Chess Tactics Server, has been down for the last day. If anyone out there has knowledge of the situation, please let me know.
I fear more than a blip, but a real sea change, the very jeopardy of CTS, chess.emrald.net.
I have been increasingly concerned of late, taking very careful and deliberate note of the site finally having fallen below 2,000 users having an RD <= 100, that is to say regular users.
In so doing, besides drawing attention to that, which was long in coming, I thought that it was time to, of all things, establish a
Yahoo user group towards putting the site on a more secure footing. I estimate that not only I, but any of some fifty other persons could be expected to be reasonably found there who would have the necessary the technical or managerial capability to lead such an effort or initiative, nothing special, but only one person responded, chessisajedrez. He said that he had limited time (as I do also), but threw his name in, if but only just only do so, and see what happens.
This is a most unfortunate break. Since 2006 I can only recall only one other instance of an outage lasting more than an hour or few minutes, and that one was for a week or so. In fact, it dates to the time of the establishment of this blog.
I have no magic bullets, no ready answers. I do know how to go about enterprise, coordinate a discussion, help evangelize or communicate a process, but cannot do it alone. I have ideas, but it will take more than one person. Save the site, communicate with the owners, track down the owners in Germany, mirror or host the site somewhere else? There ARE options.
Does anyone out there have any information as to what is going on? Is this temporary, and to be fixed? Or is this a permanent failure? Please let me know. David Korn reached at:
davidkorn dot specialprojects g 'male'. dot 'calm'. Phone +253 214-4282 United States, Tacoma WA.
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This video is inserted here, meant to highlight my comment, in reply back to BDK below. There is a saying in the wild days of wild Zen Masters, 'We are all sinners and whores'. What can I say?
If you offended by this video, look in the mirror, we are all Americans. As Timothy McVeigh once said, of Oklahoma City bombing kind:
'I could no longer stomach working for the biggest bully on the planet', once a decorated and deeply committed soldier. Right perception, wrong methods.
We have not improved. Violence justified? No, not hardly. Reason to be deeply upset at what our society has become? Yes. Need for total outrage.
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Some think having your phone number on the web is a risk. No. Like a blackbelt in aikido or karate, I am willing to stand with anyone, on the phone I feel safe, as in about ten seconds, I can see what is happening, make my decision, and detect what is coming at me. This is a lot harder in email. Live is easy. Its called immediate apprehension.
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I said upon becoming chess coach at a major high school, that my blog had to be buttoned down. Well, its true. But things evolve. Even limits have limits!
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