2025-06-17 - Workaround for network connectivity problems

If you are running into timeout and "server not found" errors while trying to access the ISFDB server, the following steps should be able to help if you are running Windows:

1. Press and hold the Windows key + R to open the "Run" dialog box
2. Type ipconfig /flushdns into the text field and click OK

This command tells your PC's Windows to get the latest internet address for the ISFDB server, which should fix the immediate problem. Whatever issues the ISFDB server is currently experiencing may still result in occasional "timeout" and "server not found" errors, but they seem to be relatively rare. All you have to do is reload the displayed page (press F5) to get past them.

 

It's possible that the hosting company may change its configuration settings yet again, in which case you will need to re-do the steps listed above, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. 

2025-06-16 - Unscheduled ISFDB downtime

The ISFDB server is effectively down due to network problems. This announcement will be updated once the problems have been resolved. There is no ETA at this time.

 

2025-06-17 update: Things were mostly OK this morning, but then, at 11:53am server time (EDT), the server went back to the pattern that we saw yesterday: up for 5-10 seconds, then down for 1-2 minutes, then up again for 5-10 seconds, down for 1-2 minutes, etc. There is no ETA at this time.

2025-02-23: Continuous performance issues due to bot attacks

As of 2025-03-23, the ISFDB server continues to experience major performance issues due to continuous bot attacks. We are working on mitigating them, but it's still very much a work in progress. We'll post another update when we know more.

 

2025-03-24 edit: Disabling anonymous access to the ISFDB Wiki seems to have stopped the bad bots, at least for now. We will continue monitoring the situation.

ISFDB server maintenance 2025-03-19 at noon EDT

The ISFDB server will be taken down for maintenance at noon EDT. It may be down for up to an hour while the database is being optimized.

 

12:30pm edit: The server is back up as of 12:30pm.

2025-03-12 ISFDB server problems

As of 11am EDT 2025-03-13, the ISFDB Wiki is effectively unavailable due to a bot attack. Regular database pages can be accessed, but take up to half a minute to load.

 

2:15pm edit:  Performance is still spotty due to ongoing bot issues, but the Wiki should be accessible.

2023-09-12/13: ISFDB server problems

 The ISFDB server has been experiencing server problems since 2023-09-12. We are currently investigating the issue.

2023-09-14 update: As of 5am, the server is back to normal. The underlying problem hasn't been addressed, so it's possible that the issue will return later. We are still looking into it.

ISFDB server downtime 2023-08-22 11am to 11:15am

 The ISFDB server will be down for maintenance between 11am and approximately 11:15am.

11:15am: The server is back up. The Wiki's search functionality has been restored.