The Great Tumblr Blackout

[mrjohnchimpo]

d'oh!

http://theweek.com/article/index/210086/the-great-tumblr-blackout-3-theories

[paul]

According to this page...
http://www.tumblr.com/about
... they are approaching 2^31, or 2147483648, blog posts. Assuming they're using a signed 32 bit integer data type for the index on the big database table where all of those posts are stored, and that there are some posts that are hidden/testing/old disabled posts that aren't part of that displayed post count, they could have run into counter overflow problems.

The easy fix is switching to unsigned 32 bit, or 64 bit integer, or whatever. But, once you have 2 billion or so rows in a table, it's not so each to just run an ALTER TABLE and change the data type of a column like that. I could see rebuilding the index alone taking hours. They did mention "database cluster issues", having a cluster complicates things further. Maybe they didn't see this coming, and it bit them in the butt after it was too late?

Just another theory to add to the pile, I guess. Did anybody see any reporting on what really happened? I guess they're on-line again.

[mrjohnchimpo]

here's their official response. not much.

http://staff.tumblr.com/post/2127872280/downtime

[larryhead]

Why a Day of Tumblr Down Time Matters to the Entire Web & World (http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/why_a_day_of_tumblr_down_time_matters_to_the_entir e_web.php)

[paul]

Why a Day of Tumblr Down Time Matters to the Entire Web & World (http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/why_a_day_of_tumblr_down_time_matters_to_the_entir e_web.php)

That article is hilarious...

When I can't speak to my social contacts, when I can't express myself in ways I've grown accustomed to, when I can't learn what the thoughtful people in my life are saying and sharing, it honestly feels like I've lost the glasses on my face that I've grown accustomed to seeing the world better through.

Oh. My. God. I'd compare it more to having a red hot butter knife stabbed through my chest. (Though somewhat less painful than not having my morning coffee.)

Really words can't describe it, it was really like this, over and over, for 24 hours -> :acid:

Some times I walk down the street and I find myself thinking about something that I want to share with the world. When I'm feeling like that, I pull out my phone and launch my Cinch app. I speak into my phone and record a few minutes of thoughts out loud. Then I publish that recording online with a click. It goes out to my Twitter followers and to my friends on Facebook.

We all missed his street thoughts for like 24 hours?!? The injustice! I'm going to totally call tumblr and ask for my money back.

This new web that people not only read but also write to offers a whole new world of self-expression, interpersonal communication and self-education. Would we miss it if it was gone? We would. Is that a legitimate feeling, more worthy of understanding and appreciation than of mockery?

Whoa, wait a second, now my mind is totally blown. I thought mockery was the whole point! What the heck else am I supposed to be using this new web for?

[larryhead]

Paul, you are mis-using the new web for mockery! No tumblr for you!

[mrjohnchimpo]

does anybody else have tumblrs? let me know and i'll follow you. my two are here:

http://schizocentral.tumblr.com (personal)

http://lynfred.tumblr.com (wine and recipe related goodness)