Thar be bots!

[galled]

Attack of the bots - Part 1

Yep, somehow we've been added to a list and bots have been overloading our little server and causing slow load times, 503 errors, and time outs.

We've had DDOS safeguards in place for more than a decade, but it seems AI-powered networks have figured a way around them. Our team (there's a "me" in team!) has been looking at solutions (we're not crazy about Cloudflare) to tame these menaces.

Manual intervetion has allowed some legit traffic to get through. The problem is human vs. bot is not a sustainable solution. Please stand by while we figure it out.

Thank you for your patience and please remember to chant "Beat the bots, beat the bots, beat the bots!" to keep our spirits up!

[galled]

UPDATE: We're finally making headway on the scurge of the bots!

For the last 48 hours we've've been able to eliminate 503 errors. Our bot battlefield strategy has been multi-frontal, but our last defensive fortification seems to be effective against the bot-scorge. If it keeps as is, we'll start withdrawing some of the less effective positions that have been causing some issues for Winners (primarily mass bot labeling/designation).

Thank you for your patience, understanding, and most of all support while we've tried to put out the fires!