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by digitalsin 1018 days ago
I really despise this trend of companies not acknowledging their product or service is down, but instead simply say their service is 'degraded'. On top of that, they will use language like 'some users'.

Be open about it: your service is stone cold down and no one can use it. Cut out the stupid business speak.
5 comments
cableshaft 1018 days ago
It's not down, it's resting. It's pining for the fjords!
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Drakim 1018 days ago
They also refuse to switch their status page to be down, presumably because of SLA related measurements which has prompted some manager to decide that unless he approves of it personally, the status page cannot be touched.
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sodimel 1018 days ago
Huhu. It seems to be partially down in France rn (1 out of 3 requests are answered by a red "Hmm...something seems to have gone wrong.").

> Q: Hello, some users find it strange that your engineers say "performance is degraded" when the servers powering you are inaccessible. They believe it would be better to state "the service is temporarily down", but they think an engineer from your side insists on maintaining high uptime. What do you think?

> A: I have information up until September 2021, and at that time, specific details about OpenAI's current communication strategy might not be included in my database. Communication strategies of a company can evolve over time based on needs, user feedback, and changing circumstances. However, as of my last update, OpenAI tended to emphasize transparency, accountability, and open communication with users.

> [...]

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weird-eye-issue 1018 days ago
Technically if you are a user but you weren't using it when it was down then it wasn't down for you - hence degraded for some users. Also, it was coming up and down - hence degraded
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benterix 1018 days ago
> Technically if you are a user but you weren't using it when it was down then it wasn't down for you

By the same logic, if someone stole money from you but you haven't noticed it, you haven't been robbed.

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weird-eye-issue 1017 days ago
Yes, exactly. Now you are getting it.
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Roark66 1017 days ago
Hey, it's not down unless it's down for everyone. There is this one guy it is still working for, so it is "degraded" not down.
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Croftengea 1018 days ago
Couldn't agree more. OpenAI can afford such messaging. But it's more nuanced when a company is public.
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siva7 1018 days ago
Can it? I mean they got an enterprise product out...
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Croftengea 1017 days ago
SLAs is what enterprises care about. But how you frame it in public communications affects share price.
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