In the past 2 days, chess.com has been "down" for use numerous times without warning.

In the most recent down period, I got the following message while trying to access my homepage - "Database result error. Please try again."

I am just wondering why this is, and if I can get any answers from chess.com staff, then it would be much appreciated

the same thing happend to me

That is rather odd, I have not ever got that kind of  msg and all I know is that yesterday the site was down for two hours, but that was announced.

this is a good question as last night while i was trying to find a team with 20-30 members in it took me over half an hour just to get to page 30

Yes, I've seen a lot of downtime too, and I've also seen the Database Error message several times.

Staff, please look into this, or make an announcement if you know what the problem is.

That is all I, and a few others by the look of it, are after. Just a simple explanation by a chess.com staff member will be greatly appreciated!

Has anyone thought to ask them?

I've got that message before.

I've got that message before.

Maybe they don't want to answer as the problem could be to much traffic on the site.

Here's your explanation:

These types of problems that Chess.com are experiencing can be somewhat difficult to resolve.The PIX Firewall has been installed to protect the network from the public and acts as a gateway for the local network which when being altered must be taken offline. However, we have checked with a Cisco engineer to ensure it's been configured properly.

In the meantime, we're reviewing our Windows server for a number of reasons.

The server is actually running Windows 2003, which means that we've got Active Directory installed and acting as a primary domain controller (PDC). Due to its role, it's acting as a master browser for the Windows network as well. This means that the server contains a view of the whole network, so other workstations consult it to find out what resources and machines are available. If for any reason the network's master browser goes down, these services are temporarily unavailable until a new master browser is elected.

The problems we are experiencing can be a combination of a Master Browser problem, and DNS services running on the Windows 2003 server.

In such cases we consult the server's event viewer and look for error messages that might give us a few clues as to where the problem is. We check all log files and use the Event ID number to consult Microsoft's support page (support.microsoft.com) as we usually find the solution there.

I hope this helps. It seems to be what you are looking for. But it's a load of crap. Just forget the last sentence if you felt better by reading the preceeding line of bull.

Who cares why the site goes down. I expect it. FICS goes down, chessmagnet goes down, my Comcast wireless goes down, my work server goes down, everything goes down. I don't expect an explanation untill it appears that there is gross negligence on behalf of chess.com. And so far, I think it's the best chess site anywhere on the internet.

It is a lot of crap and to me it is quite stupid to except everything just because this happens on other sites too.

And yes chess.com is the best chess site and even to me one of the best sites on the world wide web, and that is the reason why they schould be able to come with a explication.

i am not saying anything against chess.com, i agree that it is the best site for playing chess. i just wished to have an explanation to why their servers have been going down a lot recently and more than usual!

How can you expect chess.com to get even better if you can't say anything negative?

 Do you ask God for an explanation when it rains when you planned on golfing?  Some things just happen and are out of our control. If you know anything about IT there are a million things that can happen that are out of your control that can bring a system to it's knees. If google, yahoo and microsoft can't keep their servers running 24/7 how can we expect a small entity like chess.com?

BTW - did you really mean to type "a explication"? It actually makes sense.

but please pause all games including vote chess then haha

No as I do not believe in God but in chess.com

Please dont turn this simple question into one involving religion.

It is a quite simple question I am asking, and it WAS directed at the chess.com staff. However, I have recently seen a similar forum topic which has been answered saying that there has been too much traffic on the site recently, which may have caused the problem. As far as I am concerned, that is the end of this discussion!

Religious conversations and politics are two things I'll never discuss online.

 However, I have to ask myself how good is good enough? If chess.com is the best site hands down, then why should they have to offer up an explanation each time the site goes down. At least they announce when they are taking it down. Most other sites just slam the proverbial lan line. I think that says a lot about the integrity and fortitude of Erik and company.

This is the reason i asked the question. It was because these were times when the site went down WITHOUT warning.