Server Collapse

On 27 July 2002 the Qango web server had a major hardware failure. The hard drive became inaccessible resulting in the loss of all the data for all the sites I had been operating under the Qango domain.

Efforts to access and recover the data on the drive failed, resulting in the loss of four years of work. The data had been backed-up to a local machine but unfortunately the backup was corrupt and none of the core data could be recovered. This leaves me in the unfortunate position of having to start Qango again from scratch.

The qango.com domain has been moved to a new server and I am able to put some of the non-directory content back in place, such as Qango Help and Qango Info, but unfortunately all of the directory structure data has been lost and must be recreated. This includes all of the category and sites link data.

I am preparing a plan of action to rebuild Qango and taking time off from my regular job to get things moving as quickly as possible. I have also taken stock of how I have been operating Qango and made several decisions that will effect its future:

• Main Directory: I am going to redevelop the main Qango directory using upgraded software that will make it easier to use and manage.
• Suspension of the smaller Qango directories: I am not going to redevelop the smaller Qango 'World' directories at present since the time required to redevelop them would most likely break the back of the company.
• Advertising Sales: I have decided to put all of Qango's future ad-sales in the capable hands of the FastClick Ad Network.
• Guaranteed Site Reviews: I have backups of all of the site suggestion data that was submitted through the GSR system and I will make it a priority to add those links back in to Qango as soon as the redevelopment is complete.
• Category Structure: In an effort to speed up the process of redeveloping Qango, I intended to reduce the initial category structure.
• Keep It Simple: I intend to minimise the time needed to maintain Qango. The easier I can make it to maintain and operate, the quicker I can redevelop it, and the more time I will have available to review site suggestions.
• Backups: With the assistance of my ISP I am going to put a new backup system in place that will hopefully avoid this kind of thing ever happening again in the future.

I apologise for all of the inconvenience this has caused and assure you that I'm working hard to get Qango back on its feet again. I am taking a break this weekend to consider the finer details of the redevelopment, and to make some final decisions about how I am going to proceed with rebuilding the main directory.

I am confident that the new Qango will be just as good, if not better, than the original and I appreciate your patience and understanding during this difficult time. I will keep you informed about the redevelopment and if you have any comments you would like to make please use the contact form here at Qango Info.

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