April 13, 2006
Living in Two Worlds
I’ve been wanting more of my web-hosting company over the last several months. Both Kimberly and I are running blogs on this account, and I have my business website, and my business email address as well. As my needs have been growing, the quality of their service has been declining, and, in the very competitive market of shared-hosting services, their bargain price isn’t much less expensive than a company that offers more.
I started shopping, and found a company that I hope will serve me well. For a few cents more a month, I have more bells-and-whistles on my account, and they even had one of their helpful and friendly support people transfer all the files from my old server to their new location. The new company prides itself on its customer service, has an extensive online tutorial library, and even runs a set of forums for its customers to communicate with them and each other.
There is always a catch. In this case, it’s one inherent in the design of the Internet, and it goes by the name “propagation.” Later this afternoon, I’m going to tell a certain computer that, when someone’s browser asks for ‘nosmallplans.com’, it should go look on my new host, not my old one. That computer will tell others, which will tell others, which will tell others, until eventually all of them get the message to look at the new host.
Until the computer that your ISP uses to tell your browser where to look gets the message, you’ll still be sent to look at my old host. We’ll be answering the Firesign Theater’s prophetic question, “How can you be in two places at once, when you’re not anywhere at all?”
All of which is a long-winded way of saying, things might seem a bit odd, with posts appearing and disappearing and reappearing over the next few days. It’s not you, and it’ll all be better soon.
Most people will be switched over to the new host within 24 hours of my making the change, but it can take as long as 72, I’m told. (Doesn’t it seem funny that anything so high-tech would take three days? How reassuringly quaint.)
See you on the other side!
UPDATE: This is the version of the blog on the new server. Welcome!