Dear Tom and brave, knowledgeable Minions of Gather,
Take heart! All is not lost! The word is getting around about the Great Gather Glitch of 2006 and it will all soon be a not-so-fond, but fading memory.
As an oldtimer in issues of the Internet, I am reminded of similar problems other online services and sites have faced. There was the day when a programmer forgot to include several lines of code in the new and improved server software at CompuServe and every single person with a CompuServe-sponsored account (as in SysOps and CompuServe employees) was locked out. "You do not have a valid user I.D. number..." became the genesis of much rending of garments and gnashing of teeth, until two days later we were allowed to once more take care of our forums.
Then there's the great server crash at LiveJournal several years ago. Hundreds of thousands of us LJ addicts went into automatic, clinical withdrawl for days on end until the crisis was resolved.
In the magical land of load-stressing any given system, there will always be melt-downs. Servers crash while backup servers turn their backs and shoot electons at you in streams that sound remarkably like raspberries...pftpftpftpftpft!
Yes, getting around Gather is like swimming in Jello right now, but I know you folks who are scampering around a certain area of Boston like headless chickens are actually embroiled in doing a great and marvelous work. My applause to you all for your dedication, and my total understanding. If it takes time to put it all back together, take it. The only thing worse than a quick fix, is a half-assed job. We'll wait.
Hugs all around!
-Annina L. Anton, official Internet Oldepharte
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Comments: 25
Magi
Echoing what others have said, my loss of points was taken with some chagrin. They had been climbing so high, so fast I was wondering if they were real. So, when I went from 399 to 190 part of me went "oh, they must have fixed the point system glitch that was over rewarding me." I'll wait patiently expectant to see if I get those 209 back.
Virginia - Hmmm, you might want to ask around about that. I stay logged in until I clisk on "sign-out". Perhaps your machine is not keeping the cookie.
Sorry for the delay in getting everyone's point totals back to where it should be. We are still in the process of recovering some data (most important, Gather Points) and everyone should be back to normal within a day or so.
As Annina mentioned, we're airing on the side of caution to make sure we get it right, which will take a little extra time. Feel free to email me at feedback@gather.com with any questions or concerns.
Kind Regards,
Ben
Member Services Manager
Gather, Inc.
'Internet Oldepharte', I really like that!
My mom always says, "In any given situation, it costs you nothing to be nice." She's a bucket of sunshine, and I love her for it. Strangers come up to her in stores and ask her advice. I maintain that there is an invisible neon sign on her forehead, visible only to the lost and confused that says, "Ask me. I'll help."
I'm glad to hear that Boston is thawing out! Gorgeous city. Visited it when I was in college mumblety-mumble years ago. ;-)