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CouchSurfing Didn’t Crash

It would appear from this thread on the MySQL forum that CouchSurfing didn’t crash in late June 2006, but the database was deleted. For non techies, DROP is the database command for delete. According to the thread, posted by username Casey Fenton, a DROP TABLE command was issued.

The message was posted on 28 June 2006, exactly the time of the alleged “crash”.

If I understand this post correctly, the servers did not “crash”, but the data was deleted. I wonder if anyone else can shed more light on the subject?

6 Responses to “CouchSurfing Didn’t Crash”


  • So it was a test? I mean, he just wanted to see wheather the cs members were willing to have it back at any CoST?
    Could it be just a stupid mistake? I mean, do proceedures like that happen if you press by accident the wrong button?
    Please, enlighten me, because my tech- knowledge is zero.
    If it’s the first case, then, i’m really impressed by this guy’s skills! He should run for President of USA asap ;)

  • I think it was a huge mistake (one that would have cost normal 5-figure employees their job. But then it was turned around and used as a big marketing scheme to both create a big media hype and attract a lot more volunteers.

  • Lemme point out the obvious to you guys. Please feel free to delete it if this interfers with your propaganda machine: http://www.couchsurfing.com/crash_page.html

  • @Jim: If it was a user error that caused the crash, I do not believe that Casey nor anyone else would have confessed the mistake publicly. Therefore, I find the situation a little strange.

    @Maria: I’m sure if the DROP command caused the problem, it was by mistake. I don’t think it would have been a smart gamble to delete the database to see how dedicated members were! I do think Casey is a great politician though, he might well run for president one day. According to his founder profile he found politics in Alaska and knew it would be a big part of his life… ;-)

  • Conspiracy Theory should be the title here and I heard this a few times before.

    Its insignificant how or what happened.

    More important its up and running, mostly more reliable and functional than any other site of this type.

  • Ummphhhf!

    Our site is currently offline as we fix problems that occurred from the power outage at our server hosting site on 9 January 2008. We will not be putting the site back online until we have all the issues resolved and the stability of the site can be assured.

    If you urgently need to contact your CouchSurfing host or guest and do not have their contact details, then you may use our Stranded Travellers wiki webpage: http://wiki.couchsurfing.com/en/Stranded_Travelers

    Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work to resolve these issues.

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