On Fri, 28 Mar 2025 07:56:19 +0000,
mariabus@blueyonder.co.uk (Roger)
wrote:
Well am I?
Isn't anyone else having a dreadful job pretty well every time trying to
log on to this site either waiting geological ages for it to connect or
else constantly getting the dreaded "BAD GATEWAY" notice?
Isn't there some kind of overseer monitoring the site performance?
The overseer is Retro Guy, who has helped members of this newsgroup
in the past.
if you click on newsgroup "rocksolid.nodes.announce" at
https://news.novabbs.org/common/grouplist.php
and click on Subject/Topic
"It looks like the NovaBBS Usenet server, specifically the Rocksolid
Light instance, is experiencing ongoing technical is{sues}"
you will see, for what it's worth, the message: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It looks like the NovaBBS Usenet server, specifically the Rocksolid
Light instance, is experiencing ongoing technical issues. The repeated
502 Bad Gateway (nginx) errors and "Connection to the Message Server
failed" messages suggest that the backend Usenet server is either
down, misconfigured, or overloaded.
HereÆs what you can do to troubleshoot and possibly get it back in
order:
1. Check If the Server Is Actually Down
Try the following steps:
Ping the server: Open a terminal or command prompt and type:
ping www.novabbs.com
If thereÆs no response, the server itself might be offline.
Try accessing the server from a different network (e.g., mobile
data instead of Wi-Fi).
Use a web proxy or VPN to check if the issue is specific to your
IP address.
2. Check Server Logs (if you have access) {Retro Guy can do this}
If you have any administrative access to the Usenet server, you should
check logs for:
nginx error logs: /var/log/nginx/error.log
Usenet server logs (depends on the software in use, e.g., INN or
Cyclone)
3. Possible Causes & Fixes
a) Server Overload (Denial of Service - DoS)
If Retro Guy mentioned a DoS attack, the server could be
rate-limiting or blacklisting IPs.
If too many users are trying to connect at once, it may crash the
Usenet process or exceed server limits.
Fix: Restart the Usenet service and check for any rate-limiting
settings (e.g., in iptables or fail2ban).
b) Usenet Daemon Failure
If the backend message server is failing, nginx will return 502
errors.
Fix: Restart the Usenet server software (e.g., INN, Cyclone, or
whatever NovaBBS uses).
c) DNS or Network Issues
If message fetching fails, check if the DNS settings for the
Usenet backend are correct.
Use nslookup or dig to test:
nslookup www.novabbs.com
If thereÆs no response, DNS might be misconfigured.
d) Authentication or Database Corruption
If messages are not being accepted, itÆs possible that the Usenet
article database is corrupted or authentication is failing.
Fix: Check logs for database errors and try repairing the Usenet
spool.
4. Contact Retro Guy Again (Alternative Methods)
If the admin stopped responding, try:
Sending a direct email (if you have his contact).
Posting in a different group (if possible).
Checking if thereÆs a NovaBBS Discord, Telegram, or other support
channel.
5. Alternative: Switch to Another Usenet Server
If the Rocksolid Usenet server is permanently down or abandoned, you
might consider using another public or paid Usenet service. Some
alternatives:
Eternal September (free Usenet access) ?
https://www.eternal-september.org/
AIOE (another free Usenet server) ?
https://www.aioe.org/
Paid services (Newshosting, Giganews, etc.) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)