A note about increased traffic and the possibility of DU restrictions on and around election day

[EarlG]

Last week we struggled with a completely unanticipated issue -- our database glitched out and it took around 48 hours to fix it, during which time we had to significantly reduce the database load by restricting who could visit DU. We think we now have this situation resolved.

However, beginning today, and going through election day and beyond, it's likely that extremely high traffic will force us to make similar restrictions. To be clear, this would not be the same problem as the database glitch which happened from Thursday thru Saturday last week. However, our multi-step approach to dealing with it is the same.

Under normal circumstances, anyone can visit and read DU. But once our traffic load gets too high, the site will slow down and eventually crash if we do not take action.

When that happens, our first step is to restrict access to registered members only. If you have a DU account, whether you're a Star Member or not, you can get in and read the site.

If this "Level 1" procedure is not enough to reduce traffic to a manageable level, we restrict access further. Our "Level 2" procedure is to restrict access to Star Members only. If you have a DU account and you are Star Member, you can get in and read the site.

The less said about our "Level 3" procedure the better, but just know that if we hit that level, nobody will be able to access the site. In that worst-case scenario, we will post further information on the homepage explaining the situation.

During these periods of expected high traffic, we constantly monitor the site's performance to make sure that things are not getting overloaded. When traffic gets too high, we may be forced to switch to one of these restricted levels in order to stay online.

This is, unfortunately, very difficult to resolve. It is not cost effective for us to run servers powerful enough to handle the kinds of traffic we might see over the next 72 hours or so, when those circumstances only occur once every four years. And I'm afraid it's not as simple as just "adding more power" temporarily.

So while we have done our level best to prepare for tomorrow's election when it comes to security and traffic load, and we will be monitoring the site constantly and doing our best to run under "normal" conditions for as long as possible, I'm not going to sugarcoat it -- this is your official heads up that there is a good chance that we'll be operating in a restricted mode at least partially over the next few days.

Thanks for reading, and please let me know if you have any questions.

EDITED TO ADD AN IMPORTANT NOTE: If the worst should happen and DU goes down completely, we will post updates on our Facebook page. (We no longer have an active Twitter account.) We may also send updates to the DU mailing list. If you receive our weekly "Last Week In Review" emails, then you are already on this list. If you are not on the list, you can sign up via the form on our Contact page.

[BaronChocula]

1. Thanks for all the hard work! n/t

[Wounded Bear]

2. Thanks for the update and the head's up!

[BlueSky3]

3. Thanks

so much for all you do.

[catbyte]

4. Thank you for everything you are doing, DU Admins. 2016 was unbearable.

We appreciate you more than you know.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. No questions, but Thank You for the heads-up! We will get through this. nt

[MLAA]

6. Thank you, EarlG. You are a sanity saver if not life saver!

[chia]

7. You are appreciated! Here's hoping things go as smoothly as possible for you.

[quaint]

8. Thanks!

You can take away my avatar, you can have my youtubes, just please don't take my DU!

[Dennis Donovan]

9. Thanks guys!

[question everything]

10. We can always go to DU Facebook - those of us who use it. I think that it worked in 2016

Thanks for the alert.

[Crunchy Frog]

29. I checked it out in 2016 and it was pretty awful. Does DU have a Xitter page?

[EarlG]

40. I have never monitored our social media pages

Last edited Mon Nov 4, 2024, 04:02 PM - Edit history (2)

I stopped posting to DU’s Twitter page as soon as Musk bought it. But I have only ever used Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to post the daily Pic Of The Moment -- which I haven't even created for a while, mainly due to the reasons expressed by this cartoonist:



I don't monitor the Facebook page or do anything with it, but it comes in handy if we have an emergency and need to get information out.

After the election I might see if there are any DU social media experts who would like to volunteer to run our social media pages... we’re really not using them properly. I just have no interest in social media, personally

[question everything]

46. That's Hilarious

[Marcuse]

59. At some point there are some jobs humans just won't do.

[True Blue American]

100. Thank you Earl

For all you do. Just think, THIS too Shall Pass.👍🌈🌩️👏😜

[Biophilic]

11. Thanks, guys. I really appreciate your hard work and keeping us informed. nt

[WheelWalker]

12. Strength and Honor, friend and noble warrior for truth.

[ScotLass]

13. Information

Thankyou for update, hopefully all will go well.

[Think. Again.]

14. Well, here we go!!!

Thanks, DU Admins!

Hang tight everyone, we have a big celebration coming our way in the next few days!

[Diamond_Dog]

15. Thank you for all you do, guys

[Blue_Roses]

16. Thank-you so much for all the

hard work. We would be lost without DU, especially on election night!

[DoBW]

17. DEFCON times....nt

[FakeNoose]

18. I'm so-o-o-oo grateful for DU and for all the work you do!

You'll never get a complaint from me, I know you guys are working hard to keep running during this crazy time.

Thank you!

[SoFlaBro]

19. All updates and work is very appreciated. DU is the best as an information clearinghouse.

[electric_blue68]

20. Ty, and GOOD LUCK!! 🤞👍

[chouchou]

21. Excellant professional post.

[Hope22]

22. Thank you so much for all you do.

So thankful that the day is finally here! 💗💗🙏🏼

[progressoid]

23. GOOD LUCK to everyone - I will be a poll watcher all day but will check in

assuming I can check in

[sdfernando]

24. Thanks for the heads up

and many many many thanks for doing that voodoo that you do so well!

[ismnotwasm]

25. Let's GOoooooo

💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙

[marble falls]

26. Would it be good for all of us to throttle back our own posting?

[EarlG]

42. It's not the posting that's the problem, it's the total number of visits

Many, many people will come and lurk on DU on election day/night. Restricting your posting (or even your personal visits) won't make any difference to the total amount of traffic.

[Gaytano70]

27. COMPLETELY understandable, and thanks for this message! 💙

[PatrickforB]

28. Acknowledged and thanks! We will be glued to MSNBC the whole evening tomorrow and into Wed morning

so I'm anticipating we will be OK. You know, I would not be surprised if bad actors try and overload you with traffic just to shut down DU during election day.

Honestly, I'll be SO HAPPY to get election day over with. This is been a situation of constant low-grade stress since early this year - it just buzzes in the background like an annoying fly.

Here's hoping Harris/Walz win big and the Dems take House and Senate! Trifecta!

[greatauntoftriplets]

30. Thanks for letting us know.

It's going to be interesting. My worst fear is another attack similar to 2016.

[Martin68]

31. Thanks of the clear explanation. We all appreciate the work you do to make the site available and user friendly, and

we can all deal with interruptions that occur due to unusually high demands on the server.

[3Hotdogs]

32. ---maybe suggest that most of us refrain from posting anything that does not pertain to the election.

For instance, it is not important to know if there was (or wasn't) a long line at your poling station.

10 regional posts about what is going on in your state is also not important tomorrow.

Maybe restrict most of the non-political post categories for the day.

[EarlG]

47. It's not the posting that's the problem

It's the total amount of traffic -- all the lurkers who show up during big news events, like the day Joe Biden dropped out for example, or election day tomorrow. That's why restricting access to registered members, and then to Star Members, is effective -- because all the other traffic gets blocked. The number of people posting is never a problem.

[dweller]

49. Or even an option

For no replies ?
Just post the facts , no comments in reply necessary
(Similar to the post from admin pinned at top of LBN )



Nm just saw EarlG’s post above

✌🏻

[DemonGoddess]

33. thank you!

[NameAlreadyTaken]

34. Back up your database every 15 minutes!

[33taw]

35. Thank you.

[Crunchy Frog]

36. I miss the old DefCon days, when various features would progressively go out.

That got us through some bad shit.

Are there any plans in place to deal with a massive influx of trolls, like limiting new memberships? I guess MIRT will be pretty busy.

[EarlG]

48. The current system of levels is similar to the old one

With regard to registrations, if we get some kind of crazy influx of trolls who are causing trouble, we can disable account registration separately. But that's a different issue from managing the total amount of traffic.

[NNadir]

37. Signed up for the emails. It will ve a sleepless night.

Thanks to the team!!!

[Cha]

38. Mahalo for letting us know just what to expect.

And Thank you for all you and Elad do to Keep DU Running Smoothly .

I Wish Us All the Luck in the World For the Election and Talking about it on DU!

🕊️🕯️💙🌊🌊🌊💙🇺🇸🌈

[3auld6phart]

39. Thank

That is anticipated to happen for sure. I am pleased to say Thanks. My beef seems to be OKay. Staying tuned in . Not having ti sign in every time.. Vote BLUE…

[drumpfsucks]

41. Your behind the scenes work.......

You and your minions do incredible work for us.
Thank you, and I can't wait for DEMOCRATIC UNDERGROUND to declare VICTORY!!!!!

[Sogo]

43. Earl G: You're the best!!

Thank you!

[Maeve]

44. Thanks to you and Elad for giving us this home

[StrictlyRockers]

45. Scotty, we need more power! We're running on impulse power.

Aye, Captain! But the dilithium crystals might overload!

[BoRaGard]

50. Thank you

[Grumpy Old Guy]

51. Thanks for all the hard work!

[sagetea]

52. Thank you!

You are awesome!

Is level 3 what happened in 2020? because that was scary!


sage

[GoneOffShore]

53. Thanks for all that you do. And I'm glad I'm have a star membership!

[niyad]

54. Dear EarlG and Elad, Thank you for everything this site gives us, thank

you for all the incredibly hard work you do keeping this running so smoothly.

I just signed up for the email list as a backup, but fingers crossed. Get all the rest you can today!

May we habe good reason to celebrate very soon!

[littlemissmartypants]

55. Got it! Thanks for all you and Elad do! ❤️

[bluestarone]

56. Fully understand!

TY guys for all you do for us on this Great site

[ShazzieB]

57. Thanks for this heads up and for everything you do for us!

[FSogol]

58. Why not block new sign ups for 72 hours starting now? n/t

[KS Toronado]

60. Thanks for the heads up Earl

Now back to posting carTOONS to increase traffic,

[Soxderrube]

61. not again

Block me out again when I have done nothing wrong, sucks. I come to this place for stable news info. It's hard-to-get good info from all tv (I don't watch) If that is the game you play it will be "DELETE".

[wryter2000]

95. Donate $5

And become a star member

[Soxderrube]

62. BS

Block me out again when I have done nothing wrong, sucks. I come to this place for stable news info. It's hard-to-get good info from all tv (I don't watch) If that is the game you play it will be "DELETE".

[EarlG]

91. It's not a game

It’s a plan for managing extremely high traffic on the busiest day that we will see in four years.

The alternative to staggered restrictions is to let the site slow to a crawl and then crash. Our priority is keeping the site online for as many people as possible.

[AllaN01Bear]

63. just pray we dont have a repeat of 2016.

i think we will fare well this time around with the eggscllent teams around.

[LuckyLib]

64. Supporting DU is important. No excuses for not

becoming a Star Member. Best news feed on the internets. Thank you guys, for all you do!

[Initech]

65. Well, see you on the other side!

[judesedit]

66. Thanks guys. You're the absolute best!!!

[piddyprints]

67. Thank you, EarlG!

I appreciate DU so much and appreciate all your hard work to keep it going!

[nolabear]

68. Thanks so very much!

Just having an idea what’s going on is comforting.

[sheshe2]

69. Thank you to both you and Elad.

All I will say… is let the best woman WIN.

[orangecrush]

70. Battle stations

Thank you and all involved.

It's gonna be interesting.

[chillfactor]

71. Thank you for the update!

[marked50]

72. Fingers crossed. Thx for letting us know and working so hard.

[BoomaofBandM]

73. Thank you for all your hard work. Good luck tomorrow.

[barbtries]

74. Thank you for all you do.

I feel good that there will be no repeat of the nightmare of 2016. I don't know how many times I reloaded that page before digging up your fb page that terrible night. still traumatized apparently.

[obamanut2012]

75. IF DU goes 100% down

Like that awful night in 2016, go to Reddit's r/ politics, and click on the daily discussion thread hub. That will give you info you need.

[keithbvadu2]

76. Understood! Appreciate your efforts.

[Aristus]

77. Thank you, EarlG and elad.

You guys are the best!

May we have victory!

[Marthe48]

78. Many thanks

It'll be hard to keep up without DU.

[mountain grammy]

79. Thank you! And thanks for understanding how much we all rely on DU every day.

[eppur_se_muova]

80. I normally choose "leave me logged in on this computer" when I log in. Does that tie up resources ?

Will you be enforcing a disconnect after x minutes without activity, or doesn't that help ?

[EarlG]

97. It wouldn't make any difference

It's not the amount of activity by existing users that's the problem, it's the total amount of traffic hitting the servers. On big news days we get a large increase in lurkers, and election day is the biggest news day every four years for us, which means lots and lots of people will be lurking.

[muriel_volestrangler]

81. Are there any non-essential functions we as members can avoid to significantly lighten the load?

eg searches, "My Posts" etc. If the huge bulk of the load is just plain "reading threads", I guess it wouldn't be worth it.

[GreenWave]

82. Sounds like a plan. We are the reverse of Star Trek however.

According to the tech manuals diagnostic levels indicate how much of a disruption on the system the diagnostic will take, where level 5 is run a self check usually taking a few minutes, all the way to level 1 shut it down, physically check, and carefully reinitialize. The details of each diagnostic level and time taken change depending on the system being diagnosed. Level 4 diagnostic on a navigational thruster probably takes less time and involves different measures than a Level 4 diagnostic on the warp core. Here are some generalizations of the measures at different diagnostic levels.

1. Take system out of service, full shutdown, manual inspection, observed re-initialization, manual testing.
2. Take system out of service, limited manual inspection, crew monitored automated tests.
3. Take system out of service, minimal manual inspection, automated tests.
4. Take system out of service, automated tests.
5. Automated tests.

[calimary]

83. Thanks for all your work, EarlG!

ESPECIALLY at this point!

[Ananda62]

84. Thanks

I’m glad you have contingency plans

[mahatmakanejeeves]

85. In that case, I might actually get some work done tomorrow.

Thanks for all the hard work.

Let’s hope we have enough history going on Tuesday that I won’t need to add any.

[NotHardly]

86. i get the traffic thing, but after the previous stunt to get more paid views... I'm skeptical as hell

[EarlG]

101. Slightly confused...

What stunt?

[Tigerpal]

87. Thank you EarlG

And thanks to all the members for being here. I've lurked DU for about 20 years. It's one of the only places that makes me feel sane. I know I should not have waited as long as I did to join, but I'm happy to be here now!

[radical noodle]

121. Welcome to DU

[ReRe]

88. Where would we be without you?

No where, that's where! Will feed my star in a week or so to defray some of the costs. Thanks for all you do!

We've got this. Harris/Walz 2024!

[DJ Porkchop]

89. You got this.

[joshcryer]

90. Perhaps you can make a subreddit for us to post in?

I expect Russian DDOSing as the election results are coming in.

[pnwest]

92. Your hard work and this site are so appreciated.

Thank you ! We will deal with whatever comes.

[spanone]

93. K&R

[bdamomma]

94. Thanks EarlG

for reaching out to us. Very understandable though with precautions listed. Heavy traffic on site is anticipated for this most crucial election.

Thanks again.

[Captain Zero]

96. EarlG, would it help if everyone

Attempted to add to already established topics instead of starting new ones?

During the next few days?

[EarlG]

99. It would not make any difference

The problem is not activity by existing DUers, it's the massive amount of additional traffic caused by lurkers on big news days. On most normal big news days, DU can handle the load, but presidential election day is basically the mother of all big news events for us.

Regular DUers shouldn't feel like they have to do anything differently to help get us through this -- if we start getting overloaded, we'll make changes at our end to compensate.

[OldBaldy1701E]

98. I would like to add that our beloved DU has an Instagram page as well.

They can post updates there as well. Just follow the bouncing DU ball!

Thanks for everything EarlG. This site is the island in the storm.

[liberalla]

102. Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy ride!

Thanks for the heads up!

[mntleo2]

103. TY EarlG

I am glad you explained things, I am a low income senior and cannot afford membership, I think I have been with you since you were a bulletin board group, I am old but I am sure I have been a member almost since DU began (and a friend of Andy Stevenson when he was alive). I did not know whether I did "something DU bad" and was kicked off here, or what.

So I am glad I did not do anything bad and am still a member.

Cat in Seattle

[hotdamn00]

104. Thank you.

I've been here 11 years and have a whopping 38 posts. I'm here multiple times a a day, every day. I just signed in to make sure my account was still active, Obviously it is, so at least I can survive DEFCON 4. Good luck, all.

[Golden Raisin]

105. Thanks for the heads-up and all you do behind the scenes.

[Arthur_Frain]

106. Thanks EarlG

Here we go.

[Greybnk48]

107. Thank you for all you do

to run this incredibly important site so smoothly and efficiently!

[Trailrider1951]

108. Thank you EarlG for all the work you do for us

I may not post much, but I'll be here as long as DU is here!

[Prairie_Seagull]

109. Maybe pin this to LBN for a few days?

IMO

[relayerbob]

110. Thank you for all of your hard work

It's the DU Super Bowl tomorrow, so we're all cheering you on!

[UpInArms]

111. Thank you

For everything you do. You truly are a gift to all of us

[TomSlick]

112. Thanks guys for all you do.

It's getting exciting, ain't it.

[Ars Longa]

113. Many thanks Earl!! n/t

[lobointexas]

114. Thank you, and EarlG, for everything thing you guys do!

I can't imagine another election night without DU. I was only a lurker in 2004 and it was restricted to members that night.... and we all know about 2016.

[Rhiannon12866]

115. Thanks so much for keeping us informed, EarlG! Hoping for the best!!!

[bovine6]

116. Appreciate the info!

[Hekate]

117. Profound thanks and hugs to you, EarlG and Elad

[Bluethroughu]

118. Thank you for the info. As always.

Harris/Walz 2024!
Is an American win, won for the world!

[confoosed]

119. Thanks for the hard work ... let's go win! (nt)

[FailureToCommunicate]

120. Que sera sera.

We’ll ride the rough waters together.

Thank you for providing a sturdy ship!

[Hotler]

122. Roger that. nt

[blogslug]

123. Thank you EarlG and Elad for this wonderful community.

You take care of us. Thank you.

[jaxexpat]

124. About these "crashes". Refer to Churchill's "fight them on the beaches" speech. Yeah, that one.

[badhair77]

125. EarlG, thank you and your team for all you do.

This place has been a safe haven at times and for those of us here for 2016, weeks remember how horrible it was to try to log in and there was nothing. A dark time. Again, thanks for being there.

[mamacita75]

126. Site issues

Thank you for all you do and are doing to keep DU up and running. It is very appreciated.

I voted on October 22nd, my husband as well.
When we were leaving, he said someone nearby had mentioned they lived on the same road while checking in. When we got in the car a gentleman was following behind us and approaching the car. My window was down, and I recognized him as someone I had met earlier in the year at the mailboxes at the end of the road. We acknowledged each other (he was parked next to us) and I said hello, we shook hands, and I introduced him to my husband. Very firm handshake as I recall from the mailboxes (arthritic knuckles got crushed - ouch!) We chatted a little while about aches and pains and getting older. Then he reminded me where he lived up the hill, the look of his house and having a huge djt flag flying high on his property.

I mentioned the best thing about aging is the wisdom that comes with it...and we parted ways with smiles. OMG! One never knows but I truly hope he is not terribly hardcore when he learns the results of this election. Years ago, a UPS driver had said to me the unbelievable amounts of ammunition delivered on our road. We were getting a delivery, and some boxes had fallen so he had to stack them back up against the wall of the truck. This was during the Obama years.

At the end of my driveway, I can see an enormous djt flag flying high (too high) on a property a couple of roads away. It is like they are flying it like their last stand. So proud and arrogant and definitely uninformed. I feel for them, but I prefer not seeing it in my line of sight. Oh well, there are quite a few trumpers close to us, but I do not feel anxious or fearful.

Again, thank you for this site!!! I don't know where I would find comfort if it was not here.

[BobTheSubgenius]

127. Doesn't it just suck to have such a popular and well-run home to come to?

There is nothing like this anywhere that I have ever found.

[Marthe48]

128. Will restrictions ease soon?

I have 2 friends who'd like to visit DU, and perhaps join.
I'd like to mention in a fb group I'm in as well, called Harris for Ohio, probably get some new members from there.
Thank you.