Site back, sorry for the outage.
Update: Clearly, we're down again. John's working on figuring out why the problem reappeared and how to fix it. Watch for updates on the home page (Abby)
The site is back up, after having being down for a day and a night. An errant script knocked down the "read" database, and when the box crashed, some of the db files were corrupted. This meant the whole db had to be restored from the master db. In addition to the db itself, some of the log files were also affected. Turns our MySQL is a lot more finicky about how log files are handled than I'd ever known, or hoped to know. After a lot of digging around, everything is back the way it belongs, and all that was lost is a night of sleep--no data was lost.
I'd like to apologize profusely to everyone who was inconvenienced. We'll put more safeguards into place to try to minimize such outages in the future, hopefully.
The site is back up, after having being down for a day and a night. An errant script knocked down the "read" database, and when the box crashed, some of the db files were corrupted. This meant the whole db had to be restored from the master db. In addition to the db itself, some of the log files were also affected. Turns our MySQL is a lot more finicky about how log files are handled than I'd ever known, or hoped to know. After a lot of digging around, everything is back the way it belongs, and all that was lost is a night of sleep--no data was lost.
I'd like to apologize profusely to everyone who was inconvenienced. We'll put more safeguards into place to try to minimize such outages in the future, hopefully.
posted by john at 10:58 PM
264 Comments:
Yay!! We missed you! Hope you're now able to enjoy a refreshing beverage and put this behind you.
Thanks for getting everything back up!
really wasn't expecting you guys to be back up tonight. thanks for all the hard work, and hopefully now you can sleep for a day or two!
Thrilled to see the site back up! Very grateful for all your hard work (in getting the site back up, but also in keeping it running in general).
Well, I for one am very dissatisfied. I had no reason to procrastinate! Sure, a lot more of my stuff is unpacked, I got some crucial business matters done with, my homework is done, and my apartment is ten times cleaner... but at what cost, Tim? At what cost? *sobs*
Hope you're relaxing and resting, you've certainly earned it.
Wishing you the deep night's rest of The Victorious. I appreciate the hard work you all do to provide us with this excellent service.
Am so thrilled to see the site back up! Thanks for all your hard work!!
You did good, guys! Thanks for the updates and the quick turnaround.
Welcome back! Good work!
So wait, who won the contest?
You guys are great, thanks a bunch for the hard work you do! Now go get lots of rest!
Whee! Thanks for all the work getting things back up and running! It was only mildly frustrating because I had just joined up yesterday and was looking for anything to do besides an essay I was supposed to writing. Funny that you come back up just as I'm finally finished with the thing. You don't know my professor, do you ;)
Is it too late to post bookpiles? I posted this one in the original thread, here it is again for maximum coverage ;)
http://flickr.com/photos/varrqnuht/542061119/
Downtime happens, and I'm sure we can all live with that occasionally.
However, next time, please be more on top of status messages. I checked back a few times Sunday night/early Monday morning to be greeted repeatedly with the message that the site would be back up Sunday night, and I checked constantly during the day on Monday to be greeted with the message that it would be back in 10 minutes. More than a full day passed before somebody thought to provide up-to-date status messages.
That said, I'm glad the site's back up. Go get some rest.
hooray..so great to see you back..I'm typing softly so I don't disturb your well deserved sleep after working so hard :)
A small point highlighted by this experience is the question of 'time'. For an world wide site it would be useful to know in what time zone posts are made. That way we overseas readers could work out that evening actually means the middle of the night (or whenever).
Alas, Warning: mysql_connect(): Lost connection to MySQL server during query in /var/www/html/inc_magicDB.php on line 195 Failure to connect to db (from getRead2).
me too, Warning: mysql_connect(): Lost connection to MySQL server during query in /var/www/html/inc_magicDB.php on line 195 Failure to connect to db (from getRead2).
Indeed; hopefully it will be redressed a little sooner.
You still have issues. I got into my account, came over to the blog, and then couldn't get back in my account due to a data-base error.
Shrike58
1st the Sopranos, then LT...
Same here. The main page is up, but all the rest have error msgs.
:o(
Oh, the pain...
site is NOT back up....I'm getting the same error. I am new. Just found this and was ready to join....but not so sure now
Great to see the repair/rebuild is completed. Appreciate the efforts and the stresses (been there, done that with hospital's main system once). Get some well-deserved rest.
Great to see the repair/rebuild is completed. Appreciate the efforts and the stresses (been there, done that with hospital's main system once). Get some well-deserved rest.
Go ahead and join! This is rare; nothing like it has happened for a *very* long time. Computer are computers, what can ya do?
I still cannot connect to my library or my profile page. I get the blog and the homepage, and that's all.
When I try to connect I get this:
Warning: mysql_connect(): Lost connection to MySQL server during query in /var/www/html/inc_magicDB.php on line 195 Failure to connect to db (from getRead2).
OHMYGOD NOTAGAIN
Well - it was up and running for several hours but looks like something's gone pear-shaped again :(
*sigh* Previous double-posted comment indicative of the same connect error as others are reporting. Just when we thought all was well. Good luck with bug hunts.
More syptoms/observations: The Add Books tab works to show recently added list and you can edit tags of those books. Connect error happens trying to add boooks (e.g. from LoC).
dodger: I wouldn't have said it was that rare - I joined just over two weeks ago and it was pretty flaky then as well. The database just went down for an hour or so at least twice in 24h, and as far as I could see it wasn't a planned upgrade (though the site has been down for an extended period of time for that too in the past couple of weeks).
Sort of starting to feel foolish for paying for an account now :-s
Yes, I'm getting this message too:
Warning: mysql_connect(): Lost connection to MySQL server during query in /var/www/html/inc_magicDB.php on line 195 Failure to connect to db (from getRead2).
And I was just about to say thank you for working so hard- well, I still say thank you for working so hard. But sadly, looks like the evil dbzilla has hit again!
I'm still down too! What an strange feeling to have lost access to my library's organization tool. Now I know I'm hooked on LT.
Keep working guys, we know you can get us up and running again
It was rare, but LT has had a bad time recently... some planned and some not.
It was up stable and not even slow/buggy for a few hours of my morning.
I now get "Warning: mysql_connect(): Lost connection to MySQL server during query in /var/www/html/inc_magicDB.php on line 195 Failure to connect to db (from getRead2)." if that's of use to anyone.
It appears on Talk, profile, library, tags, zeitgeist but NOT oddly on Add, Search, Tools, suggester or About
Well, I feel I need to defend this fantastic site.
First, keep in mind that the site is still in the beta test stage; it’s not perfect yet.
Second, it’s not like the membership fee is outrageously expensive. If it were $20 per month or something, yeah, it would be really frustrating.
Third, I’ve been a member for well over a year now, and very few things like this have happened--especially in the last six to eight months. As I stated before, computers do wacky things, and I have all the faith that Tim, Abby, and the gang will work tirelessly to get things fixed.
Looks as though we're not out of the metaphorical wood yet. My Library tab is sending back "Warning: mysql_connect(): Lost connection to MySQL server during query in /var/www/html/inc_magicDB.php on line 195 Failure to connect to db (from getRead2)."
Good luck with fixing!
Many thanks for all your efforts to get things up and running again :) Unfortunately, however, the site fell over again at around 7am on Tues (your time)
Waaaaaah! :(
I want to add that I'm getting the MySQL errors too (only get Add Books, home page and blog, no library, profile or talk).
I LOVE LT and hope you will fix this soon -- I'm in withdrawal.
Everyone is probably sleeping, after working like dogs all day yesterday.
Could be a while.
Dodger, I'm with you. Ditto everything you said.
dodger: I'm not trying to diss the site - I think it's great, which is why I paid the membership fee even though the site had been a bit flaky. And possibly why I'm sitting here sitting refresh to see when it comes back up because I'm in sad LibraryThing withdrawal state ;-)
I was merely trying to express that from my (admittedly pretty limited!) point of view, it seemed like things like this weren't rare, at least at the moment. Which is not to say I wouldn't recommend LibraryThing as an awesome site (I've been recommending it to a disturbing number of my bookish friends) or that I think the team are doing anything other than working really hard to get things working again.
It mostly comes down to stomping my little feet cos I want to play and the computers won't let me. ;-p So fret not, you don't have to do much defending, at least to me!
Unfortunately, I cannot get on either and am getting the same message as others. I hope it goes up soon (or that, at least, an updated message is posted on the blog soon) because I am totally addicted and keep staring at my computer longingly wondering when I am going to be able to post what I am reading this week (the Handmaid's Tale, by the way). Ok, that helped a little.
I get the front page, but when I log in this is what I get instead of my profile: Warning: mysql_connect(): Lost connection to MySQL server during query in /var/www/html/inc_magicDB.php on line 195 Failure to connect to db (from getRead2).
It's 7:49 am EDT on June 12.
I'm still having trouble with a lot of the functionality ... I can't access my library, or "Talk," or the Zeitgeist ... really all I get is the home page.
I'm getting a failure to connect error message. Is it just me?
Liz, no worries. They’ve had issues as of late, but they’ll get them worked out.
I have been in serious withdrawal though! So far I’ve posted a photo to the bookpile contest, purchased a new bookshelf, rearranged *all* of my books, oh, and actually read a book! After that, I realized that it my be a blessing, as I can now free up some time to actually read books, instead of talk about them on the site. ;-)
That said though, I hop the site returns soon! I miss it. :-(
I'm also unable to access my library or profile. I get this message:
Warning: mysql_connect(): Lost connection to MySQL server during query in /var/www/html/inc_magicDB.php on line 195 Failure to connect to db (from getRead2).
Oops, I too am getting MySQL errors when I try to reach my catalog: "Warning: mysql_connect(): Lost connection to MySQL server during query in /var/www/html/inc_magicDB.php on line 195 Failure to connect to db (from getRead2)."
It's Tuesday night here in Japan, and I get a MySQL error message when I try to access my library, though unlike yesterday I can log in.
This isn't a complaint as such: as many have pointed out, the membership fee is ultra-cheap, and the site does state clearly that it's beta software. On the other hand it seems to have been in beta for the longest time. And a full 2 days of outage (I haven't had time to check all through the day so it might actually be intermittent) is quite a long time, and certainly makes me think twice about recommending the service to libraries, for example. I'm all for the view that has come up on other threads: put up the price if necessary, but hire extra programming help to take LT out of beta!
Yup. More error messages as per hte other posts...
Warning: mysql_connect(): Lost connection to MySQL server during query in /var/www/html/inc_magicDB.php on line 195 Failure to connect to db (from getRead2).
HELP!!!
I too am getting tons of errors...
sad!
Noooo... Come back LT. I've got all these books that I have excavated out of my bookcase to catalogue. Help, I'm surrounded.
Any ideas when you'll be up and running again???
I get the Following message when I go Talk:
Warning: mysql_connect(): Lost connection to MySQL server during query in /var/www/html/inc_magicDB.php on line 195 Failure to connect to db (from getRead2).
I know y'all will find this hard to believe, but I keep getting this error message: "Warning: mysql_connect(): Lost connection to MySQL server during query in /var/www/html/inc_magicDB.php on line 195 Failure to connect to db (from getRead2).
"
Hm? Say what? That's already been posted eleven times?
Oh. Maybe I ought to read through all the comments before I post..
Yup, I'm getting the error too - something about the mySQL server - sigh, after patiently waiting all day yesterday to check on a book that I am (almost) sure I've already added to my library (but it's really bugging me, for some reason, that I'm not sure if I've added it or not) - well, if I can't be book-obsessed on LT where can I be book-obsessed???
But it´s not!
Can´t connect to my books database, either to my user account. Instead the site informs Sql-error. Anybody else has the same problem?
You mean the error on line 195? I wasn't sure if others were getting it yet, so I haven't bothered posting, for fear the message I got was just my fault.
I will keep trying and keep you all informed if it happens more than once.
-Mr. Useful
I was able to get back in late last night, (Thank you LT staff for all the hard work!) but as of 8am today (est) I am getting this error:
me too, Warning: mysql_connect(): Lost connection to MySQL server during query in /var/www/html/inc_magicDB.php on line 195 Failure to connect to db (from getRead2).
When I try to look at My Library. @:(
Uh oh . . . another day like yesterday for you folks.
Good luck with your repairs!
*cusses* I just posted a long thing and my internet deleted it.
I'm so glad the site is back up!! I haven't checked to see if everything's working, and from reading other posts I guess there's still some problems, but I'm just happy it's back up.
I love LT, and am certainly not deterred from loving it because of this unexpected downtime. A lot of sites have problems like that sometimes, especially with the kind of traffic I'm sure this place gets. I'm just happy it's here, and it's back, and LT has such a wonderful staff who works so hard to get things worked out. Thanks!
JPB, you are such a wisenheimer!
;o)
He he... "Mr. Useful"
Argh, that damn line 195!
I got ahold of the library thing source code! Here it is... maybe we can help find the bug! :D
=========================
works;
works;
works;
...above line repeated 190 more times...
works;
breakthingscompletely;
works;
works;
Notice the face after the word 'connect' in the error mag? That's the face I'm making.
():
The site is still not up, its 7.29 central time and I can still only pull up the blog. Same as last night, just thought you otta know.
Yeah, not working for me either. They are probably asleep though. :)
You're kidding right? A line 195 error message????
Seriously, LibraryThing is a GREAT site and a GREAT value. Every site, and I mean every site, has its problems from time to time. I've been with Library Thing for quite a while, and this outage is a first for me.
If you're considering joining, don't let this glitch discourage you! If you're considering bailing to another site, remember the grass may look greener on the other side, but it all has to be mowed!
jpb, you always amuse...thanks!
Still getting errors here too...
Oh, LibraryThing, I miss you so much that I want to sing a little song to you:
But nothing ...
I said nothing can take away these blues,
'Cause nothing compares ...
Nothing compares to you
Where do I get help for still being down? My account is NMRLSYSBookRev
I can't access my page and only get gobbledy gook.
Help!
Any chance LibraryThing is planning to join the facebook applications fad? I for one would love to be able to connect my collection over here to my profile over there...
hi - just tried to add a book and am getting error codes ....
*sniff*
*sigh*
I'll try later after hubby's dental appt. For now, I'll go bug the kids on myspace. *evil grin* hehehe...
- AnjilaG
Drats! Foiled Again! Was entering books like crazy until after midnight last night. Got up early....ARGH! Yes the Add Books page can be accessed, but (of course) can't enter books. Demonstrates my ignorance about computers, but I tried. Oh darn. Another day. Since I finally got my membership REALLY eager to get my library up - a fairly big job and would have loved to get it done before my time off from work ends - which is very soon! Drats!
Another long day for the staff at LT! Boy, are they going to be in for a sad surprise this morning.
I am not able to search books or add to my library...
It is Tuesday, 12 June, around 0900 and I still cant access Librarything with my account...still getting the my SQL server error problem
I am still getting this message:
Warning: mysql_connect(): Lost connection to MySQL server during query in /var/www/html/inc_magicDB.php on line 195 Failure to connect to db (from getRead2).
It's great to see the site up and running again, but...
I'm getting this message now:
Warning: mysql_connect(): Lost connection to MySQL server during query in /var/www/html/inc_magicDB.php on line 195 Failure to connect to db (from getRead2).
And I can't get into my library or visit "Talk" because of it. Are you still having problems?
katylit
Alas, Alatis, Alack
For I am still afflicted with the line 195 sql error if I attempt to access my library.
Though my pages are turned with equal fevour, my passions remain uncatalogued!
Good luck, bold bugfighters!
My LT doesn't work either...
you already know about the db unavailable error, so I'll just express my affection for LT. Serene, I fold my hands and wait.
Just wanted to say that all the work you've done so far is appreciated. I know that you'll get the rest of these bugs squished soon enough.
In the meantime, maybe I'll actually get some reading done instead of just talking about the books now. :)
Now we can see one more reason to work to prevent global nuclear holocaust. In addition to hundreds of millions dead, cities left smoking craters, civilizations erased ... we won't be able to LibraryThing. I would find that intolerable.
I get this error message when attempting to login:
Warning: mysql_connect(): Lost connection to MySQL server during query in /var/www/html/inc_magicDB.php on line 195 Failure to connect to db (from getRead2).
People please bring LibThi back online, I don't know what to do with my time!
A funny thing about that error. When I try to access my library, the error message blanks only the part where the library information would appear, but when I click on the tab for my profile, the whole page disappears, leaving only the error message. What gives?
In honor of the author I haven't been able to add next.
"Superstition is foolish, childish, primitive and irrational - but how much does it cost you to knock on wood?" -- Judith Viorst
I just knocked.
DromJohn
For the two or three people who have brought up the point about LT being in beta:
Tim has written, in almost so many words, that LT will *always* be in beta.
For some that's a bug, for others a feature. (I remain undecided, at least for another 42 books.)
Regardless of one's feelings on that matter, I hope we can all agree that it would be nice to have more information than just "up" or "down" (especially for "up," considering that LT is supposed to be back up now but a number of folks, sadly including me, continue to get error messages instead of library displays).
I'm getting the same error message as everyone else (9.32 am Eastern) -- so close and yet so far! I will be patient and enjoy reading my new acquisitions; cataloging can wait until the system is fully up again.
I am still not connected in all areas of the site, I am able to get into "Add Books" but when I attemt to do so I get the following message.
Warning: mysql_connect(): Lost connection to MySQL server during query in /var/www/html/inc_magicDB.php on line 195 Failure to connect to db (from getRead2).
So sorry chaps all is not as it should be.
Happy that you guys are at least sorta back up, but I'm still getting error messages on most pages.
And I'd second the request for adding time zones. -- it's enough trouble keeping time with just the four zones in the continental US.
(LTdown submission photo re-link)
Hi hi - I'm geting a MySql error again though, whever I try to add a book or search my library. is it down again?
If you are super cautious or just want to look at your catalog, the tab delimited output under tools still works.
Three cheers for Lt Bug getters.
I believe in you! Now what to do with these twitchy fingers....
My library is gone! Help. I get this message:
Warning: mysql_connect(): Lost connection to MySQL server during query in /var/www/html/inc_magicDB.php on line 195 Failure to connect to db (from getRead2).
Add me to the list of people who are still getting "Warning: mysql_connect(): Lost connection to MySQL server during query in /var/www/html/inc_magicDB.php on line 195 Failure to connect to db (from getRead2)."
Almost 10am US Eastern Time and no word from Tim, John, or Abby ... no notice on the home page either. I was really hoping to see official communications today based on yesterday's experience and feedback.
The Suggester still works.
People,
It's not helpful to keep adding "I'm having the same problem" to this comment thread.
Everyone's getting the same error message, and the site owners are certainly aware of it by now and trying to fix it.
So please STOP IT!
I, too, am getting the mySQL error for the library, profile and talk pages. (I didn't try to actually add a book.) However, I was able to export an excel copy of my personal library and the center's library (jsucus).
So LT is down, as is my fave bookswapping site. I may have to kill myself.
Not quite back yet.
I can get to 'add books'. However trying to get to my profile or my catalog results in the following (as of 10am EST 6/12/07):
Warning: mysql_connect(): Lost connection to MySQL server during query in /var/www/html/inc_magicDB.php on line 195 Failure to connect to db (from getRead2).
As someone else said, they are probably all asleep and don't yet know about the current problem or they are all working flat out. Most likely still sleeping.
You guys were apparently not here for the great crash of Feb '06. Down for days but came back stronger than ever. I expect the same thing here but without data loss.
The error message has now been replaced with the "down" page. Finally, some action!
Hurray for having an update posted instead of the error message.
Thanks, guys. Keep up the good work.
I WANT MY LT(B)
~ by Morphidae
~ (B) as in Beta
~ Sung to "I want my MTV" by Dire Straights
I want my, I want my LT(B)
I want my, I want my LT(B)
Now look at them yo-yo's, that's the way you do it
You add the Rowling on that LT(B)
That ain't workin', that's the way you do it
Money for suggestions and your tags for free
Now that ain't bookin’, that's the way you do it
Lemme tell ya, them guys ain't dumb
Maybe get a carpel in your clickin’ finger
Maybe get a carpel on your thumb
We got to input wall-to-wall bookshelves
Custom science fiction libraries
We got to move these boxes of westerns
We got to move these piles of mysteries
The little ‘grammer with the bald spot and the glasses
Yeah, buddy, that's his own hair
That little ‘grammer got his own cute cue-cat
That little ‘grammer he's a “suggestaire”
I shoulda learned to read the Tolkein
I shoulda learned to write them books
Look at that mama, she got it Thingin’ in the library
Man we could have some
And she's up there, what's that, Ursula Le Guin
Bangin' on the zeitgeist, you should come and see
Oh, that ain't workin' that's the way you do it
Get your money for ‘gestions - get your tags for free
Now that ain't bookin’, that's the way you do it
You add the works on that LT(B)
That ain't bookin’, that's the way you do it
Money for suggestions and your tags for free
Money for suggestions and your tags for free
I want my, I want my LT(B)
{Repeat, ad lib to fade}
Thanks guys. Much appreciated. Can't wait to add the latest book I just finished reading.
yay! some action.
boo.. now i have to do some work T_T
Didn't really worry...but thought it was my end!
Also grateful for your hard work and 5 copies are reassuring!!
Maybe you could change the name of the site to library down thing or library offline thing.
Then you wouldn't need to post poor excuses.
Morphy,
You rock!
<3
Now I will be singing that all day.
:o)
Funny how being anonymous gives some people the excuse to act like BLEEP-holes.
:o/
Morphidae, that's brilliant! I'm sure I'll be humming it all day. :D
Morph - that's truly inspired!
Abby - can we add Morph's lyrics to the down page?!
You smell, clamairy. :-p
Anonymous said...
"Maybe you could change the name of the site to library down thing or library offline thing.
Then you wouldn't need to post poor excuses."
What "poor excuses"? We are getting the updates we asked for, and I'm sure the LT staff will solve this. How is the database being down a "poor excuse" for LT not working?
Thanks for the updates Abby and Tim!
And John!
And I have still four new books to add . .
I feel so lost.....
I guess I could actually make my bed and do some laundry....
but I am holding you Tim responsible for my actions as a result of this. I might even go pull some weeds.....
who is this "Anonymous" - and what kind of a name is that?
"It was to him, too, that Hernandez came after he had deserted, three years afterwards. He had still his uniform on with the sergeant's stripes on the sleeve, and the blood of his colonel upon his hands and his breast. Three troopers followed him, of those who had started in pursuit but had ridden on for liberty. And he told Charles Gould how he and a few friends, seeing these soldiers, lay in ambush behind some rocks ready to pull the trigger on them, when he recognized his compadre and jumped up from cover, shouting his name, because he knew that Hernandez could not have been coming back on an errand of injustice and oppression. Those three soldiers, together with the party who lay behind the rocks, had formed the nucleus of the famous band and he, the narrator, had been the favourite lieutenant of Hernandez for many, many years. He mentioned proudly that the officials had put a price upon his head, too; but it did not prevent it getting sprinkled with grey upon his shoulders. And now he had lived long enough to see his compadre made a general."
-Joseph Conrad, 'Nostromo'
Oh yes! And John. Thank you.
I'm going out to take a nice walk in the Park. It's beautiful weather here in Brooklyn NY. Maybe when I get back , LT will be back to normal!
See you all!
Down on tuesday
Back on wednesday
Worse on Friday
Died on Saturday
Buried on a Sunday
and that was the end of Solomon Grundy
I'm rootin' for you John and everybody trying to fix LT. I know it will come back just as wonderful as ever.
I just have to stop checking every 15 minutes. I'll try to spread it out to every hour ;-)
Good luck!
katylit
Hi guys - I promise you it is even more painful in Britain, as we're awake when you are sleeping so have to wait longer for the re-blossoming of the site. But its a great service and thanks for fixing it as fast as you can.
Sad how powerful those withdrawl symptoms are - in exchange for the joys of success, you have to deal with the whines of our grumbling when it all goes wrong!
BookMooch is down, too. That site seems to be down nearly every time that LT is. Yesterday was a nice exception, though.
clamairy-
I agree. We all miss LT, but some of us need some patience, as well as faith in Tim, Abby, John, and Altay. They'll have it up again. :)
Kerian
Go LibraryThing Team! Rahrahrah!
Have you tried the duct tape? I know you guys are in Maine you know it's always worth a try.
Go John, you'll figure it out.
This is probably mean to say, but this is what comes from using a microsoft product (shudder).
UMMM... yeah for the anonymous person acting like a jerk. haven't you EVER had problems with a computer. learn some patience!!!
We don't mind the downtime. It happens, your service is great and innovative, we know you are working hard, etc. Abby, go talk to John and cheer him up, he's probably a pile of nerves and frustrated by now - and there's no need for that.
Furthermore we are book lovers, so we have tons of books to read while we wait for LibraryThing's return. Beat that, Digg/del.icio.us/Yahoo/Gmail/MSN/$every_other_online_community.
Looking forward to the solution of your problem. Patiently waiting to use your site. GOOD LUCK!
MORPHIDAE -- you're hilarious. i giggled my way through that tune.
i want my
i want my
i want my LTB
:-D
*sings*
Maybe get a carpel in your clickin’ finger
Maybe get a carpel on your thumb
We got to input wall-to-wall bookshelves
Custom science fiction librarie-eee-eee-eee-eeeees...
*blush*
Just gonna have to read a book tonight :-)
This lack of availability is acceptable for a free site, but problematic for a charging site. Any chance of a freebie for customers?
Is the "downtime" related at all to the coverage for librarything.com being highlighted in the national magazine "Real Simple" (July 07)? That's a pretty big circulation - and lots of subsequent traffic....
HOW MUCH IS IT TO JOIN ANYWAYS? WHAT ARE THE FEES?
$10 a year or $19-25 for life.
Ok, clearly I'm addicted to LT a little more than I realized.
Clearly.
Yes, this was indeed a good lesson for me.
Indeed.
Waaaaaaahhhhhhh!
I'm going looking for chocolate now.
not bad fees... i understand peoples frustration but i work with computers at my job, which is a library. it is just something you have to be patient with. it is not too much fun to have the catalog down but we all deal with it and hope patrons are patient. soon hopefully so i get scope out the site. i did once...
Yes, yes. We request, nay demand refund of fees for this downtime!
At $10 per annum, that comes out to nearly three cents a day! Storm the Bastille, people!
littlegeek, Microsoft products? To my knowledge LibraryThing is designed in PHP on Macs and runs on Apache and MySQL, and the web servers are Linux (Fedora I believe) :)
I am certain I caused this down time. You see, I have about 1000 books in my library, so I hired someone to come to my house and get all my books on line while I slave away at work. So of course, my worker just got to sit around on the clock, and chat with her friends on the phone and wait!
Love you guys anyway. You are worth it.
Dang nab it, I'm going to have to actually read a book!
:)
It's all good. dbs can be a pain when they want to be.
What about life member refunds? Anyone got actuarial tables? :-)
I know perfectly well how intensely frustrating this can be, especially when the box crashes a second time from here to Tuesday after it was “up and running again, hooray!” after a hard night's work. So relax, and keep up the good work—you certainly have my sympathies! :-)
^_^J. <-- gyokusai
What about life member refunds? Anyone got actuarial tables? :-)
Hush, you. I was just working out how this outage could be my ticket to immortality -- they'll have to extend my membership a couple-three days beyond the expiration date, i.e. my death, which means I'll have to live that much longer to take advantage of the extension, which means....
(Seriously, though -- flowers and candy to John for all the work involved in getting the site back up, and to Abby for keeping us posted.)
Morphidae,
...Money for suggestions and your tags for free!! HAHAHA, what a clever revised pop song you've created.
NOOO!!!! Not the rest of the day!
Really though, you guys at LT rock and keep up the good work. These things happen...
For all the money LT has received you'd think they could pay for a good sys admin. I know LT isnt exactly critical, but its still a paid service and the level of downtime really is unacceptable.
I hope all the data is intact, I plan to export my data when I get the chance and keep my own offline records rather than using this service I've wasted my money on.
First off, I think there's something really sick about the fact that I work for a publishing company, yet choose to goof off at work by going on a book site.
But I love and support this site throughout its computer crisis. Why? Because I understand that - once in a blue moon - technology breaks down.
Anyway. Now I have nothing to do but work! .....Which basically entails reading... Yeah, something isn't right here.
Oh, LT, how I yearn for thee!
To the tune of "Mandy" by Barry Manilow - with a Homer Simpsonesque voice:
"Oh, Abby, I just wanted to look at some books, but the website was down, Oh, Abby!"
Scaryguy
This is what I paid for? I have been a member for a month almost and this is not the first time something like this has happened. How can a website take your money then continue to not give you the service you paid for? What is this site doing with the money it gets from people?
My friends are happy on other sites where they didn't even have to pay $25 and I'm the genius that had to go with this site.
This site was the focus of my thesis and now I'm going to have to start over with something else so I don't look like an idiot. I can't reccomend this to anyone now.
Dear anonymous,
A waste of money???
>:o(
Come on now. Put it in perspective. You got either a lifetime membership for the cost of one hardcover book, or a one year membership for the less than the price of a trade paperback. Get a grip.
I am holding Tim personally responsible for the fact that yesterday, I cleaned my living room and bathroom, and today, I will likely clean the office, and maybe the bedroom! After that, I may be forced to curl up on the couch and read something interesting (shakes fist in air).
Perhaps we should take up some sort or collection for John. After this nightmare is behind him he’ll need a week at a five-star resort somewhere--or at the least a really big glass of beer!
Sorry, but paying for something and not being able to use it is pretty much the definition of a waste of money. Maybe you have been here a while and have got your moneys worth. Some of us newbies haven't seen anything but a whole lotta downtime. If that's not a waste of money I don't know what is.
anonymous newbies at that.. !
I wouldn't be surprised if some of these complaints are from operators of rival book cataloging websites. :o)
I am playing a tiny violin for those of you who are exceedingly upset about a little downtime on a site that (let's face it) is virtually free.
Everyone wants something for nothing. LibraryThing is clearly a labor of love, and $10 a year is a very small amount to pay for such a gratifying service, downtime or not.
Clearly those involved are working hard on attaining a solution. Posting nastly little messages in the midst of a crisis is tacky. I suggest that you show some respect and sympathy and have a little patience.
Aren't computers interesting? (And certainly addictive.)
When they don't work, some of us take it personally. For some, it is like losing something necessary. And the dang things do what I say, not what I want. I know people who get angry when I don't reply to an email right away, even though I have been in meetings and not even at my desk, or assume that message sent is the same as message received.
Asking for a refund for a service that has such low fees seems silly to me. You don't get a refund if your car stops working and you have to get it fixed (in fact you have to pay even more money!).
Things happen. Anger is misplaced here. Sorry for the editorial. And thank you sunny, morphidae and all you others who inserted humor into the comments!
Just a thought kvgeorge: If this site was the focus of your thesis, isn't this problem heaven sent? You can include this side of online cataloguing (or online anything) too!
In spite of what some may say, most of us support you, as we know that LT is the best of its kind!
Good luck with the repairs (I am praying for you, guys!)
A note to the new members who feel they’ve been taken or somehow wasted their money:
I can understand where you are coming from. I signed up for LT in January 2006, and a couple of days later, the site went down (not unlike it is now). It was frustrating, but a couple of days later, the site was back online, and all was well in the world again.
As clamairy pointed out, it’s all about perspective. It’s $10/yaer (less than $0.03 a day)! A couple of days ago, I paid about $10 for lunch, and it was not nearly as satisfying as a half an hour on LT. Let’s see for $10 a year, you could buy two drinks at Starbucks (and that’s it, for the entire year). You could buy one trade paperback book, though probably not a quality paperback (again, one for the entire year!). You could go to one movie this year, though you couldn’t have a soda or popcorn. I’ll stop, because I’m boring even myself...
My point is: it sucks that it’s down. I miss it terribly, and cannot wait to have it back. But it *will* come back, and I can assure you that if you’ve truly lost anything, Tim will make it right. Trust me, he is not sitting in some palatial Mr. Burns style mansion in Maine, laughing as he counts your money and saying, “Excellent.” In fact, I am willing to bet that as angry as you are about the site being down, he is more upset!
One last note from perceptionland: let’s say that, wore case scenario, because of this crash you’ve lost some of the books that you’ve catalogued--well, you didn’t really *loose* anything did you? I mean, the books are still on your bookshelf, no?
Well, for me it looks as if there is _one_ anonymous poster complaining over and over again ;-)
I just want to thank everyone at LT (and there are so few of you, and you all work so hard) not only for LT itself but for communicating with us now on the home page and keeping us amused with the photo contest and the humor.
I love LT as I said earlier, but haven't I also said LT takes time away from reading books? Now I'm in withdrawal but at least I'm not conflicted any more (oh wait, I'm reading the blog comments and writing one instead of reading a book . . .).
And, thanks, Morph!
Well said, dodger!!!
:o)
Everyone - thanks for your support and understanding (and the song, Morphidae!). I completely understand the anger and frustration, hell, we're angry and frustrated ourselves. And we will make it worthwhile to stick around.
We're working on not only fixing the immediate problems, but putting more safe guards in place—so if this ever happens again we can fix it without the site going down at all. In fact, we just ordered a brand new server...
I'll post more updates on the home page as I get them! Thanks for staying with us while we have some growing pains.
I am so low tech! --- no digital camera. :-(( In between doing long-neglected chores, and imagining all of the things one could do with $10 a year **sarcasm alert**, I've been creating a mental, non-pictorial bookpile for LTdown. Might as well post it here. Just picture the books, cleverly arranged. :-)
Knockdown
The Disappearance
The Longest Day
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
And the Devil Will Drag You Down
Paradise Lost
You Can't Go Home Again
Limbo of the Lost
The Exorcist
He he. Paradise Lost. That says it perfectly!
First of all, D'oh! my bad. I guess MySQL is no relation to the old MsSQL database that the evil trolls put out. Thank god.
Second of all, I've been getting lt for free, but I'd be willing to pay now (and considerably more than $10 per year) to keep it up and running. It's the best website in the known world. I miss my lt friends horribly! Hi, y'all!
I'll keep checking back and I'll be seeing you all on the other side. In the meantime, go read a book!
Morphy, love the song! It's running through my mind right now.....I want my....
Thanks Abby!! You and everyone at LT rock!
And a big 'F off then' to everyone who does not understand that computers have issues once in a while and for the 6 months that I have been a well rewarded member I have never seen anything more than a very occasional hour or two of down time.
Downtime sucks, but we all know you're trying. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that the 307 titles I inputted before crash are still there.
And if they're not, well ... I have the ISBN list. Things could be worse.
Keep up your hard work, I appreciate it.
If you think a 'fix LibraryThing' fund raising drive would help, say for more servers or getting in a MySQL wizard. I'd put money into the pot.
I appreciate all your hard work and want you to know that even though the site has been a bear for two days, I still love Library Thing and consider my $25 bucks a good investment. Don't get discouraged by the 'meanies.' They're probably the type who complain about everything in life.
Tasses
Myshelves: perfect bookpile. How soon to be followed by Paradise Regained!
So... what book have you all been contenting yourselves with while LT's down?
Well, I've been reading! :)
Also revising for an exam. Will check back again tomorrow
Ooh, I love it. It's like that what I'm reading now group but less organised ;-)
Well, I've been distracting myself with "The Woman in White". Drama and mystery. Perfect stuff for when LT is down :-)
Book? Oh! What a great idea! I’ve just been reading this blog! Maybe I’ll go finish Honby’s “About a Boy!” ;-)
Let me get this straight...you want me to actually read books instead of cataloging them? Pure crazy talk ;)
And to all the newer members, just try to have a little patience. I understand the frustration, but it's not time to stage a coup just yet.
For now, I'm scratching my cataloging itch on rateyourmusic.
These books are so physical. How am I supposed to combine them?!
I'm reading my way through "The People's Almanac." And I went to a funeral.
RAID0 !!!
Words fail me. Wow. Hopefully you're putting it back on a RAID5 or 6? This is a DB yeah?
Anyways, good luck with the repairs, and keep up the good work w this excellent site :)
Don't let the trolls get you down!! I really appreciate everything you're all doing to get LT up and running again. My house has never been so clean and tidy ;-)
Good luck
>>>9days said...
Let me get this straight...you want me to actually read books instead of cataloging them? Pure crazy talk ;)
LMBO!
I did get my Advanced readers copy today!! "The River Wife" by Jonis Agee. It wasn't the one I thought I was getting but this one looks just as interesting.
Kathy aka Oklahomabooklady
Thanks for keeping us posted. I greatly appreciate Library Thing. My name is Randolph. I am a Labrador retriever and a big reader. I would like to send 20 people a copy of my literary mystery-comedy novel A Dog About Town (Random House, May 29, 2007) for their reviews, general enjoyment, et cetera. The first 20 people to request the book via email adogabouttown@hotmail.com will get a copy.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Randolph
www.adogbabouttown.com
Ha. I'd call it spam, but my wife was thinking of writing a literary dog book, and would no doubt love a copy of this.
Oh dear! No LibraryThing and no chocolate in the house. :-) Thank goodness I have lots of things to read.
I've been a free member since Jan. of this year and this is the first major problem I've noticed. I LOVE this site and am still planning on paying the $25 for a lifetime membership. Thanks to all who are working so hard to get it back up and running!
I adore LibraryThing. It satisfies my craving for making a list and then just looking at how happy that list is. You guys rock. I hope your troubles end soon!
I've been a member for a while but I am choosing to remain anonymous when I say this:
Calling people trolls when they're voicing legit concerns or because they're not part of the small circle that has their heads up Tims rear just shows exactly how inbred this place can be.
C'mon, kids, there's no reason for us all to be uncivl ;).
I've been reading a bit of Alice in Wonderland, as well as the sixth Sword of Truth book (how did this happen? I'm reading epic fantasy O.O)
Thank you guys for all your hard work. I love LibraryThing and love you guys for trying so hard to get it up and running again :)
Tim et al:
I just want to say that I very much appreciate the explanation of the problem you posted, even if I don't understand it! ~smile~
I got in on LT early - I bought a lifetime membership for $10. Figuring I've got a good 25 years left (there's long life on both sides of the family), so far you owe me a rebate of .00218¢!
There are piles of books lying around the place (especially after Printers Row this weekend), so I expect I can find something with which to while away the time without LT.
Hope things are back up soon, and then I want you all to go have a beer (or whatever your favorite tipple is). Tell you what. Forget the rebate - put it in the drinks kitty.
There are certainly legitimate concerns here. This is a bad downtime. It's not a singular even in the history of small startups or an abomination before God, but it's a bad downtime. I am particularly sorry about how we communicated the news.
Thinks *are* looking up. First, it looks like we now know what the problem is, and are rebuilding the system to avoid it. We hope to get it up by tomorrow. I am not sure if that's going to happen, but it looks good. (I sincerely hope that the current assessment--bad hard drive--is correct.)
In the future, we're doing the following things:
1. We ordered another honking server to serve as the main 'read' server's twin. We've always had redundancy on web servers and on the secondary servers--used for some processes, but not the crucial ones. This will give us that sort of redundancy.
2. We are reconfiguring the current read server in a more fail-friendly way--this Raid5 business.
3. We are going to need to get better systems support. John was not hired as a database administrator, and has done a good job with a bad hand. We have a number of backup contract people, but we've had something of a comedy of errors drawing on them. (One is--believe it--sick with a bug bite!) We need something more stable. John was already planning to transition out. We're going to explore various options for sysems support. If we don't outsource it entirely--there are firms that do this sort of thing--his replacement will need a lot of this nitty-gritty sysadmin/dba work.
Anyway, let's all play nice until we can get it back up.
Another without a camera.
I imagined a two book pile around some dishes, even if this isn't a cookbook pile.
A Denby dinner plate with a blue-green rim underneath an upside-down clear bowl, with two books on the side, cover views:
A large textbook Abnormal Psychology by topped by 2001: A Space Odyssey.
If I was closer, I'd offer to help out w/ your sysadmin needs (I do exactly this type of stuff IRL).
I thought I was the only person in the world without a camera. Well I'm blunting the effects of LT withdrawal with Paradise Lost (really! Satan is currently pumping his troops up after the first bitter defeat) and The Electric Michelangelo by Sarah Hall. I may dip into Don Quixote later on.
A small, but heartfelt, bookpile
I was just about to compliment the new bookpile on the "down" page, but I think lilithcat wins.
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