Is Apterous down? [COMMENTING HERE WILL ... Yeah, we know]

[Fiona T]

Mebbe someone should log a ticket.

[Philip A]

Worked perfectly fine this evening, loading times were about a second and fastest I’ve had since the issue arose.

[Charlie Reams]

Yes. (Power issue at our cloud provider, apparently.)

[Ian Volante]

Yes. (Power issue at our cloud provider, apparently.)

I hope that wasn't to do with someone hoovering again.

[Stewart Gordon]

Both this forum and wiki.apterous.org (not sure if they're hosted on the same server) have been very temperamental today. I first noticed around midnight. Pages loading only about half the time if even that, and posts here nearly always failing. I didn't try Apterous itself.

[Gavin Chipper]

Both this forum and wiki.apterous.org (not sure if they're hosted on the same server) have been very temperamental today. I first noticed around midnight. Pages loading only about half the time if even that, and posts here nearly always failing. I didn't try Apterous itself.

The forum has been very clunky since about the start of May. There's a thread on it. I don't go to the wiki as much, but I've noticed it has often been clunky too when I do go there, and it doesn't always load. I think Apterous has had some downtime in the general period but is generally better.

[Tracey Anne Mills]

It looks like apterous is down yet again.

[L'oisleatch McGraw]

Ok... well this is a bit awkward.
As a huge fan of Charlie's work and of Apterous in general, it pains me to have to write this, but Apterous has been dodgy for at least 2 weeks, and new ideas / features neglected (by and large, certainly compared to the 2008-2016 period) for many years now.
I think Charlie could do with putting up some sort of an explanation / apology for his subscribers.

I'm not hugely keen to pay subs unless there are some guarantees that he (or his team - the time has come to get a goddamn team, Charlie!) is willing to spend the money needed to keep the site - at the very least - ticking over, if not thriving.

What's the real problem here? Are subs too low to be worth your time bothering with it? If so, raise them, or abandon the site; though tbh I would be very disappointed to see you do that, a mere 5 years after the passing of Phil Collinge.

A good idea would be to charge extra for people to keep themselves on "busy" all the time. The site was designed to be a social gaming site, so those who only bot-bash deserve to pay more.

And delegate the work needed to run the site to enthusiastic volunteers. This suggestion has been made time and time again because it is a good idea. The time has come.

[Tracey Anne Mills]

This on behalf on Robin McKay

I am going to respond to a post made by a member of the apterous community that was referred to me by a friend of the community. Please feel
free to post this in the community or apterous should you see fit.
It has been claimed apterous has been dodgy for several weeks now because ideas are being rejected etc but this is down to the admin team who has control over such things and given who the instigator of complaint is, I can’t say it’s a surprise tbh. Charlie does a great job of running apterous and he is committed to no explanation to his subscribers as and why he makes such choices. Without Charlie, there is no apterous.
In regards to subs what you get on apterous is very cheap in this day and age - £23. It could be so much more. You pay £200 a month for a chat api. What you get is incredibly generous.
Subs are low enough and reasonable to know that Charlie is not greedy and has respect for the game show and the subscribers to know this and raising them may cause issues for those who currently haven’t got much money. Abandoning the site is just a stupid idea it’s been going for fifteen plus years.
It’s alright saying apterous is a social site but the thing is forums can be tricky to navigate because there can be elements and this has also been raised where it’s been deemed that it can be cliquey and this helps nobody. Some of us have mental health issues as was also raised many months ago and it seems that arguably some may just not care or are interested in making some feel valued on a forum. I’ve not always conducted myself in a good way I guess but I’m still a good person and command respect just like the next person and also, there has been incidents of genuine nastiness on apterous and this is why the site needs to be monitored more closely to make sure this doesn’t happen and make everyone feel enriched in their joy of playing the game and it is an important matter which can’t be overlooked quite so easily and rightly so.
Also, what disappoints me is that a certain member of the community passed away and I’ll be honest in that I don’t think as a community, enough was done in some ways to honour those who were important apterites who did pass away as it seems and I’m sorry if this is harsh that they have seemingly been forgotten - life may go on but so does legacy of valued members of an important forum setting.
Furthermore I as will everyone can play who they want and if they choose to bot bash it is not an option to encourage those people to pay more - they use apterous for whatever they wish to do so. This comment made by a certain forum member remains redundant in my opinion. There is nothing wrong with being busy.
I do agree however with support for Charlie - he does a magnificent job but having support will take a huge weight off his shoulders so I’m all for that and is one of few things I agree with on what has been said.
So in closing, let’s get Apterous back to its former glory and enrich those who are there, let any petty bygones be bygones and encourage respect throughout the community and not be too big for our boots because with respect also, some of us were in this game a LOT longer than what some of us have been on the forum and this is a fact very much overlooked.

[Ian Volante]

Aye it would be nice to see Charlie being more prominent. It feels like other things in his life are more important nowadays.

I've no idea whether his prominence is related to how quickly problems get fixed, or whether they always get fixed as quickly as possible, so there's no point me making any further comment on that without further info.

Either way, I would like to see a bit more development of the site, access problems aside. New variants, big events like the old days etc etc.

As for bot-bashing being something that should be penalised, a load o me arse.

[Gavin Chipper]

Well as some of you will be aware, this forum and the wiki have also had problems over the last few months. There's this thread and this Apterous ticket about the forum and also this Apterous ticket about the wiki. Only yesterday I posted this on the Apterous ticket about the forum:

I mentioned on c4c that I'd Aptomailed Charlie about this. So we have this ticket, the c4c thread and the Aptomail, but there's been complete radio silence on this. With the wiki being temperamental as well, which could well be related, I would have hoped for at least some sort of clarification from Charlie over this, even if it's just to say it's unclear what's causing the problem.

As other people have said, yes Charlie is likely to be busy and have other priorities, but he must be aware of these problems, so you would expect at least some response. He found the time to post on the frivolous ticket about someone else with the name Paul Worsley, so he must check in on the site and look at the tickets.

[L'oisleatch McGraw]

It feels like other things in his life are more important nowadays.

As for bot-bashing being something that should be penalised, a load o me arse.

Yeah, more important - but yet he still CHARGES for Apterous, so his choices become:-
1. Make sure he does the work required to keep it in good working order.
2. Delegate the work to others who will keep in site in good shape.
3. Stop charging for use of the site.
4. Close the site.

Right now, given the slew of new ideas that are routinely ignored (compared to the past when new ideas got accepted or rejected within a few weeks of publication), solution #2 looks like the best option. Maybe Charlie sees himself as being interested enough to continue to run things as a lone wolf, but he isn't and hasn't been for a long time. He doesn't attend co-events, he doesn't even know what Zoomdown is, he enters no tourneys and barely even plays. Time to hand some control over to some trustworthy people who are still interested in the game, and have the best interests of Apterous at heart.

Regarding the bot-bashing point - that's not really relevant to this discussion, and it is just my personal opinion of how some money could be made. Other creative suggestions are welcome should any of you have the imagination to come up with one.

I would not see a proposed higher price based on user behaviour as "punishing" the antisocial pricks who stay on busy all day, but rather as rewarding the good citizens who use the site as intended. The way to do it is to raise the subs for everyone, and then provide bonuses for those who keep "busy" status to a minimum.

[Mark Deeks]

A good idea would be to charge extra for people to keep themselves on "busy" all the time. The site was designed to be a social gaming site, so those who only bot-bash deserve to pay more.

Oh hell no. Not much of a social gaming experience if there are effective demands on how you spend your time.

[L'oisleatch McGraw]

Deeks, you may be many things, but "really really thick" -I would have assumed- isn't one of them.

If Charlie needs more money to motivate him to look after Apto properly, introducing a basic vs premium plan would be an excellent way to do that. I mean there is already a higher price for those who want to add superstats, so hardly a radical suggestion to review / update price plans. Higher rate for the bot-bashers? Yes please!

[Mark Deeks]

Why are you always so weird about everything?

[Adam Gillard]

For many years I had an old Mac computer that failed to load apterous through the Java console periodically after an update. Every time that happened (probably more than five times), I reported it to Charlie, and every time he invested effort to get it up and running again for me within a week or so, even though I was ostensibly the only user who had lost access. Each time I expected him to ask politely if I could find another computer to get on the site, but each time he fixed it for me.

People are speaking about the choices Charlie needs to make, but we each have a choice too. We can politely submit reports and give a clear picture of the downtime / lagginess. We can politely request a public update as this is a paid service. We can choose to not renew our subscriptions when the time comes. We can be patient. We can stop the conjecture about whether there is something going on in Charlie's life that affects the attention he can give to c4c and apterous.

There are many options, but slagging him off and trolling on his forum is unlikely to have a positive impact.

[Tracey Anne Mills]

For many years I had an old Mac computer that failed to load apterous through the Java console periodically after an update. Every time that happened (probably more than five times), I reported it to Charlie, and every time he invested effort to get it up and running again for me within a week or so, even though I was ostensibly the only user who had lost access. Each time I expected him to ask politely if I could find another computer to get on the site, but each time he fixed it for me.

People are speaking about the choices Charlie needs to make, but we each have a choice too. We can politely submit reports and give a clear picture of the downtime / lagginess. We can politely request a public update as this is a paid service. We can choose to not renew our subscriptions when the time comes. We can be patient. We can stop the conjecture about whether there is something going on in Charlie's life that affects the attention he can give to c4c and apterous.

There are many options, but slagging him off and trolling on his forum is unlikely to have a positive impact.

Well said Adam, Charlie does a fantastic job in keeping apterous and C4C going. Certain people are trolling him and slagging him off on this forum unfairly he doesn't deserve that but let's appreciate the efforts and hard work he puts into apterous Countdown Wiki and C4C. It is a fantastic community that I am proud to be part of.

[Gavin Chipper]

For many years I had an old Mac computer that failed to load apterous through the Java console periodically after an update. Every time that happened (probably more than five times), I reported it to Charlie, and every time he invested effort to get it up and running again for me within a week or so, even though I was ostensibly the only user who had lost access. Each time I expected him to ask politely if I could find another computer to get on the site, but each time he fixed it for me.

People are speaking about the choices Charlie needs to make, but we each have a choice too. We can politely submit reports and give a clear picture of the downtime / lagginess. We can politely request a public update as this is a paid service. We can choose to not renew our subscriptions when the time comes. We can be patient. We can stop the conjecture about whether there is something going on in Charlie's life that affects the attention he can give to c4c and apterous.

There are many options, but slagging him off and trolling on his forum is unlikely to have a positive impact.

That is an interesting and insightful story - thanks for sharing it.

But the final sentence - trolling, well people can make up their own minds about whether some of the above posts are trolling. But I don't think any of the above amounts to slagging Charlie off. I obviously expressed some annoyance but I don't think it crossed that particular line.

[Fiona T]

Apterous been pretty good last couple of days - fingers crossed! (And thanks Charlie if it's something you did!)

[Andres Sanchez]

Agreed, I think for the most part it's just the Apto wiki out of all three. Although I have seen the forum with an error at times, I feel like that's out of his hands bc I've seen this same forum formatting before.

[Ian Volante]

For many years I had an old Mac computer that failed to load apterous through the Java console periodically after an update. Every time that happened (probably more than five times), I reported it to Charlie, and every time he invested effort to get it up and running again for me within a week or so, even though I was ostensibly the only user who had lost access. Each time I expected him to ask politely if I could find another computer to get on the site, but each time he fixed it for me.

People are speaking about the choices Charlie needs to make, but we each have a choice too. We can politely submit reports and give a clear picture of the downtime / lagginess. We can politely request a public update as this is a paid service. We can choose to not renew our subscriptions when the time comes. We can be patient. We can stop the conjecture about whether there is something going on in Charlie's life that affects the attention he can give to c4c and apterous.

There are many options, but slagging him off and trolling on his forum is unlikely to have a positive impact.

I suppose for me it's not immediately obvious that he's paying attention (he obviously is, at least some of the time), so it reduces the incentive to report things, given that it's not clear whether any methods of reporting are effective.

Conversely, I've little doubt that having a clearer support ticket system might be overwhelming for Charlie in terms of volume and repetition, and the current informal system relying on a small number of motivated peeps might suit him better.

[L'oisleatch McGraw]

There are many options, but slagging him off and trolling on his forum is unlikely to have a positive impact.

Adam, you haven't played on Apterous since 2019. As you now count -essentially- as a relic of a bygone age, your condescension on this topic is most unwelcome.
Yes, you were an active member of Apterous when it was Charlie's passion in life. Those days are gone. He is still good enough to keep it going despite his waning interest, and is to be commended for such.

However, alarm bells have been ringing for a few years now. Charlie has been politely nudged once or twice to delegate, but does not seem to want to. The future of the site very much depends on the whims of a benevolent dictator.

Now, do not get me wrong - benevolent dictatorship works well. It would be my preferred system of government in general, and it has served Apterous especially well for quite some years. All you need to do is have a look at the sh1tshow FOCAL has become for a cautionary tale of what can happen without strong intelligent leadership at the helm. That said, Apterous is too good to be left hanging by a thread. It needs future proofing. Charlie needs an apprentice or two.

Geoff (the beard) Waugh ran an amazing website for UK chart music. Every Top 100 hit since 1956 (and 100s of bonus minor hits per year) were housed there -for free download- and Geoff kept it bang up to date. It was similar to Apterous, in that Geoff was the ultimate and sole God of the website, but unlike with Charlie and Apterous, Geoff's interest did not wane. Sadly, his health did though. After a short battle with a rather aggressive form of cancer, he died in 2015. I assumed he would have had a continuance plan for his site... maybe a friend or relative would take the reins, but no. It died too. I actually still have it bookmarked [http://www.addlong.co.uk/UK-Hits/index.html]. I suspect Apterous is in a similarly precarious position.

You can forget about any silly comments that came in referencing disrespect / trolling / slagging off of Charlie from me. Far from it. I am simply stating some facts, and expressing concern. Some of the more recent cliques on Apto (e.g. Plastic Elvises / Baldies / soy boys / etc) do not respect Charlie the way all of us do / used to. This became clear on the James Rowan Zoomdown cheating thread. There was a distinct divide between the attitudes of the older Apto members when compared with the newer crowd. This saddens me, and I would like to see that (well deserved) respect restored.

And Fiona, you can rest assured that Apterous being in great working order the last few days is as a direct result of something Charlie did, and that that action was spurred on by my comments on this thread. (There is no need to thank me though. )

[Rob McKay]

My points

1. Charlie does a fantastic job
2. The site does not need closing - a ridiculous sentiment
3. If Charlie decides that he needs help, that’s his prerogative
4. £23 to use a site like apterous represents fantastic value
5. Being busy does not make you an antisocial prick

Good night

[Tracey Anne Mills]

My points

1. Charlie does a fantastic job
2. The site does not need closing - a ridiculous sentiment
3. If Charlie decides that he needs help, that’s his prerogative
4. £23 to use a site like apterous represents fantastic value
5. Being busy does not make you an antisocial prick

Good night

Well said, you shouldn't name call on a public forum or call people anti-social pricks because you stay on busy a lot of the time. Some like to chat others like to do star paths conundrum attacks numbers letters etc... classic games and top dog. I speak for Charlie Reams he does an amazing job running apterous, as for charging extra to use a busy button I certainly disagree with it for me it would alienate a lot of the hardcore users and would lead to collapse. Charlie could do with some help if he wants it, in my honest opinion apterous is great value for money £23.00 a year is reasonable.

[Tracey Anne Mills]

CDB seems to be having problems when I am doing recaps and you use the other words option ,it gives the message Oops, it broke. So when you enter other words by copying and pasting off other games it is laborious and very time conusuming, I am wondering if Charlie is updating CDB ?

[Fiona T]

CDB seems to be having problems when I am doing recaps and you use the other words option ,it gives the message Oops, it broke. So when you enter other words by copying and pasting off other games it is laborious and very time conusuming, I am wondering if Charlie is updating CDB ?

CDB uses the apterous database doesn't it? Apterous has been down since 4am, so probably related.

[Tracey Anne Mills]

CDB seems to be having problems when I am doing recaps and you use the other words option ,it gives the message Oops, it broke. So when you enter other words by copying and pasting off other games it is laborious and very time conusuming, I am wondering if Charlie is updating CDB ?

CDB uses the apterous database doesn't it? Apterous has been down since 4am, so probably related.

I think so but unsure, but CDB needs updating

[Andres Sanchez]

Is CDB the same place that runs the wiki too?

[Tracey Anne Mills]

Is CDB the same place that runs the wiki too?

Yes Andrex Charlie runs them all

[Ian Volante]

Just came here to suggest that Eoin's not going to be happy. Glad I played the duel at midnight.

[George Pryn]

Slagging off Charlie is dumb as hell

Make your own site if you don’t like it. Benevolent dictator? Seriously?

He’s not Jeff Bezos running Amazon it’s a website for nerds to play Countdown. If it’s down sometimes whatever it is what it is.

It had downtime when I was playing 11 years ago, it’s not like it’s a new thing.

I’d welcome a new game if someone made it, be nice to have multiple options! But Apterous hasn’t had competition because it’s a niche and it’s a brilliant, quirky site.

I get sad when it doesn’t work especially since I am absolutely rinsing the site right now, but if it’s down then all we can do is ask Charlie nicely to try and fix it lol.

If you really want to kick up a fuss why don’t you ask Charlie to send you a refund of 1/365th of the membership fee?? Not sure you’d even get a Freddo for that these days though

[L'oisleatch McGraw]

Just came here to suggest that Eoin's not going to be happy. Glad I played the duel at midnight.

You can say that again...
The nightly stream was a bit different tonight.

For anyone wondering why none of the intelligent Apterites have chimed in on my future-proofing of Apterous discussion, it is for two reasons:
1. There's a particular clique of reasonably smart Apterites who prefer not to reply to me in general - like on the Zoomdown S5 thread - so that a (potentially heated) conversation won't continue.
2. But aside from that, for the vast majority of our intelligentsia - they kinda know that I've hit the nail on the head here, so there is no real point trying to concoct a weak or half-hearted counter argument. Though in fairness to the Apterites who have contributed, "stinky loser" is a rather compelling point. I may need to re-evaluate my position (or apply deodorant at the very least).

[Rob McKay]

Point one - all apterites are intelligent and respectful - comments like that aren’t appreciated. If you want to future proof apterous, then ok, here’s how I’d go about it.

1. Should he request it, Charlie will ask for help to run apterous but he has done an amazing job.
2. As I say, closing apterous is a ridiculous idea for the reasons stipulated
3. The subs are more than reasonable for £23. I pay monthly to use a chat ai but only because it helps with my astronomy work for one thing, that’s just quoting an example.
4. I’ve said this many times and I’ll say it again - any past misdemeanours need to be put to bed now and we move forward. Not everyone will get along perhaps as well as with others but we can still respect that fact and be civil. It’s the way of a large group of people. I have found on occasion when I have been in a group at events, whilst not necessarily rude per se, there can be what I’d call evasiveness and that’s fine but a simple hello or a shake of the hand would help to break the ice as it’s not easy to always be in a big group and feel like an outsider which is why I feel respect is very important. I’m not an angel but I now just really want to move on and feel like there is a sense of belonging in the community. I feel progress is being made and I’ll try to get to more events but unfortunately money is an issue and being unemployed.

To finish this, as Tracey said, attacking people with mindless statements on a forum is inane and is only going to deepen the already big enough hole you’ve dug for yourself. I think you need to look at yourself and realise just how your actions have a detrimental effect and work to reclaim credibility within the community though in my opinion you’ve got a massive ladder to climb.

[George Pryn]

Just came here to suggest that Eoin's not going to be happy. Glad I played the duel at midnight.

You can say that again...
The nightly stream was a bit different tonight.

For anyone wondering why none of the intelligent Apterites have chimed in on my future-proofing of Apterous discussion, it is for two reasons:
1. There's a particular clique of reasonably smart Apterites who prefer not to reply to me in general - like on the Zoomdown S5 thread - so that a (potentially heated) conversation won't continue.
2. But aside from that, for the vast majority of our intelligentsia - they kinda know that I've hit the nail on the head here, so there is no real point trying to concoct a weak or half-hearted counter argument. Though in fairness to the Apterites who have contributed, "stinky loser" is a rather compelling point. I may need to re-evaluate my position (or apply deodorant at the very least).

Hey I’m intelligent! I got a 9 once!

EDIT; Wait, twice actually, I forgot about Jen domming me

[Gavin Chipper]

A discussion of what Charlie should do with Apterous probably won't be that fruitful without Charlie's involvement. But since we're here, I don't think higher prices will help. It's unlikely to be a money thing. It's just down to priorities people have at different stages of their life, and Apterous is unlikely to be the passion in his life that it was in 2008. That's unless prices are raised so much that it can become his full-time job giving him as much money as in his current job, but I think we can safely say that that is unlikely.

I think the idea of delegating work to others could work though, if there are people that are willing and capable of doing the things that need to be done.

[Tracey Anne Mills]

A discussion of what Charlie should do with Apterous probably won't be that fruitful without Charlie's involvement. But since we're here, I don't think higher prices will help. It's unlikely to be a money thing. It's just down to priorities people have at different stages of their life, and Apterous is unlikely to be the passion in his life that it was in 2008. That's unless prices are raised so much that it can become his full-time job giving him as much money as in his current job, but I think we can safely say that that is unlikely.

I think the idea of delegating work to others could work though, if there are people that are willing and capable of doing the things that need to be done.

I am doing my best to keep the recaps updated as much as I can, I am aware CDB needs updating from time to time If Charlie can pass that on for somebody to update which I would do but it is where I start and to learn how to do it. It needs updating to the next series and the current one that would be a big help and would take the weight off Charlie's shoulders.

[Fiona T]

A discussion of what Charlie should do with Apterous probably won't be that fruitful without Charlie's involvement. But since we're here, I don't think higher prices will help. It's unlikely to be a money thing. It's just down to priorities people have at different stages of their life, and Apterous is unlikely to be the passion in his life that it was in 2008. That's unless prices are raised so much that it can become his full-time job giving him as much money as in his current job, but I think we can safely say that that is unlikely.

I think the idea of delegating work to others could work though, if there are people that are willing and capable of doing the things that need to be done.

I am doing my best to keet the recaps updated as much as I can, I am aware CDB needs updating from time to time If Charlie can pass that on for somebody to update it to the next series and the current one that would be big help and would take the weight off Charlie's shoulders.

Might be worth raising a ticket for - he may not be aware it's needed.

[Tracey Anne Mills]

A discussion of what Charlie should do with Apterous probably won't be that fruitful without Charlie's involvement. But since we're here, I don't think higher prices will help. It's unlikely to be a money thing. It's just down to priorities people have at different stages of their life, and Apterous is unlikely to be the passion in his life that it was in 2008. That's unless prices are raised so much that it can become his full-time job giving him as much money as in his current job, but I think we can safely say that that is unlikely.

I think the idea of delegating work to others could work though, if there are people that are willing and capable of doing the things that need to be done.

I am doing my best to keet the recaps updated as much as I can, I am aware CDB needs updating from time to time If Charlie can pass that on for somebody to update it to the next series and the current one that would be big help and would take the weight off Charlie's shoulders.

Might be worth raising a ticket for - he may not be aware it's needed.

Good idea Fiona, as I have explained in a previous thread CDB needs updating on a regular basis only Charlie has the software and access to update it further, I have kept the recaps going as best as I can. If he could pass CDB over so that is updated regularly and ease the pressure off him so that he concentrate on apterous.

[Rob McKay]

Keep doing the good work you guys are doing to keep apterous great

[Tracey Anne Mills]

Point one - all apterites are intelligent and respectful - comments like that aren’t appreciated. If you want to future proof apterous, then ok, here’s how I’d go about it.

1. Should he request it, Charlie will ask for help to run apterous but he has done an amazing job.
2. As I say, closing apterous is a ridiculous idea for the reasons stipulated
3. The subs are more than reasonable for £23. I pay monthly to use a chat ai but only because it helps with my astronomy work for one thing, that’s just quoting an example.
4. I’ve said this many times and I’ll say it again - any past misdemeanours need to be put to bed now and we move forward. Not everyone will get along perhaps as well as with others but we can still respect that fact and be civil. It’s the way of a large group of people. I have found on occasion when I have been in a group at events, whilst not necessarily rude per se, there can be what I’d call evasiveness and that’s fine but a simple hello or a shake of the hand would help to break the ice as it’s not easy to always be in a big group and feel like an outsider which is why I feel respect is very important. I’m not an angel but I now just really want to move on and feel like there is a sense of belonging in the community. I feel progress is being made and I’ll try to get to more events but unfortunately money is an issue and being unemployed.

To finish this, as Tracey said, attacking people with mindless statements on a forum is inane and is only going to deepen the already big enough hole you’ve dug for yourself. I think you need to look at yourself and realise just how your actions have a detrimental effect and work to reclaim credibility within the community though in my opinion you’ve got a massive ladder to climb.

Well said nobody should trash talk somebody on a public forum or put up vitriolic and hateful posts there is no need for that type of bullying.

[Martin Hurst]

Down now for 38 hours (no vitriol, just facts)

[Fiona T]

Looks like Charlie logged in at lunchtime, so hopefully is now aware of the issue if he wasn't before.

[Martin Hurst]

It's back

[Mark Deeks]

Just came here to suggest that Eoin's not going to be happy. Glad I played the duel at midnight.

For anyone wondering why none of the intelligent Apterites have chimed in on my future-proofing of Apterous discussion, it is for two reasons:
1. There's a particular clique of reasonably smart Apterites who prefer not to reply to me in general - like on the Zoomdown S5 thread - so that a (potentially heated) conversation won't continue.
2. But aside from that, for the vast majority of our intelligentsia - they kinda know that I've hit the nail on the head here, so there is no real point trying to concoct a weak or half-hearted counter argument.

It's quite a good tactic for shielding yourself from criticism, to be honest. Interpret that people who engage with you are automatically dumber than you because they engaged with you, thus being right by default. Kind of genius, in a really stupid way. For someone so confrontational, you're also cowardly with your threats of lawsuits and dismissal of any criticism with ad hominems.

[Tracey Anne Mills]

I know this has nothing to do with apterous, It might be worth mentioning that the Countdown database needs updating to series 91 and 92, If I knew where to start I would happy to help Charlie out so that it eases the pressure off him and takes weight off his shoulders so that he concentrate on apterous.

[Rob McKay]

A lawsuit for what exactly ? That’s beyond ridiculous - I think now just don’t rise to the bait to someone who just obviously wants an audience and to be fair he’s getting one so I think we all just need to move on now. The more he is ignored, the more bored he will get and just find something else to do but I’ve never heard such stupidity in lawsuits ? That’s a whole new level of drama. The.mind boggles.

[Tracey Anne Mills]

A lawsuit for what exactly ? That’s beyond ridiculous - I think now just don’t rise to the bait to someone who just obviously wants an audience and to be fair he’s getting one so I think we all just need to move on now. The more he is ignored, the more bored he will get and just find something else to do but I’ve never heard such stupidity in lawsuits ? That’s a whole new level of drama. The.mind boggles.

Sadly he is not learning and adding more fuel to the fire

[Rob McKay]

Just digging the impossible hole

[Tracey Anne Mills]

Just digging the impossible hole

The hole will become larger resulting in his ban

[Gavin Chipper]

For those that haven't seen, Charlie has made a ticket on Apterous making the following announcement:

Apologies for the recent unreliability (including the game being down completely for the last few days). The site has been under some kind of denial-of-service attack for the last month with every public page getting hammered constantly with weird requests (either deliberately or some kind of over-eager AI scraping bot, I'm still not sure). That's now under control, but in the process of addressing that it looks like I also broke something in how the server resets and that also took the game down. This should now be repaired.

All current subscribers have been granted an extra week for free to compensate. Please let me know if you lost more than a week of good play due to this and I can extend further.

Also, friendly reminder that the wiki and the forum are maintained best-effort and completely unofficially by me, they're not hosted on the apterous server and are not paid for out of your subscription money. I'm aware that the webhost we use has been very unreliable lately, but fixing things like that is always going to be lower priority than protecting the main site that you folks so graciously pay for.

[Rob McKay]

Already big enough now T