dinotoyblog.com and animaltoyforum.com sites down

[MonsterToyForum]

This is a thread to update you on the status of dinotoyblog.com and animaltoyforum.com, which are both currently down. So, what's going on!?

Our hosting provider for those sites made a major boo-boo and accidentally deleted them all! So, the sites – both the blogs and forums – are now being restored from backups.

Thanks for your patience while it gets fixed. Hopefully they are back up and running sooner than later, but I don't know, fingers crossed we're looking at hours rather than days.

Luckily, the Monster Toy Blog is on a different server, so that's good, and the disaster has prompted me to set up this Monster Toy Forum. I invite DTF and ATF community members to join here while we're waiting.

Let me know if you have any questions and I'll do my best to answer them.

[MonsterToyForum]

My site host has informed me that the restore will have to be put on hold over the weekend, so we're looking at Monday at the earliest for it to be fixed. 

[MonsterToyForum]

And then, suddenly, a breakthrough. The DTF database is restored up to 1st September. I've put it in maintenance mode in the hope the missing September posts can be added, before we open up again. There is light on the horizon!

I expect the ATF to follow. If you're able to log into either forums, please don't post anything just yet.

[MonsterToyForum]

Unfortunately nothing's changed since my last update. I haven't heard anything from my host, despite asking. I think the ATF site files and database (up to 1 sept) has been restored, but the site is showing a white screen, so something isn't right.

[bmathison1972]

Thanks for the update Adam.

I am still posting my daily 'Museum' threads on STS, hosting the images on Postimages. Once ATF is up again, I'll transfer them all over to the ATF as a bulk post LOL

[MonsterToyForum]

Thanks for the update Adam.

I am still posting my daily 'Museum' threads on STS, hosting the images on Postimages. Once ATF is up again, I'll transfer them all over to the ATF as a bulk post LOL

Thanks Blaine. Sorry for the major inconvenience.

What a nightmare scenario, eh! Now I'm wishing I'd bitten the bullet earlier and migrated all my sites to a new host as I've been planning for months, but been too scared... in case something like what just happened happened.

[Faelrin]

I appreciate the update as well. Fingers crossed everything goes well though. Out of habit I'm still trying to hop on, even though I know it's still a wait lol.

While I still would like to finish some DTB reviews before covering some more MTB ones, but I guess it also wouldn't hurt to work on them in the time being either, especially with Halloween approaching.

Also uh where do I go to sign in to the MTB? I know there was an easy way to log in under the Perks section on the DTB, but I didn't see it on this one.

[MonsterToyForum]

I appreciate the update as well. Fingers crossed everything goes well though. Out of habit I'm still trying to hop on, even though I know it's still a wait lol.

While I still would like to finish some DTB reviews before covering some more MTB ones, but I guess it also wouldn't hurt to work on them in the time being either, especially with Halloween approaching.

Also uh where do I go to sign in to the MTB? I know there was an easy way to log in under the Perks section on the DTB, but I didn't see it on this one.

I keep visiting out of habit as well. It makes me feel so unsettled that the sites don't appear!

The MTB login is here:
https://monstertoyblog.com/wp-login.php

[GojiraGuy1954]

We're so back

[MonsterToyForum]

Still a long way to go.

Here's a summary I sent to my host yesterday:

Good progress today, but there is still a lot missing. Here's a summary of the status of my sites now, in case it helps:

Dinosaur Toy Blog: files appear to be restored, but database missing, so site is down

Dinosaur Toy Forum: files restored, and database restored but only up to 1st September. The site files connect to the database, so I've put the forum into maintenance mode to allow you to add September posts before members start posting again. Do you have the missing September posts backed up locally and can you add them to the database?

Animal Toy Forum: files appear to be restored, and database appears to be restored, but the site isn't working (just a white screen).

Animal Toy Blog: files missing (should be in a folder in animaltoyforum.com/blog, which is missing), and database missing, so site is down.

Fauna Figures: files missing (should be in a folder in animaltoyforum.com/faunafigures, which is missing), and database missing, so site is down.

Plesiosaur Directory: files missing, and database missing (but somehow the site is connecting to the Tethys database), so site is down.

[bmathison1972]

What does a missing database mean? And is it retrievable, just with time?

[MonsterToyForum]

What does a missing database mean? And is it retrievable, just with time?

A website is made of files (web pages, images) and a database(s). The files point to the content on the database. So, if the database is missing, the website won't work. Apparently my host has backups of all the databases, but they haven't all been uploaded back to the server yet.

[gwangi]

What a mess! I cannot believe that over a decade's worth of forum and blog content can just be accidently deleted like that.
Thank you for making this place for us refugees to gather. It has been a long last few days! I keep checking the DTF and ATF in hope they'll be back, I'm fiending for my community! I get on my computer and feel lost without them so I end up hanging out of social media more than I would like. It doesn't help!

And I must admit that I am worried about my many hundreds of blog reviews. I have most of the reviews saved, but not all, and none of the pictures. Something like this happening has been on my mind more and more as my library of reviews has grown. I've been going back and copy/pasting older reviews that weren't on my current laptop and external hard drive but it is a daunting task that I never finished.   

[MonsterToyForum]

I feel foolish for not having backed things up manually more often myself. I know better. Don't worry, I'm confident the blog database auto-backups exist, at least up until 1 Sept 2025. If that's the worst case scenario, I'll take it.

This ordeal is made so much more stressful by my host not communicating properly.

[MonsterToyForum]

I've noticed the site files for Plesiosauria have appeared on the server today, so things are still happening. Not the database though, or any of the other blog databases...