Where are our donations going?

[ruiner4u]

For the last two weeks we have been from defcon 1-4...But a search of alexia shows that traffic has been down SINCE november...WAY DOWN... check for yourself...

Skinner and all say that traffic has been way up... but, web trafficking sites say otherwise?
http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?q=www.democraticunderground.com/&url=www.democraticunderground.com/

I assumed that we donated so that admin can predict this kind thing and pay for the necessary hardware to avoid the overload we have been seeing... Do our donations cover past debt or do they cover assumed upgrades? and why are we told DU is lagging because of a surge when agents like alexa show that we are down?

skinner, elad, et al.. Whats up?

[MrSlayer]

1. We're secretly funding Rudy's campaign.

I wasn't supposed to say anything but there it is.

[Nicole]

3. Rudy?

Dammit! I thought it was going to Mitt! :mad:

[MrSlayer]

4. Is that what "They" told you?

The both of us may be being played here. Hmmm. Those sneaky administrators.

[Hekate]

2. Agent Mike? Are the TIA minders clogging up the lines?

Shhhh.

Hekate

[sandnsea]

5. Alexa isn't a good traffic tool

It only measures traffic of those who use the toolbar.

They already explained the problem, new hardware. They always get these things fixed in fairly short order, this won't be any different.

I don't exactly know what this "we" thing is either. This is not "our" site. It belongs to Skinner, Elad and EarlG. If you have questions about your donations, it would be appropriate to PM one of them directly rather than shit in the middle of the neighborhood, so to speak.

[JTFrog]

6. Alexa ranks sites based on visits from users

of its Alexa Toolbar for Internet Explorer and from integrated sidebars in Mozilla and Netscape. Most tech savvy folks are going to make sure they never install this kind of crap software on their computers making those numbers pretty useless.

[fed-up]

7. looks like I am one of the "uncounted"-not tech savvy, but stay away from IE-and don't know what an

"integrated sidebar" is....

[JTFrog]

8. It's basically an add-on to the browser.

Add-ons can be installed by choice, but more often than not are quietly bundled with other software and users usually don't even realize they've installed them or think that the new toolbars are part of the other software. Some are useful, but others can be pretty invasive, usually tracking your browsing habits.

[Arkansas Granny]

9. Good to know that I'm not alone.

I'm old enough to have learned typing on a manual typewriter and computers, at that time, took up an entire room. I'm amazed at what has been done in the field during my lifetime, but I'll be damned if I understand much of it.

[JTFrog]

11. Absolutely nothing wrong with that.

What I take issue with is the companies that continue to take advantage of that lack of understanding.

Anyway, those in the web analysis business refer to Alexa as the "you get what you pay for" tool.

[Tesha]

10. Alexa is worthless crap. (NT)

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

12. What Hogwash. This OP Premise Is Disgraceful.

First of all, Alexa is garbage. Second of all, there is no claim to a constant increase in traffic, as the increases are spontaneous and temporary based on spikes in political activity.

But most importantly, the admins have already explained that the reason for some of the problems lately is most likely a hardware issue with one of the servers that will probably need replacing, and that they are working on getting a new one etc but it will take some time.

So all in all, your OP is nothing less than ignorant provocation.

[Richard Steele]

13. "ruiner"

:eyes:

[Adelante]

14. Where have all the grownups gone?

Long time passing.

[Bluebear]

15. 'DU is lagging because of a surge'...yeah, you're paying for The Surge

:eyes:

[Nickster]

16. Thank you for your concern. n/t

[REP]

17. Where Are They Going? Straight Up GrovelBot's Nose

Or you could believe some crazy assed conspiracy theory about there being some hardware problems. I prefer to think that they're using my donation to blow coke up hookers' asses.

[Skinner]

18. We believe that the problems are not entirely traffic-related.

When I posted my previous announcement about this issue, we were experiencing a significant increase in traffic because of a number of large news stories, specifically the Gonzales hearings and the Virginia Tech shootings. We naturally concluded that higher traffic was the cause of the problems we were experiencing.

Since then, traffic has subsided, but we have still been experiencing an unacceptably high number of errors and table corruptions. These problems get worse when traffic increases, but it has become clear that it is not entirely related to traffic. We believe that there is something wrong with one of our servers, possibly a hardware problem, but we have not been successful in finding it. (Elad posted something about this on April 26.) By running DU on higher levels -- even during times of low traffic, like overnight -- we have been able to keep the number of crashes manageable.

As promised, we are working on getting a new server, and when we finally get it we should be able to return to normal operation. The new server will also give us the chance to take the problematic server offline to see if we can isolate whatever is causing the errors.

As for the money, we are supposed to have a fund raiser in a week and a half. But I cannot bring myself to ask members for money while you are receiving such poor service. If we don't get the site working properly in time for the fund drive, we will postpone the fund drive until it does work properly.

We are as frustrated as all of you by this situation. We really appreciate everyone's patience and understanding.

Skinner
DU Admin

[Adelante]

19. Sell some hearts or something

Everybody likes those, they are gifts for others, and it's quick money.

[wildhorses]

20. i thought someone found a cat in a mainframe

:hide:

[Adelante]

21. Did you see that picture?

It's really funny :D

[wildhorses]

25. yep

;)

[Hawkeye-X]

23. I got proof!

Psst.. it wasn't a cat..

[wildhorses]

26. oh lord!!! the snake ate the cat --- i just know it!!!

:scared:

[Missy Vixen]

30. SNAKES IN A SERVER!

Run! Run for your lives!

:rofl:
Julie

[progressoid]

31. Enought is Enough! I've had it with these M-Fing snakes on this M-Fing Server!

[TahitiNut]

27. Your candor and ethic is to be appreciated, sir.

My 'spidey' sense (IS/MIS/EDP) would incline me to examine the (SQL) database server, focusing on the data storage, and wonder about garbage collection, corrupted indices, and fragmentation. (I get the impression that Elad does a remarkably decent job.)

[tandot]

37. I still think it is the "Please Remove" thread with its almost 2600 posts

it is dragging down DU with its might :evilgrin:

[TahitiNut]

46. (lol!!) That's sure one of the longer snakes meandering it's labyrinthine way through the indices.

:rofl:

[cally]

32. Thank you for your explanation

I appreciate the transparency.

[sandnsea]

34. Oh lord, have the fund drive

Stuff costs money, people understand. Most do anyway.

[Missy Vixen]

22. What exactly are you driving at here?

It's fairly obvious what you're trying to imply. I find it outrageous and insulting.

I don't think anyone's getting rich off the donations. Web hosting, equipment and related expenses aren't cheap.

We don't have full functionality right now, but considering the fact that Skinner and the guys have kept things humming around here for the past six years, I'm more than happy to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Julie

[Robbien]

28. Surprising isn't it

A poster being so obvious doesn't think he is being obvious.

Desperation clouds their minds. In their world anything goes when they are trying to disrupt their opposition.

[Bassic]

24. Skinner said that it was probably a hardware problem.

I guess they just haven't been able to isolate it yet.

Edit: yeah I know, I should read whole threads before I post.

[mikelgb]

29. I almost posted a WTF thread like this one

with sig lines and avatars off and nothing going on at all

EDIT TO ADD: I am glad it is known to the admins and it is being taken care of.

[mopinko]

33. so, don't donate.

thanks for your "concern"

[tandot]

35. It goes to the DUers having more than 1000 posts and we are having a big party with it

:eyes:

[Mabus]

36. Speaking of which, quite bogarting that pitcher

:evilgrin: :rofl:

[tandot]

38. I still have a hangover from the last fund drive party

:evilgrin:

[Mabus]

39. Were your suites as sweet as mine?

And I loved it the evening that Elvis came out of hiding to serenade us.

Where is the next one scheduled? Or should we all just wait for the courier to deliver our tickets. You know, I love the DU admins. They think of everything. I think it is so cool the way they pay for all our transportation including chauffeur driven Hummer limos to take us to the airport to our individual jet planes. But I am particularly appreciative with how they provide us with appropriate clothing when we arrive at our destinations. I just love not having to pack!

[Missy Vixen]

40. It's the freaking maintenance on the Mod Hot Tub and Liquor Cabinet!

Those single-malt Scotch deliveries (and the Evian filling the hot tub) starts adding up after awhile, doesn't it?

LOL!
Julie

[Mabus]

44. Can you blame them?

Jeez, I'd start hitting the stuff pretty hard if I had to monitor this place. :evilgrin: :toast:

[tandot]

41. You had Hummer Limos picking you up? We had Priuses picking us up...

...must be a California thingy. We also got Bon Jovi instead of Elvis.

The next fund drive party is right after the OP donates again.

[Mabus]

43. Now I'm embarrassed

I went dyslexic. I meant to say my husband got a hummer in the, er, never mind. :blush:

Bon Jovi was playing on the other side of the private island we were all whisked to. I was on the northern tip and that's where the "artists who got disappeared" were playing. I saw everyone from Buddy Holly (he's in remarkable shape) to Tupak. I loved that duet that Jim Morrison and Janet Joplin sang. Oh man, with Hendrix did his surprise solo in the middle of the duet, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.

[rug]

42. EarlG is buying as many of the phone records he can.

[tandot]

45. If you are talking about the DC madam's records...I'd donate extra $$$

this would be worth it :evilgrin:

[A-Schwarzenegger]

47. Most of the DU $$$ goes to ...

Mango!