Image converters back online - and everything’s smooth!
UPDATE: Wow! The converters cleared the backlog much faster than expected. Everything should be smooth sailing now :)
So, as it happens, the Image Mode converters have been down for a while now, and finals week prevented me from looking into it too closely. However, I’ve since managed to track down the issue, and the converters are now back online and gleefully plowing through a backlog of SWF-to-PNG conversions. Hooray!
Unfortunately, this will likely result in a heavy server load over the next 24 hours. The converters are always on, waiting for conversion jobs, but those jobs only rarely appear. Today, however, the converters will be working non-stop to process their backlog, which may cause delays to the main site. Sorry for the trouble, and thanks for understanding.
For the technologically minded, here’s a brief run-through of the issue at play:
Conversion jobs failed to run due to a permissions error on the server: the converter would try to save some temporary files, but would be told that it’s not allowed to save files to that folder, because that folder for some reason belonged to my personal account instead of the converter’s account. I removed the folder, allowing the converter to replace it with a folder that belonged to the correct user, and all was well. Crazy how one small thing like that can bring down an entire feature, eh?
