When Your Core Functionality is Dead, What Else Is Left? Youtube Down with Stupid Message

By Zoli Erdos on December 10, 2008

This functionality is not available right now. Please try again later.

We are currently performing site maintenance. Be cool – we’ll be back 100% in a bit.

This wouldn’t be such a bad error message – except for two things: I

It’s on Youtube, and we’ve become so hooked it, some would already declare Youtube the New Google. Which means it should never ever be down.
It’s not really down – the site is accessible. The only thing it can’t perform is playing videos. Hence the “this functionality” error message. But then again, Youtube is all about playing videos, if that doesn’t work, what else is left?

Update: the error message is changed, it now says:

YouTube will be undergoing scheduled maintenance, starting around 7:00 pm PST.

– retrospectively, as it’s 8pm PST now. Why do I have the feeling this is NOT a scheduled maintenance?

Update #2: Youtube is back in service now.

Post Views: 20

Posted in General | Tagged error messages, google, youtube, youtube outage | 2 Responses

Zoli Erdos

Publisher / Editor @ CloudAve and Enterprise Irregulars. Industry Observer, Blogger, Startup Advisor, Program Chair @ SVASE (Silicon Valley Association of Startup Entrepreneurs). In his "prior life" spent 15 years immersed in the business of Enterprise Software, at management positions with SAP, IBM, Deloitte, KPMG and the like.

2 responses to “When Your Core Functionality is Dead, What Else Is Left? Youtube Down with Stupid Message”

felzix December 10, 2008 at 7:54 pm | Permalink

The inane comments! 😀
Jim December 10, 2008 at 8:17 pm | Permalink

This FUNCTIONALITY??? What’s with the geek speak? Why not simply This FEATURE or This SERVICE, or, and I know is really hard but, why not: We apologise for inconveniencing you, but we are carrying out some urgent maintenance, which means we cannot play video clips at the moment. We expect to resume normal service in xx minutes?