It’s been a while this server got an update, last time it’s a few months back, where we updated to 0.18.4, so when is the new update gonna be?

Soon, but first, the issue

The server been under heavy load since 0.19 came out, presumably caused by federating each time the other instance updated, so monyet.cc will goes down intermittently from time to time for no apparent reason. Browsing through the github, it seems like there’s also extremely heavy load issue with 0.19, and some instance experienced significant heavy load after update, so there might be chance that the server will have a lot more down time due to heavy load after updating.

Still, an update is needed, as the new version provides useful tools for user and admin, the benefit is currently outweigh the risk.

So with that in mind, i’ll try schedule the update around next week, will announce when it happen.

What about the down time yesterday?

It’s been know internally for quite some time that the storage space is almost full(mostly occupied by pictrs) and need an expansion, and then it happened, database can’t function so it shut down, and everything shut down with it. I’m not sure when exactly it happened, but by the time i noticed it it’s in the early morning so it need some time for the tech guy to free up his schedule and work on the issue, expanding the storage from 150gb to 200gb(we all do it as hobby, so no full time commitment expected). It will go on for now, but the same issue will crop up sooner or later.

So why can’t I do something about it?

First of all, i’m not a technical person, only dabbled in some light programing before, and have no knowledge on self-hosting, so i need to rely on someone knowledgeable to not break stuff, and that someone is @naomi_kho and another guy behind the scene which he wish not to be named. When i joined the admin team the task i’m given is to manage the site, and when dcx(the person who set up this instance) went AWOL, i wasn’t given the access to the server at all. So when stuff like this happen i wasn’t able to see it coming. Basically, the current active member of admin team is only down to me, and two other passive member that will help when requested. For now, it is how this instance function, and it’s functional for the very least.

A way to move forward?

When this instance is set up, dcx mentioned he will pay for the server/domain for a year, and since he went AWOL about half a year ago, the fate of this instance has become increasingly uncertain come the one year mark, we simply won’t know whether he intend to keep this running for longer than that or will he pull the plug in June(when this instance reach one year mark). Fortunately, a friend of mine is kind enough to let us host it on their server for free, but the catch is the server will be in Malaysia, and it will be bounded by the local law.

So the challenge now is to migrate the server. By the tech guy calculation, to migrate the current 150gb of data from one server to another takes about 3 hours at best, 8 hours at worst. Not a big deal since it’s all just wait time, but it’s better to lay down the plan now than later i think.

Secondly, the domain. Just like the server, it’s registered and paid by dcx, while it’s set to auto-renew, the uncertainty is nevertheless there. For this one, i’m not so sure whether we should get a new domain or stick with it. If i’m not mistaken, changing domain will break federation, as in we will change from one skin to another and all the other instance will recognise us as a new entity, it will be akin to starting from zero. Still, imo it wasn’t too big of a problem if that happen, so i’ll leave it up for suggestion.

Lastly, tiny rule change

Register as a new user here doesn’t require an email for better anonymity, and that will not change for the near future. But the downside of this is spammer love using this place as a base for spamming other instance, so from now on all new account registration will be set to approval only and it will be approved within a day, this hopefully will slow down spammer, grifter, brigading, astro-turfing, etc etc. Also good for filter out inflammatory username.