Onward and upward
Hello everybody!
(the title is something I’ve heard people in the software business say after passing through some adversity – I’ve always thought it a bit of a cliche, but seems appropriate today)
I’ve got a bunch of things to talk about, so forgive me if this is too long – I’ll probably go with a list, which is what I revert to when there’s too much to say.
As we all know, when we opened the doors to the site on Friday there was a huge influx of new people – which was both wonderful and challenging. Although we had tested with our wonderful testing members for a few months, we always knew there was a risk that the first day or two would be rocky when we suddenly went from dozens of people visiting to many, many more. We were thrilled by the reaction of opening the site up, but we had about five to six times as many visitors as we originally thought we would.
Site performance on Friday and Saturday was very poor and I apologize for that – but our Engineering team has worked very hard the last 48 hours to fix problems, solve slow-running pieces of the software, and upgrade our infrastructure. I want to say thanks here to Engineering (I love saying that because it’s like we’re in Star Trek) for their tireless work over the last couple days.
Tonight, the site is running way, way better than it was the last two days – you should be seeing very little delay in loading pages or post entries and notes. I’m thrilled with how much better the site is running, and our site analytics show that the numbers support what we are perceiving is a much faster experience.
There’s been a lot of conversation on the site that basically amounts to “this is just like OD used to be, when there were so many problems” – and I can understand that being the first reaction somebody would have. However, I would like you all to understand that so much is different this time around – from the business behind OD, to the team that is working on OD, to the infrastructure we are running on – everything is upsized and much more serious for new OD. I hope that as we grow this into an amazing community again, you will all see the difference.
A few other things:
- There are still a lot of people waiting for their diaries to import into the system – there are a few hundred in the queue now, and the system is working on them around the clock. Our expectation was that they would get done in twenty-four hours or less for each person – but the reality is that we’ve had so many people reclaim their diaries in the last two days that the queue is longer than we expected. We are still thinking that anybody who is in the queue now will be done in the next 24-48 hours – so apologies that this is taking longer, but your entries will be back soon if you are waiting.
- Some people who are waiting for their diaries to import already have a few entries in their diary, and so have thought that their import is stuck. This is actually not the case – we pre-imported ten entries into many of the diaries when we were first populating the new database, so you may be one of these people that has a few entries but the rest are coming soon. It doesn’t mean your import is stuck, it just means that you are one of those people.
- There has been some confusion about how members-only entries work and are seen by other people on the site. The point of a members-only entry (or diary) is that it is only visible to other members who are subscribers. The reason for this is that we have to protect the site from people who might join using a 30-day free subscription, just to harass somebody who is a member. For this reason, people who are on a 30-day free subscription (which is what most of the people joining the site the last few days are) are not able to see members-only entries. Hopefully, that makes sense to everybody.
- As people are putting entries into their recovered diaries, a lot of members have asked about backdating entries. Backdating is possible, and it’s easy – when you are editing the entry, click on the Options dropdown at the bottom and look there for a Publish On date. This opens a calendar that you can set a date on. You can set this date to the future – if you want the entry to publish at a later time – but you can also set it to a date in the past. If you backdate the entry, it will be inserted into your diary at the proper place for that date. In this way, you can add in entries from the “past” that will appear in the correct place in your diary.
I think that’s it for tonight, I just want to say again – thank you to all of you who have come back to OD. I know that we will be the core of what builds this into a wonderful, thriving community again!
THANK YOU for bringing this back!!!
@caterpillardreams you’re welcome!
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😘
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Well I still like this place and it IS running faster today.
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Thanks for the update
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I appreciate the backdating option. I copied a bunch of letters I’d written to my late husband into this diary – they are all in the correct order now. Thank you!
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🙂 Thank you.v
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The site has been running so much better today! There’s been a big improvement so I know there’s been a lot going on behind the scenes. Thank you!
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So, I don’t know if this was supposed to happen or not, but with the influx of people coming back, suddenly my friends list is being filled with my old friends from years ago. I don’t care if it is intentional or not, it just SO made my day to see them!💖 Thank you!
@ravenusher that is exactly how it’s supposed to work! Glad you’re enjoying it!
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Thank you, and I have definitely noticed the speed change.
@sapphiresgaze you’re welcome, and glad that you are seeing the improvement too!
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This was a very helpful and informative entry, so thank you 🙂
@vetinari you’re welcome!
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I came back at a good time then. I haven’t noticed that much slowness, but even that in comparison to how slow the site was back in the day was virtually nothing. I’m so excited OD is back!
@vamp we are very excited too, glad you are here!
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Yup, it is running much better! And the excitement grows 🙂
@wewereinfinite glad to hear you are seeing it too!
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Thank you!
@middleagepearl you’re welcome!
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“but we had about five to six times as many visitors as we originally thought we would.”
Biggest indicator yet that you just *don’t* understand this thing you created
@thebigu hmm well, that may be one way to look at it but I like to think we were pleasantly surprised in that we expected thousands but got many more.
@thebigu I think that happens on launch day for justvabout anything that already has a following, like when new expansions are released for WoW, or even launch day for any server based video game. They expect a lot of traffic, but the amount always exceeds expectations.
@vamp – my point exactly. From the moment this was announced as a possibility, the Facebook pages have been going rabid with equal parts horror and delight. Of course the traffic flow was going to be overwhelming and could / should have been better planned for in my opinion. It doesn’t take careful analysis to have known there was a huge pent up demand.
@thebigu this is why I’m SO glad OD is going subscription only. It’s really obnoxious seeing the amount of hate towards a place you don’t like or that’s not up to your standards. If a major site can go down, it’s not surprising that OD did. It’s like you just want something to go “see, it’s the same old OD/Bruce” when it’s NOT.
@thebigu I’m not sure if there is a better way to plan for it though. If Blizzard still can’t anticipate the amount of traffic to hit their servers when new WoW expansions release after 14 years of experience with it, it seems unlikely any website could fully anticipate it.
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👍
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How do we search for friends, or add a friend? I don’t see buttons for that.
@stealthbombshell Hey woman! They have not come up with a search engine yet but they are working on it. But if you look at your friends list, you may see most, if not all of your previous friends. Just click on your face and a dropdown menu will show up. Click on friends and your list is there.
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Once again, thank you and thank you engineering crew!! “Beam me up!”. The slowness was not a problem for me. I knew what was going on. If I couldn’t get to a page, I just walked away for a while. Easy peasy. I am so excited for this to get normal for everyone and no more worries for those who worry. I have faith in you guys. I dont think you would have done this if you were planning on taking it down.
@sillysillysandee thanks so much for having faith!
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Is there a way to search for a specific diary/member?
@chappedlips we are working on releasing a search feature very soon, that will be the next feature out the door. Thanks!
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It seems to be operating well today. My “old diary” was entitled “Going Toward the Light”. Hopefully, that’s what we are doing.
@dlk082244 I like that, going toward the light! btw, you may have blocked me accidentally from your diary – I’m not able to leave notes there.
@thediarymaster I’ll check, I sure didn’t intend to. How do I undo it if it is? BTW, an old diary friend says she accessed my old diary. You couldn’t find it. She says she can’t leave notes on my new one either.
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I just want to Say THANK YOU. You all are doing amazing.
@heartsleslie you’re welcome!
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Ah. #3 explains the problem I was describing to you in your previous entry. Please ignore, and thanks.
@startingover_1 you’re welcome!
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Thank you so much! As hard as I looked, I never could replace OD. Its so incredible to be home, hiccups and all 🙂
@almostblue you’re welcome!
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Very grateful that Open Diary is back. I miss backgrounds and font styles and colors, but that’s just grousing. I need to work with what’s here, and the fact that it’s here is wonderful! (I also have to work with my paltry skills, so there’s that too.)
@meexplorer we are greatf to have you back, too!
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I am so excited to have OD back. I can’t wait to see the new improvements and find those I lost touch with over the years.
Seriously the best news I have had all week.
@thefabulousmp that’s great I’m glad to hear it!
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Hey. So, so happy to be here again.
Question for you. How does one create a diary circle? I’d love to have one for Autism (encompassing parents of kids on the spectrum or adults who themselves have autism). If you could point me in the right direction that would be great. Thanks!
Oh and I know I saw somewhere that if you click on some of your friends in your friends list, it’ll bring you to a page that says you don’t have access, and that you explained you have to request them as friends first. My problem is is that there are no circles next to the friends names to even try to request them. The only time I see those circles is when I see someone noting an entry or on the front page. Any idea how I could remedy Requesting friends? Thanks again!
@daylight hi, it’s great to see you here! On circles, you can’t create one but you can suggest them (which you just did!) – I think that would be a good addition, so we will put it in the list to add in the near future.
The second thing, the circle is only present on the front page and on the notes in entries – that seemed like the obvious place people would find other people to friend. Once we have a search in place (which will be soon) you will also be able to search people and friend them there, so that should help.
@daylight I love that idea 🙂 Our son was diagnosed last year and I’m also realizing as an adult (and as a parent trying to help my son) I have several spectrum-y traits for better or worse 🙂
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Thanks for the update! I still only have my first ten entries from 2002- anxiously waiting for the rest to appear!
@heyu2l they should be there soon, thanks for your patience!
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#3 There has been some confusion about how members-only entries work and are seen by other people on the site. The point of a members-only entry (or diary) is that it is only visible to other members who are subscribers. The reason for this is that we have to protect the site from people who might join using a 30-day free subscription, just to harass somebody who is a member. For this reason, people who are on a 30-day free subscription (which is what most of the people joining the site the last few days are) are not able to see members-only entries. Hopefully, that makes sense to everybody.
No. It doesn’t make sense because anyone that I’m friends with that isn’t a subscriber can’t see my stuff unless I reduce or increase my privacy. Reducing (going to public) is ridiculous and increasing (going to friends) is just as ridiculous.
Why should I have to change my diary setting to something less restrictive (thus allowing anyone in the public to harass me) or more restrictive (thus denying the sense of community you want to foster)?
@thelassthatsews sorry I somehow missed this note a couple weeks ago, but I think you probably saw that we changed the way Members Only works in the end, so this wouldn’t be an issue. Thanks!
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I want to ask the question that I think many of us are wondering but maybe no one is brave enough to ask. Can you give us some guarantee that we won’t be treated like we were 4 years ago? It is a big ask for us to pour our souls and our hard-earned moolah into this site for it to be snatched away mercilessly. If there is no guarantee that you won’t get going the next time the going gets tough, I’d rather know now and make my exit on my own terms. I don’t know if you asked for people’s experiences regarding the shutting down of the site, but I’ll just say this: it was hell. I was one of the founding members back in the 90s. I had stuck with OD through thick and thin, made lasting friendships here and lost friends whose diaries I frequented in mourning. All of that was taken away. I cannot bear to go through it again so before I open my heart up and pour myself into another virtual world, please could you give us some assurance, some type of safety net to say that you will not pull the plug again?
@pulchritude all I can say is this is a different time and a different business. This time around we have backers, and a business plan, and real infrastructure and so many other things that we couldn’t afford or do the first time around. I can’t and won’t go into the other non-OD things that were going on in my life at that time, but I suspect that wouldn’t be any comfort to anyone in any case. All I can really say is that we will do our best to stay around this time, and hopefully time will show you that that is the case. Thanks for the honesty!
@pulchritude thanks for the offer, we will certainly keep that in mind!
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