Here is an additional update. I have now identified all of the tables that affect the Message Board threads and postings (there are more than you might expect) and I've mapped out the strategy to bring back the missing threads and posts from the last few weeks.
Also, after doing a thorough review I determined that the Message Board software does not have a way for me to allow the site to remain "on" while also turning "off" people adding new posts and threads. Thus, I must either (a) Turn the site "off" completely (also affecting the common login process shared with some of our other sites) or (b) Perform my corrections very quickly, knowing that a small number of new threads and posts might be lost.
Since the volume of new threads and postings here is fairly low these days, I'm going with the second choice. Knowing that it will take some time I plan to do this tomorrow, Saturday March 28, sometime in the morning here in Texas.
I will also monitor the site this evening to see how the database is doing and if it gets locked or makes the sites unavailable again. I know there will be additional tuning needed for the database. In order to do that I need to collect statistics over a course of uptime so that I can run some analytics. That will produce better recommended changes than the quick ones I made this morning. I am certain further changes will be required. Even while writing this post I've noticed the slowness on the site and I've been making some quick adjustments to database settings which should help.
I have also identified the site monitoring process that I'm going to be trying out to send me emails and text messages when there are problems. Setting that up will come when the immediate issues are dealt with.
Unfortunately, I am called away now. I will be checking in and hopefully performing the updates outlined above on Saturday.
Bob
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