Sat, 16. January 2010
Last Call for Screenshot Submissions
Over the last few weeks, screenshot submissions have slowed to a crawl. I have not added any new screenshots to the Galleries because of the grouping difficulties discussed in this Q & A. However, I am issuing a final call for screenshot submissions. There is space for only 21 more; past that, none will be considered. As always, submissions may be made either through here or in the Screenshots section of the Message Boards.
Mon, 10. August 2009
Management Shortage Turns Severe
Dear Pilots,
As you probably know, SimAirline.net is constantly in need of talented and capable pilots to help run the organization. As a large organization, we have a wide variety of needs, ranging from general administration to add-on development and testing to managing the needs of our twenty-seven virtual airlines.
Over the last several years we have tied the expansion of the VAs we offer to filling our vacant VA manager positions. The rationale for this was that it didn't make sense to add a new VA when we weren't properly maintaining the VAs we offer today. In our last Annual Survey (question 58), 61% of you agreed with and supported this policy; 20% did not, and the remaining 19% were unsure.
I am writing this letter because our shortage, while usually small (1-3 VAs), has recently turned severe. So far this year, six of our VA Managers have had to depart the management team, which has led to the unfortunate situation of half of our VAs (13) being without a Manager.
As a result, I am appealing to you to consider giving some of your time and talent to the organization in a management role. While you may think that it's less pleasurable to manage research or spreadsheets than a flight deck, over the long run I think you'll find it far more rewarding and stimulating. Most management positions also only require a few hours a week of commitment.
I hope you'll give the matter some thought and consider applying for one or more of the management openings we currently have. (As a reminder, if you are interested in managing a specific VA, you must apply to become an Assistant VA Manager first.) I think you'll find it very helpful to ask questions to the rest of our management team to decide if a management position would be a good move for you to make.
SimAirline.net was built over a period of several years by the dedication of many talented people. We are unable to continue maintaining or expanding the quality, breadth, and depth of what we offer without the volunteers who make up our management team. Please consider what you can do to help.
Sincerely,
Aaron Robinson
As you probably know, SimAirline.net is constantly in need of talented and capable pilots to help run the organization. As a large organization, we have a wide variety of needs, ranging from general administration to add-on development and testing to managing the needs of our twenty-seven virtual airlines.
Over the last several years we have tied the expansion of the VAs we offer to filling our vacant VA manager positions. The rationale for this was that it didn't make sense to add a new VA when we weren't properly maintaining the VAs we offer today. In our last Annual Survey (question 58), 61% of you agreed with and supported this policy; 20% did not, and the remaining 19% were unsure.
I am writing this letter because our shortage, while usually small (1-3 VAs), has recently turned severe. So far this year, six of our VA Managers have had to depart the management team, which has led to the unfortunate situation of half of our VAs (13) being without a Manager.
As a result, I am appealing to you to consider giving some of your time and talent to the organization in a management role. While you may think that it's less pleasurable to manage research or spreadsheets than a flight deck, over the long run I think you'll find it far more rewarding and stimulating. Most management positions also only require a few hours a week of commitment.
I hope you'll give the matter some thought and consider applying for one or more of the management openings we currently have. (As a reminder, if you are interested in managing a specific VA, you must apply to become an Assistant VA Manager first.) I think you'll find it very helpful to ask questions to the rest of our management team to decide if a management position would be a good move for you to make.
SimAirline.net was built over a period of several years by the dedication of many talented people. We are unable to continue maintaining or expanding the quality, breadth, and depth of what we offer without the volunteers who make up our management team. Please consider what you can do to help.
Sincerely,
Aaron Robinson
Mon, 27. July 2009
Avsim Library Restored
It took two and a half months, but the Avsim File Library is back online. Some files still remain unavailable, and others are" unrecoverable," although they say they "are working on the problem." Avsim has released a Q & A on its forums about the status. If a file isn't available on Avsim, we won't be changing our links until we know it's permanently lost. In the meantime, we will be adding links to files on other flightsim websites.
This topic is being discussed on the Message Boards.
This topic is being discussed on the Message Boards.
Sat, 25. July 2009
Computer Crash
Yesterday morning my computer crashed. I am unable to boot it up, and the computer is currently being repaired. Until that time (perhaps as long as a week from now), I will be unable to reply to email. In that time I will try to continue approving applications and PIREPs as best as possible, but it will be difficult, especially without flight schedules readily accessible. Please be patient with me in replying to you and updating the website as I work through these issues. I will be providing additional recovery updates when possible. Please continue to check here for them. Thank you all.
Unfortunately, I had planned on not going to this year's Airliners International convention and catch up on SimAirline.net work instead. With the computer crash, that was impossible. But it would also have been unproductive for me to go to the convention, since all my notes of what to look for were on the computer!
Unfortunately, I had planned on not going to this year's Airliners International convention and catch up on SimAirline.net work instead. With the computer crash, that was impossible. But it would also have been unproductive for me to go to the convention, since all my notes of what to look for were on the computer!
Thu, 14. May 2009
Avsim Shutdown
Last night the following statement was released by Tom Allensworth of Avsim, our primary hosting source for add-ons:
During the early evening yesterday, we noticed that some alarming things were starting to happen on our servers. The first sign of an issue was that some functionality disappeared on our web server. That progressed to not being able to access the web server via FTP or SSH. Finally, the web/forum server tripped offline. Next the library/email server started to exhibit issues. We went in to reboot it, and that is when it failed entirely. The partitions on both of the servers had been removed. We shut down both servers until we can get a technical member up to our Network Operations Center (NOC), and do a comprehensive inspection of the damage....
Early in the evening, I sent out a bulk email to all forum members letting them know that we anticipate shutting down the Web/Forum server for a period of time. About a third of the way through the process of sending that email to all 60,000 forum members, the hacker succeeded in bringing the server down. The email was did not get sent to everyone. The reason I sent the email, based on what we knew at that time, was because that a minimum, we would need to shut the web/forum server down to inspect the unit and do repairs. At the time the email was sent, we were unaware that a hack was in progress and that our system would be taken offline entirely. There were no hoaxes involved, as some have asserted.
We have not yet decided on a plan on how to again make recommended add-ons easily accessible to our members. In the meantime, we can recommend visiting FlightSim.com, the other major FS site online. We apologize for the inconvenience to you and wish the best for Avsim's recovery.
This topic is being discussed on the Message Boards.
During the early evening yesterday, we noticed that some alarming things were starting to happen on our servers. The first sign of an issue was that some functionality disappeared on our web server. That progressed to not being able to access the web server via FTP or SSH. Finally, the web/forum server tripped offline. Next the library/email server started to exhibit issues. We went in to reboot it, and that is when it failed entirely. The partitions on both of the servers had been removed. We shut down both servers until we can get a technical member up to our Network Operations Center (NOC), and do a comprehensive inspection of the damage....
Early in the evening, I sent out a bulk email to all forum members letting them know that we anticipate shutting down the Web/Forum server for a period of time. About a third of the way through the process of sending that email to all 60,000 forum members, the hacker succeeded in bringing the server down. The email was did not get sent to everyone. The reason I sent the email, based on what we knew at that time, was because that a minimum, we would need to shut the web/forum server down to inspect the unit and do repairs. At the time the email was sent, we were unaware that a hack was in progress and that our system would be taken offline entirely. There were no hoaxes involved, as some have asserted.
We have not yet decided on a plan on how to again make recommended add-ons easily accessible to our members. In the meantime, we can recommend visiting FlightSim.com, the other major FS site online. We apologize for the inconvenience to you and wish the best for Avsim's recovery.
This topic is being discussed on the Message Boards.
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