May I take this opportunity to thank Little Nomad for carrying on this forum, for as long as he has, in the wake of the sudden sad loss of his mum & dad (Nomad).
This forum, set up by Nomad, has been a great source of help and information for the last 22 years, and has helped me enormously with support and information from everyone who contributed.
It is fully understandable that Little Nomad is now closing the site now it's due for renewal, as his interests and free time lie elsewhere.
I wish everyone the very best in your future careers with Tesco...to the late Nomad I say...thank you sir R.I.P. :'(
thank you for keeping me informed on your web site, it will be a said day for us all, but i wish you all the best, and thank you once again. :thumbup:
Little Nomad, I fully understand your decision to close down VLH. As sad as it is for all of us on here, I wholeheartedly wish you well for the future and a heartfelt thanks for all your hard work over the years in running the site.
Your father helped countless people on here since he set up VLH and has set an example to us all in fighting against injustice and standing up for others who need help. A true inspiration to us all.
To everyone else on here, particularly those that I have had many an exchange with over the years, both as Loki and Magyar, I wish you all well. Who knows, maybe many of us have met in person without knowing it on here!
Peace and love to you all.
Such a shame this site is going found out a lot of info over the years on here and was given correct info when my dept managers said otherwise but have to do what's best thank you for all the help
A shame this site is going, it's been a help. I'm going to take a screenshot of anything i think may be of help in the future
Awe I wish you well little Nomad have found this site very helpful over the years for that I say Thank you xxx
Yeah thanks so much Little Nomad for keeping the site going as long as you have & best wishes for the future. Your Dad created something that helped a lot of people over the years, including myself.
Thank You Little Nomad for all your hard work keeping this site going for so long, your dad was a warrior and inspiration too so many people on here, best wishes for the future
thankyou to you and your dad for years of keeping us informed and the countless people who have helped countless people.
Quote from: grim up north on 12-03-24, 06:18PMA shame this site is going, it's been a help. I'm going to take a screenshot of anything i think may be of help in the future
is there anyway we can preserve just a frozen snapshot of the whole site, even if it's no longer usable? cos really, there is a wealth of information on here that could prove useful in a number of ways to people fighting this company as it goes down the pan. It's a shame it doesn't ever seem to have been picked up by archive.org's wayback machine, though that's perhaps by design, for privacy etc, I understand. But it seems like such a loss to see all this effort go up in smoke.
Is there anyone else to take over this site such a shame it's going (-*-) (-*-)
Quote from: Call me on 14-03-24, 08:16AMIs there anyone else to take over this site such a shame it's going (-*-) (-*-)
What about you?
Thank you Nomad (rip), little Nomad, and everyone who contributed all the knowledge and fun all these years, a very helpfull website for sure.
I guess the next forum for us will be reddit.
Massive thanks to Little Nomad for continuing his dad's project for these past few months at what was no doubt a distressing time in his life.
VLH has earnt its place in the history books as a great workplace forum where many of us came for advice/help or even to vent. It will be greatly missed.
It's been a pleasure to talk with fellow workers over the years.
Thank you for all the information and your hard work over the years . This site has been a god send . Will miss this site very much
Thanks for all the informative posts and chat over the years VLH forum you WILL BE MISSED BY ALL
A sad time for anyone who uses VLH,i always viewed the forum as a reliable source of tesco information.
Good luck to all Forum users and lead good lives.
:'( sad to see this close down many thanks for the people who created it xx hope there is somewhere else we can use going forward?
Sad to see it closing down, been a great source of information! Thanks to admin for all their hard work over the years to. :(
Sad to see VLH go but glad to have been a small part of it. The time, effort and money, put into this site , i'm sure has been appreciated by everyone that logged in, whether to post a comment or just to lurk about and find answers. Thank you.
How much (ballpark) would it cost each year for someone to takeover the running of the site, assuming that the moderators would be willing to continue doing their good work?
Little nomad said £600 + per year
Oh. If it was around £100 I probably would have taken it on, but £600 is a bit too much for me each year. Nevermind...
Could probably be done cheaper, particularly if someone was to self host it, but it would require a fair bit of effort in migrating etc.
We could do a bit of crowdfunding, maybe target £1500 to cover two years, but other than the cost, what is the time required for administration and moderation?
My thinking is not so much the money or even the skills needed to run the site but needing someone with both the skills and the passion to run the site which is what Nomad brought to bear.
Might suit someone retired? (Lucego?)
Ask Usdaw to fund the site.
It will be the most support they have ever given to staff at least.
I'd say the server cost could be lowered if they allowed for Adverts for non sub members. Adds can help boost the finances of a server massively. But again, it comes down who has the time, knowledge and passion to run the site.
I think the issue for many is the lack of knowledge in how to run a site like this and also the time you would need to invest.
In the greater scheme of things £600 a year isn't a massive sum and I'm sure you could easily get 60 members to pay £10 a year to keep the site going. As posted above introducing adverts may well cover this cost.
VPS Server - £650 per year
Domain Name - £6 per year
Anti-spam by CleanTalk - £12 per year
So £668 per year
If you want automatic website/database backup that's another £110 per year
PLUS... You need some:
SMF forum knowledge to do updates/changes, forum/member settings etc (Updates don't always go right, so might need to work out how to fix it)
Tiny Portal knowledge for all the blocks/panels.
HTML/PHP knowledge for.. again all the block/panels.
Some of the panels have custom code in them.. Happy Days (The pay day panel was custom coded by Nomad)
CSS code knowledge for all the colours/themes etc
PLUS...
Some knowledge on how to use cPanel, WHM Panel, SQL databases....
Which version of PHP & SQL works with SMF, Tiny Portal etc.. You can't just update things without multiple checks.
You need a few good moderators you can Trust to help, majority of posters are ok, but you still get the occasional a$$hole.
Obviously you need some passion & time for the project in the 1st place.
And even IF you have all of that, your assuming I'm willing to give someone I don't know, all the website & Database information (Which includes all the Email addresses of every member...)
Thank you for that Little Nomad. How do we remove our details from the site - I don't want mine passed on.
The only personal details stored is your Email address you registered with.
Even if someone takes over VLH, which I highly doubt will happen, I would delete every members Email address before handing over the database.
Nomad was very clear about that...
But.. You can delete your account if your worried.
Oh my, how sad for Little Nomad and Very Little Helps. If ever I need some information I always come here, this site has given more helpful information than can ever be cited anywhere else.
A sad loss for sure, we will now have to do our own leg work instead of being lazy and coming here for answers :D
This is going to leave a void for sure, gutted :'(
It's a shame this community is going to come to an end, it feels like a waste of knowledge and experience to let it disband. I know there's a large Reddit group but it doesn't seem to have quite the same calibre of experience as on here.
How about a Discord server or something similar? Discord can be accessed via smartphone app or web browser. Would technically be free (without any Discord features) and it could be somewhere we at least have an online place to continue, for those that want to stay in touch with one another? Just an idea :)
Bet you Tesco will be loving it though.
Quote from: jonty on 29-03-24, 09:42PMIt's a shame this community is going to come to an end, it feels like a waste of knowledge and experience to let it disband. I know there's a large Reddit group
I didn't know about. There are some Facebook groups but they of course do not provide the same level of anonymity, and can and have been infiltrated by company grasses (until weeded out by the mods) so you have to be careful what and how you post on those. There are some members of those with specific knowledge and experience that can help on a one to one basis privately using PMs once you get a feel for who is reputable.
Quote from: jonty on 29-03-24, 09:42PMIt's a shame this community is going to come to an end, it feels like a waste of knowledge and experience to let it disband. I know there's a large Reddit group but it doesn't seem to have quite the same calibre of experience as on here.
How about a Discord server or something similar? Discord can be accessed via smartphone app or web browser. Would technically be free (without any Discord features) and it could be somewhere we at least have an online place to continue, for those that want to stay in touch with one another? Just an idea :)
Discord is a good shout, but again if you are already on Discord and using it for other activities, your real name could become leaked in some form, especially if you have familiar nickname you use for what Discord intended audience is, Gamers.
Good points, I was thinking about it a bit more today and thought if T were to pressure Discord into removing the group everything would be lost permanently anyway.
It will be a real shame to see VLH close, although I fully understand little Nomads wish to move on from running the site after his late Dad passed away, VLH proved an invaluable help to me when going through a restructure that in my store at least was not well handled by the SM and PM, and despite moving on back in 2020 I still know a couple of the posters on here and like to drop in and see how there doing. I had a look at that reddit group mentioned above and think it must be our old mate nowanexmanager who posts half the stuff on it, lots of threads about uniform standards going down, and how it was all better back in the day.
Very sad to login today after little while to find its gonna close.
Everyone on here has been far more helpful than any official support or any other forum and been the go to place to rant or keep up to date and learn from each other.
I did see long time ago tesco reddit but thats not anonymous so i refuse to use it. I read it but never join or comment.
I will miss this website.
However i do wish LittleNomad the best going forward, its on understandable reason, and nothing lasts forever. hopefully we can find a suitable alternative, and a thank you to everyone making the job more bareable and a place to voice our opinions without fear of being "found out" by the company
Are the site admin open to a "takeover"? Serious question
If someone wanted to continue VLH, that's fine.
They need to read this (https://www.verylittlehelps.com/index.php?topic=17907.msg263417#msg263417) to understand what it entails, cost & skill requirements.
Also they will not recieve any Email addresses of the any member as that part of the SQL database will be erased, so they can't use it for any nefarious/advertising reasons.
Forgive my lack of tech understanding but if the e-mail addresses are deleted (and I understand the reasons why this will be done) would that also remove the account and posts linked to each e-mail address thus meaning the forum has to start again, or can all the previous posts be retained if someone takes over.
Posts are linked by ID_Member in the SQL database, not the Email address.
You can see you ID_member, mouse over your name in a post and you'll see something like https://www.verylittlehelps.com/index.php?action=profile;u=4343
the u=4343 is your ID_member number
Quote from: LittleNomad on 06-04-24, 01:25PMAlso they will not recieve any Email addresses of the any member as that part of the SQL database will be erased, so they can't use it for any nefarious/advertising reasons.
Very understandable. But would it be possible to do a mass email shot to all existing members explaining the changes and how to sign up to any new platform that may assume the purpose of this site? That way it is up to each member to decide if they are happy to give their email address to any new site.
I have experience as a PL/SQL SME that broadly translates to the other SQL variants, don't know much about the front end though, know rudimentary HTML and PHP.
@LittleNomad - I would prefer my account to be closed please.
Quote from: gomezz on 06-04-24, 09:03PMQuote from: LittleNomad on 06-04-24, 01:25PMAlso they will not recieve any Email addresses of the any member as that part of the SQL database will be erased, so they can't use it for any nefarious/advertising reasons.
Very understandable. But would it be possible to do a mass email shot to all existing members explaining the changes and how to sign up to any new platform that may assume the purpose of this site? That way it is up to each member to decide if they are happy to give their email address to any new site.
I don't believe the forum software will allow me to do that (Send a mass Email to all members). It's either give every Email address or none, I'm not spending time, deleting just some of them.
.
.
Quote from: BritishRacingGreen on 07-04-24, 07:45AM@LittleNomad - I would prefer my account to be closed please.
Delete your account in your profile page (https://www.verylittlehelps.com/index.php?action=profile;u=48315) ..Actions.. Delete This Account
Thank you @LittleNomad.
Under 'Actions' on the profile menu, the only option available is "download profile data".
There appears to be no option to delete the account under any of the headings on the menu offered.
Quote from: LittleNomad on 07-04-24, 09:45PMQuote from: gomezz on 06-04-24, 09:03PMQuote from: LittleNomad on 06-04-24, 01:25PMAlso they will not recieve any Email addresses of the any member as that part of the SQL database will be erased, so they can't use it for any nefarious/advertising reasons.
Very understandable. But would it be possible to do a mass email shot to all existing members explaining the changes and how to sign up to any new platform that may assume the purpose of this site? That way it is up to each member to decide if they are happy to give their email address to any new site.
I don't believe the forum software will allow me to do that (Send a mass Email to all members). It's either give every Email address or none, I'm not spending time, deleting just some of them
Fair enough. I wonder if the URL for the web site could be redirected to a holding page at minimal cost at least for a short time.
Quote from: gomezz on 08-04-24, 09:22AMQuote from: LittleNomad on 07-04-24, 09:45PMQuote from: gomezz on 06-04-24, 09:03PMQuote from: LittleNomad on 06-04-24, 01:25PMAlso they will not recieve any Email addresses of the any member as that part of the SQL database will be erased, so they can't use it for any nefarious/advertising reasons.
Very understandable. But would it be possible to do a mass email shot to all existing members explaining the changes and how to sign up to any new platform that may assume the purpose of this site? That way it is up to each member to decide if they are happy to give their email address to any new site.
I don't believe the forum software will allow me to do that (Send a mass Email to all members). It's either give every Email address or none, I'm not spending time, deleting just some of them
Fair enough. I wonder if the URL for the web site could be redirected to a holding page at minimal cost at least for a short time.
You can purchase the domain for around £10 a year, it just means no one else can use the domain verylittlehelps.com. I owe a few domains that I have created for business's that I wanted to set up.
Quote from: BritishRacingGreen on 08-04-24, 05:50AMThank you @LittleNomad.
Under 'Actions' on the profile menu, the only option available is "download profile data".
There appears to be no option to delete the account under any of the headings on the menu offered.
You should be able to delete your account now, I've changed the permissions
LittleNomad, I've been a lurker here for a while, I'm very sorry for your loss.
Just out of curiosity, what are the storage requirements of the site, how big is the database? Could potentially deploy a replacement afterwards, if not a migration. Though, as others have said, Reddit's r/tesco is pretty active with similar styles of posts...
SQL Database about 100mb
Public_HTML directory about 200mb
Storage isn't a big deal when hosting VLH, it's the traffic volume.
It needs to be able to handle 1000+ people online at any one time, which happens when Tesco does an announcement, normally about job losses.
Forum Stats (https://www.verylittlehelps.com/index.php?action=stats)
So how would I go about taking it over, i'd need some idea how to do it, but if i could afford it i would do it, this site has been invaluable to me and many many others and it would be a shame to have it simply disappear
No, it's got to go. Bye bye.