I have been jumping one to the other too. not knowing what to do.
The bit what i couldn't understand is why it took so long to get Braintalk up and running again, like if i have a hardware or even a software problem on my PC , its normally fixed that day and i have to travel 40 kilometres to get parts for it.
Backing up important files is so easy to do, its not very time consumming just a couple flicks of the mouse or shrink it and through a cd in the cdrom,or a few cd's ,big deal., crikey it only takes me about 5 hours to build a pc and have it up and running in that time, and i have no computor training what so ever, i am a retired coach driver, most school kids could probably do it quicker than me.
I have no idea what the setup is to run something like Braintalk, i would imaging that there would be lots of hardrives backing each other up all the time, maybe Wings42 [David] could explain it, i am pretty sure he was a professional computor bloke, he may be able to explain what it takes to set it all up & why its taken so long.
Anyway i am comfortable here as well, but i wish everyone else was here, not split up the way it is now.

I can't imagine why it would take so long to bring the system back up, and why the database was lost.

At every place I worked, we had disk mirroring (two or more identical disks being written to at the same time so that if one crashed, the other[s] would have all the data), periodic and frequent multiple backups stored off site for complete restorations (except for entries after the latest backup), and transaction journals on the databases to complete the data restores for transactions after the last backup.

Given the extreme length of time it took to bring BrainTalk back up, the failure to restore the database, the lack of communication with us during the crash, and the poor communication since, my opinion based on 20+ years in the business is that neither John nor anybody else tried to bring BrainTalk back up for a long long time, that backups weren't made, that crash safeguards and procedures were not in place, and that BrainTalk and it's client community were an extremely low priority to John and his staff. The slow response or lack of response from BrainTalk moderators and from John himself may very well be because they aren't there and don't care. After all, they have a real job at Linden Labs now.

I've written them off. I'd like to get back on to BrainTalk to let people know about NeuroTalk, but I'm not desperate either, thanks to Dr. John. The one thing I am desperate about is getting the old "Stickies: Useful websites" back. That was a precious resource for all of us that took years to build.

Thanks David, that really shows the lack of consideration they had for those caring people who put so much of their valiable time into making Braintalk what it was, it was mountain of valiable information that was critical for so many people that were struck with this horrible disease.
That really gets under my skin

. . .even though, like jcc and Mrs. D., I do sort of feel morally obligated to continue to check OBT and to provide info/answer questions when approrpriate, especially to newbies.

BTW, if anyone is interested, I basically tore the right trapezius muscle off the shoulder blade while weighlifting. I also apparently tore part of the rhomboids (deeper muscles) on that side. The physiatrist who first examined me, in my question mark position of pain, said that this took considerable talent. (I've apparently overdeveloped some muscles at the expense of others over the years of lifting, and applied too much torque--as I've said before, my workout motto is anything worth doing is worth overdoing.)

The pain was enormous, but it wasn't neurological pain. It was good old-fashioned nociceptive pain, with a lot of tightness and pulling besides. The neurological symptoms, though, were the most intriguing part of this--not my "usual" small fiber pain, but a tingling numbness in the back of my right hand near the first knuckle and extending into the webbing of the hand and up the inside of the thumb and forefinger to their tips. It became obvious I had compressed some part of the medial nerve branch in the nerve root area near the displaced shoulder, and/or possibly in the area where the arm extends from the shoulder. This symptom is still present--a little bit improved; I imagine with the "crush" phenomenon and the fact that all of us with nerve damage are far more prone to compressive effects than "normals", this symptom is going to be of long duration. My priority is getting the anatomy back to its former place to take the pressure off the area.

A most interesting thing in all of this has been attempting to educate the physiatrist and physical therapists about these symptoms. Some are more open to listening to a patient than others. I often have to pull jargon on them. (They didn't know my background; you can be sure they do now. )

Hi,

I am new here but am also a member of BT. I normally post in the Spinal Disorders forum but also have PN. What I really want to say is that I have read everyone's posts here and I think things have been very well said! I find this site much more friendlier and welcoming. I also like the Mission Statement here along with how moderation is handled. So, I just wanted to stop in and say hello and I think I am here to stay.

Ouch! Glenn! That sounds horrible, and like it may take a long time to mend. Is there a chance you will need surgery to repair anything, or just time...lots of time?

Hi Kathi49! Nice to meet you. I think everyone has expressed some valid viewpoints here, too. We all have slightly different perspectives on things for various reasons, depending upon our experience and circumstance, and that's ok . It is a really nice place here, and I'm glad you have decided to stay!

Cara

David, you said "........ The one thing I am desperate about is getting the old "Stickies: Useful websites" back. That was a precious resource for all of us that took years to build."

As I thought about this, I seem to remember a post about JL (I think it was in Forum Feedback). It had something to do with him walking home in the rain and realizing that he had these CD's in his pocket, that were the backups of OBT.
He then spoke about realizing that he was carrying thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people in his pocket. Then, something about it being a humbling experience and him being the sole keeper - in his pocket- of so many needs and desires of people with neurological problems.
He went on to state that he made these backup CD's regularly and they were not kept at the 'hastypastry' building, but taken home to his place. He also mentioned something about making space at this place for storage, as he was running out of place(s) to put them.
Weren't these CD's the OBT backups/archives?
Were they used for something else and then 'lost'?
I just have this nagging feeling that our info/data was not lost- and retrieval of it, lies just around some corner-somewhere. But it isn't worth the time or the effort to get it back on-line where we can use it.

Glenn, I guess you aren't the only one who could be accused of being 'long winded' in posting replies.
(So sorry about your arm/shoulder I hope you recover quickly)
I have been known to 'run off at the mouth' - frequently.