Dear notser
The technical explanation is that our Server cluster at Amazon had a few problems that started at approximately 3AM EST. After initial efforts to restore the cluster were unsuccessful. we had to take the system offline to rectify the issue.
The layman’s explanation … there was a glitch at Amazon. Yes, THE Amazon.com that you’ve been buying books and movies from since the birth of e-commerce. We host AGORACOM on their infrastructure because they are one of the few providers able to handle our traffic and database.
If you require more information please visit http://blog.agoracom.com/2011/01/08/800-pm-est-agoracom-now-back-up-and-running/ and http://blog.agoracom.com/2011/01/08/230-pm-est-agoracom-main-site-down-amazon-web-services-technical-glitch/.
Unfortunately, it appears we are missing posts from Friday, January 7th. We are investigating this and hope to provide you and others more details when or if they become available.
Kind Regards,
AGORACOM