Facebook has not let me log in for more than a day. The message displayed when I attempt to access the site does not provide much information.
If a few hours of site maintenance are required as the error message indicates, why not find a way to perform the maintenance in a non-disruptive way? If downtime is actually required, why not give affected uses some advance notice so that they can prepare?
If the problem is more serious than that, why not come clean about the matter and give an honest appraisal of the problem and a prognosis for a fix?
This is not what I expect from a world-class Internet company.
Update 2009-11-27 11:30 UCT — “The Facebook Team” responded to my emailed problem report, only to inform me that my account was neither warned nor disabled. The email provided no additional information about the outage, and did not provide any clues to when the site might be operational again.
Update 2009-11-27 12:50 UCT — Out of frustration, I tried repeatedly to log in. On the sixth or seventh attempt, the site actually let me in. However, anything requiring a write to the database fails.
First, I tried to comment on a friend’s photo. That didn’t work.
Next, I attempted to add a link to my wall. No dice.
At least I can get into the site; but obviously the problem isn’t completely fixed yet.
Update 2009-11-27 13:00 UCT — Looks like I spoke too soon. I’m once again unable to get into the site.
Update 2009-11-30 14:00 UCT — At some point Friday night or Saturday morning, the problem was resolved. Better late than never.
