The Wiki is down

[hiran]

wiki.alioth.net is down. This is why it cannot download.

So the wiki is down.
What are we going to do about it?
What can we do about it?
What do we want to do about it?

[Nite Owl]

The BACKUP WIKI is still alive but when was the last time the Main Wiki was backed up to the Backup Wiki ?? We do want the Main Wiki to be functional as that is where most of the downloads for the OXZs and OXPs are stored.

[hiran]

The BACKUP WIKI is still alive but when was the last time the Main Wiki was backed up to the Backup Wiki ?? We do want the Main Wiki to be functional as that is where most of the downloads for the OXZs and OXPs are stored.

http://backup.witchspacewiki.org/index.php/Special:Log

Looks like it was last updated 2022.

[RobsterLeal]

Morning!

Is there anything I or anyone else can do to help in this? Its all very quiet, which I'm surprised about as the main mechanic of sorting expansions is now knackered - i expected a few people at least to be up in arms...

as a relative newcomer to the boards i take it we have a much more laid back approach to things...?

[MrFlibble]

A quick poke around...

It pings, but a prod with netcat hints that TCP is not routed to it, or is dropped in an unusual way.

Code: Select all

$ nc -vz wiki.alioth.net 443
nc: connect to wiki.alioth.net (109.70.41.29) port 443 (tcp) failed: No route to host

Conventional 'traceroute' shows nothing of note to me, however the TCP version shows '!H' (host unreachable) at the destination.

So the host responds to ICMP, but not TCP. That may be obfuscated by mechanisms such as reverse proxy or crossroads.

Dig shows the IP address to be part of a type C subnet held by an ISP registered on the Isle of Man (Wi-Manx).

Looks like someone needs to diagnostically power-cycle either the host, or the switch it's connected to. Has anyone got the keys to the server room?

edit: Pings with a 2k payload are erratic at best. Anything larger will respond one or zero times. IMO this hints more *toward* a dodgy cable/switch/router, or a knackered network card.

[hiran]

Whatever we find out as 'outsiders' is all poking in the dark. The only feasible way is to troubleshoot from inside.
Which means first we need to find the hoster for that wiki. It is one of the elders that has moved on so we won't find him here on this board.

Remains the fact: Who knows who is hosting the wiki? Who can track him down and pass the message? We need a status quo and that quickly. Maybe an existing contract just needs to be extended.

I somehow fear the situation is similar as with the loss of oolite.org, and we had it coming:
- viewtopic.php?p=288982#p288982
- viewtopic.php?p=291970#p291970

All the content is impacted, which means resurrecting it on an alternative URL is way more painful. Whoever believes there is a backup site can try to copy it's content and take it from there. Just to mention: We (those who are active in this forum) do not host that either.

I'd love to stand corrected.

[MrFlibble]

It is one of the elders that has moved on so we won't find him here on this board.

I'd guessed/feared as much. That's one reason for me having a nose from the outside.

Maybe the Isle of Man connection will ring a bell for someone.

[Nite Owl]

A bit of poking around led me to believe that Winston is the Wiki's owner. If anyone can contact him that would be one solution.

Failing that we may need some input from our resident expert on web site resurrection, timer are you out there?

[user2357]

This might not help, but I haven't seen anyone mention these names in this thread yet. Perhaps one of them can establish contact/gain access...?

Way back in 2012, maik said, "There is now a backup server for http://wiki.alioth.net. It is located at http://wiki.maikschulz.de. This is an "official" backup with support from Winston, who also gave me the keys to his wiki installation to take care of it. This includes upgrading the MediaWiki software and installing extensions." and "Winston also made Ahruman and myself Bureaucrats on the wiki." and "cim continues to have shell access to my server."

viewtopic.php?p=165825#p165825

[Rxke]

It's definitely Winston.

Not sure I ever had an e-mail address, will do a search

[Bogatyr]

It's a good time to think about any other net-based resources that may not have solid backups, and to remedy that.

[Rxke]

Can't find Winston's contact info

Ahruman might have more info(?)

(Been away for ages, saw a message about this on Reddit, sorry I can't help any further...)

[maik]

I found his email address and informed him just now.

[maik]

Update: Winston is aware but not able to fix anything before Monday

[hiran]

Update: Winston is aware but not able to fix anything before Monday

So he is willing to fix it? Is just his availability the limit?
Should we ask him to define backups? Right now it looks like we lost lots of content, especially since that 'backup server' has not updated for two years...