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Ask HN: Downtime. What was changed?

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Re: Ask HN: Downtime. What was changed?

#61

Post by akie »

jacquesm wrote: post #29
akie wrote: post #8

I really think it's a disgrace that HN is down for hours just to do some (probably important) back-end work. Here we are, talking about scalability, high-availability, what have you - and the medium we're using to host those discussions is built on 90s web technology and operated as one. I understand that Hacker News is probably run by a small crew, but I think it's a disgrace anyway. If you guys need money to make t…

First of all, thanks Dan for all the hard work. Think about it this way: you need your fix so badly that within minutes you're back here to vent your frustration. And yet you have nowhere else to go. So HN can afford the downtime easily, and with what I know of the way it is put together the reliability is astounding. Now imagine it shuttin HN down for a month! (I sensed a disturbance in the force there when you read…

If we're talking business ideas, then I think it should be "Reddit Gold" but for Hacker News. Because: Why not? I'm not paying for Reddit, but I most certainly would for Hacker News. It's a crucial news source for me, more important than any other, and I'm very (very) willing to pay for it.

If it keeps their servers up and the downtime low, and it gives them time to develop new things (such as a proper mobile version, or a non-table-based design), or time to fix the "Unknown or expired link" bug... then why not? Is there any reason to run this site like it's 1999?

Re: Ask HN: Downtime. What was changed?

#62

Post by teh_klev »

akie wrote: post #8

I really think it's a disgrace that HN is down for hours just to do some (probably important) back-end work. Here we are, talking about scalability, high-availability, what have you - and the medium we're using to host those discussions is built on 90s web technology and operated as one. I understand that Hacker News is probably run by a small crew, but I think it's a disgrace anyway. If you guys need money to make t…

Oh c'mon, HN isn't that mission critical to anyone's life. I don't mind if it goes down periodically for a few hours at a time.

There are other nice things on the internet to go and look at, it's a mighty big place. Or, read a book.

Re: Ask HN: Downtime. What was changed?

#63

Post by TheLoneWolfling »

kfcm wrote: post #60
jnbiche wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Look, I think the message delivery here is very poor -- there's no need to be rude. And getting angry is uncalled for. That said, I do agree with the sentiment expressed here: it is pretty amazing that a site that is really a nexus of high-tech Silicon Valley companies and figures -- quite possibly the most popular one in that segment -- still has downtime and a web interface reminiscent of the 1990s. And I disagree…

That said, I do agree with the sentiment expressed here: it is pretty amazing that a site that is really a nexus of high-tech Silicon Valley companies and figures -- quite possibly the most popular one in that segment -- still has downtime and a web interface reminiscent of the 1990s. I actually like the UI. It's simple, doesn't use tons of bandwidth, and gets the job done.

I quite like the UI in terms of interface.

I rather dislike the UI for a couple of specific things: expiring links, low contrast in places, and not seeing points.

Re: Ask HN: Downtime. What was changed?

#64

Post by brudgers »

akie wrote: post #8

I really think it's a disgrace that HN is down for hours just to do some (probably important) back-end work. Here we are, talking about scalability, high-availability, what have you - and the medium we're using to host those discussions is built on 90s web technology and operated as one. I understand that Hacker News is probably run by a small crew, but I think it's a disgrace anyway. If you guys need money to make t…

There are applications where 99.99% uptime matters. There are applications where it doesn't.

Maybe there is a lesson here about engineering to a set of requirements.

Maybe there is a lesson about customer selection.

Re: Ask HN: Downtime. What was changed?

#65

Post by brudgers »

kfcm wrote: post #60
jnbiche wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Look, I think the message delivery here is very poor -- there's no need to be rude. And getting angry is uncalled for. That said, I do agree with the sentiment expressed here: it is pretty amazing that a site that is really a nexus of high-tech Silicon Valley companies and figures -- quite possibly the most popular one in that segment -- still has downtime and a web interface reminiscent of the 1990s. And I disagree…

That said, I do agree with the sentiment expressed here: it is pretty amazing that a site that is really a nexus of high-tech Silicon Valley companies and figures -- quite possibly the most popular one in that segment -- still has downtime and a web interface reminiscent of the 1990s. I actually like the UI. It's simple, doesn't use tons of bandwidth, and gets the job done.

How many other websites can be browsed with Links?

http://links.twibright.com/

Re: Ask HN: Downtime. What was changed?

#66

Post by jacquesm »

akie wrote: post #61
jacquesm wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First of all, thanks Dan for all the hard work. Think about it this way: you need your fix so badly that within minutes you're back here to vent your frustration. And yet you have nowhere else to go. So HN can afford the downtime easily, and with what I know of the way it is put together the reliability is astounding. Now imagine it shuttin HN down for a month! (I sensed a disturbance in the force there when you read…

If we're talking business ideas, then I think it should be "Reddit Gold" but for Hacker News. Because: Why not? I'm not paying for Reddit, but I most certainly would for Hacker News. It's a crucial news source for me, more important than any other, and I'm very (very) willing to pay for it. If it keeps their servers up and the downtime low, and it gives them time to develop new things (such as a proper mobile version…

Throwing more money at the problem is likely not going to make a big difference but I do appreciate your willingness to put your money in. Most people that bitch about free services only bitch that they'll leave if they don't get what they want when they want it, very few of them offer to pull their wallet to help solve the problem. So kudos!

Re: Ask HN: Downtime. What was changed?

#67

Post by akie »

jacquesm wrote: post #66
akie wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If we're talking business ideas, then I think it should be "Reddit Gold" but for Hacker News. Because: Why not? I'm not paying for Reddit, but I most certainly would for Hacker News. It's a crucial news source for me, more important than any other, and I'm very (very) willing to pay for it. If it keeps their servers up and the downtime low, and it gives them time to develop new things (such as a proper mobile version…

Throwing more money at the problem is likely not going to make a big difference but I do appreciate your willingness to put your money in. Most people that bitch about free services only bitch that they'll leave if they don't get what they want when they want it, very few of them offer to pull their wallet to help solve the problem. So kudos!

Well, adding a monetary component into the mix would achieve two things:

1. HackerNews would have more resources to do maintenance and development on the site. Both of which are relatively necessary: There's a lot of low-hanging fruit.

2. It would create an incentive to improve the service and prevent downtime. Would they really put the site down for multiple hours during (European) office hours if they had quite a few paying customers?

Primarily, though, I think it boils down to the fact that Hacker News was originally run as a service towards the YC alumni, and that it serves that purpose very well as it is - and as a result, product development has stalled. The original author (PG, the product owner) is busy doing other things, and has employed other people to run the show.

Truth is, Hacker News has outgrown its original audience (YC alumni) and would be ready for some changes or improvements. Nothing major, because it's great as it is, but it could use some bug fixing, or maybe getting the HTML and CSS up to date, or a mobile version, finally fixing that stupid 'up' arrow... I could go on. I care about Hacker News, and I want it to improve and to be available permanently, and most certainly not be offline when I wake up and am ready for my 21st century equivalent of the morning newspaper. That's why I wrote that angry message, and that's why I'm offering to pay to help achieve that.

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