The CMS or Content Management System system used for Rotate.Aero is a program called Joomla. It is very similar to Word Press as both use data bases for interaction between site visitors, members, and site posts. Both use extensions that can be added for functionality such as product sales, social interactions, blogs, or a ton of other uses.
Rotate was built around a forum extension called Kunena. It has two other extensions EasyBlog and EasySocial that play a big part in user (visitors) experiences on the site.
The site was built on version Joomla3. That particular version is planned to be retired around July. I had to upgrade to Joomla4 before that time.
The change-over to J4 was done a couple weeks back. Other than the "looks" of the forum..... all seemed to go well. That ended quickly starting last week.
The site is not backing up properly. Meaning that if I loose the server..... I loose the site completely.
My EasySocial extension isn't even loading right now. There are other problems also.
I haven't been answering forum posts or adding anything new for the last week. I'm afraid that if these issues are not able to be corrected..... I'll have to use an old backup from J3 and start this all over again. Any posts after the upgrade will be lost. So will any new members.
Rotate has been up for almost a decade and as of late viewership has really taken off. The site has quite a few new members also.
The site was built to help out mechanics with troubleshooting aircraft. I'm within a couple of years of retiring, so I wanted to pass along what I know to others. It was also built to have members help each other with particular problems on their aircraft. When it comes to fixing aircraft, does it matter if a Delta guy helps out United mechanic with a problem on a 737?? With enough members, that cross-company communication could be a benefit to all.
Corporate mechanics are included also.
I added the capability for using several foreign languages so mechanics worldwide can use the site.
The site is free for all to use. Although the expenses for me have been greater than $10,000 (and that might be a real low-ball figure) to have kept this site running the whole time. A MASSIVE amount of time has been devoted also.
I'm trying to work through these issues with some help from others. I cannot code. I cannot understand code. The good folks looking into these issues are doing their best.
Hopefully it all works out.
