Whither Macintouch.com?

[flaubert]

Has anyone else noticed that Ric Ford's macintouch.com site seems to be off-line or fenced off? I noticed this first a few weeks ago, and thought it was due to the fact that I was using a Windows Edge browser (it seemed then to still work with an iPad or iPhone). Checking today, nothing works. I know that Ric has occasionally stated in the past that the work to maintain the site was inadequately compensated for by the contributions from visitors - has he thrown in the towel at this point?

 

[Runs For Fun]

Works fine for me. Seems like you’re being blocked either based on IP address or something else by Wordfence.

 

[KaliYoni]

I am a daily visitor. The site is still alive but uses a slightly different format than before. Now anybody who wants to originate a discussion thread needs to be a Sustaining Member. It's essentially a subscription fee. The entire site is still free to read. Further, anybody who is a registered user, regardless of contribution level, can post to existing threads subject to the traditional moderation standards there.

https://macintouch.com/

MacInTouch Community

MacInTouch Community is a place to share tips and troubleshooting information about Macintosh computer systems, iPhones, security, technology and Apple Inc.

macintouch.com

MacInTouch FAQ

The MacInTouch Home Page is the original Mac news site, providing timely, reliable news, information and analysis about Apple Macintosh and iPhone/iOS systems, security issues, technology and more.

macintouch.com

 

[flaubert]

OK, thanks for your replies. I dug a little deeper, and the common thread (with it not working) is the network. The WordFence plug-in doesn't like our business network. The site loads normally when I turn on my iPad's VPN. Weird.

 

[KaliYoni]

The WordFence plug-in doesn't like our business network. The site loads normally when I turn on my iPad's VPN

If you plan to visit MacInTouch regularly, you might want to let Ric know about your problem. Even with the new setup, which was intended to reduce his daily workload, he still makes periodic announcements about changes he's made to improve site access or connectivity.

 

[MacBeast]

For close to a month now, macintouch.com has been giving a 403 error. Anyone know what's up (or down in this case)?

 

[KaliYoni]

For close to a month now, macintouch.com has been giving a 403 error. Anyone know what's up (or down in this case)?

This address works for me:

https://www.macintouch.com/

(in mid-August, MacInTouch changed its web host plus the site blocks a lot of proxies)


In case you still can't get to the site, here's the current status:

Mon. Aug. 30, 2021 10:44 EDT
MacInTouch status update

As a business, MacInTouch is no longer viable, but thanks to supporters and special contributors, I hope to continue providing this website and subscriber/supporter services to the extent practical, although it means some streamlining and project delays.

MacInTouch discussion forums have been retired, and potential replacements have been delayed. Home page updates will be less regular and more focused on the most critical information, including security issues.

As noted last week, I can recommend TidBITS Talk as an alternative for Apple discussion and TidBITS for keeping track of more Apple news. Howard Oakley’s eclecticlight.co website offers technical and troubleshooting notes, while Michael Tsai’s blog provides worthwhile information with attention to issues affecting Apple developers.

Thanks, as always, for all your support over all these years, and I’ll continue to keep you posted…

Ric Ford

----------
Wed. Sep. 1, 2021 09:02 EDT
note to supporters

MacInTouch work continues on multiple fronts, as some people dropped their support while others added theirs. As always, supporters can contact me with questions or concerns. (While I also appreciate the notes thanking me for decades of Mac support work, I won’t be able to respond personally to each one.)

Here’s the current situation:

Future financial support is unknown; we’ll see how it goes. (Note: the payment system in the retired forum platform no longer works.)
The MacInTouch web site will continue for now to cover the most important news and issues (which requires substantial time and resources).
Constant research continues in the background on security/privacy issues, Apple, technology, publishing platforms, and more.
Development continues on a platform for supporters. (I also expect to make a small platform upgrade to the public website.)
I need to clean up a disparate mess of data to sort out exactly who the supporters and special contributors are.

Ric Ford