I'll be getting 1.4 shortly. I just hope it doesn't act like the release candidates and screw up the layout whenever I have a couple dozen tabs open.

Re: Kristen's post in Press:

Regarding today's hour-long server outage:

The problem was caused by another user who was overloading the server. The problem has been fixed and that user has been warned.

How does a user overload the server, and how can we avoid making the same mistake as that user?

Any number of ways. You could write a poorly conceived script that gets caught in an endless loop, draining more resources every time it restarts. You could upload high-quality NSYNC MPEGS and then give the URL to the JJB. There's a lot you could do that I can't think of right now. Those are just two examples.

So far, there hasn't been anything to worry about for you guys. My only two concerns are a) when search goes live and b) if Joss starts showing up again in the fall. But, in both those cases, we won't know if it's really an issue until it happens and if it is an issue, we'll figure something out.

So far, there hasn't been anything to worry about for you guys.

Ah. I thought user meant Buffistas member. Please disregard my blatant ignorance.

Oh, by "user" I meant another account being hosted on the same server.

Is there anything that can be done coding-wise to make search much less of a drain?

Can we convince Joss to post under the name "Bernie McPhisterstein?"

Well, I think with the search function, it's going to be a trial and error thing. If it goes up and it is a drain, we have the resources now to figure out what specifically is draining.

With the Joss thing, I don't know. The only idea I can come up with is forcing people to the front page instead of direct linking.

Tech folk: Is there a way to do that for just external referrers? So we can still direct link from one thread to another but Whedonesque gets sent to the front page?

ETA: Though I did like the idea of putting Joss's posts on an simple HTML page that people could go to instead.

If it hasn't already been suggested, maybe we can take twenty volunteers to Beta test Search, really run it through a ringer, and see what's the what?

We could maybe have a "VIP Archive" page and simply email the webmasters of Fireflyfans.net and Whedonesque and ask for cooperation in making sure links go to that page.

I was kind of weirded out by the idea of having such an archive (Hey! Look at us! Important folks stop by cuz we da COOLEST!) but I think something small on the right hand side, "Nilly Goes to Hollywood!" for example, would be funnier and help.

I'm a tech moron, and maybe definately overthinking, but if the VIP archive was on a different part of the server than the rest of the site, would that then decrease the chances of outage due to linkage?

I think "Nilly goes to Hollywood' is a great idea, both as a thread and in real life. If it's a straight html page, it saves lots of wear and tear on the database.

Is there anything that can be done coding-wise to make search much less of a drain?

I'm pretty sure ita's plan is to set up search so that it only returns some set number of posts at a time, like a normal page view would, rather than returning every single applicable post, which is how it was previously set up. That should be much easier on the server.

I know there were social objections to a VIP page, but when it starts to be a tech issue, those may need to be reconsidered.

ETA: and, for the record, "Nilly Goes to Hollywood" is a f-in' great thread title.