Oolite Bulletins

Even if we register a NEW DOMAIN and bind to server IP - we'll see next:

Welcome to Websupport Apache Cluster 25

This page is shown for requests to domainnames that have not yet been configured by all the of webservers in the cluster.
If you added your website recently it will show up here shortly.

So, we can't setup new domain without access to something like hosting control panel...

phkb wrote: ↑Thu Mar 23, 2023 4:12 am

timer wrote: ↑Wed Mar 22, 2023 7:11 pm

If anybody has access to server - plz backup data.

I've now got a backup of the download manager database. :D

Nick, do you have access to something more than database? f.e. can you add/bind one more domain to server? When oolite.org come back - just stay one more "mirror" domain - why not?

Would someone talking to GoDaddy free support and ask the best way to proceed help?

It is next to impossible to get domain ownership transferred because of the security implications.

I see that Oolite.net is available. If we register that, how much effort/code has to be changed?

0b1 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 28, 2023 9:55 am

It is next to impossible to get domain ownership transferred because of the security implications.
I see that Oolite.net is available.

registration of new domain is not problem (already exists for testing) - problem bind to exists hosting - it is require manipulations with hosting control panel, I just hope Nick has access...
And the best solution - revert lovely oolite.org

0b1 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 28, 2023 9:55 am

If we register that, how much effort/code has to be changed?

Well, if everything goes badly and set up the domain again...
IMHO - set up a new VPS, deploy PHP code from github, restore database from Nick's backup.
But one very important thing is - the link to addons.oolite.org - it's "hardcoded" in the source/config :(

I talked to my friends from the registrar,
99% that the situation is this:
1) when it was time for auto-renewal, auto-payment occurred, the domain was renewed
2) the owner canceled the payment
3) the domain has been changed to clientHold status
4) the renewal cannot be canceled - the Registry Expiry Date will remain: 2024-03-05T07:28:47Z

we have options:
1) wait for the Expiry Date, then two more periods (expiration,redemption) and then it will become free
2) the owner will require the removal of the domain and then it will become free
3) try to offer the registrar an "anonymous" renewal and just pay - in some domain zones this practice is supported

Well, at this moment I experimenting with "proxy-forward" variant (demo domain oolite.space)

timer wrote: ↑Tue Mar 28, 2023 11:45 am

I talked to my friends from the registrar,
99% that the situation is this:
1) when it was time for auto-renewal, auto-payment occurred, the domain was renewed
2) the owner canceled the payment
3) the domain has been changed to clientHold status
4) the renewal cannot be canceled - the Registry Expiry Date will remain: 2024-03-05T07:28:47Z

we have options:
1) wait for the Expiry Date, then two more periods (expiration,redemption) and then it will become free
2) the owner will require the removal of the domain and then it will become free
3) try to offer the registrar an "anonymous" renewal and just pay - in some domain zones this practice is supported

I doubt the community will survive such a long nonavailability of the main entry point.
Someone (even better some group) should setup a new hosting contract and setup this alternative entry point. When the original domain becomes available it can still be bound to the new setup.

But until then the main entry point, that is registered on the web in just soo many locations (Wikipedia is just one example) would just be unavailable. Getting out a new release which points to the new update site is pretty easy - and AC already pointed out the entry point URL can be set in the configuration file so even the existing Oolite 1.90 is not limited to addons.oolite.org.

@timer you mentioned when the domain will expire in about a year. Does that already include clienthold, expiration, redemption or would that be an even later date?

Ahruman publishes regularly on Twitter and only hid his "tweets" recently. Perhaps somebody could try contacting him there, or at Spotify (if he still works there). As adumbrated at various stages, I'm not on e-mail. But my semaphore tower works just fine...

If he is in London, I'm happy to try hunting him down the next time I visit if somebody can tell me where he works...

hiran wrote: ↑Tue Mar 28, 2023 7:28 pm

I doubt the community will survive such a long nonavailability of the main entry point.
Someone (even better some group) should setup a new hosting contract and setup this alternative entry point. When the original domain becomes available it can still be bound to the new setup.

But until then the main entry point, that is registered on the web in just soo many locations (Wikipedia is just one example) would just be unavailable. Getting out a new release which points to the new update site is pretty easy - and AC already pointed out the entry point URL can be set in the configuration file so even the existing Oolite 1.90 is not limited to addons.oolite.org.

http://oolite.space now set as proxy to exists server(oolite.org)
also is http://oolite.site - what stay, what go away - decision of community.

I say - I'm ready to transfer the domain(s) under the control of someone who will take care of it - 1 year is paid, there is time to make a decision and deploy the infrastructure. BUT we need all this ONLY if we can not regain control of oolite.org and IF others like these names. I don't want to impose anything on anyone. Maybe one of them will stay just as mirror of main domain (oolite.org)

hiran wrote: ↑Tue Mar 28, 2023 7:28 pm

@timer you mentioned when the domain will expire in about a year. Does that already include clienthold, expiration, redemption or would that be an even later date?

expiration and redemption is AFTER expire :(
and exact duration depend on the registrar and the terms of the contract (common case - about 30 days every) - IMHO we can get this info from support.

timer wrote: ↑Tue Mar 28, 2023 8:55 pm

hiran wrote: ↑Tue Mar 28, 2023 7:28 pm

I doubt the community will survive such a long nonavailability of the main entry point.
Someone (even better some group) should setup a new hosting contract and setup this alternative entry point. When the original domain becomes available it can still be bound to the new setup.

But until then the main entry point, that is registered on the web in just soo many locations (Wikipedia is just one example) would just be unavailable. Getting out a new release which points to the new update site is pretty easy - and AC already pointed out the entry point URL can be set in the configuration file so even the existing Oolite 1.90 is not limited to addons.oolite.org.

http://oolite.space now set as proxy to exists server(oolite.org)
also is http://oolite.site - what stay, what go away - decision of community.

I say - I'm ready to transfer the domain(s) under the control of someone who will take care of it - 1 year is paid, there is time to make a decision and deploy the infrastructure. BUT we need all this ONLY if we can not regain control of oolite.org and IF others like these names. I don't want to impose anything on anyone. Maybe one of them will stay just as mirror of main domain (oolite.org)

hiran wrote: ↑Tue Mar 28, 2023 7:28 pm

@timer you mentioned when the domain will expire in about a year. Does that already include clienthold, expiration, redemption or would that be an even later date?

expiration and redemption is AFTER expire
and exact duration depend on the registrar and the terms of the contract (common case - about 30 days every) - IMHO we can get this info from support.

Thank you for this, Timer. You are a hero!

Just let me know what I can do to help.

Great work timer, much appreciated.

I do seem to have a problem downloading the oxz list, though. Although I added the line "oxz-index-url" = "http://addons.oolite.space/api/1.0/overview"; to my .GNUstepDefaults, the oxz list download never starts. I set oxz.manager.debug = yes; in my logcontrol.plist and saw that the downlead request is issued correctly and to the expected url, but nothing happens after that - a 0 bytes long file called Oolite-download.plist is created in the Caches folder and that's about it.

Can anyone else confirm this please? It is absolutely wonderful that we can have access to the website again, but it seems that the Expansion Pack Manager is still handicapped as far as new oxzs or updates to existing ones are concerned.

Cholmondely wrote: ↑Tue Mar 28, 2023 10:18 pm

Thank you for this, Timer. You are a hero!

umm... I don't think so - I'm just trying to do something of what I can - I often work with domains and servers, so this is not hard for me.

At this moment this domains setuped mostly as DEMO (proxy-server is weak VPS), if proxy stay as "production variant" - it need be moved on other VPS (I have and can do it, but... I don't think that community agree that it will be my server?).

Next, I want to try deploying a site from github - just to evaluate how difficult it will be - it will be an "empty" site without a database (perhaps experiment will be on oolite.site)

I don't know - what tariff and under what conditions the hosting of the site works, but if the payment for the domain was canceled, the same may happen with the current oolite.org server...

another_commander wrote: ↑Wed Mar 29, 2023 6:04 am

Great work timer, much appreciated.

I do seem to have a problem downloading the oxz list, though. Although I added the line "oxz-index-url" = "http://addons.oolite.space/api/1.0/overview"; to my .GNUstepDefaults, the oxz list download never starts. I set oxz.manager.debug = yes; in my logcontrol.plist and saw that the downlead request is issued correctly and to the expected url, but nothing happens after that - a 0 bytes long file called Oolite-download.plist is created in the Caches folder and that's about it.

Can anyone else confirm this please? It is absolutely wonderful that we can have access to the website again, but it seems that the Expansion Pack Manager is still handicapped as far as new oxzs or updates to existing ones are concerned.

I have added "addons.oolite.space" virtual host to the nginx config - plz try again.

It worked! You rock, man! Expansion Manager is fully usable again.

For anyone interested - please test functionality of the Expansion Pack Manager by adding the oxz-index-url key in your .GNUstepDefaults, with the value "http://addons.oolite.space/api/1.0/overview". Once this has been tested sufficiently to be considered a full replacement, I will change the game's default index url in the code so that no edits to .GNUstepDefaults will be needed, at least for those using trunk versions (users of 1.90 will still have to edit .GNUstepDefautls).

@timer: I had already given consideration to the option of using GitHub Pages for the site, but I quickly found that GitHub Pages does not support php, which is what our site is built with, unless you contain the php content presentation in a special type of view frame, with the php content itself being hosted elsewhere, at which point we might as well have a proper site of our own rather than GitHub Pages.