A Note from Jim About MDN Website Issues

Thank you to MDN subscribers and readers yesterday who had to endure MDN website outages. Believe me, it was frustrating for me too! A quick update on the site moving forward, and what I’ve done to (hopefully) ensure what happened yesterday does not happen again.

Without delving into the technical jargon, the MDN website was “overheating.” Running too many processes at the same time. I’m still not 100% sure why it happened. I’ve hired a new webmaster company to (a) immediately fix yesterday’s issues (which has already happened), and (b) to address more fundamental, long-term issues with the site and the technology I use for the site. I’m committed to improving the user experience on MDN.

Along those lines, at some point I will need to migrate all users to a new permissioning/login system. I have resisted this for years! It’s painful, fraught with concerns on my part. But after it’s done, I suspect it will result in making it easier for you, my valued readers, to log in and read articles. Less hassles, less things like the site forgetting your login details, etc. And hopefully a better experience with using the site on your mobile devices and tablets, which increasingly is how people read MDN.

All of this to say, stay tuned! Good things coming. There may be a bump or two along the way and I will let you know if that happens (and try to warn you ahead of time).

In the meantime, if there is something about the site that bugs you, a problem you have, or something missing, you’ve often thought “I wish MDN had….”, please send me your comments ([email protected])! Now is the time to speak up as I work to upgrade the site for the next 10 years!

Believe it or not, MDN has been “a thing”–live on the internet–since January 2009. Which means MDN has been around for more than 10 years, well into our eleventh year now. Thank you to everyone who continues to support MDN. I deeply appreciate it!

Jim Willis
Founder/Editor/Chief Cook & Bottle Washer for MDN