TORParse Server Transfer/Updates

Here's some updates for you all - the transfer of TORParse to the new server is going along well. We've successfully copied the entire database to the new server along with all site files and the DNS records have been updated to now point to the new server (the [maintenance page](http://torparse.com/maintenance.html) you see now is being served from the new server). I'd like to give a big round of thanks to user "malloc" for his assistance in this.

What's holding us back from making the site go live on the new server is our continued conversion of the database from the "MyISAM" engine to the "Innodb" engine.

MyISAM is great for frequent reading, but performs poorly when you're writing data as frequently as we do for TORParse. To give you an idea, we had over 3 billion rows in our parse table alone - with that much data the hard disks couldn't keep up with the read/writes and you all probably noticed the slow performance and timeout result. Innodb allows for row locking instead of table locking, so we'll be able to run more efficient backups, our rank builder crons, multi processing on a single table, etc. without bottlenecking everyone else trying to use TORParse at the same time.

We estimate the conversion should take several more days at the least to complete, followed by some testing on our end to make sure everything is working properly with the new database engine. All logs previously uploaded should be intact when we go live again.

Down the line, we're going to start caching the top parses on the leaderboards so that they do not need to query the database every time someone wants to view them, which should significantly increase page load times as well.

The new server has 48 GB of RAM, a faster processor with more cores, and twice the HDD capacity as before, thus making it more expensive than the old one. We've been in the red the last four months, but I think that has more to do with the poor site performance we've been experiencing.

In terms of the client, we will be discontinuing any future updates for the Adobe AIR-based client, and instead will aim to create a new, better, open-source client, most likely as a .NET application. We'll create a Github or other source-control repository so approved community members like you can help contribute to it.

Thank you for your continued patience as we finish the server transfer process!

Best,
Hayward
TORParse Owner

tl;dr - TORParse will be back soon, probably around October 1st, 2014, faster than ever before.

TORParse is looking for additional co-owners!

Hi all,

TORParse is currently looking for two additional co-owners to assist with the project.

Qualification Requirements:

Position 1:

• Expert in CentOS Linux server administration
• Expert in PHP scripting and creating optimized PHP cron jobs
• Expert in MySQL database optimization, management, and query design
• Expert with HTML/CSS
• Ability to troubleshoot, optimize, and maintain an advanced web server
• Knowledge of JavaScript and/or jQuery is a plus

Position 2:

• Expert in object-oriented programming languages, such as the ability to program a .NET application from scratch (New TORParse Client) -or- Expert with Adobe ActionScript / Adobe AIR programming
• Expert in cloud-based client development

If interested, please email your resume/CV and example work to hayward@torparse.com along with the reasons you want to join the TORParse project and why you think you would be the best fit for the job.

Note: Co-owning TORParse is not intended to be a full-time job, but nevertheless can be a very demanding endeavor. Please only apply if you believe you can dedicate a fair amount of your time to maintaining and improving the service.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Best,

Hayward

TORParse Owner

TORParse will update once a week until future notice

Hi all,

Until we move to a more powerful server and upgrade our hard drives, TORParse will only update the leaderboards once a week on Tuesday morning (beginning at 3 a.m. Eastern Time) before the weekly SWTOR reset.

Our current leaderboard update CRON script is very inefficient and takes almost an entire day to run, which is a major contributing factor to the slow website and client performance we've been experiencing lately.

If you are an experienced Linux server administrator or PHP programmer familiar with CRON PHP scripts and think you can help with TORParse script optimization, please email me at hayward@torparse.com and we can hopefully improve TORParse so we can update the leaderboards daily again.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Best,
Hayward

TORParse/TORCommunity is Recruiting Content Editors/Guide Writers

TORParse and TORCommunity are looking for multiple content editors and guide writers to help broaden our available SWTOR services to include walkthroughs, SWTOR news, guides, and more.

A basic understanding of HTML/CSS is recommended but not required. Excellent writing skills are a plus, and attention to detail is encouraged. Please note that while these are unpaid internship positions, reference letters are available for all staff upon request and monthly rewards will be given to top-performing staff.

If interested in writing content part-time for TORParse and TORCommunity, please email Hayward (hayward@torparse.com) with your resume and a brief description of why you want to be a member of the TORParse/TORCommunity staff and how you can help make us a better SWTOR service.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Best,
Hayward

TORParse is Looking for a jQuery/Javascript Expert

Hello all!

Our apologies for the lack of updates the last few weeks. As you may be aware, Sam, James, and I have full-time jobs and are not always able to devote our full attention to the TORParse project.

Having said that, I've been working on a special update to the website side of TORParse, however I need YOUR help to finish it. To do this, I need someone who is a jQuery/Javascript guru.

If you happen to be a jQuery/Javascript expert and would be willing to help us out, please send an email to ian@torparse.com. Please include an outline/demonstration of your jQuery/Javascript experience, and any relevant examples of past projects or your work. While TORParse is not-for-profit and very rarely breaks even in terms of server costs going out versus ad revenue coming in, we can potentially arrange for you to be compensated for your time thanks to several generous donations we've received the past two months.

We look forward to hearing from you and can't wait to get this new feature rolled out for the SWTOR community!

Best,
Ian "Hayward" Trudell

Enmity Podcast Interview with TORParse Owners Blockhead and Hayward

Hey everyone!

We recently sat down for an interview for Enmity Podcasting, a weekly SWTOR podcast put out by 42gaming.com. In it we discuss future updates for TORParse, the creation of our dev team, TORParse's history, and the current challenges we are facing making TORParse work to the best of our abilities.

You can view the podcast here: http://42gaming.com/podcast/episode-8-torparse-owners-developers.html
And here is the related Reddit thread: http://bit.ly/1coVf7i

Best,
Hayward and Blockhead

TORParse is looking for additional developers!

EDIT: Thanks for the applications everyone! We'll continue accepting applications until November 15th, at which point we will begin individual and group interviews with those who expressed interest in joining the dev team.


Hey everyone!

The owners here at TORParse are currently looking for several individuals interested in helping with the future development of both the TORParse website and the TORParse in-game client.

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To be a part of the TORParse website development team, you will need to be highly proficient in the following areas:

• HTML 5
• CSS 3
• PHP 5
• MySQL

Additional experience with the following is also a plus:

• Javascript
• jQuery
• Adobe Photoshop/Graphics Design

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To be a part of the TORParse in-game client development team, you will need to be highly proficient in the following areas:

• Adobe AIR
• Adobe Flash
• Adobe ActionScript

Additional experience with the following is also a plus:

• HTML 5
• CSS 3
• Javascript

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If interested in either of these positions, please send an e-mail to ian@torparse.com illustrating your previous dev and coding experiences, your qualifications, and why you think you would be a good fit as a member of the TORParse dev team.

Currently these positions are voluntary ones and we cannot offer any monetary compensation for them, however we are looking to change that in the future if we continue to receive enough funding support from TORParse users like you (it's still pretty awesome to tell people you help develop TORParse though, isn't it?)

Best,

Hayward and the TORParse Owners