Forum Backups

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Forum Backups

Flick
Does Nabble have backups of each site's forum? I like to know that I'm not going to wake up one day and see my forum wiped out for some reason. I know we can download a backup of the forum via admin panel, but I don't really use that or have time to do that on a regular basis. So I need to know that Nabble has backups in case of server or software problems.
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Re: Forum Backups

GregChapman
My understanding is that Nabble does keep a number of daily backups, probably discarding the oldest backup as a new one is generated. However, I believe that these are taken at the server level and that is why Nabble encourages admins to take their own backup at regular intervals as it could save them a little work.

No organisation is infallible. Recently, when the n5 server crashed, the backup used by Nabble to restore the replacement server was a few hours old hence some of the most recent posts were lost. However, generally, over six years, I have found Nabble extremely reliable.

In my view the most likely need for an individual backup file is if you run a low traffic forum and you do not visit or post very often. Nabble's T&Cs do warn that forums will be taken off line if not used. Some people do not receive the warning emails from Nabble ten days in advance as it is treated as spam by their mail provider. By the time they realise their forum is missing even Nabble's server-wide backups have expired and the forum is not recoverable. That's almost the only circumstance when taking a backup yourself on a regular basis would be necessary.
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Once the admin for GregHelp now deleted.
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Re: Forum Backups

shamus mcquail
great explanation.  thanks for the insight.  When exactly does nabble say your forum is dead?  a few months, a year or two?
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Re: Forum Backups

Flick
In reply to this post by GregChapman
I can live with a backup a few hours old. So that's good news. Furthermore, since I pay a monthly No Ads fee, I'm pretty sure Nabble wouldn't take it offline for low usage.  As you know, it can take years to get a forum off the ground. However, if you heard differently about Nabbles' low use policy, let us know here.
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Re: Forum Backups

Flick
In reply to this post by shamus mcquail
I think if no one accesses your forum for 10 days, it's a candidate for getting taken offline. But I'm not sure.  Please confirm.
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Re: Forum Backups

shamus mcquail
I would think it is longer than that, but that's why I asked.
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Re: Forum Backups

GregChapman
I think it may be nearer three months without views.

I have a test forum where I test code and simulate other people's problems. I last posted there in May this year. I had a "forum due for deletion" message about a week ago. I reckon it must be at least three months since I visited the forum to check anything out.

I should also clarify... when I said "a few hours" I meant a maximum of 24, in line with the daily backups. I assume that they are run overnight and believe the servers are in the US. Depending where you are in the world and the  times of day when your forum is busy, the backup of your forum's server could be considerably less than a day old.

Here in the UK we tend to get our daily digest between 08:00 and 10:00 in the morning which would equate to somewhere between 02:00-04:00 over there. Each forum seems to have its own dedicated time slot for daily digests, so I assume each server goes through an overnight maintenance cycle in turn, running backup routines, issuing dormant forum notifications, responding to forum backup requests and issuing the daily digests etc.

This is all surmise based on experience. I have no inside knowledge of how Nabble actually works.
Volunteer Helper - but recommending that users move off the platform!
Once the admin for GregHelp now deleted.
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Re: Forum Backups

shamus mcquail
Thanks for the answer.