[Sw-l] SignWriting Legacy Server upgrade, one week later

[Steve Slevinski]

Dear SignPuddle Community,

I’m happy to report that the SignPuddle server upgrade on June 29 was a 
success! The platform is now faster and more stable, with increased CPU 
cores and memory to better serve our community’s needs. Thank you for 
your patience during this transition.

Since the upgrade, SignPuddle has been running smoothly. We did 
experience a brief 15-minute outage due to a bot network targeting the 
server with data-intensive requests. To address this, I’ve offloaded 
image generation to https://swis.wmflabs.org/ and implemented measures 
to block these bots, ensuring they no longer disrupt the platform. I’m 
actively monitoring the situation to maintain reliability. Depending on 
future developments, we may consider requiring logins for SignPuddle to 
further protect the platform, but no changes are planned at this time.

The server’s performance is strong, with plenty of capacity for growth. 
I’d appreciate your feedback, whether things are working great or if 
you’re encountering any issues. Your input helps keep SignPuddle thriving.

Thank you to our new supporters this past week.  Your contributions keep 
SignPuddle free and accessible for all.

Warm regards,
-Steve