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(06-11-2024, 06:18 PM)l0st Wrote: ATS runs on forum software called XMB. It's typically run on Linux. All linux dates are based off of what's called a Unix Epoch which starts at time code zero or January 1, 1970. If the field in the DB that contains this data is blank(null) some software will show the last day of 1969. That's probably what's happening here.
In other words, the column in the DB with the timestamps in it isn't being updated properly, likely because the DB is corrupt and the column can't be read at all.
Sadly, DB corruption has a tendency to just get worse and worse if its not addressed, as we are observing live.
I suspect its all intentional as well. However, I wouldn't necessarily jump to conclusions. If the user DB is in fact corrupt(sure sounds like it) then the results of that corruption could be literally anything, or as we would say in programming "undefined."
I agree wholeheartedly with your analysis and solution, l0st.
Just over 30 years ago, I used to look after a Unix based server in our smallish office. I was required to backup daily/weekly/monthly on TR3 tapes and ran disk and DB maintenance once a week. Such a strict regime for a DB with only 30k+ records.
I agree also about the DB becoming ever more corrupt over time, but the scenario I described about Darko's apprenticeship happened shortly after maintenance had been done, registration and pwd management had been fixed and a mass cleanup of the sub-forums was in progress.
As you said, any undefined event could have affected some accounts, but, imho, the admin/mod blitz was intentional and malicious after he encountered resistance to his utopic vision of what ATS was to become.
