ALL SCI-FI

[WadeVC]

For all the guests and new members, don't forget to check some of the earlier posts/pages for some great content.

Sure, some of them are literally years old, but there is a lot of good stuff to read and comment on.

I for one enjoy going back to see what I have missed, and to just read some great reviews of movies and programs that aren't on "Page 1" on this fun forum.
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"You look like a pooped out pinwheel."
-Robot Monster

[Bud Brewster]

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Yes indeed, Wade, All Sci-Fi's posts are intended to be permanent contributions to the board's growing body of originally comments, discussions, reviews, images, novels, short stories, and artwork. (<— links)

All Sci-Fi's turbulent history has earned a nick name among the members of several other online forums: The Board That Wouldn't Die!

Why?

Because between the time of it's initial creation in 2006 and today, it's been destroyed and recreated . . . SIX TIMES!

Here's the inspiring story of All Sci-Fi's recurring deaths and miraculous resurrections!
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ASF #1

I first created the board in 2006, and it did well for seven months . . . but in 2007 the "free forum" web host it was on went out of business.
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ASF #2

In late 2007 I started over again on yet another site for creating free forums, and the board lasted for seven glorious years!

We acquired thousands of posts from 261 members.

But in 2013, the second free forum host went out of business, too. Even though the members and I suspected the company was in trouble, we were never allowed to make a copy of the database — so we lost all our contributions when the second ASF ceased to exist.
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ASF #3

With the help of one of our members, Randy Everett, the board was recreated in December 2013 on a server which Randy was renting for his own use on Servage.com.

During the weeks before the crash of the free forum site, I had keep all the members informed about the fact that we might have to start over with a new web host.

After the crash, Randy and I reconstructed the board on his server, and many of the members joined the new All Sci-Fi. We started expanding the new database to build up the boards content, but many of the former members never came back.

Still, we were making good progress . . . until 2017, when Randy called me to sadly report that the server he was renting from Servage.com had caught fire!

All Sci-Fi's database was gone again!
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ASF #4

But a few days later Randy inform me that there was still hope!

The creators of the PHHbb software which ASF used had provided him with a backup of our database, something the company did with all web sites that utilized their software!

Hallelujah!

Randy was able to restore ASF on a new server!

Unfortunately, on May 2, 2017 my good friend Randy Everett had a series of strokes and passed away. His family had no interest in continuing to pay the rental on Randy's server — so All Sci-Fi's died again . . .

But Commander Peter Quincy Taggart said on Galaxy Quest, "Never give up. Never surrender!"

I spent an agonizing two weeks exchanging desperate emails with the administrators of Servage.com, and I finally convinced them that I was entitle to their backup database for ASF — even though I was not their customer, Randy Everett.

I even sent them the link to Randy's online obituary to prove that their customer was dead!


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ASF #5

Finally they agreed to let me have their backup of the board's database, and I began renting my own server on Servage.com to house the resurrected All Sci-Fi's in 2018.

But the Cyberspace Gods are cruel! I discover that the datebase for the board was flawed! The text of the posts was pepper with "'junk characters" like — and ???, which had replaced certain punctuation marks which the computer system hadn't recognized properly!

I took me weeks the clean out all junk characters from the boards text, but I'd gone through quite a lot to save my beloved board, I stuck with it until I'd cleaned up the mess.
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ASF #6

I decided to switch to another web host that was more reliable, and I chose DreamHost. With the help of a friend here in Charlotte, we set out to (you guessed it) recreate All Sci-Fi's for the sixth time!

And that's the one you're lookin' at now!

So, there you have it folks! The Board That Wouldn't Die!. It's been around for eighteen years, We have over 40,000 posts — of which almost 17,500 are mine!

What can I say? I love to write.

In addition to our 177 members, we get hundreds of visitors every day, and the most users ever online was 907 on June 1st, 2024.

But we're always eager to welcome new members who have interesting things to share. If you're a visitor and want to join, click here to find out how.

HERE'S HOW TO JOIN ALL SCI-FI

Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)