This is the message that was on the page, when u typed in our url
There was a catastrophic error during server upgrade attempt on March 19, and the database and backups were lost. We are unable to repair the forums. The shoutbox below has been placed to allow your forum to regroup elsewhere.
We apologize greatly for this situation.
I am so mad, we invested a lot of time and energy on the site. Where to go now, does anyone have any recommondations, is paid really better then free
Firstly, I'm really sorry to hear about your site. It sounds a lot like the FreeForums Data loss over a year ago. Which host were you on? It's important to spread the word so that others don't face this problem in the future.
If you're deadly serious about your forum, then paid is definitely the way forwards. How active was your site? If it wasn't getting too much traffic you can get your own hosting for as little as $1 in some places.
Forumarena was the host. It generated enough traffic to say it was busy. It slowed down a tad for march break, but its been around for awhile, just dissapointed we lost all that data.
Well I see ForumArena have cut their losses, packed their bags and shut up shop. Shame really, at least FF had the balls to pull through it.
If you're looking into paid hosting, what's your budget per month? Remember you can put Ads on your forum(s) then to help support hosting costs ~smile~
I'd move to a new free host soon then, even if it's FreeForums. Your members won't have that feeling forever so it's important to act quickly whilst they still have desire to come back.
Purchasing hosting and getting all set up / configured can take a long time as a novice, so for now I'd suggest starting on a new free host that allows you to buy a backup and then move when you're ready.
as for free hosts that allow you to buy backups:
FreeForums = Good features, regular slowness, cheap backup.
MyFreeForum = Good all around, expensive backup.
