is a corrupt copy of the database.
I will try to download the database and zip it up for you - if you can help then there's a virtual pint for you!
James
Hi James and Chris
I just wanted to say what a fantastic resource and help and support that I've found both the forum and this blog to be.
Please don't give up on the project James; I for one have missed it so much this week as I'm sure everyone else has. I agree that it's essential for us to have a UK forum.
I really hope that you can find a way to keep the forum going and hope that between you you'll find a solution. James; I'm sure most people will support whatever course of action you feel is best.
Good luck and fingers crossed.
Best wishes Rachael.
Hi mate, so sorry to hear about the forum.....very bloody frustrated I reckon.
Please don't give it up mate, you have done soooooooo much good work, and it would be a pity to do that and very nearly a crime to be honest.
Would also be a shame to waste the Google position that it holds.
If it really isn't in a position to be rescued then I might have an idea to keep the momentum going and keep all of that information going.
I will email you after the weekend as I am currently in Cumbria with family.
I will however speak to an "expert" friend of mine in the mean time and prime him about the problem and see what he suggests?
Chill out for the time being mate, it will get sorted.
spk soon
Chris
James
From some-one who has benefited greatly from the forum -please do not give up on it.
We need some-where in this country that we can go to get the support and help that your forum has given us.
So PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE do whatever you have to give us that back
AM