Tumblr down for almost a full day, and counting

December 6, 2010 By Jeffrey Van Camp

Tumblr is down after routine maintenance took down an entire database cluster, and users aren't handling the news well.

Hardcore fans of Tumblr may be seen in the sun today, as the blogging network is still offline after routine maintenance turned into a hellstorm that brought down the entire site about 17 hours ago. TechCrunch reports that the site has a “major issue in one of its database clusters” and will be back up once the database is repaired manually. Exactly what that entails or how long the site will be down, is anybody’s guess.

“Some scheduled maintenance yesterday that wasn’t intended to interrupt service went haywire and wound up taking down a critical database cluster,” said David Karp, founder of the site, about two hours ago. “Rebuilding the entire cluster has been a painfully slow and manual process, but we’re almost through. We’ll be posting a recap when we’re back up.”

Though the service is free and outages happen, fans are complaining, en mass, on sites like Twitter. A search for “Tumblr” brings up thousands of tweets saying things like “@NikiWithIssues: Oh hi Twitter! I’m the cheating ex girlfriend who came back just to cheat on you again as soon as Tumblr gets its shit together.” Other users are already parodying the “We’ll be back shortly.” message.

Not everything is bad in Tumblr-dom. Reportedly, the site is successfully raising millions so it can staff its new New York offices.

UPDATE 7:36 p.m. EST: Tumblr appears to be back up and running. The company tweeted the following message: “The recovering database cluster is online and healthy. We’re incrementally opening up access to blogs while monitoring performance.” Anybody still having issues?

Showing 103 comments

Megan at 6:10pm 6th December 2010 mine's still down. dying...slowly...
HelpMe at 3:27pm 6th December 2010 I got so bored I logged into Bebo...
Please? at 1:18pm 6th December 2010 Tumblr please come back to life D: WE NEED YOU !
ohsoju at 1:17pm 6th December 2010 FERNANDO EFFING TORRES' SON IS GONNA BE BORN AND TUMBLR IS STILL DOWN! I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS DAY LIKE CRAZY AND TUMBLR DECIDES TO GO OFFLINE LIKE FOREVER RIGHT TODAY! THAT'S SO UNFAIR! OH GOD
A.J. at 12:37pm 6th December 2010 I miss my Tumblr...:C And i just went and created a fyeahliloandstitch blog... I was having fun with it too.. No point in complaining about it, even though i'm bored with out it as well, they're obviously working on it, and it'll be fixed when it's fixed. I just hope it's sooner, rather than later...:C
Anon at 11:37am 6th December 2010 "We''ll be back shortly"!? Well, I don't exactly call this a short amount of time. Getting withdrawal symptoms.
Meagan at 11:36am 6th December 2010 I had no school cause of a snow day and I was so happy that I could just be on tumblr and this.... I guess we really don't have air now.
DaYana at 11:21am 6th December 2010 I've been digging for tech news the whole day today and a bit fidgety atm coz i can't share it with my followers on Tumblr. :(
Gok Wun at 11:20am 6th December 2010 Hey Guys! Gok here, Loving Tumbr 4life ! Wathch my new show guys while your bored! it's called How to look good naked! OMG its so fetch! Hopefully keep you beautiful girls and guys going while Tumblr is down! Just glad my man doesnt have that problem!
minaj at 10:43am 6th December 2010 mhm I was just wondering-can anyone guess how much is this recovering gonna last?
Y-U-NO at 10:36am 6th December 2010 TUMBLR, Y U NO BE BACK?
Laura at 10:24am 6th December 2010 Tumblr, sort yourself out. We love you. Please.
caitlin at 10:22am 6th December 2010 are people actually promoting themselves on a news article? lame.
simbabro at 10:11am 6th December 2010 I bet half of you who are posting your links who are asking people to follow you have pathetic little blogs where you post pictures from weheartit.
1. prestony at 12:53pm 6th December 2010 i bet you have something like 9000 cocks in yo bootyholeeee
Garfield at 10:11am 6th December 2010 I didn't go to school today cause of post surgery and I was so looking forward to TUMBLR ALL DAY! well that doesn't appear to be happening... I still love u tumblr, I just really need you back
TROLOLO at 9:57am 6th December 2010 So have I, you're not alone. :) NOT THIS TIME. :D
1. myfictionbeauty at 10:00am 6th December 2010 Haha! c: I'm finding it boring though :c I need tumblr back adkgjsjlg D:<
Hope at 9:54am 6th December 2010 Just adding to the shameless list of people whoring out their tumblrs. http://www.ineedtoreturnsomevideotapes.tumblr.com Cool.
Juliana at 9:54am 6th December 2010 CROSS YOUR FINGERS AND PRAY THAT NO DATA IS LOST!
myfictionbeauty at 10:50am 6th December 2010 Gaah, I've resorted to Omegle I'm that bored. :c
TROLOLO at 9:45am 6th December 2010 I'll keep you in mind, prestony. :) Damn, no one's understand my horrible plight over at Omegle.
prestony at 9:41am 6th December 2010 hey guys we should all follow each other :D! like a "tumblr is down omfg" committeee reply to this with your URLs, i'll follow all of you when it's alive. lightatmyheels.tumblr.com
1. simbabro at 10:11am 6th December 2010 That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard.
  1. prestony at 11:00am 6th December 2010 :(
Juliana at 9:35am 6th December 2010 Omg, I can imagine the loads of people on Omegle now.
GrandWizard at 9:32am 6th December 2010 Guarantee they are"trying" to restore from tap/backup media. Doesn't take anywhere near this long to recover from a crashed DB. Data loss is probable. Nice IT Tumbr. Invest in some DR, you have the money
1. Juliana at 9:38am 6th December 2010 THAT'S WHAT I'M SO EFFING WORRIED ABOUT, DATA LOSS
  1. Anon at 10:07am 6th December 2010 This has sparked a whole new world of anxiety for me!
Anon at 9:27am 6th December 2010 Dear Tumblr, Please get well soon, I hate seeing you down for so long. Love, me.
TROLOLO at 9:24am 6th December 2010 Tumblr is not about followers, retard. Tumblr is about EXPRESSING YOURSELF. Idiot.
1. Josh! at 9:31am 6th December 2010 but i just wanna get 50 followers so i can tell my family :(
  1. TROLOLO at 9:47am 6th December 2010 Then you're missing the point of Tumblr, Josh. I understand. I wanted to be popular at first. Then I realised, I don't effin care.
  2. caitlin at 10:22am 6th December 2010 50 is nothing. I have 5,034
    simbabro at 10:24am 6th December 2010 This is how much anyone cares about how many followers you have. .
  3. shocked at 12:43pm 6th December 2010 Tell your family!? YOU JUST BROKE THE FIRST RULE OF TUMBLR. We do not talk about it.
Josh! at 9:20am 6th December 2010 but being a whore is just so fun!
TROLOLO at 9:15am 6th December 2010 There're so many things I wanna say, because I know there will be people to see them. My followers. Problem is, that won't happen now. :( I'm heading off to Omegle. Another site where anonymity can be successfully maintained.
simbabro at 10:12am 6th December 2010 Stop whoring yourself out for followers its pathetic. Tumblr is a good website but you're all far too obsessed. You think its hilarious but its not,you look idiotic.
Josh! at 9:10am 6th December 2010 its gone again :( thejoshblug.tumblr.com may as well plug my joke a blog too!
Josh! at 9:03am 6th December 2010 omg its back up!
1. Katy at 9:08am 6th December 2010 only for you
YetiOwl at 8:58am 6th December 2010 TUMBLR, WHY YOU DOOOOWWNN???
Steez at 8:56am 6th December 2010 I need my tumblr NOW! retroflect.tumblr.com
Juliana at 8:52am 6th December 2010 AT LEAST NOW WE ARE ABLE TO FIND OUT WHAT AIR IS!
GrandWizard at 8:50am 6th December 2010 Go outside, take a walk. Read a book.
Aisha at 8:50am 6th December 2010 Don't worry, guys, DAVID KARP HAS GOT THIS UNDER CONTROL. I can't use Tumblr today anyways so I'm just hoping that it'll be back up by tomorrow or Wednesday the latest. I love you, Tumblr. HANG IN THERE.
Munter at 8:47am 6th December 2010 At least this gives tumblr users a chance to go out and fix the problems they constantly moan about. I reckon the people at Tumblr are busy trying to find out, due to popular demand, what air is.
Anonymous at 8:45am 6th December 2010 WAIT TILL MY FATHER HEARS ABOUT THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Juliana at 8:35am 6th December 2010 TUMBLR WAS THE ONLY ONE THERE FOR US, NOW WE'RE FOREVER ALONE WHY JUST WHY
Charley at 8:20am 6th December 2010 JUSTIN B :O
XYZach. at 8:18am 6th December 2010 This is actually kind of relieving, I thought 4chan had attacked or something like that. This isn't so bad though, the time away from tumblr isn't going to kill us. Thanks for the article!
:) x at 8:16am 6th December 2010 'Tumblrisntthatcool'?! well obviously neither are you! ;D. & comment above 'forever alone' OH GOD. THAT NAME. BRB DYING
1. TumblrIsntThatCool at 8:24am 6th December 2010 comparing a person to a blog site, it makes perfect sense -_- ... i see why people like you tumbl now.
Justin B at 8:14am 6th December 2010 Trying to look at a post I made about a concert in Israel but cant connect!! My fans are gonna be dissapointed!! haha.
1. Sara E at 10:28am 6th December 2010 Gtfo.
anonymous at 8:14am 6th December 2010 i had a feeling this would happen, it seems their servers are pretty fragile
ash ketchup at 8:14am 6th December 2010 write your problems on paper
meg at 8:12am 6th December 2010 dear people saying that us tumblr users are sad, we're not, we do have lives outside of tumblr! it's just that sometimes we just don't enjoy them that much so we log onto tumblr and there's lots of people we're familiar with on our dash and we can talk to them and vent and waste a few hours happily :) i really miss it!
Juliana at 8:11am 6th December 2010 You know what I'm most worried about? Our thing there! If they're gonna stay there or not! Cause since it's a major issue in the DATABASE I'm really worried about losing all the things I've posted and liked and everything! Let's make a pray circle! :(
Raivyne at 8:10am 6th December 2010 Waking up from a nice nap only to find Tumblr is down is NOT a nice way to wake up, lol. Come on Tumblr! :)
Effs. at 8:09am 6th December 2010 If they put Tetris on the "We'll be back shortly" page; it would be much more tolerable.
forever alone. at 8:07am 6th December 2010 Tumblr. no. argh. I want you back.
Lucy Arkless at 8:07am 6th December 2010 I'm trying to look at my friends blog, its the first time ive ever been on tumblr and its not working, just my luck. lol.
ILOVETUMBLR at 8:05am 6th December 2010 I really miss Tumblr so much. :(
Charley at 8:05am 6th December 2010 WNAT TUMBLR BACK D: I only got it yesterday and I'm addicted :L
TumblrIsntThatCool at 8:04am 6th December 2010 youre all too dependent on tumblr, its not even that cool. if you want to vent, open up Word or Notepad and post it on comment sites like this, or hell just call a friend
1. TUMBLRISDAMOTHABOSS at 9:14am 6th December 2010 Hey assw*pe, if it's there, we're free to use it as much as we want and FFFUUUUUUU it IS cool. And WTF is wrong with you, " if you want to vent, open up Word or Notepad and post it on comment sites like this," --- WE ARE VENTING AND POSTING IT ON HERE O_O Dumba**
Greg at 8:02am 6th December 2010 The worst part about Tumblr being down is that it's not even a nice day to go out and play. It's snowing and cold. Blech!
georgia at 8:00am 6th December 2010 i. want. tumblr. back. now.
Yer a wizard at 7:59am 6th December 2010 I can handle 3 or 4 hours, but it's been down for like 18 hours now! omg.
kleo at 7:58am 6th December 2010 this has been pissing me off so much i keep refreshing the page every five minuets andwhat do i find a bitter dissapointment. gahhh!
Christina at 7:58am 6th December 2010 I forgot how to communicate outside of the internet. It got so bad, I logged into myspace.
1. jiijii at 11:53am 6th December 2010 ....wow.
Toni at 7:57am 6th December 2010 Im really gutted tonihouston.tumblr.com
Amira at 7:52am 6th December 2010 actually, if that's your URL it would be schoolofcharmmentality.tumblr.com :)
1. Minnie Kingston at 8:54am 6th December 2010 both should in fact work... but yeah, i forgot about that way round... aha thanks for the heads up! :)
Niki at 7:50am 6th December 2010 WAIT TILL MY FATHER HEARS ABOUT THIS!!!!!!!
1. <333 at 8:18am 6th December 2010 dont you mean : WAIT TIL MY FATHER ..(the inventor of toaster stroodle.) .. HEARS ABOUT THIS!!!!!!! aha <33
kkkkkkay at 7:49am 6th December 2010 Oh my god, my life is over.
Gin at 7:48am 6th December 2010 GINTEAWASHERE.TUMBLR.COM I thought I'd add to the shameless plug, lol. Don't worry y'all, I see the light at the end of the tunnel (whatever that means)
Minnie Kingston at 8:39am 6th December 2010 alas, when it does eventually return feel free to follow tumblr.com/schoolofcharmmentality ;) nothing like a little shameless plug...
Allison G. at 7:39am 6th December 2010 As foolish and as ridiculous as this may sound, Tumblr isn't just like any other site. Most people do actually need Tumblr - and frankly, I only joined because after months of browsing the web for the perfect blogging platform, no other site out there has the same amazing support group that is the Tumblr community. If not for the nearly frequent glitches, the site would be close to perfect!
1. Nancy at 8:16am 6th December 2010 Even though live journal is about 12,000 times better?
  1. Allison G. at 9:08am 6th December 2010 What is the point of coming on to a page that's about Tumblr and stupidly commenting that "live journal is about 12000 better"??? Is that supposed to help anyone?? What I said was just my opinion, I like Tumblr and it works out well for me and it fits my blogging needs. I was merely stating what I thought, I wasn't asking for fools like you to jump in and comment. Fine, you like live journal - great, I respect that. It'd be great if you could STAY THERE and KEEP YOUR NOSE OUT OF TUMBLR AND TUMBLR RELATED NEWS. K? THANKS.
  2. caitlin at 9:59am 6th December 2010 SHE DOESN'T EVEN GO HERE
bigboi. at 7:36am 6th December 2010 SUPER CHEESED ! I need Tumbrer
lucy at 7:32am 6th December 2010 I only started using it this week, and I miss it too :L
1. bailz at 7:51am 6th December 2010 oh my god me too.
2. Greg at 9:05am 6th December 2010 What kind of emotion is :L supposed to portray? Hold on, let me Google this. Oh, angry smiley? Yeah, okay then. I'm so not in the loop with smilies these days.
3. frenchy at 9:00am 6th December 2010 haha me too! how good is it
Minnie Kingston at 7:31am 6th December 2010 it's ridiculous - i have things to get off my chest and simply nowhere to write them! come on tumblr, get your act together... we miss you!
1. vsabfjd at 7:38am 6th December 2010 looser, how about talk to a human?
  1. Hallie at 7:44am 6th December 2010 Oh what, speak to a "human" like you? And btw you dumb****, it's "LOSER" not LOOSER... you loser.
  2. Minnie Kingston at 7:45am 6th December 2010 it's easier said than done when no-one is there for you! sometimes people need to vent! and also, it's loser* please learn to spell before trying to insult someone anonymously over the internet ;)
  3. Drodd McGroggin at 8:45am 6th December 2010 It's 'Loser', loser.
2. LemonHead at 8:54am 6th December 2010 I like turtles!
sondra at 7:31am 6th December 2010 i can't believe it's still down! and what an awful public relations dept. -- they couldn't at least think to tweet more than once for the first 12 hours of the downtime? sheesh. people are upset, keep them in the loop.
1. Anonymous at 7:54am 6th December 2010 You just make me worried even more; people just can't go one day without internet or related services any more. What must come of this... and how are we going to end up?!
  1. Anonymous at 9:17am 6th December 2010 Businesses use tumblr to promote their products. Pro bloggers have switched to tumblr. Sites that want more exposure have purchased ads on tumblr and they're losing a whole day. This isn't entirely 24 hours free of cat pictures, there's cash on the line.
    Sher at 1:03pm 6th December 2010 Agreed, but people should also keep in mind that it's a free service, and a rather fledgling one at that. Glitches happen, and they are especially challenging with limited resources! If there's so much cash on the line, maybe folks should consider at least some sort of backup plan...probably one with paid support services. And I'm sure tumblr will reimburse for lost advertising time. I'm a huge fan and regular user of tumblr, so this is definitely irritating, but in general, I'm surprised at how dependent people have gotten on a platform like this and how lost they are without it...I agree with Anonymous above!
Richard at 7:29am 6th December 2010 I miss tumblr :(
1. raah at 7:59am 6th December 2010 me too D: