mark: A photo of Mark kneeling on top of the Taal Volcano in the Philippines. It was a long hike. (Default)
Mark Smith ([staff profile] mark) wrote in [site community profile] dw_news2017-01-01 12:48 pm

Dreamwidth News: 1 January 2017

Well, we made it to 2017. Congratulations.

The holiday promotion has ended. Thank you to everybody who bought points or a paid account or something, you're really helping to keep Dreamwidth going. We wouldn't be here without your support. (Quite literally -- we don't serve advertisements and we don't sell recommendations or anything, every single dollar we use to host the site comes from ya'll.)

The main reason I wanted to post today was to acknowledge and welcome the large influx of people we've been seeing in the past 10 days or so. We've seen a huge increase in new accounts -- over 100,000! This has translated into a raw increase in Dreamwidth usage of about 25% (i.e., our traffic is up 25% compared to two weeks ago). This is pretty exciting. I love to see people using Dreamwidth and settling in, making themselves comfortable, etc. I hope that you will find yourself feeling at home here!

So, business #1:

With any large influx of traffic, there will be occasional bits of site slowness. It takes a little time for us to provision hardware to adjust to changes in load, but don't worry: we're nowhere near the limits. In other words, even if the site gets slow for a little while it won't be a long term thing. Most of the particular issues we've run up against have been fixed already and the team will continue to investigate and fix any other issues that arise.

If you're worried about Dreamwidth falling over or crashing because of the traffic, it's okay. We are quite far from any limitations on Dreamwidth's ability to scale. But, even still, I'm sorry for the spots of slowness we've had. We've had to make a few tweaks but things look like they're doing pretty well now and we'll keep an eye on things.

(Note: whenever there are issues, we will update our Twitter feed: [twitter.com profile] dreamwidth, so please follow us there if you use that service!)

Financially, we're doing fine. We did just get new hardware and that incurred a pretty big line-item expense, but we've still got a buffer of cash in the bank -- particularly since we just finished the holiday sale. Of course, we've had to provision extra hardware with the recent arrivals but it will take a few months to see how the budget shakes out. (So, we're not asking for money right now! Just the normal business is sustaining the site fine and if that changes we'll let you know.)

Business #2:

Welcome to Dreamwidth, all newcomers, we're happy to have you! Many of you are joining us from Russia and Ukraine, so: Привет, добро пожаловать! Привіт і ласкаво просимо!

Unfortunately, nobody presently on Dreamwidth staff or volunteer speaks these languages and Google Translate leaves a lot to be desired. We've had at least one support request come in which is not in English and we'd love to be able to help out. If anybody who speaks these languages has spare time and is interested in becoming part of our volunteer group to help out from time to time, can you please comment here and let us know? Thank you!

Edit: I've started [community profile] dw_translate which [personal profile] kaberett will be administrating. We'll use that community to post to when we have something we need help with! Please feel free to join if you want to make yourself available.

Business #3:

I want to personally say that Dreamwidth is committed to openness and protecting the privacy of our users and their data. While we must of course follow United States law, we take a very strong position on the protection of your data. We'll do everything we can to be the best we can in this area. In other words, see the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Who Has Your Back? 2015 report. While Dreamwidth is too small to be evaluated by the EFF, I am committing us to earning all 5 stars. Stay tuned for more on this from us in 2017.

I think that particularly in the current political climate of the United States (and the world) it is very important for people to take a stand for what they believe in. So: I believe that real, honest privacy and using an online service should not be incompatible goals -- and as much as it is within our power, Dreamwidth will be a place you can have real, honest privacy.

That's all I've got for now. Thanks for reading and I hope your New Year's Eve went as well as mine -- we had a pajama party with some good friends and some champagne at midnight. It was pretty relaxing ... until the Roomba woke us up at an unreasonable time to begin its morning rounds.

(PS, as with all news posts, this may cause a delay in comment notifications for an hour or two after this is posted. I am posting this at 12:30PM PST, convert to your timezone.)
azurelunatic: A spray of $CELEBRATORY_FIZZY_BEVERAGE from a beribboned bottle caught in the moment just after the cork pops. (champagne)

[personal profile] azurelunatic 2017-01-01 08:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Pajama parties sound great, and Roombas should come with snooze buttons.

I'm glad as always that Dreamwidth is here.
benegenetriivir: (Default)

[personal profile] benegenetriivir 2017-01-01 09:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Hi Mark,

I composed instructions Несколько полезных советов по обустройству в DREAMWIDTH in Russian for newcomers accordingly to my experience since April 2011.
Edited 2017-01-01 21:07 (UTC)
slava68: (Default)

[personal profile] slava68 2017-01-01 10:44 pm (UTC)(link)
Отличная инструкция :-)))

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darjeeling: (STOCK | masquerade at midnight)

[personal profile] darjeeling 2017-01-01 09:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you for the update, and thank you for continuing to be upfront and honest about everything! DW's ongoing effort to be foremost for users and what's important to us (re: privacy, content, and all of that) makes this a truly inspirational place to call 'online home'. ♥
Edited 2017-01-01 21:04 (UTC)
moem: A computer drawing that looks like me. (Default)

[personal profile] moem 2017-01-01 09:04 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm so freaking happy to read y'alls opinions on privacy. So refreshing in today's climate! And so needed.

Thank you!
hope: Art of a woman writing from tour poster (Default)

[personal profile] hope 2017-01-01 09:07 pm (UTC)(link)
<3
lireavue: A red-haired woman in a black dress, playing violin while leaves swirl around her. (Default)

[personal profile] lireavue 2017-01-01 09:08 pm (UTC)(link)
My Russian fluency is fairly half-assed at this point, but if you need someone to help stopgap support requests while you build a group of native to fully fluent speakers, I'm game.

(I can also do Spanish or French or to some extent German, if new Russian/Ukrainian users speak those languages and are willing to communicate in mutually-second-or-third languages.)
kittydesade: (Default)

[personal profile] kittydesade 2017-01-01 09:10 pm (UTC)(link)
My fluency is a bit slip-shod for lack of practice, but I speak Spanish, French, German, and can pass for conversant with a good dictionary in Russian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Italian. (Also Irish, but if you're getting support requests from Irish speakers with no English I... don't know what to tell you.)

Some of the vocabulary is likely to be specific in a way I never had cause to learn, but if you toss me a support request I probably will have an easier time translating/extrapolating from context/etc. Basically I can be your stopgap Jill-of-most-languages if you need one.

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[personal profile] zaluzianskya 2017-01-01 09:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Dreamwidth's stance on privacy is so refreshing. Thank you!
ratomira: (Default)

[personal profile] ratomira 2017-01-01 09:15 pm (UTC)(link)
I speak both Russian and Ukrainian, I'm a native speaker of these languages and can help you.
ukurainajin: (Default)

[personal profile] ukurainajin 2017-01-01 09:54 pm (UTC)(link)
So do I. If it's something I can help with, I'm in game too.

Thanks for greeting us here, Mark! It's a nice place.

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[personal profile] dolewhip 2017-01-01 09:19 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm tempted to burst into 'I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here' from Annie. Consider yourselves grateful that it's hard to do that over the internet. ;)

In all seriousness, Dreamwidth's dedication to privacy and honesty is highly reassuring. Thank you, and happy new year.
Edited 2017-01-01 21:19 (UTC)
denise: Image: Me, facing away from camera, on top of the Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome (Default)

[staff profile] denise 2017-01-09 05:30 pm (UTC)(link)
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE EARWORM. :P

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proben: (Default)

[personal profile] proben 2017-01-01 09:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Hi Mark,

Happy New Year!

And Thank You and your team for the efforts to keep DW a desirable platform.
I'm a native Russian and Ukrainian speaker and could volunteer helping DW. Please count on me having issue with the support requests.

Cheers
kaberett: Trans symbol with Swiss Army knife tools at other positions around the central circle. (Default)

[personal profile] kaberett 2017-01-02 12:11 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you so much!

If you would prefer just to translate, [community profile] dw_translate has just been set up! I intend to request translations (of original requests, and of support volunteer replies once problems have been diagnosed).

If you would prefer to act as a support volunteer in your own right I am very happy to provide an introduction and mentorship (and look into whether it's worth setting up a specific Russian-language Support category) -- but it's just gone midnight local for me, so please say if you'd like more information about this and I'll do my best! For starters, the Dreamwidth wiki contains (English-language only, sorry!) a Support FAQ, an overview of the Support process, and a guide to writing Support responses, among other things.

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[personal profile] kolyvanski 2017-01-01 09:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Hi Mark,
Happy New Year!
elena_88888: (Default)

[personal profile] elena_88888 2017-01-01 09:31 pm (UTC)(link)
I can help but on a very rare basis, I'm almost out of time. Nevertheless I also would try to help our Russian-speaking surrounding to become acquainted with all the features I've already got.
kaberett: Trans symbol with Swiss Army knife tools at other positions around the central circle. (Default)

[personal profile] kaberett 2017-01-02 12:13 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you so much! [community profile] dw_translate has just been set up! I intend to request translations (of original requests, and of support volunteer replies once problems have been diagnosed). Subscribing to or joining the community doesn't mean I'll expect you to provide a translation for any particular post (or at all) -- but hopefully will make it easy for you to volunteer when you have time and enthusiasm!
lauerz: (Default)

[personal profile] lauerz 2017-01-01 09:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Hi there,

I am native Russian and Ukrainian speaker and I would be happy to help. Please, count me in.

DW user Lauerz
kaberett: Trans symbol with Swiss Army knife tools at other positions around the central circle. (Default)

[personal profile] kaberett 2017-01-02 12:13 am (UTC)(link)
Hi Lauerz -- thank you so much!

If you would prefer just to translate, [community profile] dw_translate has just been set up! I intend to request translations (of original requests, and of support volunteer replies once problems have been diagnosed).

If you would prefer to act as a support volunteer in your own right I am very happy to provide an introduction and mentorship (and look into whether it's worth setting up a specific Russian-language Support category) -- but it's just gone midnight local for me, so please say if you'd like more information about this and I'll do my best! For starters, the Dreamwidth wiki contains (English-language only, sorry!) a Support FAQ, an overview of the Support process, and a guide to writing Support responses, among other things.

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lavendertook: Cessy and Kimba (hobbity new year)

[personal profile] lavendertook 2017-01-01 09:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you for the update. You all, as always rock.

Happy New Year, Mark!

[personal profile] mr_picard 2017-01-01 09:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you for this update - and I also appreciate your views on privacy. Happy New Year!
groovesinorbit: scully (happy)

[personal profile] groovesinorbit 2017-01-01 09:43 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks so much!
rsi_12_k: (Default)

About Ukraine and Russian Federation.

[personal profile] rsi_12_k 2017-01-01 09:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Good day/night.
I apologize for my English.
The influx of people from these two countries stems from the fact that LJ is completely moved to Moscow. Before that their privacy and rights were protected by the First amendment and California law. Now, the major KGB, makes a request and gets all the data about the author or commentator could easily ban/restrict access to the user's page. People register in the hope to remain anonymous.
I assume that some of the new pages will remain dead.
havocthecat: the lady of shalott (Default)

Re: About Ukraine and Russian Federation.

[personal profile] havocthecat 2017-01-01 10:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh! Thanks for answering before I even asked.

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dragondancer5150: (General - LJ accidentally'd itself again)

[personal profile] dragondancer5150 2017-01-01 09:46 pm (UTC)(link)
There's really not much I can say that others haven't already, both here and in the past. But I still want, as always, to say my own THANK YOU!!! for all that you guys do (and everything that you don't!).

GDIT Roomba! *shakes fist at!* Seriously, though, pajama party sounds awesome!

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auguris: Dozens of blue butterflies resting on a tree. (ΦΙΛΗΜΩΝ)

[personal profile] auguris 2017-01-01 09:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you. Just... thank you.
basis211: (Default)

[personal profile] basis211 2017-01-01 09:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank You! As many Russian native speakers i would be happy to translate something, including technical stuff and so on. I'm available more often than not.

kaberett: Trans symbol with Swiss Army knife tools at other positions around the central circle. (Default)

[personal profile] kaberett 2017-01-02 12:14 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you so much!

If you would prefer just to translate, [community profile] dw_translate has just been set up! I intend to request translations (of original requests, and of support volunteer replies once problems have been diagnosed).

If you would prefer to act as a support volunteer in your own right I am very happy to provide an introduction and mentorship (and look into whether it's worth setting up a specific Russian-language Support category) -- but it's just gone midnight local for me, so please say if you'd like more information about this and I'll do my best! For starters, the Dreamwidth wiki contains (English-language only, sorry!) a Support FAQ, an overview of the Support process, and a guide to writing Support responses, among other things.
rotozeev: (Default)

[personal profile] rotozeev 2017-01-01 10:01 pm (UTC)(link)
I would like to pay attention of the society migrating from LJ to the advantages of RSS technology. This is much better and universal than friend-feed (in LJ or DW)

http://uablogs.pp.ua (in Russian)
sharpiefan: DW: To boldly go, hoping that the rest of fandom will follow (DW to boldly go)

[personal profile] sharpiefan 2017-01-01 10:08 pm (UTC)(link)
As someone who made the move here from LJ back in 2010, I can attest to the fact that DW staff are transparent in what they do, what their goals are... and when there's likely to be downtime (they always let us know when there's going to be a code push and I think there's been minor downtime once in the six years I've been here - and that was sorted within an hour or so!)

DW works enough like LJ on the front-end that all those newly arrived from LJ will get to grips with it easily enough - and if you do have issues, Support is pretty good, and there's [community profile] style_system if you've got any queries about tweaking the CSS or anything to do with actual styles.
dewline: Text - "On the DEWLine" (Default)

[personal profile] dewline 2017-01-01 10:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks much for the reassurances. It's been mostly smooth resettling here, but I do expect the odd random hiccough in the weeks and months to come.

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10061983: (Alphonse has the best advice)

[personal profile] 10061983 2017-01-01 10:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you guys for being as honest and open to yours users as ever.

And happy New year ♥
alchemise: Stargate: season 1 Daniel (Default)

[personal profile] alchemise 2017-01-01 10:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Hey Mark, I weirdly just got a second notification email about this post. I don't think I've ever gotten duplicate notifications before so I thought I'd mention it.

Also, Happy New Year!

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finesoul: (Default)

[personal profile] finesoul 2017-01-01 10:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Ukrainian and Russian are my native languages.
I can translate requests to/from English.


If anybody who speaks these languages has spare time and is interested in becoming part of our volunteer group to help out from time to time, can you please comment here and let us know? Thank you!
kaberett: Trans symbol with Swiss Army knife tools at other positions around the central circle. (Default)

[personal profile] kaberett 2017-01-02 12:17 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you so much, finesoul!

If you would prefer just to translate, [community profile] dw_translate has just been set up! I intend to request translations (of original requests, and of support volunteer replies once problems have been diagnosed). I don't expect anyone who joins or subscribes to the community to provide translations often (or at all!) -- please just take part as you'd like to!

If you would prefer to act as a support volunteer in your own right I am very happy to provide an introduction and mentorship (and look into whether it's worth setting up a specific Russian-language Support category) -- but it's just gone midnight local for me, so please say if you'd like more information about this and I'll do my best! For starters, the Dreamwidth wiki contains (English-language only, sorry!) a Support FAQ, an overview of the Support process, and a guide to writing Support responses, among other things.

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