Server Upgrade Update
Greetings Folks --
Last week I discussed the various problems we're having with commenting and reader blogging due to the extreme volume of traffic we're now experiencing since the beginning of the conventions and what we're doing to try to solve them.
We met today to finalize our schedule for the upgrade and roll-out of new features. So I wanted to bring you all up to speed on planned dates for switch-overs and when you should be able to expect relief/improvements.
Our new servers -- an entirely new build at a new web hosting service is scheduled to come online next Monday, September 15th. We'll begin the migration progress on Monday and we've tentatively scheduled to go live on the new servers on Friday, September 19th.
This switch over to the new servers should resolve all the problems we're currently experiencing -- the log in problems, double comments/posts, publishing delays etc. Basically these are all due to not having enough server capacity and we're roughly doubling that.
The following week we're going to be upgrading to the newest version of Movable Type, the publishing platform TPM is published on. This should also significantly improve performance, especially on how quickly updated pages are generated.
Then over the following two and half weeks we'll be rolling out two new, long-sought, features. First will be our new blog editing interface, which will allow, previewing, editing, much more robust formatting features and more. Second, we'll be rolling out our new community and discussion dashboard. (Tomorrow we'll be posting pictures of the dashboard on the staging site to give you a better idea how that will work and how it will allow you to more easily following discussions you're participating in.)
That's all for now. Please hang on for a bit longer and we'll have improvements in place.
Yeah! I'm happy. Anyone else happy?
Panicked? I'm not panicked.
Here's a little chew toy for you all-
Number-crunching pollster sees decisive Obama win.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080910/ts_afp/usvotepollemory;_ylt=AjwsLt5DiHO7bp3328bDkcxg.3QA
Thanks, Josh.
September 11, 2008 4:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
Abramowitz said his model had correctly forecast the popular vote winner within two percentage points or less in every presidential election since 1988. (AFP 9/10/2008)
A reporter who accepts a pollster's word for the accuracy of his model without checking the record as shown by the projections he published at the time he made them isn't credible.
Then again, this is from Agence France-Presse, and French journalists do tend to be partisans.
September 11, 2008 6:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, and American journalists, as we all know, are completely "fair and balanced"! Give me a break!
September 11, 2008 12:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
This guy is a serious academic.
It's possible he will be wrong this time and McCain will convince people that he's the candidate of reform and change, but you shouldn't dismiss the fundamentals out of hand.
September 12, 2008 5:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Like it says for the market: Past performance is not guarantee of future success.
September 11, 2008 9:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for the update.
September 11, 2008 8:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you!!!
September 11, 2008 8:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
Good luck, Josh. I know these site upgrades are fraught with perils and never go as smoothly as we'd wish. But we'll hang in there. Looking forward to the new features!
September 11, 2008 9:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
Looking forward to it. Still think we need a stronger roster of featured commenters and a way to put user comments more on par with their own (Some play on the main TPM Page, blog rescues, etc).
We're just nto emphasizing the users enough here, I don't think and I have an important post in mind called:
10 Reasons Sarah Palin Means that Obama Has to Do These 14 Things Or He Will Lose Now!
September 11, 2008 9:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
Will people ever get their old blogs back, the ones that predate Feb? The ones promised over and over?
September 11, 2008 9:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
/tents fingers
EXcellent.
September 11, 2008 10:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks, Josh.
Would TPM folks please consider putting up a small permanent, visible section about the site? Something like "TPM - Technical Info" or "TPM Site Info". At the top level, along with ElectionCentral, Muckracker, Cafe..
This would have site updates, current issues affecting the site, and info to newbies about the site, including the FAQ, how to use the site, how to blog here and other TPM meta data.
September 11, 2008 10:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
This is a good idea. Honestly, we've got so many pans in the fire at the moment that I'm not sure we have any mental/time bandwidth to do anything else but get done what we're trying to get done on this schedule. But we'll put it on our list of to-dos and do our best to get it done. Think it's a good idea.
September 11, 2008 10:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
No, no more useless FAQs. Just take down the useless posting banner and put up a warning: "Temporary:
Post doesn't work right.
It gives you an error message.
Don't click again, it will show up soon enough.
Will be fixed in a few weeks.
Again, please don't click Post 2 or more times.
People will hate you."
September 12, 2008 5:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
In the past hour... no reader post has succeeded in posting!
Well... maybe some "posted" but all you can see is a title and click on that... you get an error message!
September 11, 2008 11:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
The posts appear in the "All Reader Posts" list which you may enter by clicking on the link at the end of the list.
September 11, 2008 11:38 AM | Reply | Permalink
The update is appreciated.
Forgive me if I am incorrect about how people use the site, but wouldn't it help if you posted announcements like this on Election Central too?
Ever since you changed the site, and made it possible for people to blog from there, seems to me that a lot of people do so. They comment there, and can access and create Reader Blogs from there, but don't seem to be aware of the posts on this page.
September 11, 2008 11:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
Exactly. I sent a whiny email before remembering that I was a nest of 4 clicks away from some potential information.
Oh well.
September 12, 2008 12:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
It sounds awesome, Josh!'
And thanks for keeping us informed.
September 11, 2008 1:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for the update, Josh.
I appreciate that in just over a week the new servers will, in theory, solve all problems.
Meanwhile, however, the multiple blog postings and repeat comments are continuing, creating a vicious cycle of excess traffic and rendering Reader Blogs near-useless.
Here's an interim suggestion I am sure would at least alleviate this problem:
A big black-bordered box on the Blog Now form, which would say in 14 or 18 point type (and I paraphrase):
In case you haven't noticed, assholes, we're having server problems.
Ignore the Server Error message and do not -- DO NOT -- resubmit.
Your post will eventually appear.
You could rephrase it more politely if you like.
The same, impossible-to-miss box could be stuck just above the comments box on each thread.
I'm no techie, but it seems to me this should take your IT guys about five minutes of work. No?
Thanks again for your hard work keeping this site open and robust.
September 11, 2008 1:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for the upgrades and listening to your users. Despite all the technical problems and frustrations, this is still one of the best sites on the web.
September 12, 2008 4:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks, Josh. As someone who manages a busy site, I feel your pain.
Good luck.
September 12, 2008 7:48 PM | Reply | Permalink