In summary: The wiki (all of ‘em) will be locked from editing starting at 9 P.M. EDT. The editing freeze should last roughly 24 hours as the battlestarwiki.org domain propagates. (After everything is done, I’ll post a temporary link, so that people can still do their thing on the new server — it just won’t say Battlestarwiki.org in the address bar, that’s all.)

Now into the details:

So I finally purchased the server. It’s a dedicated server, meaning that we actually own the entire server, and they just help up keep it, it’s in a nice climate controlled room with battery backups and all that jazz. Basically, a dedicated server is just a machine that we lease out every month, and it’s fully ours to do with as we please (well, within their rules and laws, obviously), so that we’re not sharing resources with other sites. (While we did have a Virtual Private Server, which is meant to take more abuse than a basic shared hosting service, there were other people we shared the server with — and when we got as really busy as we are, it showed.) It is hosted by the fine folks at Galaxy Visions, which after doing research seemed to suit our needs.

The reason it took as long as it did — especially in light of the fact that I didn’t choose between the two servers I posted info about days ago — is because finding a server is much like finding that right house to live in. In my research, I not only considered technical specifications, but also what people thought. With this purchase, I firmly believe I made the right decision — and of course, it doesn’t hurt to ask our resident IT guru, Shane, either.
Essentially, the server costs 109.98 a month, so our server costs went up $20 bucks, but it’s well worth it.

Anyway, now I’m off to add more hours to my work day. (Working 12 hours isn’t enough for this workaholic. LOL)

So say we all.

I’m presently in the process of nailing down a host — all I need is a response to a question regarding the bandwidth pipe — and then, given that, I can make a final determination.

In the meantime, I’m taking the opportunity to write on how the process will work, so that no one is surprised by anything.

Typically, this is much like moving your stuff from your old house to a new house (or apartment, flat, et al.). In order for it to work, the following will occur in nearly this order:

• Once a new server is purchased, all the content on the old server will be locked down and frozen. This means that Battlestar Wiki will not be accepting any changes or new image uploads. (People may still visit the website and view the articles, as this is completely separate from editing.)
• Everything from the old server is uploaded to the new one and will be tested to ensure that there are going to be no problems.
• Once that’s done, the new server will go “live”: everything will be editable and will function as it did before the freeze.
• The domain (battlestarwiki.org) will point to the new server. During this time, the new information will need to propagate, so that battlestarwiki.org points to the new server instead of the old.
• Please note that all ISPs update their DNS information at different times. Therefore it’s quite possible that during the DNS update that someone from America can see the battlestarwiki.org website on its new server, whereas someone from Europe can see the wiki on its old server. This would probably happen, at most, for 24 hours after the DNS change is implemented from my end.
• Once it’s been confirmed that the domain name is pointed to the new server, the content from the old server will be deleted and that account will be closed down.

I’ll keep everyone posted. So say we all.

The blog has been upgraded to WordPress 2.0.5, which was released around 7:50 P.M. EST today.

If you run a blog using WordPress software, you should upgrade. It’s a painless process, really.

Also, this blog now has a listing on Technoranti. If you are a user of that service and like the blog, the wiki, or both, please add us.

The following message was brought to you by The Circle. So say we all.

Here are some of the plans I’ve been mulling over. I’ll add more to this list as I get them.

• IPOWER Virtual Private Servers
• I am looking at either the $69.99 or $89.99 per month deal.
• ServerBeach
• The Power package for $99.00/mo.

Please feel free to recommend additional services and my IT team and I shall look over them.

Comments and suggestions are welcome, obviously.

So say we all.

As some of you might have noted, battlestarwiki.com (not org) is no longer redirecting to the primary Battlestar Wiki site. That’s because our dot-com domain will be redirecting to the mirror.

I’m in the process of setting up the mirror today and hopefully it should be up by the time “Collaborators” airs.

Right now, the only wiki that will be mirrored is the English-version. Once we work out the kinks in the dot-com mirror, we’ll be able to more efficiently mirror the other languages.

So say we all.

Update: It appears that I may have been overly optimistic. Right now, I need to find out whether or not the mirror’s server can be upgraded to PHP5. If not, then there will be no mirror, at least right now.

A few days ago we surpassed 4 million page views on the English Wiki with over 1,543 users. You can view the full statistics here.

• German Wiki Page Views: Just under 70,000
• Chinese Wiki Page Views: Just under 15,000

Thanks for the continued success!

One of our newest members to the English Wiki, Kobayashihikaru, took on the task this past weekend to produce some great audio versions of a few episode guides. The audio versions of Battlestar Wiki articles comes from the Audio Development project, dedicated to creating an audio version of articles on the Battlestar Wiki.

In time we hope to have the written and audio version of all pertinent articles for all to enjoy. For now, check out the episode guide for “33” and click on the speaker in the upper right to check out this new medium that Battlestar Wiki can bring you. Personally, I found the audio version amazing! Props to Kobayashihikaru.

I’m renewing my efforts to find a better server option, particularly in light of the recent response time due to the increase in traffic and contributions.

If anyone has word on a quality web hosting solution, please feel free to reply to this blog post or e-mail me (joe.beaudoin@gmail.com).

For technical spects, we’ll need a server that has the following non-negotiables:

• MySQL
• Shell access
• Roughly 100GB of hard drive space, since we’ll be adding video and audio content to the wiki.
• PHP
• Linux/Unix OS
• Is capable of handling thousands of people at a time.

In the meantime, I’m working on a mirror for Battlestar Wiki on my own personal servers (actually, the old homestead where Battlestar Wiki was originally hosted). It should hopefully be up by the end of the week — at least that’s the projected ETA, which can change at any moment.

As for financing such an endeavor, we’ll be holding a fundraiser sometime during mid-November or early December. In the meantime, should you wish to donate, please feel free to visit the Site Support page at Battlestar Wiki.

Updates as I have them.

So say we all.

Many of you, especially long-time contributors, may have noticed that Battlestar Wiki’s access speed goes sour during and after an episode airs. Today, Battlestar Wiki gets approximately 10 new users per day and over 1 million page views per month. Things are getting very busy with the TV series’ success, so naturally server speed will be less during these peak times. (Some wikis wish they’d have problems like ours.)
Unlike some other wikis with banks of servers or server hosts, Battlestar Wiki is run on a private server. If you want to help the wiki’s quality (other than contributing in articles), why not consider making a donation to improve Battlestar Wiki and defray operating expenses?

Visit the following link for more information.

http://en.battlestarwiki.org/wiki/Battlestar_Wiki:Site_support

The template regarding the battles’ template is under discussion and voting. The template is basically a box of battles that have occured during the re-imagined series’ run.

For those who are unfamiliar, the deletion process is executed by means of determining consensus from our contributors and visitors. Anyone may put in their two cents and cast a vote for or against deletion of an article or template.

For more, please refer to the following links:

• Template in question:
• http://en.battlestarwiki.org/wiki/Template:Battles_(RDM)
• Discussion and voting is taking place at:
• http://en.battlestarwiki.org/wiki/Template_talk:Battles_(RDM)

We are still looing for active users to work on the Spanish Wiki. We are accepting applications for being the “Chief” Spanish Wiki master. Contact myself or Joe for more information. 1 translation a day, keeps the deletion button away!

• URL: http://es.battlestarwiki.org/wiki/

The Battlestar Wiki is in the process of improving the website in terms of audio. We are presently looking for people to help capture audio from all three series, so as to enhance the “Noteworthy Dialogue” sections of our episode guides, as well as articles that would benefit (such as “so say we all” and “by your command“).

If you want to help, please visit the Audio Clips project page on Battlestar Wiki.

Also, in addition to that, we are developing an audio version of Battlestar Wiki. So if you would like to turn our articles in audio format, visit our Audio Development project page.