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Nov. 11th, 2009 @ 02:00 pm Network Maintenance: Saturday, November 14, 2009 at 04:00-06:00 UTC/GMT
On Saturday the 14th at 4AM UTC/GMT we will be upgrading the operating system of our network load balancers to a newer version, one that will allow us to use both CPUs! Nifty, because multiprocessing is nice.

Since we have 2 load balancers, the plan is to upgrade 1 at a time, and there really should be very little impact to our website. Hopefully you won't notice a thing and I'll get to go back to the hotel and watch some wonderful late night infomercials.

We've got a lot of exciting projects coming up for 2010 and we're hoping that we'll be able to deliver them all to you, that you will find it useful/cool/lovely and then you will use the site even more. Behind-the-scenes work like this will give us the capacity to handle the anticipated traffic, so expect a few more maintenance windows especially in the beginning of next year as we've got some neat ideas to improve performance around here! We had the recent 30-45 minute outage yesterday due to one of our logging databases filling up disk space -- not so great design coupled with my human error in handling the initial problem -- and it looks like we're going to finally have some resources to eliminate stuff like that. I can't wait!

As usual, I will be updating status.livejournal.org before and after, just in case you are not able to reach our main website during the work.
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[info]dwell, posting in [info]lj_maintenance
Nov. 5th, 2009 @ 01:15 pm LiveJournal Major Notes: Spam counter-attack, RSS feeds again, CSI Deadly Intent contest


The empire strikes back

In recent weeks, we've taken huge steps towards blocking spam accounts on LiveJournal. In fact, we've suspended as many as 30,000 accounts in a single day! We've implemented several pre-emptive measures to prevent the creation of spam accounts, and we've honed our detection of suspicious content. Spam bots are a crafty lot, so we'll continue to refine our tactics and keep up the good fight to keep you safe from spam attacks on LiveJournal.

RSS feeds again

If you're addicted to [info]xkcd_rss, [info]icanhaschzbrgr, or other syndicated feeds, we're pleased to report that we've resolved the update error that was mucking up your RSS feeds. While content was being pulled correctly, it wasn't being posted to the feeds themselves. Late last week, we finally nailed down what we hope was the root problem, so content should post properly. We thank you for your patience.

Wii have killer CSI Deadly Intent contests!



[info]c_s_i

If you're a gamer who loves CSI, have Wii got news for you! [info]c_s_i is sponsoring killer contests. Simply post a question to a member of the CSI crew. The winner will get a free copy of CSI: Deadly Intent for Nintendo Wii (with a retail value of $39.99) and get their question answered by a member of the CSI writing team! There's also a fantastic monthly contest. To enter, join [info]c_s_i, play the online version of CSI: Deadly Intent, and respond to a two-part query for a chance to win a Wii! Entries will be judged on composition and originality. Sorry, but you must be a U.S. resident and over 18 years old to participate. Check out the rules here.

Enveloped in postcards

Last week, we asked you to send in postcards to help us decorate our drab concrete walls. Here's a photo of the results so far! Thank you so much and please keep them coming! You can mail them to Frank the Goat, Esq., c/o LiveJournal, Inc., 539 Bryant Street, Suite 210, San Francisco, CA 94107. Be sure to include your username, since we'll be giving ten random users paid account credits.



Photos of the week

If you haven't visited our new LiveJournal photo community, you're in for an amazing visual trip. LiveJournal users from around the world will take you on a scenic journey to everywhere. Post your own pictures or kick back and enjoy at [info]lj_photophile. You can view some of this week's awesome photos after the jump. Please start tagging with geographic location, since we'd like to track all the places around the world represented in this community. Keep on commenting too!
Read more... )
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[info]theljstaff, posting in [info]news
Nov. 3rd, 2009 @ 11:50 pm Christmas Wishes
Current Location: my bed
Current Mood: content
Current Music: "Beautiful Dirty Rich" -Lady Gaga
Tags:
I took this from [info]lovinjerryt <3

STEP ONE
- Make a post (public, friendslocked, filtered...whatever you're comfortable with) to your LJ. The post should contain your list of 10 holiday wishes. The wishes can be anything at all, from simple and fandom-related ("I'd love a Snape/Hermione icon that's just for me") to medium ("I wish for _____ on DVD") to really big ("All I want for Christmas is a new car/computer/house/TV.") The important thing is, make sure these wishes are things you really, truly want.

- If you wish for real life things (not fics or icons), make sure you include some sort of contact info in your post, whether it's your address or just your email address where Santa (or one of his elves) could get in touch with you. [Note: Your home address is not required!]


STEP TWO
- Surf around your friendslist (or friendsfriends, or just random journals) to see who has posted their list. And now here's the important part:

- If you see a wish you can grant, and it's in your heart to do so, make someone's wish come true. Sometimes someone's trash is another's treasure, and if you have a leather jacket you don't want or a gift certificate you won't use--or even know where you could get someone's dream purebred Basset Hound for free--do it.

You needn't spend money on these wishes unless you want to. The point isn't to put people out, it's to provide everyone a chance to be someone else's holiday elf--to spread the joy. Gifts can be made anonymously or not--it's your call. There are no guarantees with this project, and no strings attached. Just...wish, and it might come true. Give, and you might receive. And you'll have the joy of knowing you made someone's holiday special.

My Wishes
1: an Ouran moodtheme
2: TamaHaru fanfiction of any length, variety, etc. Or fanart. As smutty or as innocent as you want... I just love this couple to pieces.
3: for someone to read Victoria Holt's "The India Fan" and go off on a huge rant about it with me... maybe fanfic with me? XDDD I've never met ANYONE who's read it, and it's my favorite book.
4: a Haruhi plushie?
5: Howl's Moving Castle on DVD
6: a really super cute Tamaki icon
7: a TamaHaru roleplay buddy?
8: a TamaHaru LJ layout just for me X3
9: to bake a really super fancy cake for someone on my flist and send it to them through the mail
10:a really in-depth review on one of my stories

Contact:
Myspace: http://myspace.com/moonchild10
Email: moonchild10@gmail.com
Cell: 406-661-1378


This is way too much fun XD make sure to repost this so I can grant some of your wishes, my dears. I love you all dearly, and this is totally an excuse to do a bunch of crazy stuff for you. Since I'm in 100+ communities, my flist gets a little crazy and I don't check it much. If you repost this, you should totally leave a comment for me letting me know so I can add it to my mems and grant your wishes! If you don't let me know, I might not ever find out.

My Granted Wishes So Far
♥1: an Ouran moodtheme from [info]lifeless09
♥6: a really super cute Tamaki icon from [info]lovinjerryt
♥7: a TamaHaru roleplay buddy, [info]stefanie_k

^ Thanks so much, guys ♥
About this Entry
[info]moonchild10
Nov. 3rd, 2009 @ 11:56 am Nanowrimo 2009 XD
Current Location: my couch
Current Mood: crazy
Current Music: "Again Again" - Lady Gaga
Tags:
Holyshits, it's nanowrimo already and I have no freakin' clue what I'm going to write about *weeps* I have about a thousand ideas, most of which involve crossdressing. I'll probably just pick one of those.

You guys think I should write the story about the princess who pretends to be a prince so the sexy arrogant son of an evil witch won't become the next ruler of the kingdom? Because that on has a lot of promise as far as zany ideas to keep the story going even when there's not exactly anything plot-related going on. I've been meaning to write it since high school, but I've just been putting it off XD YES! Yes, I'll write that one!

What are you guys going to write about for it? Any craaaaaaaaaaaaaazy stuff going on in that department?

If you guys want to be Nanowrimo buddies, my profile is here <3 <3

BTW, my icon is amazing X3 [info]arthoniel made it <3

I know I should be getting started on my nanowrimo stuff, but instead I'm writing a Kaoru x Haruhi fic *dies* I just can't help it...
About this Entry
[info]moonchild10
Oct. 30th, 2009 @ 05:17 pm Network Maintenance - Saturday, October 31, 2009 at 04:00-05:00 GMT/UTC
EDIT: If you're reading this, our maintenance is OVER! The problem was not found on our equipment, which means we'll have to work with our ISP to fix this small problem -- which also means another maintenance window in the future -- but at least we have eliminated our side.

Thank you everyone, and a special shout out to [info]rekoil for giving me a great suggestion AND also the opportunity to feel like I've just called in to a local radio station.

Have a great day, night or afternoon wherever you may be.

---

Hi everyone, sorry for the late notice but I'm going to have to do some testing on 1 of our 4 internet circuits TONIGHT; Friday night or Saturday morning depending on which time zone you're in.

Most of us shouldn't notice any impact, though there may be some slowness or lag when I switch traffic on to our other ISP circuits and then another hit when I stop the tests. If a page won't load or times out, try hitting refresh 1 or 2 times and it should load then. If it doesn't work at all... trust me, I'll be typing really really really fast to try to undo whatever I just did. Hopefully you'll have some Halloween candy (if you're in the USA and celebrate that kind of thing) nearby to take away the bitterness of a small site outage. :(

Here's the handy-dandy Website That I Always Use to get a feel for when the maintenance will start in your area. Our site traffic historically dips on Friday afternoons until Saturday morning which is why we tend to pick this time for maintenance work.

tech details )

status.livejournal.org will, of course be updated before and after the maintenance window. Or else [info]marta will get mad at me. :D

bt
About this Entry
[info]dwell, posting in [info]lj_maintenance
Oct. 29th, 2009 @ 10:53 am LiveJournal Major Notes: Search super-tweak, postcards, and amazing user content!


In response to user comments from last week, we want to let you know that we'll remain LJ cut-free for the next month in order to get more eyeballs on our evolving newsletter. As for product coverage, that continues to be our top priority. For more granular detail, however, we recommend you join [info]lj_releases.

Super-tweak for Yandex search

Some of our beta testers expressed privacy concerns using the Yandex search engine. Here's why: Last week, when you ran a search, you could see the usernames (and only the usernames) of everyone who commented on an entry, even if that entry was switched to Private or Friends Only after it was originally indexed. You could NOT see the actual comments from Friends Only or Private posts. In response to your input, we've implemented a fix to keep all user activity currently marked Friends Only or Private completely hidden. If you'd prefer your public content not to be indexed by Yandex, click here and use the settings labeled Search Inclusion (this covers your entire journal) and/or Comment Search Inclusion (which covers comments only). To test drive Yandex search now, click here.

Postcards from the edge

Several years ago, we asked LiveJournal users to send postcards to help us decorate our dull, white-washed offices. Since a good idea warrants repetition, we're at it again (same issue, new address). We hope you'll surround us with LiveJournal love by sending your postcards to Frank the Goat, Esq., c/o LiveJournal, Inc., 539 Bryant Street, Suite 210, San Francisco, CA 94107. We'll post snapshots right here. Be sure to include your username, since we'll randomly pick 10 lucky recipients to win free paid account time.

Conquer Writer's Block

Here are some excerpts from this week's most popular question of the day:

If a friend or relative makes a racist or homophobic remark, do you tend to confront them or let it slide? Are you more likely to confront them if it offends you directly or someone else who seems reluctant to speak up?
  1. I find it easier to stand up for other people, and i wouldn't let it slide if they made a rude or hurtful comment.
  2. Usually if a friend makes a racist or homophobic remark, I tend to let it slide. I think that while i would not say such things myself, I have no right to censor those around me.
  3. This happens all of the time. I confront some relatives, but I refuse to if they are drunk or watch Fox News.
  4. I'd let it slide if it was just a private remark... As much as I despise bigotry and intolerance, I know that you can't change people-they have to change themselves ...
  5. Confront! confront! confront! Politely, but without equivocation.
  6. SPEAK UP. Always, always, always speak up. Letting something slide lets ignorance win. No matter if it offends me directly, or someone else, I will confront the speaker and let them know that's not ok.
  7. I don't get offended personally. As an immigrant, woman, gay and person of color if I took every single potentially offensive remark seriously I wouldn't get anything done.
  8. I punch them in the balls. With my mind.
  9. I do speak up, but often very timidly because I feel that I'm white and therefore I don't really have any authority to lecture someone on what's racist and what isn't...
  10. Generally speaking, I do not let this shit fly, because it reduces me as a person, to this non-person and it replicates the destructive discourse that makes sure that sexual minorities, racial minorities, women, people with disabilities, trans people and every intersection thereof into something other than human... And sometimes... I'm just too tired to deal with it, so I roll my eyes, make a sarcastic remark and hope the conversation moves on quickly.
For more daily questions and user comments, join [info]writersblock. FYI, we don't want to invade your privacy, so we haven't credited individual users for their responses. We'd appreciate your feedback on this!

Spotlight community of the week

We can't resist making one last midnight trip to the ol' pumpkin patch. If you adore crazy costumes, fiendish festivities, and bottomless candy consumption as much as we do, this community has just what it takes to light up your jack-o-lantern.


[info]halloween_fan

Photos of the week

We received so many incredible photos, we had to close our eyes and point. We uploaded a selection of awesome images at our new [info]lj_photophile community. Please join and start posting (try to keep the width at around 625 for the sake of consistency)! We'd love for you to tell us more about your photos! You can help us select spotlight photos by commenting on your favorites. Once again, we thank you for making our online world more beautiful!




[info]shutter[info]pancetta[info]ilya_gorokhov


Curtains

Thanks, again, for tuning in. We look forward to seeing you next week.
About this Entry
[info]theljstaff, posting in [info]news

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