Database and Project Update

We have some important updates on the Media Cloud tool set. Short story:

• We're still having some database issue; should resolve by mid Feb
• More and more folks are using our services, so we're exploring new partnerships to support that growth at a technical level
• We'll let you know on Twitter and this mailing list as things change

Some more details:

As many of you are likely aware, we experienced a database issue in November 2021 that resulted in stories between September 15, 2021 and November 23, 2021 being unstable and unreliable. We then experienced a second database crash on December 25, 2021 that has resulted in data ingest and search retrieval errors for stories after that date. We've concluded that our database hates US holidays, and also that we need to change some our of technology so the database can grow unhindered.

Our backend team is working hard to resolve these issues, and we hope to have a fully restored and functioning database around mid February. It's hard to guess on exact dates, but keep an eye on our Twitter feed and you'll see updates.

Relatedly, our consortium project is evolving, and as the technical needs of the project continue to grow, we are exploring new and exciting partnerships that can help us grow effectively as a reliable service for ourselves, and you. During this transition some of our more complex services,  like Topic Mapper, may need to be turned off. We'll let you know  in advance of such a change. We do not anticipate our regular story ingest, and access via Explorer, changing. 

As always, please feel free to contact us at support@mediacloud.org with any questions or specific follow up requests.