Site Outage, Abuse, and Mitigation Plans

[PhilT]

Well, how did that happen.... The site was down for 2 weeks!!

Here's the AI summary (It helped me fix it in minutes, not days!!):

The server suffered a Kernel/IPC lock-up on January 14th. This was likely triggered by a combination of a bot attack and a failed SSL session cache lock. Because the system was waiting for a resource it couldn't get, it stayed in a "Zombie" state until a manual reboot was performed.

The mismatched SSL certificates were a "side effect" of that crash (an interrupted write), which prevented Apache from starting back up after the reboot. You've successfully fixed the certificates, cleared the blocks, and "tuned" the kernel to be tougher against future attacks.

I've got a little side project to refresh the site, something that I only tend to do every few years because it's a massive undertaking. This time round, I'm going to invest that time into making it easier to maintain. One change that is likely to come in will be annual subscriptions; it'll help pay the bills, it'll reduce the number of spam accounts to almost zero, and it'll buy me a beer . The site will remain read only but the subscriber experience will have the ability to post and be Ad-Free.

What do you think would be a fair annual subscription?

[Brooner]

agree with the subscription as the server will have a cost involved and your time maintaing and updating the site
but havent a clue what to charge
below taken from google

Paid Membership Forums/Clubs
Paid access is often tied to an official owners' club for a specific marque (e.g., Jaguar, Alfa Romeo, or Mazda MX-5). These fees grant access to the forum and additional benefits.
Typical annual costs for these types of forums/clubs are:
£20 for the UK Kit Car Club.
£35 for the MX-5 Owners Club (plus a small joining fee).
£49.50 for the Alfa Romeo Owners Club.
£83 for the Jaguar Enthusiasts' Club, which includes a premium magazine subscription.
£100+ for "gold" tier memberships in some clubs, offering premium perks.
These fees are typically used to cover club administration, website hosting, events, and member benefits like discounts on insurance or parts.

[PhilT]

Thank you and wow!! And there was me wondering if £15 a year might not sit well with the community.