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The Twilight Zone

By Jeralyn, Section Blog Related
Posted on Mon Jul 31, 2006 at 11:14:45 PM EST
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Bump and Update: More tales from the Twilight Zone about the TalkLeft content that disappeared down the rabbit hole. I've been working all day getting TalkLeft back on track (a big thanks to TChris for all his posting). Here's what happened. The hosting company moved TalkLeft on July 26 to a different server and didn't notify me. They left TalkLeft on both servers, so the only way I had of figuring out something was wrong was when I uploaded some pictures and pdf files to the server and they didn't show up on the site.

They moved the server because for the past two weeks I had been telling them that TalkLeft was running really slow and inexplicably would go down for 15 minute periods. Alexa says TalkLeft loads slower than 90% of other sites on the internet. So I asked them to check into it. They did and told me nothing was wrong on their end and I should have someone check the applications and Movable Type templates on TalkLeft. I hired someone to do this at $100 an hour. After three days, he told me nothing was wrong with the templates or applications and made some suggestions for speeding up the site, and said he believed it was a problem with the server.

I put him in touch with the hosting company and they reacted by changing the server, but not telling us. All of a sudden on Saturday, the DNS change went into effect, meaning that everything TChris, readers in comments, Dukesters on the duke boards and I had written on TalkLeft from June 26 to June 29 was gone. And not knowing the site had been moved, we had no idea why.

Today, again without telling me, they moved the DNS back to the original server, which has made it even more difficult for me to track missing files. Each post on TalkLeft has a number, and they are not the same for the posts since July 26.

Since this happened, I have had no time to read other blogs and link to them and no time to read the great items I get from readers and others that I normally would post on TalkLeft.

To top it all off, traffic stats halved since the trouble began, which will affect advertising revenue. And I'm left with a big bill to pay the tech person I hired.

So for all of you whose comments were lost or who have had trouble accessing TalkLeft, I apologize. And if any of you feel so inclined, it would be a very welcome gesture to make a contribution through paypal.

*******
Original post 7/29

It appears TalkLeft has entered the Twilight Zone.

Earlier today, readers were clicking on the home page and the July 26 date and entries appeared. Now the page is blank because all of the entries since July 26 have gone down the rabbit hole.

I have notified Hosting Matters and hopefully they will have an answer. It may be they changed the TalkLeft IP address.

TalkLeft seems to be residing at two different IP addresses now and the new stuff must be on the other one -- if that's right, we should get it back.

Same for the Duke Forums, sorry everyone.

Update: So far no word. Here are the last 20 posts, for now unaccessible:

Publish U.S. Builds New Prison at Guantanamo
Publish Iraq's Partisan Divide Exceeds That for Vietnam
Publish NYTimes Endorses Ned Lamont
Publish Mel Gibson Apologizes, Blames Behavior on Alcoholism
Publish Administration Hides Iraq Cost Overruns From Congress
Publish NATO to Fight Drug Traffickers in Afghanistan
Publish Bush Submits New Plan for Detaining Terror Suspects
Publish Rice Brings Bush Peace Plan to Israel
Publish Air Marshals Complain of Quota System
Publish Letterman Spoofs the She-Pundit's Clinton Remarks
Publish Mel Gibson's Anti-Semitic Tirade
Publish Bernie Ebbers Conviction and Sentence Upheld
Publish Duke Lacrosse DA Admits Overplaying the Media
Publish An Interesting Verdict and Sentence
Publish An Appealing Document
Publish U.N. Asks U.S. to Close Secret Detention Centers
Publish Immigration: Better There Be No Bill at All?
Publish Life in a Solitary Prison
Publish Open Thread

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    The Twilight Zone | 26 comments (26 topical)
    Re: The Twilight Zone (none / 0) (#1)
    by Kevin Hayden on Sun Jul 30, 2006 at 05:38:15 PM EST
    I'm afraid if I comment, that I'll disappear. The internets tubes are many and I'll clog 'em for sure.

    Re: The Twilight Zone (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Jul 30, 2006 at 05:58:50 PM EST
    Yours is one of the blogs I value reading. I just registered so I could comment. I trust all will be well.

    Re: The Twilight Zone (none / 0) (#3)
    by jen on Sun Jul 30, 2006 at 06:39:52 PM EST
    Gee, and I wrote such a brilliant and inspired comment. Now its vanished!

    Re: The Twilight Zone (none / 0) (#4)
    by dutchfox on Sun Jul 30, 2006 at 06:58:38 PM EST
    oh my! what a bummer! I've been in Montreal since about noon and just got back and discovered your note to us I love TL so much and was enjoying the last recent threads. I hope it all works out so we can continue to participate.

    Re: The Twilight Zone (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Jul 30, 2006 at 06:58:55 PM EST
    That sucks..... It sounds like everything went down the series of tubes. I really think you ought to get a hold of Ted Stevens and let him know. I'm willing to bet that somebody backed a truck up to your site and dump enormous amounts of material down your personal internet tubes. They probably filled the tubes with ten movies or something like that. Jon Stewart says that sometimes you can clear the tubes by blasting a round lottery ball through the tube. You really need to clear the tube ASAP so the gerbils on wheels have a chance at getting it going again

    Re: The Twilight Zone (none / 0) (#6)
    by jimcee on Sun Jul 30, 2006 at 07:16:12 PM EST
    DutchFox, I just got back from Montreal, I love that city. So many neighborhoods so little time. I've been going there since I was a youngster and there is always something new I find every time I visit. Enjoy. TL, a DOS attack perhaps?

    Re: The Twilight Zone (none / 0) (#7)
    by Che's Lounge on Sun Jul 30, 2006 at 07:26:49 PM EST
    No Beef, the tubes are clogged with porn and gambling (and left wing blogs), so no internets can get through. It's all about diameter. Sort of, but not really. Maybe if Stevens got his tubes cleaned out once in a while he wouldn't talk out of his ass so much.

    Re: The Twilight Zone (none / 0) (#8)
    by Aaron on Sun Jul 30, 2006 at 07:33:28 PM EST
    Careful, the forces of evil censorship and government repression are allying against you. Such is the price all who allow me to comment on their blogs must pay.

    Re: The Twilight Zone (none / 0) (#9)
    by Aaron on Sun Jul 30, 2006 at 07:34:04 PM EST
    Careful, the forces of evil censorship and government repression are allying against you. Such is the price all who allow me to comment on their blogs must pay.

    Re: The Twilight Zone (none / 0) (#10)
    by Pete Guither on Sun Jul 30, 2006 at 07:42:57 PM EST
    The posts are suspected of having ties to terrorism and may or may not be held indefinitely at an undisclosed location.

    Re: The Twilight Zone (none / 0) (#11)
    by squeaky on Sun Jul 30, 2006 at 08:06:14 PM EST
    Always a refreshing read during times like these: Down the Rabbit Hole

    Re: The Twilight Zone (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Jul 30, 2006 at 08:57:01 PM EST
    twas brillig and the tithy tove did gyre and gimble in the wabe... I don't think I should talk about Iraq reconstruction contract connections anymore. :-)

    Re: The Twilight Zone (none / 0) (#13)
    by anon55 on Mon Jul 31, 2006 at 12:10:16 AM EST
    TalkLeft Yahoo Search TalkLeft recent Home Page articles

    Re: The Twilight Zone (none / 0) (#14)
    by anon55 on Mon Jul 31, 2006 at 12:38:20 AM EST
    This is a more refined search

    Re: The Twilight Zone (none / 0) (#15)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Jul 31, 2006 at 08:52:10 AM EST
    If you changed web servers then it may be taking some time for the new DNS entries to propogate throught the internet. I have seen this take a day or more. Hey everyone - clear your browsers cache! Much Love

    Re: The Twilight Zone (none / 0) (#16)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Jul 31, 2006 at 02:39:32 PM EST
    It appears TalkLeft has entered the Twilight Zone. Most of us have known that for a while now... hehehe

    Re: The Twilight Zone (none / 0) (#17)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Jul 31, 2006 at 09:49:10 PM EST
    Does TalkLeft seem slow to anyone? Not at all to me. It is possible though that some ads can slow down the download. Often when opening a page something like doubleclick.com will show still loading on the status bar (at the bottom of the browser). Maybe TalkLeft people have more firewalls than the average user and that slows it down a bit. It's not a problem here, though. Certainly not worth $100/hr over 3 days. :) Maybe others are having trouble, not me.

    Re: The Twilight Zone (none / 0) (#18)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Jul 31, 2006 at 09:52:46 PM EST
    Second thought: it can take a while for a post to process and that may slow down the average time, but that could be the TypeKey server. I'm no IT person though.

    Re: The Twilight Zone (none / 0) (#19)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Aug 01, 2006 at 05:30:18 AM EST
    At the end of my DSL line, TL seems to be average to quick compared to many sites, and many blogs in particular. In the past, sitemeter and other third party content were known to cause sites to load slowly. I don't know, but I assume any site interested in privacy issues doesn't use sitemeter. I do know I block that and many other pieces of third party nonsense including their java script enabled browser bugs. I do get your ads, and have been known to click on a few. At many sites, the ads were causing slow loads for me, so those got adblocked too.

    Re: The Twilight Zone (none / 0) (#20)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue Aug 01, 2006 at 05:43:48 AM EST
    I think I'd be talking to the hosting party about their costly advice. Come on boys and girls, ring the Paypal meter with a few bucks for our hostess. Surely you don't want ole PPJ with his heart of stone to get ahead of you!

    Re: The Twilight Zone (none / 0) (#21)
    by Bob In Pacifica on Tue Aug 01, 2006 at 06:41:46 AM EST
    I don't seem to be able to make comments at the Duke board now.

    Re: The Twilight Zone (none / 0) (#22)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Aug 01, 2006 at 08:21:39 AM EST
    PPJ, you do have an organ made of stone, and it isn't your heart :)

    Re: The Twilight Zone (none / 0) (#23)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Aug 01, 2006 at 10:30:22 AM EST
    Clarification: "Often when opening a page at OTHER sites something like doubleclick.com will show still loading on the status bar (at the bottom of the browser)." This was never noticeable at TalkLeft. The only noticeable delay is when posting. It could be different for others. But, jeeze, TalkLeft, you could ask us first if it seems slow. :)

    Re: The Twilight Zone (none / 0) (#24)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Aug 01, 2006 at 11:11:57 AM EST
    Bob, the Duke board is working fine, please try again. ProzacNation, the slowness was in posting and editing inside MT, and readers also emailed me about the slowness. I'm glad it didn't affect you. All should be fine now, but thanks Jim, because the contributions really help.

    Re: The Twilight Zone (none / 0) (#25)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Aug 01, 2006 at 03:33:33 PM EST
    I just got a movable type error when I posted over at the Mel Gibson topic. I pressed the reload key on my browser and went back to the topic and it still posted. The error said something like event_id or post_id MOVABLE TYPE in bold letters.

    Re: The Twilight Zone (none / 0) (#26)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue Aug 01, 2006 at 04:41:01 PM EST
    Dark Avenger - You promised not to tell. ;-) et al - The only slow operation I am seeing is when posting a comment. Plus, when using AOL, when I hit the back button, it doesn't go back.

    The Twilight Zone | 26 comments (26 topical)