Need Help with mod_rewrite

If any DwS peeps have some knowledge of mod_rewrite on Apache, I'd greatly appreciate some help.  Nothing earth shattering, I have some really quick questions.  Please get in contact with me via email or on DwS.

Whoever helps me will get a year for free access to DwS... honest.

Latest Known Issues...

Avatars cannot currently be changed.  Taglines can't be changed to anything with embedded apostrophes.  Both are currently being diagnosed and fixed.

Also be sure to set your bookmarks for http://drivewesaid.com and NOT http://www.drivewesaid.com.  This avoids problems with having to re-login to certain pages.

Testing the New Service to Cross Post to Facebook

OK, so this new blog post should cross post to the DwS Facebook page.

Enjoy!

We Now Have a Facebook Page

DwS now has its own Facebook page.

First, find me on Facebook:

http://facebook.com/dwsdh1

The link on my page goes to the DwS page.  Please feel free to friend me and fan the DwS page.  Once we get to 25 fans, I can get a much friendlier URL for the DwS page.

Follow the Facebook page for status updates, etc.  Enjoy!

DwS Football Pool

Just as a precaution: if you participate in the pool and can't reach DwS by deadline, leave your picks in the comments.

Thanks!

Having Trouble Reaching the Site?

Remember, for now our site address is:

http://drivewesaid.com

Using www will also get you there but lead to unfortunate, "you must log in again" effects.  Our internal links are all based off the URL without the www, as well as our site cookies, which are used to check for login status.

If this causes enough problems, and people would prefer having www, it can be changed very easily.

Now, what if you can't see the new site at all?  Seeing our old "about us" page?  Remember, the DNS entry can take a LONG time to propagate, especially at work places.  Most workplace's DNS server entries refresh very infrequently.

Remember also that you need to clear your browser cache as well.

A quick check to see if you can see the new server is if you have the "ping" command available on your machine, try doing the following command:

ping drivewesaid.com

If the IP address that comes back starts with 174, then you're pointed to the new server.

Apostrophe Catastrophe (thanks, Chester) Fixed... and other notes

Yes, the problem with magically disappearing posts turned out to be a coding/PHP version migration issue that was easily fixed.  Posts should no longer disappear after posting or editing.

We have some other issues that are ongoing, and primarily annoyances, that I will detail in separate posts on this blog so they can be tracked individually, and you can comment on them, etc.

We Appear to be Back UP

OK, so I am receiving reports the site is back.  The DNS information is SLOWLY propagating and I still don't get directed to the new server yet.

YMMV for the next hour plus.

Status Update - Oct 27, 2010

OK, so everything has been moved and tested over there.  There's just one problem... the domain name won't resolve properly.  As in when you type in drivewesaid.com in your browser it won't go to the right IP address and server.

The hosting monkeys are working on it and I've been told it will be fixed within the next couple of hours.  So, please sit tight, and thanks for your patience.

DwS Planned Outage Has Begun

If you see the old indian head test pattern, you're seeing what you should for now.  The migration is in progress.

Smoke 'em if you got 'em.

Planned Outage for 10/26/2010 at 11 PM CDT

OK, now that I seem to have a handle on what's going on with the "cloud", here's my proposed set of steps for the cutover tonight:

- At 11 PM CDT (12 AM EDT, 10 PM Mountain, 9 PM Pacific), the front page of beta.drivewesaid.com will be changed to an outage status page.

- The data will be collected from our old server's database.  The code and ancillary files will have already been copied and tested.

- The data will be uploaded to the new server.

- The big switch in the sky will then be flipped if all goes well, and drivewesaid.com will point to the new server.

Also, beta.drivewesaid.com links will auto bounce to drivewesaid.com.  The days of us being a "beta" site are no more.

If all goes well, we'll be back live by midnight CDT.  If problems occur, please see this blog for details.

New Server/"Cloud" in Process of Being Configured

Well, I finally got some straight answers from the hosting company on the new rig.  I'm in the process of setting things up now.

And... this is a prime opportunity to configure our new home right.  It would be a snap to park things at drivewesaid.com or forum.drivewesaid.com instead of the long anachronistic beta.drivewesaid.com.

So... what say you?  Email answers to daveh1a at gmail dot com.  As always, this depends on final board approval.

We may well be moved tonight.  Hold on tight to your skivvies....

Current Status Update - Oct 26th, 2010

Folks,

The site is currently undergoing a move that was required by our hosting company.  We are in in our old digs temporarily.  We will be moved into the new over the next couple of days.

The address will remain the same.  You may notice some brief service interruptions, and/or a few missing posts when we are moved over.  Anything more traumatic than that, you can stop by here to get the latest updates.

Thanks again for your patience.

Best Regards,
DH1
DwS Lackey