Support for AD Article Dashboard Site Owners, What happened to their forum

[laurieslegends]

I am trying to do some updating on my AD script site at articles411.com. I am getting a sorry that address does not exist at the old article dashboard forum url.

I know that some owners had created some "how to" on this script but I had relied on the forum on keeping up to date with these.

Can anyone using this script connect me with current support resources and let me know when the last update came out.

Thanks in advance,
Laurie

[SAMMY IFE]

Hi laurieslegends,
One of the support resources is Article Dashboard Installation.
Hope to give additional resources as soon as I remember.
Hope this helps

[brilliantjv]

You can also try the forum at Article Friendly: Article Friendly publishing script

[Eric Lorence]

Originally Posted by brilliantjv

You can also try the forum at Article Friendly: Article Friendly publishing script

Don't use the article friendly forum for article dashboard support.

Article friendly has nothing to do with AD.

To the quoted...Please get your info straight B4 giving advice you know nothing about

The article dashboard forum was shuttered due to too many complaints about their script.

Do yourself a favor and dump that software- then find a better script.

[brilliantjv]

Originally Posted by Eric Lorence

Don't use the article friendly forum for article dashboard support.

Article friendly has nothing to do with AD.

To the quoted...Please get your info straight B4 giving advice you know nothing about

The article dashboard forum was shuttered due to too many complaints about their script.

Do yourself a favor and dump that software- then find a better script.

My mistake because I noticed a special section for Article Dashboard on the Article Friendly Forum.

But I do agree....AD is crap

[Eric Lorence]

That section is for addons Jan made for AD years ago, and support for those addons.

The Article Dashboard script will not receive any support there.

There is also a board for AD rants, but there will not be any support there either.

But if you loose the AD for Article Friendly, the support will be outstanding!

[Jon Alexander]

what specifically was it about the article dashboard script that you didn't like?

[Eric Lorence]

Originally Posted by Jon Alexander

what specifically was it about the article dashboard script that you didn't like?

I have nothing against it personally, but as a mod we're having to deal with AD support requests more and more since they shut their own forum.

I don't know who owns or developed the script, but the problems and security exploits are well known. If they can't or are unwilling to address those problems themselves, why should anyone else?

Anyone who comes looking for support will only be encouraged to upgrade to Article Friendly.

[kritine]

I have such a bigproblem right now with AD, i cannot even login to my admin panel! But to go to article frendly i need a windows server, curenty it is hosgator linex.

Any ideas on howto fix ADMIN login for AD?
Thank you for any suggestions.

[Eric Lorence]

Originally Posted by kritine

I have such a bigproblem right now with AD, i cannot even login to my admin panel! But to go to article frendly i need a windows server, curenty it is hosgator linex.

Any ideas on howto fix ADMIN login for AD?
Thank you for any suggestions.

Article Friendly runs on both Linux and Windows servers.

May I ask where you heard that AF will not run on Linux?

All of my Article Friendly sites run on Linux, as do 80% of Article Friendly directories.

[Alan Mater]

I'm in the process of moving my site to a different host. I have Article Dashboard installed on my site. All files are moved, but I need to create the database for the directory. My problem is changing the database details for the directory to match the newly created one.

The readme.txt that comes with the documentation for the directory says this:

Step #2.
-----------------------------------------------
Creat MySQL database
-----------------------------------------------

a. Create MySQL database and write down username, database name, and password


Step #3.
-----------------------------------------------
Database Management & Configuration
-----------------------------------------------

a. Go to the url yourservername.com file in web browser.

It asks for the following details :
-------------------------------
i. Base_url,
ii Base_path,
iii Database name,
iv Database username,
v Database password,
vi Table prefix - Leave blank if not sharing a MySQL database.

Now the required Tables will be created and configured automatically.

My question is, can I follow these instructions without losing all the articles and anything I've changed? Or, is there another way I should do it?

Thank you,

Alan

[Alan Mater]

I'm in the process of moving my site to a different host. I have Article Dashboard installed on my site. All files are moved, but I need to create the database for the directory. My problem is changing the database details for the directory to match the newly created one.

The readme.txt that comes with the documentation for the directory says this:

Step #2.
-----------------------------------------------
Creat MySQL database
-----------------------------------------------

a. Create MySQL database and write down username, database name, and password


Step #3.
-----------------------------------------------
Database Management & Configuration
-----------------------------------------------

a. Go to the url yourservername.com file in web browser.

It asks for the following details :
-------------------------------
i. Base_url,
ii Base_path,
iii Database name,
iv Database username,
v Database password,
vi Table prefix - Leave blank if not sharing a MySQL database.

Now the required Tables will be created and configured automatically.

My question is, can I follow these instructions without losing all the articles and anything I've changed? Or, is there another way I should do it?

Thank you,

Alan

[John Rogers]

Rumor has it that someone is talking about developing an article directory script that will import data from an Article Dashboard MySQL database.

John

[Alan Mater]

Hi John,

Could I just import the original database and have everything work fine as before?

Thanks,

Alan

[John Rogers]

In theory, maybe.

You should ensure you have a copy of everything on your hard drive, then see if tech support at your new host will give you a hand.

John

[Alan Mater]

Yes, I have a copy of all files on my hard drive and a backup of the database.

Thanks.

[edhan]

If you have backup your database, then you can simply import it back to the new site. I had done it more than a year ago. You should be able to get everything back as it is after importing back the database.

[Alan Mater]

Originally Posted by edhan

If you have backup your database, then you can simply import it back to the new site. I had done it more than a year ago. You should be able to get everything back as it is after importing back the database.

Thank you. I'll go that route and see if everything works okay.

[Allen Graves]

Had to chime in on this.

If there was a way I could switch from AD to anything else without losing all of my article URLs - I would pay handsomely for it!!!!

But - if you be patient and simply patch your AD up and protect the admin folder, a fellow Warrior, Bill Platt is working on a solution where you can replace all of the AD files on your server, run a DB update program and you will have a new, FULLY CONFIGURABLE article directory. No crappy, 5 year old, encrypted code or ioncube to deal with!

I was one of the most active members on that forum a couple of years ago and I was banned because I told the truth about the security holes and lack of configurablility in the software...on another forum where someone asked.

Jodi Reichenberger, one of theirforum mods, did create a new forum for AD support...but she is now MIA and the directory only shows an SQL error now.

AD was smart. Put out a free script with a link to their directory on every page. Get millions of backlinks to become a powerhouse, then ditch the software and leave hundreds...probably thousands...of people screwed and left to flounder in their own misery.

If you are starting a new directory, pay the $50 for Jan's Article Friendly script, or wait for Bill's version. It will be well worth your while.

If you already own an AD directory, password protect your admin folder, remove the 'admintemplates' directory from your web server and upload it whenever you need it...then delete it from the server again. Also, check all of your front-end templates to make sure that there are no links to other websites or someone else's Adsense code already on your site.

These hackers are bold and will simply overwrite your Adsense account # with theirs - and they get all of the $$$. They will also add links to their site in places that are not easy to see, like under your recently approved articles or somewhere in the middle of your site links.

Respectfully,
Allen Graves

[Allen Graves]

Originally Posted by Eric Lorence

I have nothing against it personally, but as a mod we're having to deal with AD support requests more and more since they shut their own forum.

I don't know who owns or developed the script, but the problems and security exploits are well known. If they can't or are unwilling to address those problems themselves, why should anyone else?

Anyone who comes looking for support will only be encouraged to upgrade to Article Friendly.

What he said.

If you go to AF looking for support for AD, that's pretty much a slap in the face to the AF owner, dontcha think?

That's like calling Mac to get Windows support.

AL

[Alan Mater]

Hi Allen,

My situation is that I no longer wish to have anyone submit articles to my directory, but I want to keep it as it contains over 600 articles. I removed the ability for members to login and for new people to signup going on a year ago. I just didn't have the time to maintain it any longer.

However, it gets a lot of visitors every month from people searching for information. That's the only reason I wish to keep it. Otherwise, I would just ditch it during the move and forget about it.

[Allen Graves]

Alan,

You should be able to get the database from your web server to your local computer - then just upload it to your new web server and hook it up to the script.

AL

[Alan Mater]

Originally Posted by Allen Graves

Alan,

You should be able to get the database from your web server to your local computer - then just upload it to your new web server and hook it up to the script.

AL

Hi Allen,

How exactly do I get it hooked up to the script? Is there anything else I need to do after I upload the database?

Thanks!

[edhan]

Originally Posted by Allen Graves

But - if you be patient and simply patch your AD up and protect the admin folder, a fellow Warrior, Bill Platt is working on a solution where you can replace all of the AD files on your server, run a DB update program and you will have a new, FULLY CONFIGURABLE article directory. No crappy, 5 year old, encrypted code or ioncube to deal with!

I was one of the most active members on that forum a couple of years ago and I was banned because I told the truth about the security holes and lack of configurablility in the software...on another forum where someone asked.

If you already own an AD directory, password protect your admin folder, remove the 'admintemplates' directory from your web server and upload it whenever you need it...then delete it from the server again. Also, check all of your front-end templates to make sure that there are no links to other websites or someone else's Adsense code already on your site.

These hackers are bold and will simply overwrite your Adsense account # with theirs - and they get all of the $$$. They will also add links to their site in places that are not easy to see, like under your recently approved articles or somewhere in the middle of your site links.

Respectfully,
Allen Graves

I am still using this software since 2006. Wondering what sort of security holes you are mentioned. Anyway, their main AD site is still running except there is no support. Just wondering what is the security holes you are mentioning.

[edhan]

Originally Posted by Alan Mater

Hi Allen,

My situation is that I no longer wish to have anyone submit articles to my directory, but I want to keep it as it contains over 600 articles. I removed the ability for members to login and for new people to signup going on a year ago. I just didn't have the time to maintain it any longer.

However, it gets a lot of visitors every month from people searching for information. That's the only reason I wish to keep it. Otherwise, I would just ditch it during the move and forget about it.

Up to date, I have 16571 articles and more than 3,000 yet to approve as I am rather busy. So far everything is running smoothly and getting a lot of new users signup. I have yet to close the registration. Maybe I should close it since I hardly have much time to approve the article submission. Used to have students maintaining it but most of them already loaded with school term.

[Alan Mater]

Originally Posted by edhan

Up to date, I have 16571 articles and more than 3,000 yet to approve as I am rather busy. So far everything is running smoothly and getting a lot of new users signup. I have yet to close the registration. Maybe I should close it since I hardly have much time to approve the article submission. Used to have students maintaining it but most of them already loaded with school term.

I also received a lot of crap and had many spam users, part of the reason I closed it down. I was able to encrypt the forms to prevent this, which seemed to work pretty well. I just never got around to cleaning it up. I may reopen it later if I find the time to maintain it.

[edhan]

I have just received an email recommendation from Article Dashboard -
Jason Bradley about Nicheology.

Anyway, I am curious about the security issues. Anyone has more info to share?

[Allen Graves]

LOL - they won't support their own software but they surely don't have a problem sending you sales emails.

NICE!

[Alan Mater]

Originally Posted by Allen Graves

LOL - they won't support their own software but they surely don't have a problem sending you sales emails.

NICE!

Yeah really. I got the exact same email. Talk about pathetic.

[edhan]

Well, if they don't use encrypted code or ioncube, maybe I can ask my programmer to improve on security.

Too bad as they will not reveal or let us have the unencrypted code.

[Allen Graves]

If they gave out the code, unencrypted, then their self-serving links would all disappear. There are many directories still running AD that Google gives a lot of link popularity to.

AL

[ghumbert]

Originally Posted by Alan Mater

Yeah really. I got the exact same email. Talk about pathetic.

Got the same thing. No way to turn them off, either. I'm soooo pissed!

I've been running their crummy software for 3 years now. Went back about 3 months ago because of a corrupted database, and can't get into their support board! I've written them about it, and rather than get an answer that the forum was closed down, I get reject messages... they don't answer any questions, or help anyone!

I'd have close the whole thing down if it were'nt for a couple of scripts that Jan sold me when I first started messing with this crap. We had a backlog of about 17,000 articles because one of our partners failed to keep up with it. After we got it down below 10,000, I was able to use Jan's script to quickly go through the articles and keep the relevant ones.

Is there any way to import the AD stuff into Article Friendly? I'd gladly pay the $50 for the program, if I didn't have to go through the hassle of getting new articles, and redoing the whole thing. It just isn't worth it!

ghumbert

[Allen Graves]

I believe Jan has a database merge program. Go to his sales page. If the answer isn't there, email him and he will usually reply within hours.

Allen

[edhan]

Originally Posted by Allen Graves

I believe Jan has a database merge program. Go to his sales page. If the answer isn't there, email him and he will usually reply within hours.

Allen

My programmer has checked but the tables structure is different with Article Friendly otherwise I would have changed it where I can have changes made.