If you tried to log on to the site yesterday (June 18 ) between like 3:30 and 7:30 PM you were told that it was taking too long to load, the server might be too busy, or that it just wasn't working out between us and that maybe it was time that we parted company, but as friends.

I got a couple of e-mails (and a call from my dad) asking what gives. So I did some checking and it turns out that the Webs.com server was conducting some "unexpected maintenance" and that their *entire* system was down. Entire. I'm not sure what might have caused such a catastrophic downtime failure "unexpectedly" but perhaps we should all take a moment of silence for the dozens of server room IT guys that were no doubt smashed to death as that meterorite plummeted into Webs server farm. Or maybe it was just the lingering after effects of Locke not letting Desmond push the button that one time. I doubt we'll ever know.

What I DO know is that within minutes of the server going down, their support page started getting flooded with comments that started out as curious (I can't log on) to frustrated (I really *need* to log on) to rage-crammed-with-hostility filled (you people are ruining my business!). Shockingly, none of these were actually from me. Since I'm not paying Webs.com anything for this site, I feel that my griping rights are pretty limited, but a lot of these people weren't just running happy-fun-time blog sites but rather their businesses. And let me say, you do not want to get between a mama cub and her Internet baby!

Two guys, Steve vonBrandt and pianist4life2 quickly ratcheted up the anger train by threatening to sue for lost business, and then it quickly became a jump-on-board class action deal with terms being bandied about like "contractually bound" and "breach of contract" and "sue for damages" and even one well-placed use of "vis a vis" which we all know means that play time has officially ended!

The next thing was a call to flood the company's CEO with e-mail blasts. Again, Stevey vonB put it succinctly with "see what happens when this guy who I can't even pronounce his name, gets 20,000 emails in the next 2 hours." I'm not sure who pianist4life2 is, but his emoticon describes himself as "Webs worst legal nightmare," which probably means that he is more into that kind of Joker soundtrack of scraping razor blades over wires kind of piano.

Then, in a move that I can fully understand, Steve vonButtkick said, "I have been pushed far enough now to go out of my way to do this." Now THIS emotion I totally get. The principal. Once you have broached a man's principals, you have laid down the gauntlet. I once completely stopped a line at our Wal-Mart for like 10 minutes for what turned out to be nineteen cents (yes, $.19) because something was mis-marked and the cashier made a flippant remark like, "Well, you can tell the manager but he's not gonna do anything about it." My response? "You know what. You just made me feel like going to war. Let's get the manager." I OWN you Roma Tomatoes! I had another client once who was SO dissatisfied with his pool contractor that I saw him tell the guy that he had lots of money and that he would spent WHATEVER it took to put the guy out of business if he didn't fix the problem. And how would the pool guy like to see a full page ad in the paper saying what crappy work he did? That pool is now a gleaming jewel.

The saddest comment during the whole crisis at the downtime corral came from a woman who posted, "I just lost an important customer because my site was down at exactly the wrong time. Anyone want to reimburse me for the order they were going to place? I am just starting my business from home and I think I am going to cry because all my hard work getting this client just went down the drain. I’m sad & frustrated & annoyed"

So, I guess I can't be too put out by it. You guys DID miss out on a new post that I'd virtually finished but couldn't post (don't worry.....I'll put it up later) but other than that I still feel like I'm getting my money's worth here: $0.00  Thanks for coming back, Webs. And all of you readers as well.