IT IS URGENT THAT YOU DO NOT CONNECT TO THE INTERNET FROM MARCH 31st 23:59 GMT (11:59 PM) UNTIL 00:01 GMT (12:01 AM) APRIL 2nd.
It's that time again. As many of you know, each year the Internet must be closed down for a 24-hour period of time in order to receive maintenance, or a "Tune Up" if you will. Many dead links on the World Wide Web will be removed, as well as ftp links that are no longer used. Lost e-mail will also be removed from the system at this time.

In addition to the normal maintenance to be completed this year, we will also be using new high-pressure information jets to clear out the bottlenecks that have plagued the Internet so greatly this past year. Although the down time for maintenance will be an inconvenience for many people, you will find this will allow for a much more efficient and faster responding internet.

This year, the "Tune Up" will occur from 23:59 GMT (11:59 PM) on March 31st until 00:01 GMT (12:01 AM) on April 2nd. During that 24 hour period, dozens of powerful Internet bots at key locations around the globe will simultaneously scan the Internet and complete the desired maintenance jobs wherever they may be required. To help protect any valuable data you may have on the Internet from possible corruption, we highly recommend you take the following steps before this 24 hour maintenance period begins:



-1. Disconnect all terminals and LANs from the Internet.
-2. Disconnect all Internet servers from the Internet.
-3. Refrain from connecting any computer, or any other Internet connection device, to the Internet in any way.
Note: The term "other Internet connection device" includes such devices as WebTV.


Again, we understand the inconvenience this will cause many people. And for that, we apologize. However, the great increase in Internet performance you will experience after this short period of maintenance will far outweigh any problems it will cause.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Mr. Yuben T. Ricked
Global Internet Maintenance Organization Department of Webmasters and Sysops

It is very important that the entire Internet community be notified of the upcoming Internet maintenance before it gets underway. Please direct all of your users and personnel to read this notice ASAP! Please pass this announcement to all other Internet users you contact as well. Thank you.

Cheers for the heads- up Paul.

We're already onto it at work though- most of the systems are prep'd for the big 'off' and the rest will be done this weekend.

Cheers,

James

so is this true or a wind up?

can be a big problem for companies like amazon

I gathered some internet dependent companies were going to have to download large portions of the internet (up to 50/60% in some cases) to their own systems so allow customers to carry on trading during the period of the 'day-out'!

Presumably it'll be a massive problem for the likes of Symantec etc.

James

really not the best situation, but after this year, the net needs it

Good point. I've been a bit dubious in the past about them needing to do it as frequently as they have but as you say- after this year it probably *is* needed.

Guy at work was saying it's all a big conspiracy anyway- Micro$oft and friends playing at running the internet to see what happens when they pull the plug. Not so sure myself- I mean it's gotta have some effect on their 'net download business.
Updates, patches, etc. etc. all could be a problem in certain circumstances!


James

Bugger, I'd timed my latest virus to trigger at 00.01GMT 01/04/04 and I've already released it. That's knackered my day. I'll get you next year.

yeah

i think they do it to keep the net under control aswell, keep everything secure and clear out illegal stuff, shame it's so disruptive

Erm, guys, sorry if you're all being sarcastic and I'm being the boring, not seeing the gag one, but this sounds like complete and total bullcrap. For example: "we will also be using new high-pressure information jets to clear out the bottlenecks", riiiiiiiight, I wish we could do that at work, someone's computer starts running a bit crapply so we just hose it down with an information jet.

Regardless of anything else, if your ISP didn't want you to connect, they could stop you from connecting without any problems whatsoever - they'd just let you know and then do it, not send some begging letter saying how important it is that you don't.

Kingr

quote:

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Originally posted by kingr
but this sounds like complete and total bullcrap. For example: "we will also be using new high-pressure information jets to clear out the bottlenecks", riiiiiiiight, I wish we could do that at work, someone's computer starts running a bit crapply so we just hose it down with an information jet.

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what a conincidence, on april fools day. I must remember not to log on to the net and ruin all these purges...

SO why is this not emailed to everyone, or pops up like the windows update thing, etc... first time i've ever heard about it

they don't tend to warn people who don't need to know, 90% of users will either ignore the problem, maybe call their isp later.

Can someone back this thread up for me, otherwise it will be lost!

Sorry to cause all the commotion. I just posted this as a reminder to everyone. I got caught out last year & lost 2 weeks work. [I ended up re-formating. ] However everthing is safely on CD rom this time. I not going to even put my pc on this year to be safe during the ICD.
Hope this helps.

A quick fix for this is to unplug your modem and blow down the cable.

Or put a book under the front of the monitor to clear the electrons from the screen.

Cheers

The IT help desk.

Wow

Thats the internet closed down for April 1st then.

And it only gets 'cleaned up' if none of the 1billion or so users dont log on for that day.

seems like im gonna wreck the whole process then



atb

steve

[Edited on 28/3/04 by stephen_gusterson]

I get to go down to telehouse at the end of march and unplug our server for the big cleanup. It was mad down there last year, my first year with a colocated server. Everyone and their dog down there tidying up and having a chinwag, great time to do some human-type networking with well-connected people in the Internet world.. all the head techies from big isps and websites.

Then the cleanup crew from LINX and LoNAP and all that lot get stuck in the next day, but I'm not a part of that. Then we come back the day after, plug it all in again, and traditionally go mob-handed down to a nearby curry house for a geek invasion. It's fun. I wonder if that's half the reason they do it

Am I really the first to mention that the name 'Mr. Yuben T. Ricked' is phonetically - "YOU BEEN TRICKED"?

If you ACTUALLY believe that the letter is real, then by all means do what it says! But you will be the loser for believing it.

Unfortunately, this type of misinformation is really quite similar to a computer virus except that this one is transmitted manually. If you forward this mis-information to others then you are in essence the mechanism by which the virus replicates.

I know whoever posted this thinks it's funny and a harmless April fools joke. (And if you didn't then Shame on You!) But the number of poor gullible misinformed people who will actually do what this letter says could be significant.

Do you understand the ramifications of distributing this misinformation?!

There are a LOT of gullible people in this world. Fine for you if they don't do any work for the entire day, but the fact is that most people depend on the Internet in many ways to accomplish their work tasks. The loss of productivity due to this little 'joke' could end up pulling millions of dollars out of the economy.

So please people - DO NOT FORWARD THAT LETTER TO ANYONE!!! IT IS A HOAX.

Not amused,

Graber

No need to worry about this site's info being lost, ChrisW will have backed it all up on a floppy beforehand.
I personally have a 'bit bucket' on the side of my Hard Disk which is shorted to earth inside my PC Case. That way I can be sure all the garbage I want to get rid of has really gone for good and not still on the hard disk with the file refs removed.
When this ICD happened last year the local council arranged it all. Everyone left their machines out on the kerbside the night before and some 'big lads' came with a large lorry and cleared everyone's waste files away in a morning. (personally I think they were re-using them as the lorry was not earthed, because of the rubber tyres) I am onto their scam.

Steve Graber ...

I too was gonna say something like 'are you all stuuuuupid' but I could tell that people were just perpetuating the windup.

Anyone that does think this is true, please do consider yourself stupid.

If the UK internet industry cant get their asses in gear to block kiddy porn sites, how the heck are they gonna 'clean up the net' in a day.

like, clean what? Does NTL leave a whole years redundant crap on their drives until APRIL 1ST!

If so, I can save them a fortune with a simple idea. Set an expiry date of 10 days or summat.

For anyone thats interested, I do have a limited qty of internet cleaning dusters. They are 100 quid each and are ESSENTIAL if you dont want the internet to seek out your PC as the local skip/dumpster for all those files that have gotta be dumped somewhere.

hurry hurry - these things will be 200 quid on 33rd march.

atb

steve

[Edited on 28/3/04 by stephen_gusterson]

quote:

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Originally posted by stephen_gusterson
For anyone thats interested, I do have a limited qty of internet cleaning dusters. They are 100 quid each and are ESSENTIAL if you dont want the internet to seek out your PC as the local skip/dumpster for all those files that have gotta be dumped somewhere.

hurry hurry - these things will be 200 quid on 33rd march.

atb

steve

[Edited on 28/3/04 by stephen_gusterson]

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Edit:

Deleted that all- decided I was being a bit mean!

Cheers,

James

[Edited on 28/3/04 by James]

Are they the yellow ones with the special red stitching round the edges. I bought some off the Betterware catalogue and wondered what you do with them. I've wrapped one round the hard drive and shoved it back in for now. We'll see how it goes.

quote:

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Originally posted by Peteff
Are they the yellow ones with the special red stitching round the edges. I bought some off the Betterware catalogue and wondered what you do with them. I've wrapped one round the hard drive and shoved it back in for now. We'll see how it goes.

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I thought the cleanup had to be done by midday otherwise it would backfire!
Or am I just being dense?

quote:

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Originally posted by James
Edit:

Deleted that all- decided I was being a bit mean!

Cheers,

James

[Edited on 28/3/04 by James]

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James I think it’s a good job you deleted it because all that writing could of interfered with the clean up