3rd "The Sites are down" topic!

[Turnsky]

this is true, mind you, the admins are prolly too busy doing RL stuff (like work) and fixing the problem to actually say they're fixing the problem.
it can be a bit of unknown. I'm more curious as to what's the direct cause of the problems, though..
Hopefully after the 23rd, these problems will just go away for a fair while.

Considering the amount of time it takes to create a stickied forum post consisting of the sentence: "we have a problem, and we're fixing it," I find that excuse a little lame. Sorry.

That isn't to say I haven't appreciated comicgenesis for what it's been, a great free site for a few years. But keep in mind, it isn't completely "free." We all run the ads. This site isn't done out of the goodness of their hearts. As such, people using the service do have the right to at least know what's going on. My frustration at server downtime has mostly built from the fact that this is the first outage wherein I've even been able to find a forum post on the subject, not to mention find a message from an admin. That sort of thing makes me automatically wonder if they're even aware that there's a problem. I suppose it's unlikely that they wouldn't, but how's a lowly author to know for sure?

considering there's only two folks who can work on the system, Kisai, who's moving right now, is one of them, Redwolf, whom is a bit out of the loop while he's at work, Taking that into consideration, one can forgive them not telling the folks here, but instead they're rolling their sleeves up and getting stuck into the task at hand.

also considering that the server's had continued issues, and they've definitely said that "they're fixing it" in the past, one would think that was still valid..

[Swiftbow]

Generally speaking, Turnsky, when one "rolls up their sleeves and gets to work" they usually inform whoever is concerned about said work that they're going to do it. I should think most people being hosted would probably be willing to wait the 1-2 minutes this step would take.

And yes "real life" can intrude. However, in the cast of the admins of ComicGenesis, ComicGenesis is incidentally part of their real life. Obviously, things have to be prioritized, but little gestures (like a stickied one sentence forum post) can help a great deal in softening people's moods. After all, every comic author that takes his work somewhere else will, in the end, reduce the advertising income the company generates. It may not be by very much, but things can add up.

EDIT:
I feel the need to cite an example, since many posters seem to think that offering a free product means that the patrons of such are not customers and can't complain:
My parents put out a weekly, neighborhood newspaper. The paper is free at all locations for anyone to pick up. My parents make money from it through advertising. But if, say, a crisis arises and my dad has to leave town (as he did late last year) he can't just not put out a paper that week. Our advertisers and our readers would complain, and likely stop reading/stop advertising. He has to make the time to put out the paper anyway, often staying up so late on the day before publishing that he doesn't even sleep at all. And from my house, I stay up most of the night with him to proofread, because those little mistakes could cost readers too, however free the paper is.

Now obviously, the Internet is a bit different. Google ads are based on hits, not display time. So advertisers probably won't be lost. But revenue is lost whenever things can't be clicked. And a lost author means lost readers, means lost advertising. This is the business aspect of something that's "free." That's why people DO have a right to complain (at least a little) and to know what's going on.

[Turnsky]

well, that's true enough, but like i said, Kisai's moving, and generally she's the quickest to post what's going on, and when the folks hope to have things moving along..
And i don't know about Redwolf.

That said, yeah sure not being told can get old real quick, better than the "mushroom" option, Being kept in the dark, and fed a lot of bullshit.

offhand, if anything goes down, it can be back up in 4-5 hours or so.. but it seems that whatever's really wrong with the server, hasn't been nailed down yet, so we can expect an ETA on when things can be honestly back up and running might be after the 23rd.

that's the basic gist of it.. who knows, maybe the admins are trying to squeeze every ounce of life left in the server, to keep it going (barely) until the replacement arrives.

[Newsman]

Generally speaking, Turnsky, when one "rolls up their sleeves and gets to work" they usually inform whoever is concerned about said work that they're going to do it. I should think most people being hosted would probably be willing to wait the 1-2 minutes this step would take.
(snip)
Now obviously, the Internet is a bit different. Google ads are based on hits, not display time. So advertisers probably won't be lost. But revenue is lost whenever things can't be clicked. And a lost author means lost readers, means lost advertising. This is the business aspect of something that's "free." That's why people DO have a right to complain (at least a little) and to know what's going on.

FLAME=OFF
As an end-user (reader) of the sites hosted by CG, I realize my opinion doesn't carry as much weight as the artists/writers of the sites. That being said, though, I am an important part of the revenue model for ComicGenesis. As for posting a "sticky," unless the forum is on a different server than the web comics, I don't see much benefit in that myself.

As an IT professional, I can sympathize with the admins having to make due with flaky hardware/software, having been there myself. That doesn't make it any less aggravating when you're trying to pull up a web comic and get the "server failed to respond" etc. errors.

I, for one, *would* like to see something posted somewhere, perhaps on Keenspot or something (although I'm not 100% sure of the relationship, I know that the domain contacts are the same)?? Just a friendly suggestion.

[VIIStar]

That said, yeah sure not being told can get old real quick, better than the "mushroom" option, Being kept in the dark, and fed a lot of bullshit.

i thought mushrooms were grown in straw and pee... at least that's what happened on dirty jobs...

[Swiftbow]

FLAME=OFF
As an end-user (reader) of the sites hosted by CG, I realize my opinion doesn't carry as much weight as the artists/writers of the sites. That being said, though, I am an important part of the revenue model for ComicGenesis. As for posting a "sticky," unless the forum is on a different server than the web comics, I don't see much benefit in that myself.

As an IT professional, I can sympathize with the admins having to make due with flaky hardware/software, having been there myself. That doesn't make it any less aggravating when you're trying to pull up a web comic and get the "server failed to respond" etc. errors.

I, for one, *would* like to see something posted somewhere, perhaps on Keenspot or something (although I'm not 100% sure of the relationship, I know that the domain contacts are the same)?? Just a friendly suggestion.

Just to be clear... I'm not MAD nor am I flaming. I've been a bit annoyed, but the opinions I've expressed have been posted because I think they could help ComicGenesis do better. I too have worked in web server administration, and yes, it can be hard and annoying. I fix computers all the time, and, generally speaking, it can be very hard to give any sort of real estimate on fixing something whose problem can't be diagnosed.

But as the forum thing, in nearly all of these outages, the forums were still up. So I think they are a viable option for delivering news to the general ComicGen public.

[TheWhiteWilSmith]

I like how the constant outages managed to coincide with my first major story arc.

And what's with the Mormon propaganda on the site-admin pages?

[Turnsky]

as mentioned elsewhere, most of the adverts are based on where you live.. some sorta "location" dealie with your browser.

i'm guessing you live in Utah

[RadPal]

And what's with the Mormon propaganda on the site-admin pages?

That's what I want to know. And it's coming up on my site, too. And the forums. Eee!

Oh, and while I'm here I might as well:

WTF WHY IS TEH QEUE (SP?) DED

[TheWhiteWilSmith]

as mentioned elsewhere, most of the adverts are based on where you live.. some sorta "location" dealie with your browser.

i'm guessing you live in Utah

Nah, I live in VA... I mean, it's kind of bible thumpy, but that's about it.

[RadPal]

I live in New York. No Mormons here. I still get the ads a lot.

[Turnsky]

nothing like that in the australian corner.

that said, looks like they're still having issues with the updater DB..

Redpal, it's "Queue"

[Ayame Ex_Goddess]

I, on the other hand, DO live in Utah and I never get those. But I get enough of it in real life so I'm not complaining.

[NotQuiteInsane]

Well, OK, how about this.
A few folks have been asking me about a configurable RSS system for webcomics - one that includes an embedded "enclosure" object that links to the comic image itself, or a shrunken version of the main website. The idea being that people get the comic itself and the latest news update fed to them daily (or whenever) automatically.

It occurred to me that the "image enclosure" idea would be ideal for use as a backup for CGen if/when it goes down in future. Upload your images straight to RSS, and you get the RSS feed and a little webpage that acts as your backup.

I'm also throwing around an idea for a program that watches a given directory on your hard drive, then automatically uploads the comic when a file is saved in said directory. Adding RSS upload support to it would be trivial (on a "module per site" basis - if you wanted to add support for e.g. Drunkduck you just write a Lua module to do it).

Comments?

[TheWhiteWilSmith]

I, on the other hand, DO live in Utah and I never get those. But I get enough of it in real life so I'm not complaining.

Well the Mormons have already taken over Utah, there's no point advertising there. It's like trying to sell the lot for a concentration camp to Hitler.

They're trying to edge in on the rest of the world. STARTING with Australia.

And yes. The Queue is ridiculous today. I've been in since 6am.

[Dotty]

Any status on the Queue?

[Newsman]

Just to be clear... I'm not MAD nor am I flaming. I've been a bit annoyed, but the opinions I've expressed have been posted because I think they could help ComicGenesis do better. I too have worked in web server administration, and yes, it can be hard and annoying. I fix computers all the time, and, generally speaking, it can be very hard to give any sort of real estimate on fixing something whose problem can't be diagnosed.

But as the forum thing, in nearly all of these outages, the forums were still up. So I think they are a viable option for delivering news to the general ComicGen public.

Good to know on the fora... I have never tried them directly if there was a problem with CG-hosted comics. I'll have to keep that in mind. As for the "FLAME=OFF" that was my own idea to avoid people misunderstanding my post as a flame.

I do have a great admiration for the volunteer admins. That being said, it would be nice if there were some sort of notification. But I'm not going to gripe too much if there's not any notification of system problems, especially with a new server imminent.

[Perk_daddy]

I, on the other hand, DO live in Utah and I never get those. But I get enough of it in real life so I'm not complaining.

I'm in Utah and I'm seeing them all over any CG site I look at. They already got me, though

Well the Mormons have already taken over Utah, there's no point advertising there. It's like trying to sell the lot for a concentration camp to Hitler.

Uh, nice analogy...and all the Californians are moving here, so we're going after them!

They're trying to edge in on the rest of the world. STARTING with Australia.

Actually there are more of us outside the U.S. than in it. There are your annoying facts for the day.

Thanks to the admins for putting up with the server issues and the whiners. You are greatly appreciated!

[NakedElf]

I like how the constant outages managed to coincide with my first major story arc.

And what's with the Mormon propaganda on the site-admin pages?

I dunno. I used to get all porn ads. What happened to my porn ads? *sniffles*

Seriously, though, do you think Suicide Girls would advertise on some of the MA/NC-17 comics?

As for the actual topic of the thread, I think a stickied post which says 'Yes, the servers are having issues, DUH, we're working on them, please be patient and don't go banging on the Manual Update button it will only make things worse," would be a good thing simply because I'm quite sure there are a few users who're hitting the update button 5 times in a row in an attempt to get their comic to update.

And while I do want the staff to focus on the problem, not telling us what we already know about the problem, I don't think the five whole minutes it would take to make such a post would significantly impact the fixing-things-time.

[Rkolter]

Please be assured that Kisai and Redwolf are both utterly, deeply, all but completely aware of this situation and that it is ongoing and are working to make the problem go away. It'll be fixed, when it is fixed. Which will be as soon as possible. Until then hold onto your hats and make the best of the times ahead.

And please, everyone, stop complaining. It really doesn't do any good except to rile up other people. Even if Kisai and Redwolf listened to the complaints, they aren't fruitful complaints - there aren't suggestions or fixes or offers for free server hardware. They're "Why isn't this fixed; why haven't you told us the status" complaints.

Seriously, ouch. They aren't paid enough to suffer the slings and arrows of a drunken first level fighter, let alone a horde of twitchy comic artists.

Be nice. Play nice. We will be back. We always are.