Site access problems solved

July 30, 2023 at 12:54 pmJuly 3, 2023 at 11:08 am by kenmac

WE’RE BACK!

On Tuesday 27th June I awoke to several messages regarding access errors to Fifteensquared.

I posted the “Site access problems” post and, of course, that generated varying replies.

This left me trying to chase down a problem without understanding the cause. I was an IT software “troubleshooter” most of my working life and I know that the first thing to look for is, “what’s changed?” Unfortunately, nothing had obviously changed. The only thing that I had done recently was renew the domain name but that was some two weeks earlier.

I’ll spare the gory details of the next few days but I was in touch with the host company’s technical support for much of the time, trying this and that but to no avail.

This morning, Andy – my technical support man and personal friend – asked, “have you tried this?” I assured him that I had. He asked if I minded him trying it. My reply was the typical, “well if you really want to” and, lo and behold, it worked.

I also worked in IT support long enough to know that despite what “they” tell you, computers do have a mind of their own and sometimes see their job to make life as difficult as possible.

The truth is I don’t really know what went wrong, I suspect that it was because Cloudflare changed their DNS server names and something got out of whack but I’ll probably never know for sure.

THANK YOU

I’d like to thank everyone for their patience while this problem persisted. And also thank you for the many messages I received. Some of which I replied to but even if I didn’t reply (and I won’t now) I appreciate every one.

SORRY!

For any inconvenience caused.

105 comments on “Site access problems solved”

sheffield hatter

@1 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 10:12

Great news! Thanks for all your work behind the scenes.
KVa

@2 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 10:15

Thanks a lot, kenmac!
Crossbar

@3 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 10:19

Thanks kenmac. As another ex IT troubleshooter I know just what you mean.
Bluth

@4 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 10:20

Glad to see everything back up and running today. Nothing makes you appreciate a site more than feeling its absence.
Crispy

@5 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 10:29

Good to have you back!
DrS

@6 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 10:31

Great news! I have built up a huge stack of completed, near-completed and nowhere-near-completed crosswords, and now I can get back to looking them all up on your excellent site. I know from experience how stressful it is, dealing with these problems; thank you so much for sorting it all out.
Bertandjoyce

@7 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 10:31

Thanks so much Ken – we were fortunate to have a few days of access over the weekend but the rest of the time we felt really lost.
Mev

@8 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 10:32

Welcome back!
veneza

@9 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 10:32

Great news! Thank you, kenmac.
Blaise

@10 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 10:33

Thanks, kenmac. When you’re away from home and reduced to solving on a mobile phone access to 15² is so appreciated…
Bees

@11 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 10:35

Welcome back, and thanks to Andy!
Flea

@12 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 10:50

Thanks Ken. Your hard work is appreciated. All’s well that ends well.
Petert

@13 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 10:54

Thanks. I can imagine the frustration you must have felt. Great to have the site back.
Twmbarlwm

@14 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 10:59

*Receperint tergum Emoji*

Thank you for all your hard work in getting the site back.
Sheepish

@15 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 10:59

Great news – thanks for all the effort you’ve put in. (I had 20 years in IT myself, so know what it can be like!)
WordPlodder

@16 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 11:28

Thanks for your work, all for a cheque with nothing but plenty of noughts on it! Plus the gratitude of many of us who have really missed Fifteensquared’s absence over the last week or so. Great to be back.
Valentine

@17 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 11:28

Thanks so much, Ken and Andy! Now — do I go back and read days and days of comments? Are they there to read? We’ll see.
Oren

@18 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 11:31

Fabulous news! Thanks to all for your troubleshooting efforts and for not giving up!
PostMark

@19 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 11:34

Well done Ken. As others have said and as the old adage clearly states, you know how much you love something when it’s taken away from you.
William

@20 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 11:41

Thank you, Ken & Andy. You have a (usually) thankless task and we’re all grateful for the return of this much-loved service.
nmsindy

@21 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 11:42

Great news, Ken, thanks for all your work!
Bonnylass

@22 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 11:45

Just wanted to add to the thanks. Not being able to access fifteensquared left a gaping hole in my daily routine!

Thanks for all the hard work 🙂
Goujeers

@23 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 11:49

Thanks to you and Andy for all teh frustrating effort
GingerTom

@24 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 11:53

It is so good to see that the site is back up and running, we have missed you so much!!
Having spent over 30 years in IT I appreciate how difficult and nebulous these environmental problems can be to diagnose. The fix is usually easy, finding what to fix can take a lot of going round in ever decreasing and ever more frustrating circles.
So well done Andy….Chapeau!
Jemma Q

@25 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 12:01

Hurrah! Thank you so much to all involved in this site that has become a valued part of my life!
Gee Andrew

@26 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 12:08

Thanks Ken for getting 15 squared back up and working. I too have a working history in software and I know how difficult and frustrating these problems can be.

Fifteen squared for me greatly enhances the pleasure of doing crosswords.

Thanks again.
Alphalpha

@27 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 12:18

Whew! Was beginning to fret. (I’ve bought you a ‘doughnut’ (sort of)).
PeterO

@28 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 12:36

Ken
Resistentialism strikes again! Thanks for battling on – and winning.
jkb_ing

@29 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 12:37

hoorah! normal service resumed.
StoneRose

@30 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 12:42

Mr SR and I add our thanks and appreciation for this blog and all who work on her.
It was quite a gap in our day not to have our usual session of reading over the blog and comments after finishing the crossword.
As the song says “You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone…”
Judy

@31 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 12:44

Thanks so much for all your hard work. I only post very occasionally, but value this site enormously. The days when it was unavailable seemed quite incomplete!
SM

@32 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 12:45

I fully agree with everyone about how grateful we are to everyone who provide us with such an invaluable site. Thank you Kenmac for restoring normal service and for all you do. Made my day
jane

@33 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 12:49

Excellent news – well done indeed Kenmac!
KeithS

@34 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 12:56

So pleased to see fifteen squared accessible again! Complicated and frequently opaque systems often do seem to have minds of their own. Thanks for persisting with the task and bringing this old friend of a site back.
SheilaG

@35 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 12:58

Great to have you back.
Diane

@36 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 13:01

Hooray and thanks! We missed you!
Tomsdad

@37 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 13:09

Add my thanks, you’ve been sorely missed. And I’ve been through the same kind of IT problems in my working life as well, so you have my utmost sympathy as well.
Worworcrossol

@38 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 13:14

In 1978 Ray Reardon won the world snooker title having lost it to John Spencer in 1977, after winning in 1978 he said something along the lines of ” You do not know what you have until you have not got it” that applies to fifteen squared. Welcome Back
Neill97

@39 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 13:17

This confirms what I have long suspected about computer and cars: they don’t work according to scientific principles, they work by magic.
Kevin

@40 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 13:33

Now I have an inkling of the ‘cold turkey’ drug addicts go through when denied their fix!

Thank you for getting back up and running.
h.eckler

@41 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 13:34

Great to have 15squared back. Thanks kenmac.
Su

@42 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 13:39

Thank you both – some of us lurkers may post only very rarely, but we value and appreciate all the efforts that go into fifteensquared. Diolch yn fawr iawn!
blodwen

@43 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 13:40

Thank you for sorting whatever it was. Doing a crossword just isn’t the same when you don’t know what others thought of it!
Tony Collman

@44 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 13:47

Thanks, Ken! Thanks, Andy!
Ted

@45 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 13:49

Thank you for all your work on this site! I definitely missed it when it was gone.
judygs

@46 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 13:50

Thank you so much, great to be able to access 15² again!
Larry

@47 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 13:52

A big smile appeared on my face when I nonchalantly clicked on a shortcut for fifteensquared, not expecting anything other than the error message I’ve been seeing these past few days, and unexpectedly seeing this site load perfectly. Great news! Thank you for all your efforts in restoring it, Kenmac and Andy and to those who set up temporary alternative sites at blogspot. I now feel life can return to normal.
Chickpea

@48 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 13:54

No need for anyone to apologise for the software glitch. 225 seems to be a few volunteers working very hard. Thanks for all you do.
nmsindy

@49 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 14:01

As Ral Donner sang back in 1961 “You don’t what you’ve got (until you lose it)”
Amoeba

@50 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 14:03

Great news – well done and thank you.
Bob

@51 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 14:13

So good to have you back.
EleanorK

@52 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 14:19

I can only echo what everyone else has said about the thrill of clicking the link with little hope, yet finding that hope rewarded with the site in all its glory. Thank you so much for your efforts, this past week and every day.
Elaine

@53 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 14:22

Hooray! Thank you so much – you’re back and it’s made my day! Only found fifteensquared recently but really missed it while it was down.
Tony Santucci

@54 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 14:23

Great news. To quote Joni Mitchell: “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you got til it’s gone.”
Samovar

@55 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 14:23

Thank you. Now I can check some of the parsing on last Mondays puzzles …
Moly

@56 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 14:25

Well done team. Thank you.
Shirley

@57 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 14:35

Thanks so much – we can only echo what others have said. The past few days we’ve said – it’ll be interesting to see what the blog makes of that clue ……doh there is no blog!!!
Chris

@58 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 14:39

Thank you for all your hard work.
Roz

@59 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 14:43

Thank you so much Kenmac , it must have been so much work and very stressful. At least you can see how grateful we are and how much joy this site brings.
Stella Heath

@60 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 15:01

Welcome back, you were missed
Cellomaniac

@61 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 15:32

Hurray, now we can reconnect with our friends on this site. We have missed you all.

Thanks, Ken (and Andy) for all you do for us. Your efforts are much appreciated.
Julian

@62 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 15:34

Thanks to everyone who helped with the restoration, even though I seldom post I miss you of you’re not there.
MikeC

@63 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 15:43

Wonderful! Many thanks.
AlanC

@64 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 15:45

Really missed all my virtual friends and the blogs of course. I’m glad the puzzles were mostly user- friendly last week. Much appreciated Kenmac.
Xmac

@65 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 15:46

Many thanks. Your work is so appreciated
allan_c

@66 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 16:34

My only “consolation” for the past few days has been that I hadn’t many crosswords to do anyway; I always solve on paper and my printer has been out of action. Fortunately, as I also do the crossword in the i (having forgotten it since its previous appearance), the blogs on idothei have been able to direct one to archived 15^2 pages.
Anyway, with printer problem fixed (hopefully) and 15^2 back up I’ll be able to enjoy a full range of crosswords again.
Thanks, kenmac, for all your efforts – they’re much appreciated!
Stephen L.

@67 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 16:47

Great news, much missed.
VicCen

@68 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 17:31

I can only echo all the thoughts and thanks above.
michelle

@69 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 18:09

Like Larry@47:
A big smile appeared on my face when I nonchalantly clicked on a shortcut for fifteensquared, not expecting anything other than the error message I’ve been seeing these past few days, and unexpectedly seeing this site load perfectly.

I was very happy to be able to access the site today for the first time since last Monday! Congrats on getting the site up and running again 🙂
nametab

@70 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 19:10

Thank you indeed kenmac and Andy.
Joni Mitchell expressed it well in ‘Big Yellow Taxi’
Monkeypuzzler

@71 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 20:05

Your work is greatly appreciated kenmac. I notice the site is now an https whereas it was previously just http. Was this part of the solution/problem?
Jack of Few Trades

@72 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 20:11

Thank you for all the hard work Kenmac – a “phase of the moon” error as we used to call it. AKA something that’s only intermittent some of the time…
vogel421

@73 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 22:44

So pleased you are back! Thanks for everything. I *love* this site!
Alan B

@74 - Mon 3rd Jul 23, 23:53

Huge thanks, kenmac, and well done!
Fiona

@75 - Tue 4th Jul 23, 00:46

So glad you are back. Really missed you.
MarkOnCan

@76 - Tue 4th Jul 23, 00:51

Can only echo all the previous posters. We are so lucky to have Ken and some helpers(?) and all the bloggers keep this site going. Many thanks. As a non techie, I assumed it was something I did or didn’t do so I’m totally chuffed that it was “matters outside my control”.
gladys

@77 - Tue 4th Jul 23, 06:45

Welcome back!
JerryG

@78 - Tue 4th Jul 23, 06:49

Good to have you back. You don’t realise how much you appreciate something until it’s no longer there!
Tatrasman

@79 - Tue 4th Jul 23, 07:23

Thanks Kenmac and well done. I’ve been feeling so lost over the last few days.
Toby

@80 - Tue 4th Jul 23, 07:52

So pleased to see Fifteensquared back again. My consolation has been that I didn’t get completely stuck on any clues in the crosswords I tackled while the website was down. I sometimes use Crossword Genius (Ross) for hints, but its AI reasoning is sometimes completely off-target.
Gazzh

@81 - Tue 4th Jul 23, 08:25

Delighted to see the site back online again, well done Ken and Andy, i am no IT wiz but fully aware of the magical effect that a second pair of eyes/index fingers can sometimes have!
TrevorF

@82 - Tue 4th Jul 23, 09:00

Great job sorting it out, from another IT bod who knows the befuddlement arising from “What? How? But? I already tried that!”
Sitter

@83 - Tue 4th Jul 23, 09:13

“You don’t know what you have until it’s gone”

Thanks for all the hard work in getting this invaluable resource up and running again!
spindrift

@84 - Tue 4th Jul 23, 09:13

Thank the gods!
John

@85 - Tue 4th Jul 23, 09:22

I trusted you and you delivered. Many thanks for your efforts, which for someone who doesn’t really understand all this, were marvellous. Thank goodness for people like you.
Pete Broadbent

@86 - Tue 4th Jul 23, 11:58

Thanks for all the hard work.
Niltac

@87 - Tue 4th Jul 23, 12:35

Welcome back – we’ve missed you.
Ed The Ball

@88 - Tue 4th Jul 23, 20:11

Thanks Ken. It must have been a very stressful period for you judging by your story. Well done for getting our big community back on line.
Toby

@89 - Tue 4th Jul 23, 22:51

No worries, glad you got it sorted and thanks for running this site!
Julie in Australia

@90 - Wed 5th Jul 23, 00:02

Oh Ken, what a difficult time for you. Can’t thank you enough for your dedication to the cause and to Andy for assisting with getting this special online community reconnected. I have felt quite lonely time in my solitary solving bubble this past week.
Julie in Australia

@91 - Wed 5th Jul 23, 00:04

Sorry about the typo – I meant “I have felt quite lonely in my solitary solving bubble this past week.”
[Don’t know if I’ll have time to review the blogs I’ve missed but I’m so happy to no longer be getting the error messages!]
RB

@92 - Wed 5th Jul 23, 00:48

What a relief! Thank you so much! ??
Choldunk

@93 - Wed 5th Jul 23, 05:08

Fifteensquared is amazing. Thanks so much for building, repairing and servicing this community of crossword nuts.
rosejeffmo

@94 - Wed 5th Jul 23, 09:46

Well done for sorting it out. You’ve been missed
Tramp

@95 - Wed 5th Jul 23, 10:36

Thank you, Ken and Andy
PJ

@96 - Wed 5th Jul 23, 12:55

Thank you, Ken and Andy, for restoring the site. I’ve missed it very much and it is great to be back together again.
Edsaid

@97 - Wed 5th Jul 23, 13:10

Hopelessly inadequate but loads of thanks for getting back so quickly…
Joffee

@98 - Wed 5th Jul 23, 16:50

Hooray! Very pleased to see your return!
Simon Townley

@99 - Thu 6th Jul 23, 08:43

Thank you! As others have said, you don’t realise how much you appreciate something until it’s suddenly not there.
Anna

@100 - Thu 6th Jul 23, 13:17

Thanks for getting it all up and running again. I did have some problems trying to access the site last week, but I’ve been abroad (in the UK, as it happens) since then and just got home.
Well done to all of you, who make this site work.
Georgie

@101 - Thu 6th Jul 23, 16:06

Thank you. I love this site for solving those last few tricky clues. It’s always good to have the parsing explained. Quite often I’ll get the answer but always frustrating if you don’t know quite why. It helps no end and hones the solving skills. Thanks to everyone who contributes.
jeff@usa

@102 - Thu 6th Jul 23, 20:56

Thank you!
Rob

@103 - Thu 6th Jul 23, 22:43

I don’t post that much as it takes me days to finish a crossword usually, by which time you’ve moved on, but am very grateful for this site and use it a lot.

Great that it’s back and thanks very much for sorting. I so appreciate you brilliant bloggers.
Neil

@104 - Sat 8th Jul 23, 06:54

Thank you for all your work on this
AllThumbsUp

@105 - Wed 12th Jul 23, 02:09

Thanks kenmac. I appreciate all the time & mental energy you devote to this wonderful site.
I’m so lost without you.

Comments are closed.