Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Discuss the latest news and rumors in the magic world.
Tarotist
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Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby Tarotist » June 28th, 2022, 6:21 pm

There seems to be lots of comment on Facebook that the Magic Cafe has disappeared. I have stated that it has often disappeared because of technlogical matters which are beyond my aged understanding but always returns. However, people are insisting to me that it has gone for good. If this is true it does seem a rather extreme method of getting rid of me.

Anyway does anyone know anything about this?

Roger M.
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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby Roger M. » June 28th, 2022, 7:56 pm

Brooks has been quite ill for over a year. He hasn’t posted for many months.
His wife has been seriously ill for about as long.
Scribner “the helper” seems to be the only guy on deck, albeit on an endless power trip.

So the Cafe is in rough shape generally, with far fewer posts than in years past, and nobody at the helm.

That said, they seem to have endless DNS name server issues, so it will likely return (as it always has) at some point in the days ahead.
DNS issues only resolve when dozens of third party name servers receive the new and updated website information, which can take a few days to populate.

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby Tarotist » June 28th, 2022, 9:30 pm

Virtually everyone on Facebook is saying that it is permanently kaput and some are implying they have inside information. Yet when I ask how they know for sure I never get a satisfactory answer. I know it have always come back in the past but I am not getting that vibe at the moment. Still, time will tell.........................

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby Tarotist » June 28th, 2022, 10:15 pm

I have now seen it confirmed by someone who spoke to Steve Brooks that they are merely changing servers. It has not disappeared after all.
Oh well, it was an interesting rumour while it lasted!

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby Joe Lyons » June 28th, 2022, 10:23 pm

Tarotist wrote:Virtually everyone on Facebook is saying that it is permanently kaput


Then it must be so.

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Brian Douglas
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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby Brian Douglas » June 29th, 2022, 8:01 am

One can hope...

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby Jack Shalom » June 29th, 2022, 9:20 am

Still down.

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby Tarotist » June 29th, 2022, 10:25 am

No. It is definitely coming back. Steve Brooks has posted that the situation is only a temporary one. I am glad to see that he sounds a bit like his normal self. He has been going through a lot lately and I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby Chris Aguilar » June 29th, 2022, 11:01 am

I always assumed that the cafe was a steady source of ad income for Brooks, hence, not going anywhere.

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby pabloin us » June 29th, 2022, 12:55 pm

When you said in Facebook said this or that, what facebook group are you referring to?

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby Tarotist » June 29th, 2022, 2:36 pm

It wasn't a group. Just someone starting a thread on the matter. And Steve himself has now started a fresh thread.

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby pabloin us » June 29th, 2022, 3:18 pm

Thank you, but where Steve started a fresh thread? It should be somewhere in a given facebook page (unless I am missing your point). I just want to read it, how do I find it? Is there a link?

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katterfelt0
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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby katterfelt0 » June 29th, 2022, 4:08 pm

pabloin us wrote:Thank you, but where Steve started a fresh thread? It should be somewhere in a given facebook page (unless I am missing your point). I just want to read it, how do I find it? Is there a link?

Here is his message.

Here's the information he posted:
To Whom It May Concern: Contrary to the uneducated ramblings of a few idiotic Internet trolls The Magic Café® is not permanently offline. Our data center is simply relocating our servers to a new and larger location. We apologize for any inconvenience this may be causing our online community. Rest assured we will be up and running again as soon as we are able. In the meantime, I want to thank all of you for your continued support, friendship and understanding. As ever - Steve Brooks.
Effect and method are inextricably linked.

Roger M.
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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby Roger M. » June 30th, 2022, 11:08 am

"Contrary to the uneducated ramblings of a few idiotic Internet trolls The Magic Café® is not permanently offline"

Stay classy Steve.

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby PressureFan » June 30th, 2022, 11:56 am

Case in point.

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby ChrisK » June 30th, 2022, 12:11 pm

With it still being out, I find the server move to be an incomplete explanation. A move shouldn't lead to days of downtime with the DNS records now being nonexistent. I'm sure Steve is sharing what he's being told by his tech team, but it's definitely not the whole story.

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby Chris Aguilar » June 30th, 2022, 12:13 pm

ChrisK wrote:With it still being out, I find the server move to be an incomplete explanation. A move shouldn't lead to days of downtime with the DNS records now being nonexistent. I'm sure Steve is sharing what he's being told by his tech team, but it's definitely not the whole story.

His "team" is one guy.

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby ChrisK » June 30th, 2022, 4:46 pm

Chris Aguilar wrote:
ChrisK wrote:With it still being out, I find the server move to be an incomplete explanation. A move shouldn't lead to days of downtime with the DNS records now being nonexistent. I'm sure Steve is sharing what he's being told by his tech team, but it's definitely not the whole story.

His "team" is one guy.


Actually got a response from them. So the server is being literally shipped from one physical location to another. They only have the single server, so until it reaches its destination and is plugged back in, no Café.

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby Robert77 » June 30th, 2022, 5:00 pm

ChrisK wrote:
Actually got a response from them. So the server is being literally shipped from one physical location to another. They only have the single server, so until it reaches its destination and is plugged back in, no Café.


LOL! That is hilarious :D Maybe Steve got kicked out of his mothers basement.

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Brian Douglas
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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby Brian Douglas » July 1st, 2022, 12:34 am

I hope they remembered to poke air holes in the server box before shipping...

Image

Roger M.
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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby Roger M. » July 1st, 2022, 1:05 am

ChrisK wrote:With it still being out, I find the server move to be an incomplete explanation. A move shouldn't lead to days of downtime with the DNS records now being nonexistent.

Let's just call it what it is ... a fabrication, a lie.

The Cafe tech guy "Gene" has already posted in response to Brooks post about his Cafe patrons being internet trolls, and said "Gene" has congratulated Steve on his concise insight into those folks wonder what happened to the Cafe, essentially agreeing with Brooks that anybody asking questions is an "idiot".

In other words, it's still Gene who's the tech guy, and unless Gene moved across the country, the business about physically moving the server is just plain B.S.
Obviously "Gene" is still the tech guy of note, and the Cafe has been down for far longer than it might take to physically "move" a server from one locale to another.

Brooks is many things, but "honest" isn't one of them. He never has been particularly honest, and he very likely isn't being honest about why the Cafe is down now.

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby CraigMitchell » July 1st, 2022, 3:32 am

The Magic Cafe has been a tremendous resource for so many years - and a lot of the bashing is unfair.

What doesn't make sense, though, is how such a "server move" can be handled in such an incredibly unprofessional manner. To not even have a 'holding screen' with an announcement is utterly bizarre.

In today's day & age - downtime is measured in seconds and minutes ... not days ...

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby Tarotist » July 1st, 2022, 8:04 am

I have no idea what this computer talk means and it might as well be a foreign language to me. However, as Roger stated earlier Steve's wife has been seriously ill and so has he. I have my own issues with the magic cafe but I am not inclined to kick a man when he is down. I think we should give Steve some slack as a matter of common decency. I am not inclined to rub salt in the wound.

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby Leo Garet » July 1st, 2022, 10:36 am

CraigMitchell wrote:and a lot of the bashing is unfair.


But not all?
;)

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby bourret58 » July 1st, 2022, 6:25 pm

Nice to know that the Magic Cafe is down only temporarily. I'm also glad that it will be back online soon.
As some of you may know Steve and his family have had a rough couple of years --let's cut him some slack and be grateful for the resource that he has maintained over the last couple of decades.

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby Roger M. » July 2nd, 2022, 12:02 am

After Brooks references all Cafe users who ask why the Cafe is offline to be "idiots", giving him "slack" is definitely not in the cards.

His abusive language has nothing to do with his families misfortunes ... in that the family misfortunes are unavoidable and very sad, but willfully calling ones customers "idiots" is strictly a choice Brooks has repeatedly chosen to make over the years, and has done so again here.

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby Tarotist » July 2nd, 2022, 4:03 am

They still seem to be down. This is the longest absence I remember them having.

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby Steve Mills » July 2nd, 2022, 4:29 pm

Roger M. wrote:After Brooks references all Cafe users who ask why the Cafe is offline to be "idiots", giving him "slack" is definitely not in the cards.

His abusive language has nothing to do with his families misfortunes ... in that the family misfortunes are unavoidable and very sad, but willfully calling ones customers "idiots" is strictly a choice Brooks has repeatedly chosen to make over the years, and has done so again here.


As one who used to frequent the Cafe quite frequently and gradually dwindled to a visit every month or so, I couldn't agree more. These clowns have always been completely dismissive and mean, bordering on cruel. Scribner is actually worse than Brooks.

Pardon me while I go polish my Silver Shifter.

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby Tarotist » July 2nd, 2022, 8:37 pm

This is something I have noticed over decades dealing with corporations or in fact any type of organisation such as department stores, etc;. The second in command is always the most self important and difficult to deal with. Assistant managers are always worse than managers. It is a kind of ego trip for them. When they do eventually become managers themselves they probably calm down a bit. Always try to avoid assistant managers as much as possible. They will try to put obstacles in your way when they deal with you. Part of their DNA.

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby ChrisK » July 3rd, 2022, 1:55 am

I've asked Gene for any updates. The explanation is still confusing to me since we're at a very long amount of down time. Others have directly offered to host an "under construction" page. I get that maybe Steve doesn't have the bandwidth to deal with all of this, but surely he can delegate even a small amount of this.

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby Tarotist » July 3rd, 2022, 2:57 am

I am actually beginning to suspect that the Magic Cafe is on its last legs. Idle speculation of course but I am psychic after all.

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Magic Cafe song/sulk

Postby Jonathan Townsend » July 3rd, 2022, 2:18 pm

It’s starting to read like that Brecht/Weil song Moon of Alabama. Here’s a draft verse. Continue as you like. ;)

Oh show me a link to the magic cafe. Oh don’t ask why. No don’t ask why.
If I can’t read the magic cafe; I tell you, I tell you; I tell you I could die!

Oh magic cafe gossip; Did Brooks and Scribner fight? I really need that green screen. Each thread brings me delight,

Oh show me the link to the next latest trick, The secret TT tip, the twitchy youtube clip…
Mundus vult decipi -per Caleb Carr's story Killing Time

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby BarryAllen » July 3rd, 2022, 3:22 pm

The Tragic Cafe is alright. If you don't like it, don't use it.....quite simple really.

At least you can talk about Palm Reading on there! ;)

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby Dan McLean » July 3rd, 2022, 3:46 pm

Hmmm. I wonder at times like this about money - in this case advertising.
The Magic Cafe works thanks to advertising. I assume it isn't a hobby. Now it's vanished into the digital vapors. What happens to the advertising revenue? This problem occurred last Tuesday? Does the clock stop on advertisers paying at that time and start again when it's up? I assume time is one of the factors in ad cost, along with size and placement.
We're coming up to a week down. Does Penguin and others just keep paying regardless? I doubt it which means Steve is incurring a real kick in the head.
I'd like to hear from Richard Kaufman here. Pretty sure he knows more about magic advertising than most on the forum.
Later,
D.

P.S. Jonathan, I could almost hear Jim Morrison singing your tune.

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby Richard Kaufman » July 3rd, 2022, 4:38 pm

We don't sell advertising here, and I know nothing about The Magic Cafe other than the threads I read.
Subscribe today to Genii Magazine

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby Bob Farmer » July 3rd, 2022, 6:28 pm

A guy on the Magic Cafe made a post suggesting people should not buy one of my marketed tricks because you could make it yourself once you learned the secret.

At the time, the guy's picture was attached to his post.

I suggested that he was a real DIYer because he looked as if he cut his own hair and made his own shirt.

My post was deleted, his post remained.

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby Joe Lyons » July 3rd, 2022, 6:47 pm

Dan McLean wrote:Hmmm. I wonder at times like this about money - in this case advertising.
The Magic Cafe works thanks to advertising. I assume it isn't a hobby. Now it's vanished into the digital vapors. What happens to the advertising revenue? This problem occurred last Tuesday? Does the clock stop on advertisers paying at that time and start again when it's up? I assume time is one of the factors in ad cost, along with size and placement.
We're coming up to a week down. Does Penguin and others just keep paying regardless? I doubt it which means Steve is incurring a real kick in the head.
I'd like to hear from Richard Kaufman here. Pretty sure he knows more about magic advertising than most on the forum.
Later,
D.

P.S. Jonathan, I could almost hear Jim Morrison singing your tune.


Often banner ads pay only when they are “clicked through” so when a site is down no money would be owed.

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby Dan McLean » July 3rd, 2022, 6:58 pm

Thanx Joe. I wasn't sure how web page ads work. Never bought one.

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby ChrisK » July 3rd, 2022, 7:11 pm

I got an update from Gene who's been helping Steve out on the tech side. They are awaiting a final update from the datacenter to know what tasks are left (updating IP address etc) and then expect to have an ETA. They don't know anything more beyond that, so it's a matter of waiting for them to get an update.

Hopefully the 4th of July holiday tomorrow won't delay it further.

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Re: Disappearing Magic Cafe!

Postby Tarotist » July 3rd, 2022, 7:49 pm

BarryAllen wrote:The Tragic Cafe is alright. If you don't like it, don't use it.....quite simple really.

At least you can talk about Palm Reading on there! ;)


Except when I talk about it!


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