Important Registry Update

[Jeff Roblin]

Please read the following. The short version, is I have just over 60 days to build the Registry with a new provider before it is lost forever.

As a result, I likely will not be adding new entries to the Registry and they will only appear on the new site when it is ready to launch.

Hopefully I can provide a site in the spirit of the old without losing any capacity.



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Important: Bigstep Service DISCONTINUATION

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Dear Valued Customer,

In April of 2007, Hostway acquired Affinity Internet, and with it the Bigstep
hosting service. Since that time, we have discovered many critical issues
regarding the performance and stability of the platform and underlying
architecture that Bigstep is built on. Our goal is to provide our customers with
the best service in the industry, and the Bigstep platform does not meet our
standards for quality and reliability.

Rather than continuing to provide sub-standard service and exposing you, our
valued and loyal customer, to an ever increasing risk of future service
interruptions, we have made the difficult decision to retire the Bigstep service
and encourage customers to move to our modern, feature-rich, Hostway platform.

BIGSTEP WILL THEREFORE BE DISCONTINUED ON MARCH 31, 2008.

This means you need to set up a new Web hosting account with Hostway (or some
other hosting company of your choice,) and create a new Web site before the
sundown date of March 31, 2008. After that date, the Bigstep servers will be
shut down and permanently retired.

[hipogranada]

OUCH.

They can't migrate the information over to their other system??

My next question: what is this going to cost YOU, Jeff - besides a mountain of time that you don't have?

[Jeff Roblin]

Gary,

Because I'm trying to go with their new system, Free Account Set-up and 3 months Free Hosting.

It's the hours though We're talking over 1,100 pages. I'm hoping to hi-lite /copy/paste a lot

AND

It's not just this site, I have to convert roblins.net as well They both run on Bigstep hosting.

Roblins.net is probably easier to do and will do first, I'm not making a lot of updates

[hipogranada]

Anything that anyone can help out with, Jeff?

[robic58]

Is there anything that members could do to help out???
Ralph

[Jeff Roblin]

robic58 said:

Is there anything that members could do to help out???
Ralph

Gary & Ralph,

I sincerly appreciate the offers. The problem is that I don't think, I'm going to find another easy bulding website host that I can have a page for each vehicle.

I'm afraid that it may be a searchable database and several photo galleries, however owner's information and history may not have place to be documented.

Also, I think that most of the traffic to the forum is b/c of the Registry so it has to link up properly. A lot of these sites I'm looking at, have an embedded forum, but there is no way I'm starting that from scratch.

I just wish we had a few more computer savvy guys this time.

It's an awful lot of work.............

[Jeff Roblin]

Update.........

The new Registry Platform is built. All the Versailles, and the 1975-77 Monarchs have been loaded. The add your vehicle form has been created as well as the link to the Forum and I've added part of the decoder information.

It will look much more professional than the current site. However, each vehicle will no longer have its own page and the pictures will be smaller yet uniform.

It will be easier to see all of the same year/model at the same time. Unfortunately, members will no longer be offered a personal web page they can link to.

[Jeff Roblin]

1978-80 Monarchs are now all loaded.

[Jeff Roblin]

1975-77 Granadas are now all set-up in the new Registry!

[jhkaster]

Where is the new registry?

[Jeff Roblin]

jhkaster said:

Where is the new registry?

James,

It's not live yet. Once it is it will be at the current web address with links to the Forum. The transition should be pretty seamless. If you like, I can send you a preview web address so you can see the look/feel.

[jhkaster]

OK. Thanks. I was curious if the site address would change so I could update my Lincoln Versailles & Sisters links to the registry. But looks like I won't have to.

[Jeff Roblin]

That's right, the web address will be the same. I own the domain name, so it will just be transferred to a different server. I finished the '78-79 Granadas yesterday. I hope another week or so and I'll be all done.

[Jeff Roblin]

I am pleased to announce that the new Registry is complete. I have put the request through to change the Domain Name over to the Hostway Servers and off the Bigstep Servers. I am told that it will be done within 48hrs.

[Jeff Roblin]

The New Registry is now visible!!! Depending on where you are in the world you should see it between now and the next 24hrs.