📢 Important Update: Hosting Challenges, Patron Changes & Forum Access
Hi everyone,
As many of you are aware, we recently experienced a two-hour site outage — and unfortunately, it resulted in the loss of a month’s worth of data. After a thorough investigation, we’ve identified the root cause: the limitations of operating on a lower tier shared server.
In short: PNE-Online has become the busiest site on our server. During high-traffic periods — like spikes in thread replies or click activity — the server struggles to keep up. This not only causes performance issues but has also prompted warnings from our hosting provider.
For long-time members, this may feel familiar — it's reminiscent of the growing pains we faced when I first took over PNE-Online.
Over the years, I’ve personally funded a large portion of PNE-Online’s growth, supported by your generous contributions. Together, we’ve:
All of this, while remaining completely ad-free — a choice I continue to stand by. Betting companies have approached us many times with offers, but I’ve always declined. As long as I’m running the forum, you’ll never see ads here.
But to keep this going, we need to evolve our support model.
For the first time in 20 years, we are adjusting our Patron tiers:
New Patron options:
If any existing Patrons wish to make up their previous £5.50 contribution to the new £10 tier early, or if anyone would like to make a custom one-off contribution of any amount, you can do so below:
👉 HERE
Want to upgrade or adjust your Patronship? Click here to manage your subscription.
To help manage server load and continue offering great features to those who support the site, the following changes will take effect from midnight, Friday 11th April 2025:
🔓 Non-Patrons:
🌟 Patrons:
We know these changes may take some getting used to, but we believe they’re necessary to keep PNE-Online running strong. Your support ensures we stay open, ad-free, and focused on what we all care about — community and Preston North End.
Thank you for standing with us.
— The PNE-Online Team
Hi everyone,
As many of you are aware, we recently experienced a two-hour site outage — and unfortunately, it resulted in the loss of a month’s worth of data. After a thorough investigation, we’ve identified the root cause: the limitations of operating on a lower tier shared server.
In short: PNE-Online has become the busiest site on our server. During high-traffic periods — like spikes in thread replies or click activity — the server struggles to keep up. This not only causes performance issues but has also prompted warnings from our hosting provider.
For long-time members, this may feel familiar — it's reminiscent of the growing pains we faced when I first took over PNE-Online.
💸 Supporting the Forum
Over the years, I’ve personally funded a large portion of PNE-Online’s growth, supported by your generous contributions. Together, we’ve:
- Upgraded technology and security
- Ensured GDPR compliance
- Covered rising server and payment processing costs
- Adapted to legislative changes like the Online Safety Bill
- Added "dark mode" and ability to switch between old/new forum designs.
- Integrated mobile access.
- New 2025 Significant Software update (due soon)
All of this, while remaining completely ad-free — a choice I continue to stand by. Betting companies have approached us many times with offers, but I’ve always declined. As long as I’m running the forum, you’ll never see ads here.
But to keep this going, we need to evolve our support model.
💡 New Patron Contribution Structure
For the first time in 20 years, we are adjusting our Patron tiers:
- The £5.50 annual tier has been retired
- All existing Patrons on the £5.50 tier have been automatically moved to the new £10 annual tier
- If you do not wish to continue at this new rate when your subscription renews, we recommend cancelling via your payment provider before your renewal date
New Patron options:
- £10 Annual Patron (new minimum tier)
- £25 Annual Patron
- £50 Annual Patron
- £5 Quarterly Patron
- £5 Monthly Patron
If any existing Patrons wish to make up their previous £5.50 contribution to the new £10 tier early, or if anyone would like to make a custom one-off contribution of any amount, you can do so below:
👉 HERE
Want to upgrade or adjust your Patronship? Click here to manage your subscription.
🛠️ Forum Access Changes
To help manage server load and continue offering great features to those who support the site, the following changes will take effect from midnight, Friday 11th April 2025:
🔓 Non-Patrons:
- Max 10 posts per day (we reserve the right to amend this)
- Max 1 new thread per day
- No access to private/direct messaging
🌟 Patrons:
- Unlimited posts and threads
- Ability to create polls
- Custom user title
- Direct image uploads
- Private messaging
- Eligibility to run and vote in moderator elections (subject to conditions)
We know these changes may take some getting used to, but we believe they’re necessary to keep PNE-Online running strong. Your support ensures we stay open, ad-free, and focused on what we all care about — community and Preston North End.
Thank you for standing with us.
— The PNE-Online Team
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