Slashdot Mirror


System Downtime, Maintenance

We're taking the system down tonight for a some system updates. We expect to go down around 9 (eastern) and hope to be back up by midnight. This is a pretty substantial upgrade, but the changes are almost entirely 'Under the Hood' type fixes: architecture stuff that shouldn't really impact much end user functionality. When the dust settles we expect there to be a few bugs cropping up, so please click that 'Bugs' link on the left hand menu and submit reports so we can squash them quickly. And sorry about the inconvenience. We know it will be hard to live without us for a few hours, but I figure some quality time with your friends and family might just be long overdue! (Also, for the curious, a brief summary of what the change is actually all about follows) Ok, so when I wrote the original code for Slashdot, I had these "Sections" and these "Topics". You're familiar with both I'm sure... the "Sections" are like "Apple" and "BSD". They have unique color schemes, and their own homepages. The "Topics" are specific areas of subject matter... you know them because they each have a colorful little icon associated with them... like for example the rockin 'Slashdot' logo that is attached to this story.

When I originally "designed" (I use the term loosely since evolved is more accurate) the system, "Sections" were meant to be for "Data Types"... for example "Book Reviews". A book review is fundamentally different than a Slashdot "Article" because it has extra fields like the ISBN code. At the same time I essentially coded "Skins" because each "Data Type" needed custom look & feel type stuff so that the story could actually display the unique data fields.

So when we created YRO and the BSD section and later on the Apple section, I just reused the skinning part of "Sections".. it was the easiest way to do it, but it created problems later: under the old design a story could only have one "Section"... some sections defined "Data Type" and others defined "Subject Matter" (like Apple or BSD)... thats why bsd.slashdot.org can never include a book review, and apple.slashdot.org can't include an 'Ask Slashdot'. This confounded users of our search page to no ends, to say nothing of frustrating editors who couldn't include topical stories within their appropriate section.

Undoubtedly we'll see some bugs to pop up... so please be patient and submit bug reports. We'll be wacking bugs for a few days... there's always a few of them that don't pop up until you put them in front of the half a million users on the real hardware. Thanks for understanding!

57 of 370 comments (clear)

  1. oh no... by the+arbiter · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'm a geek! What am I to do until Slashdot returns?

    Well, I guess I'll just have to go outside, or talk to a girl, or something...

    --
    Boycott everything - they're all trying to fuck you one way or another
    1. Re:oh no... by FyRE666 · · Score: 5, Funny

      I'm a geek! What am I to do until Slashdot returns?

      Set up a mirror? ;-)

    2. Re:oh no... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      "or talk to a girl"

      A what?

    3. Re:oh no... by PiGuy · · Score: 5, Funny

      Wow, you guys should do this more often. During the time Slashdot was down, I found a girlfriend, got a secure, high-paying job, learned to ski, and seamlessly integrated KDE and GNOME into the Next Big Thing(tm).

    4. Re:oh no... by kesuki · · Score: 3, Funny

      Well, i did find a girlfriend/potential future wife, but 3-4 hours wasn't long enough for me to find a job, or write the next great american novel... KEEP up the good work slashdot!

    5. Re:oh no... by TopShelf · · Score: 4, Funny

      Well, I guess I'll just have to go outside, or talk to a girl...

      Most readers here would need a published API for such interaction...

      --
      Stop by my site where I write about ERP systems & more
    6. Re:oh no... by Quasar1999 · · Score: 2, Funny

      But why is the getLaid(void *) call just a wrapper to the kissAss(), suckUp(), and payBribe(LARGE INT) calls???

      --

      ---
      Programming is like sex... Make one mistake and support it the rest of your life.
    7. Re:oh no... by ameoba · · Score: 2, Funny

      Girls are the consumer model of those creatures you see in your porn.

      --
      my sig's at the bottom of the page.
  2. At least... by example42 · · Score: 5, Funny

    At least it's night time (here) so I can go outside to play. The evil burning brightness is gone for 8 hours.

  3. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 2, Funny

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  4. Uh oh.... by Kymermosst · · Score: 4, Funny

    20,000 nerds are going to have to find something else to do for three hours...

    --
    "Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives" should be a convenience store, not a government agency.
    1. Re:Uh oh.... by Kpt+Kill · · Score: 4, Funny

      Just jam on refresh until the page comes back

    2. Re:Uh oh.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      no no no no, jeeeeeeese ill do it right...

      [sw mode on]
      20 thousand nerds yelled out in terror then SILENCE.
      [sw mode off]

    3. Re:Uh oh.... by Lord_Dweomer · · Score: 2, Funny
      " 20,000 nerds are going to have to find something else to do for three hours..."

      Isn't it usually right about now that the Autopr0n guy shows up to plug his site?

      --
      Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
  5. Re:9 eastern? by oudzeeman · · Score: 5, Funny

    slashdot isn't that crucial to your Friday night, is it?

  6. NO! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    uh oh, no /. for 3 hours! I might have to actually interact with people in meatspace! say it ain't so!!!

  7. Downtime... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    You forgot to add, "Do not attempt sexual relations, as years of computer monitor radiation have left
    your genitals withered and useless."

  8. Be sure to do a backup by Neil+Blender · · Score: 5, Funny

    Just kidding.

  9. Bad timing by GuyMannDude · · Score: 5, Funny

    We expect to go down around 9 (eastern) and hope to be back up by midnight.

    Oh that's just great. Now what the hell am I supposed to do with myself on a Friday night? Go downtown and watch all the cool people on their dates?

    Couldn't you guys have scheduled this downtime for sometime during my work hours so I could actually get something done at the office for a change?

    GMD

  10. never thought i'd get to say it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    last comment

    1. Re:never thought i'd get to say it... by daeley · · Score: 5, Funny

      Don't get too excited, this story will have a dupe by Sunday. ;)

      --
      I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
  11. Real Life Test by Duct+Tape+Pro · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is really a test to see if real life's servers can handle all the slashdot users trying to interact with it at once.

    --
    i hotdog.
  12. Aw come on :( by happyhippy · · Score: 4, Funny

    I was about to launch my DOS attack on /. at that time!

  13. Re:9 eastern? by maxbang · · Score: 5, Funny

    Are you kidding? This is worse than having all six suns setting for the first time in thousands of years. I have no choice but to watch Stargate: Atlantis and finish the other half of this pizza feast. Fatter, yes. Completely insane, also yes. Plans for Friday night, of course not.

    --
    I also reply below your current threshold.
  14. Crossing my fingers by MooseByte · · Score: 4, Funny

    "We're taking the system down tonight for a some system updates. We expect to go down around 9 (eastern) and hope to be back up by midnight.".

    If I had stock options for every time I'd tried that and ended up having to scurry in a panic through the weekend... Oh wait, I'd still be broke. Nevermind.

    Best of luck guys!

  15. So, Slashdot will be down. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    I think I may just head over to the JBoss forums to spend my weekend. JBoss offers proven open source solutions that are a step above anything available today. Face it, the competition is crap and JBoss is the only Company to offer a viable solution. I do not work for JBoss.

  16. Re:7 minutes to go *sob* by wideBlueSkies · · Score: 2, Funny

    Are you talking about Jennicam or /. ?

    wbs.

    --
    Huh?
  17. LP? by zoloto · · Score: 5, Funny

    Last Post?!?

  18. Re:9 eastern? by Squareball · · Score: 5, Funny

    I wonder if the subscribers get the downtime before the rest of us?

  19. Re:9 eastern? by ahknight · · Score: 3, Funny

    Even if, we still have Stargate Atlantis and Fark, so we'll live.

    Now, take my Fark and we'll have words.

  20. Re:9 eastern? by Pharmboy · · Score: 5, Funny

    Oh, I almost forgot, while slashdot is down, you should check out this homestarrunner "system is down" message.

    Trust me.

    --
    Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
  21. What to do for 3 hours without slashdot? by britneys+9th+husband · · Score: 1, Funny

    Some ideas...

    - Watch one of the LOTR movies.
    - Watch a Harry Potter movie.
    - Drive across the Bay Bridge (god I hate traffic)
    - Fly from Austin to Boston
    - Send a message to your friend (5400*3e5) km away and wait for the response.
    - Spell/grammar check your copy&paste trolls (GNAA members only)
    - Sleep

    Better post this before 6 :-)

    --
    Hear recorded Slashdot headlines on your phone! New service beta testing. Just call (248) 434-5508
  22. Google cache... by DarkBlackFox · · Score: 2, Funny

    Wow, never thought I'd have to use a Google cache for Slashdot!!

  23. Shashdot will be slashdotted! by noidentity · · Score: 2, Funny

    This time, Slashdot will get a taste of its own medicine as it's Slashdotted at midnight when it comes back up from the upgrade (and then goes back down). The fact that it's a Friday night will have little effect, given the audience.

  24. Exactly. by cgenman · · Score: 5, Funny

    I agree. Anytime *I* have to take anything out of production for our 1500-odd users at the company I work at, they require *AT LEAST* 12 hours notice, if not more. Usually, we give 24.

    Do you have any idea how much of a disruption to the workflow at my company Slashdot going down is? If we don't keep the engineers distracted, they'll start interacting with the customers! The customers will be speaking to someone who knows something. Then the customer will know something. Then our business is ruined.

    Thanks Slashdot. Thanks a lot. I hope you like your prescious backend update. In Japan.

  25. It will be interesting to see what happens by SteamyMobile · · Score: 5, Funny
    Slashdot switching from mod_perl to a JSP/Servlet backend is going to be a very interesting change. It will finally put an end to all this "Java is not scalable enough" and "Java is slow" type of talk we see here.

    If it doesn't work, then I'm guessing that Slashdot will move to the ultimate in stable, secure and scalable web architectures: ASP.net.

  26. Time::timelocal() says... by gkwok · · Score: 5, Funny

    The downtime will be between 1090026000 and 1090036800.

  27. Re:9 eastern? by iabervon · · Score: 3, Funny

    The story was submitted a while ago, but you know how long it takes for the editors to get around to posting stuff...

  28. Obligatory Star Wars Reference by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    I feel a disturbance in the force, as if a million virgins were crying out, then suddenly silenced...

  29. Re:9 eastern? by Darby · · Score: 2, Funny

    The beauty of this site.

    A Super Computer Researcher busted Lecithin for even freakin noticing that maintenance is going on.

    Call me a geek, but I think this place is pretty cool

    Darby

  30. WOW, Slashdot is teh sucks! by cmacb · · Score: 2, Funny

    I didn't know what to do, so I tried going outside!

    It's DARK out there!

    I'm just going to wait here and watch my screensaver while I wait for /. to come back.

    Oh, wait, NM.

  31. Thank god it's back up! by bergeron76 · · Score: 4, Funny

    I've actually had to work for the past few hours.

    [shudder]

    --
    Don't think that a small group of dedicated individuals can't change the world. It's the only thing that ever has.
  32. Slashdotting by MaverickUW · · Score: 4, Funny

    I didn't know what had happened. I was starting to wonder if slashdot had referenced itself and somehow experienced the slashdot effect

  33. Slashdot is down...? by bigt_littleodd · · Score: 2, Funny
    They prolly got slashdotted!

    Oh, wait...

    --
    Let's play Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. I'll be Pestilence.
  34. Re:yea but by shawn(at)fsu · · Score: 2, Funny

    No it didn't help me.

    I was wondering if perhaps /. got /.'ed which made me laugh a little on the outside, inside I cried.

    --
    500 dollar reward for tip(s) leading to the arrest of the person(s) who stole my sig.
  35. Bug found... by atomic-penguin · · Score: 2, Funny

    No "Bugs" link to my left!

    Just kidding, made you look!

    --
    /^([Ss]ame [Bb]at (time, |channel.)){2}$/
  36. Substantial Upgrade? by ralfg33k · · Score: 2, Funny
    We expect to go down around 9 (eastern) and hope to be back up by midnight. This is a pretty substantial upgrade


    Upgrade? That sounds more like pretty substantial foreplay.
  37. Re:9 eastern? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Homestar Runner's 404 page is pretty amusing, too.

  38. Re:9 eastern? by Hungry+Bear · · Score: 2, Funny

    I suffered through it. I work 3rd shift and Slashdot is what makes time go by at night. I was lost, bored, had to do actual work until you came back online.

  39. I knew Karma would pay off... by gwoodrow · · Score: 3, Funny

    Thanks to my good slashdot karma, the only time I was busy today was from 9-midnight and entirely missed the blackout. I knew it'd pay off eventually!

  40. 15 Minutes Warning by rfc1394 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Those dirty rotten #*($#*%( only gave us 15 $#*(@ minutes warning before shutting the #*$% place down. I thought the place had been slashdotted or something, I wasn't able to get through. May they roast in hell for a thousand years with no Internet access!

    --
    The lessons of history teach us - if they teach us anything - that nobody learns the lessons that history teaches us.
  41. Re:9 eastern? by Burpmaster · · Score: 2, Funny
    This is worse than having all six suns setting for the first time in thousands of years.

    Five suns. The sixth sun didn't set, it was eclipsed.

    Nerd!

  42. Slashdot slashdotted by darkitecture · · Score: 2, Funny

    I had no warning about this scheduled shutdown, so when I tried to load up the page and it failed, the first thing that flashed into my head was "Sweet Zombie Jesus, Slashdot's been slashdotted!"

    I had all these images of newspapers like in the movies, where the front page of the New York Times and stuff has the article title in size 120 font, with such classic direct titles as "WAR!" and "ALIENS LAND" or "DEAD!"

    Just imagine the front of the New York Times declaring "SLASHDOT SLASHDOTTED!"

    Or better yet, "/. /.ED!"

  43. Re:Edit? by mooingyak · · Score: 5, Funny

    You'd also need something in place to check if a post you're replying to has been edited since you clicked on the 'Reply' button (or the 'moderate' button) so that you don't get this sequence:

    Poster: "I like dogs!"

    Another poster clicks reply, and starts to type.

    OP clicks edit, and changes to: "I like sex with dogs!"

    The 2nd poster now clicks on submit with "It's good to find someone with the same interests as me."

    --
    William of Ockham had no beard. The most likely explanation is that it was chewed off by squirrels every morning.
  44. This is much better! by fmaxwell · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm so glad that Slashdot finally made the switch from Windows 98 to Windows98 Second Edition. I expect that this will make thing run much more smoothly.

  45. curse you, 12-hour clock..... by hta · · Score: 2, Funny

    9 AM or 9 PM?

    will my daily fix disappear in 10 hours 30 minutes, or 12 hours sooner, which is..... wait, that's obvious, isn't it?

    Forget that I asked, please....