I'm sure you've all grown quite frustrated these past couple of weeks with the frequent site outages. From everyone on this side of the issue, our most sincere apologies to all of you. We've been just as frustrated trying to diagnose the issue.
We upgraded our MySQL database a couple of weeks ago, and ever since, we've experienced multiple database crashes. Each time, it had to be restarted, tables repaired, and the site brought back up. SubWolf spent numerous hours running repairs and attempting to diagnose the problem. Unfortunately, we could not find a way to make the newer MySQL software work with the spiders and server, so earlier today, SubWolf downgraded back to the last known stable version (for our site).
Rest assured, we do everything possible to keep this site up 24/7/365, but with so many complicated code sets, outdated original site code, and the frequent software upgrades that must be tried live in order to test effectively, there are going to be times when the database will crash, and a recover, repair, and debug cycle must begin. We at BlogShares will continue to do everything we can to maintain this site, and we hope that today's downgrade will effectively fix the frequent crashes of the past two weeks.
Once again, we apologize for these frustrating times. Your patience and kind encouragement has been very much appreciated during this. Cheers to you all.
Effective July 4, 2005 at 00:01 game time, a new set of rules will govern game play. This new ruleset has predominantly maintained the previous game rules, with a few notable exceptions. We've constructed a Guide to Rule Changes to help players understand what has been altered or added.