Modern tales - gripe?

[Dedos]

Um, I don't know where else to gripe about this, but since I first heard of Modern Tales here... and I subscribed to support ya, Jim, you have to hear a little of my complaining.

I went to MT today only to find out that the bandwidth limit had been exceeded! >__<

Um, if you're going to run a webcomics site with EXTREMELY popular artists, you just KNOW you're going to be a huge bandwidth hog. Duh. Sorry to be so bitchy, but it just seems like one of the FIRST things that would have been taken care of in the creation of a site.

And I know you have nothing to do with the actual site creation, but I had to complain somewhere (and I know Joey reads this on occasion). ;-D

-Chris

P.S. When will MT be back up?

[Zubkavich]

Actually, Joey did take care of that. The host of the site just called him to apologize. The host is doing their best to transfer the site to a server that will have 10 times the throughput. It was the host's fault, not necessarily the creators of the site.

Unfortunately, it may be a few hours until it's up again. Maybe more, I'm honestly not sure.

In some ways it's flattering that the site kicked their server's ass, but it's obviously frustrating because the site isn't up!

I'm crossing my fingers that it's back up very soon.

Thanks for your patience. I know what Joey (the editor of Modern Tales) is going through. When KeenSpace goes down, I get a knot in my brain wondering when it'll be back up.

_________________
Jim Zubkavich
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The Makeshift Miracle
http://www.makeshiftmiracle.com
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<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Zubkavich on 2002-03-07 13:59 ]</font>

[Playfulkitten]

Yeah, what I was wondering, when getting that bandwidth limit exceeded message, was whether that meant for the hour, day, week, or month? For the month (meaning, no Modern Tales until April), would really superbly suck. For the hour or day, well, I guess as long as it doesn't happen routinely (or just this once), no big deal.

(I was in the middle of going through the recently-added Narbonics archives, and after reading one and clicking on the next, got that message. Darn it! Heh, Modern Tales has only been around for less than a week, and I've already got 3-4 more comics I've hooked onto. And they're not even all there yet! Is there a CA group: Comics Anonymous?)

[Zubkavich]

In an absolutely worst case scenario... the hosting gets completely moved for the site and it's down for a day and a half while the DNS reroutes.

Best case is that the current host carries through on their promise and gets the site up in an hour or two.

[Playfulkitten]

That's really wonderful to hear (we must've been posting at the same time, hehe). I'll check back every few hours, give or take, to see if it's back.

[Zubkavich]

From the updates I've gotten, we're in the worst-case version...

Modern Tales is being moved to its own server. Even after it's running, it'll take a bit for the http://www.moderntales.com address to properly reroute the DNS and send people to the right spot.

Everyone on board the MT Team is stunned by the great reponse from people and are anxious for the site's return.

Thanks for your patience.

[Dedos]

Woooo!
S'back up.....
*breathes sigh of relief*

And new Fancy Froglin, to boot.

Allright Jim, let's get you on that roster!

[Templar]

It's back up as of now, BTW.

[Zubkavich]

From what I know, the site may blink out a bit again... the site is still on the old server and will be going to another one. Ideally, no one will even notice the switch over.

According to Joey, I'm next in line to be added to the roster. This server stuff may delay it a bit, but I'm thinking it should happen this weekend.

[DarkWolf_777]

Hopefully the new server will work out for the site. This is something I mentioned way back when you were asking what we all thought about the move.

With as many comics, if they're really as popular as alluded to ... I'd think there'd be more than 600 members, but that's just me. I still don't agree with the business model, and when I can afford to part with some money, I'll be donating to Jim directly through PayPal. I still don't like the idea of other people getting the money I intend to send to ONE person.

Anyway, good luck with it, and hope it works out for you. I still think you should've struck out on your own though

[DivaLea]

Darkwolf (what an interesting given name), maybe you missed what Jim posted here and on the opening page: Modern Tales SHOULD NOT have been shut down for excessive usage, but billed for it. That was the plan, that's what was paid for. Joey Manley made arrangements for this when MT was close to exceeding its usage earlier this week.

But anyway, it's taken care of.

BTW, Paypal munches money out of all transactions. So, if you really hate anyone getting any of Jim's money, better send him a check.

Just saying.

Lea
http://www.divalea.com
http://www.moderntales.com
divalea.blogspot.com

[Dedos]

In all honesty, I expect MT to be down a LOT less often than Keenspace to begin with, so, to start with, it's an improvement.

Also, if you don't want to support any of the other artists, fine, but there are a lot of names up there that I think deserve more than just a nod of appreciation. But that's just me.. and 600 other people.

[Zubkavich]

Dark Wolf,

As many have said, people don't want to pay for things on the internet. Even though there are some really popular people on board Modern Tales, we didn't want to fool ourselves into thinking that everyone would want to pay for content.

We budgeted based on a very small number of subscribers each month (100). The fact we were able to get 6 months worth of our prediction in a week bodes well for the site as a whole. The traffic has been huge and once the full line-up of people is on board the site and it's smooth running, I expect many more to take the plunge and help support our efforts.

I think a lot of people have taken a "wait and see" attitude towards Modern Tales. They're coming by the site, testing the waters and seeing if it'll be worth their time and money. Once the full range of material is on board, I think many of them will find 4-5 that really grab them and they'll join up.

[Playfulkitten]

Granted I was one of the subscribers to sign up before launch, but I'm surprised how many comics I've added to my list of reads:

Wedlock (knew I was going to add that one)
Narbonic (mad scientist... cool!)
Pewfel Porfingles (say that 10 times fast!)
Circle Weave (just amazing, both art and story so far)
The New Adventures of Death (seems different)

That's 5 comics, yea! I figured I'd just be reading this one and Wedlock (I'm a regular PVP reader) and might find one other comic. I might also add Return of the Green Skull and Vicious Souvenirs (which needs to be added to the initial pull-down on the front page, btw) but those seem like they'll be harder to get into for me. So I'd say I spent my money well.

What all comics has anyone else gotten into (or might get into) from peeking at MT?

[Tar Baby]

Circle Weave is friggin' AWESOME - and mind, i only say that about TWO webcomics....it, and Makeshift Miracle. if the only two webcomics on MT that you read are those two, then i would encourage anybody to belly up to the bar and pay the fee to get 'em. geniuses like Indigo and our beloved Z-man need to get some amount of monetary compensation for all this fantastic storyweaving they do for us.

ah me.... *falls into a romantic swoon*

[DarkWolf_777]

On 2002-03-09 07:55, DivaLea wrote:
Darkwolf (what an interesting given name), maybe you missed what Jim posted here and on the opening page: Modern Tales SHOULD NOT have been shut down for excessive usage,

. . .

BTW, Paypal munches money out of all transactions. So, if you really hate anyone getting any of Jim's money, better send him a check.

Oh yeah, I read it. Just refering back to one of the first things I said when Jim first brought up the idea of doing this. I asked if they were getting dedicated servers, and lines, because that's what would be needed to avoid these things. Yes, I see that it's the hosts fault for not placing them on a dedicated server, but that's precisely what I was refering to.

As for the check / paypal thing, yah, I know they take a small percentage out. It's not that big of a deal though. It's certainly not spreading my $2.95 monthly fee among 20+ people... AFTER taking out the server / hosting fees. If I donate $2.95 through PayPal, Jim'll see about $2.00 of it. Maybe a little more. If I sign up for Modern Tales, Jim'll maybe see $0.05 - $0.10 of my $2.95.

I think I'll stick with my plan

[edit]Also, I did check out some of the other comics, and so far, the only one I'm interested in is Makeshift. Even Wedlock... I'm a PvP nut, but so far, I'm just not that intrigued by Wedlock. As it is, I haven't seen anything else that MT has to offer that catches my eye.

_________________
DarkWolf
[ <A HREF="http://www.lethaldeath.com" TARGET=_blank>Lethal Death</A> | <A HREF="http://www.wiccajesus.com" TARGET=_blank>The Talamasca 2</A> ]

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: DarkWolf_777 on 2002-03-12 18:45 ]</font>

[Bennparker]

I would like to say that Makeshift has inspired me to new heights. I've decided to start my own on-line comic strip, along with my co-produced comic book. The strip though will be more of a personal experiance as I'm sure Makeshift is for you, Jim. Thank You and good luck at Modern Tales, my moneys on the way.

Hoodlum Press
gary@hoodlumpress.com

[Zubkavich]

On 2002-03-25 23:56, bennparker wrote:
I would like to say that Makeshift has inspired me to new heights.

I'm honored to be able to add fuel to your creative engine, Benn. Best of luck with your web comic.

It's a wonderful way to tell a story without editorial interferance or limits. When I get a chance, I'll explore your site to the depths and check out your story.