Zen and the Art of RP Maintenance

[Doug Nelson]

In case anyone ever wondered about my avatar (or was even remotely considering running their own large website) let me tell you how I spent yesterday while you all were getting the "forum down" error message:

very loose paraphrase of a web-based support session

me: My database is corrupt and when I run the repair utility it gives me an error. Can you determine the cause of this error? I must run the repair utility very frequently to maintain my site.

them: Which database would you like us to repair?

me: No, I need to be able to repair the site myself.

them: You can repair the database by running the repair utility.

me: I know how to repair it, but it's giving me an error. Can you determine why I'm getting an error? No one can access my website until this is fixed.

them: I just pinged your domain, no one should have any trouble accessing your site

me: My network is running fine, no one can access my site because the database has been corrupted.

them: You need to run the database repair utility. It is located on your site control panel.

me: I know where the repair utility is located, I've run it several times. It errors out and I need you to determine why.

Many exchanges later:

them: We have repaired your database.

me: Thank you, but I need to be able to do my own maintenance. Did you determine why it was erroring out?

them: You can do your own maintenance by running the repair utility.

To get the full effect, insert a 1/2 hour wait between each reply, end each reply with "Thank you, and please contact us if we can be of any more assistance", and have each response sent by a different tech, most (or all) of them from India.

[T Paul]

Wow! I've been there and can fully appreciate your avatar!

[Gary Richardson]

You need to get your application in for sainthood, if you need a counter signatory I'll happily oblige.

ps. Is there a dent in the desk yet.

[JustChecking]

i share your pain, buddy...

i had similar talk few weeks ago, when we had troubles w/ IIS server on our faculty's domain... the moment i'll find out how to murder someone via phone, the life will get a whole lot better... for me