RPG Insanity

Earlier this week I got a notice from my host provider that my account has exceeded the monthly resource limit (and the month's not even up!) The notice informed me that if this persists, people will have trouble accessing the site.

After a couple back and forths with their tech department, it looks like the spike is mainly caused by two factors: bot traffic, and resource-hungry plugins.

They've given me some leeway so I can try to address these issues, and hopefully get things back under control. However, in the meantime, the site might experience downtime if it goes too far over-limit.

(Side note: I've just discovered that the toolbar for the forum editor is unresponsive, so I'll have to look into that as well....)

These are the basic steps I'm going to take, starting tomorrow. Some of them will affect different aspects of the site, but my goal is to not make any changes to the forum unless absolutely necessary.

1. I need to block IP's for "suspicious" bots (basically anything that's not Google, Bing or Yahoo).
They've shown me how to identify IP's that are definitely a bot, so I don't think I'll be blocking any user's IP address.
However, if during the next week, you are unable to access the site, please contact me through our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/rpg.insanity/. (You should probably bookmark that now, just in case.)

You can message me through that page with your username and I'll try to check against the list, to verify whether you've been blocked or not.

(Note: it may be that the server has been temporarily overloaded, in which case you'll just need to check back later that day or the next day. But if after multiple tries you can't access the site, then let me know on Facebook.)

2. I need to turn off several plugins in order to identify which, if any, are adding to the problem.
This will probably include getting rid of the login dropdown plugin (at least temporarily), and instead linking to a dedicated login page. I know this will be a small inconvenience, but it is a necessary step.

I'll also be turning off the plugin that controls ads visibility, meaning that when you are logged in, all 3 ads will still show.

3. I also intend to get rid of the "Groups" section at the same time.
I will be moving the "Stat Collectors" forum into the Kemco Forum (and possibly changing the name, since the main purpose of that forum is just to collect game length information.)

This one isn't so much about too many resources, as it is, well - I just don't see the "Groups" idea going anywhere, and it doesn't really fit with my vision for the rest of the site.

When I've done all I can in those areas, I'm also going to add an SSL certificate to the site.
(If you don't know what that is, you don't need to worry about it. But I'm including it here because once done, it will change the site's URL from http to https.)
Adding this certificate will add another level of security and legitimacy to the site (and from what I've read, it may slightly influence my search rankings with Google.)

All other plans and projects, including user reviews, need to be put on hold until I get this under control. From talking with the tech department, I expect that these things will solve the problem - but if they don't, then I just need to upgrade my plan, which I can afford to do, so one way or another I will get this all resolved.

I've done most of what my host suggested, and my resource usage is beginning to go down (but they say to give it a day or two to be certain.)

I'm going to leave everything the way it is right now until Monday (meaning, a log in page instead of a dropdown login menu, all 3 ads showing at all times, some menus showing up on the wrong pages, etc.) Then, next week, I'll start systematically turning things back on, and identify which plugins I can keep and which ones were likely part of the problem.

I also hope to add the SSL certificate by then.

(Side note: I haven't tested it yet, but it looks like the login page allows for either username or email, which is one of the other things I wanted, so if that works, that's a nice side effect.)

Yep, I was able to login using my email address that is really neat as this forum always kicks me out after a week of automatic login (was that intentional?) I just remember my email more than the username that I used here.

Why not just keep the three ads permanent? They are placed appropriately that it doesn't hinder my browsing experienxen at all and no inappropriate ads either.

I hope you get things sorted soon! Good luck!

I didn't set things up to kick any one out, so that must just be "built in" to one of the plugins... Anyway I'm glad the email login works.

I might just leave the ads. (In fact I'm probably just hurting myself by turning the one off, since it's typically the most visible of all 3... Maybe leaving it on is wiser.)

So far things are still looking good, though my host has recommended a different security plugin than what I'm currently using, as this other one has an automatic "bot blocker" setting. So I'll probably look into that next week, as well.

The good news is that I'm no longer in danger of end-of-the-month downtime, so I think it's safe now to un-sticky this thread, but I'll still keep it open until I've sorted out all the other stuff I've mentioned.

Since I joined the site every week I have to relogin my account and that bothers me so much that sometimes I just browse without logging in unless there is something I want to post. I don't clear the cache and cookies on my mobile browser so yeah its probably one of the site's plugin but I do wonder if anyone also experiencing seeing as I'm the first one to bring this up.

Ok, I've done the first step of transitioning to a more secure site. The site URL is now:

https://rpginsanity.com

Note, that if you leave off the "s" it will still load whatever page you've typed in (likewise, if you happen to type "www" at the start, or if you follow a link from some other site that has "www" or does not have the "s" - that page will still load.)

Only, when you click on a link on the site, it will automatically redirect to the "https" version. If I've done everything correctly, every link on this site should now be "https". As far as I can tell this has no real impact on your experience, but it makes the overall site more secure, and it makes Google happy.

IMPORTANT - Your browser will not have saved your username or email and password for the "https" version, because it apparently recognizes it as a completely different site. But, you username/email and password are still good. (You just have to enter it one time to get your browser to store that information.)