# Australians: it's census night tonight. Who's doing the online option? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 9, 2011, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australians-its-census-night-tonight-whos-doing-the-online-option/592042 "2011-08-09T06:21:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australians-its-census-night-tonight-whos-doing-the-online-option/592042/41 "2016-08-08T11:08:08Z")
I think it’s deportation to a re-education camp in Nauru. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australians-its-census-night-tonight-whos-doing-the-online-option/592042/42 "2016-08-08T11:19:39Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Heavy fines? [Yes](http://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/australian-economy/the-outrageous-fines-you-face-if-you-dont-fill-out-census-properly/news-story/c0deab26de8ee81f44c37a9a5ab1d990), though they don’t usually enforce them. They just hound you to fill in the damn form. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australians-its-census-night-tonight-whos-doing-the-online-option/592042/43 "2016-08-08T12:32:11Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I miss **Cunctator** - hasn’t posted in a long time. ☹ I miss him too. I PM’d him over a year ago and got no reply. A couple months ago [I asked about him last May in the “Australia roundup” thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=19320225#post19320225). Noone has heard from him, apparently. His last post was [this one in the Trivia Dominoes thread game on 25 Jun 2015](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=18469619#post18469619). ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australians-its-census-night-tonight-whos-doing-the-online-option/592042/44 "2016-08-08T12:47:04Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > [Yes](http://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/australian-economy/the-outrageous-fines-you-face-if-you-dont-fill-out-census-properly/news-story/c0deab26de8ee81f44c37a9a5ab1d990), though they don’t usually enforce them. They just hound you to fill in the damn form. I wonder what would happen if you filled in a form full of nonsense and then claimed that you had no recollection of doing it because you were drunk? Surely there is no offence for being in control of a census form while under the influence. Or what if you didn’t fill it in and said you ween’t at home on the night, you fell asleep on a train or somewhere that you could no longer recall once you were sober. How would they find you anyway. The form you receive is sent to “The Resident.” ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australians-its-census-night-tonight-whos-doing-the-online-option/592042/45 "2016-08-09T11:42:20Z")
So the online census form crashed and nobody can get on. I filled in teh form but lost all the data when it wouldn’t save. So that’s a bit of a disaster. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australians-its-census-night-tonight-whos-doing-the-online-option/592042/46 "2016-08-09T12:08:27Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > So the online census form crashed and nobody can get on. I filled in teh form but lost all the data when it wouldn’t save. So that’s a bit of a disaster. That’s pretty much everyone nationwide, and has been all day. There’s a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth going on at the ABS tonight, I’m sure; and there will be lots of ‘splainin’ to do. ---
**Author:** ![KellyCriterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@KellyCriterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyCriterion)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australians-its-census-night-tonight-whos-doing-the-online-option/592042/47 "2016-08-09T12:14:16Z")
Site is down… ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australians-its-census-night-tonight-whos-doing-the-online-option/592042/48 "2016-08-09T12:19:24Z")
> [@KellyCriterion](#): > > Site is down… [Here’s what to do instead of the census!](http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-09/censusfail-explodes-on-social/7711742) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australians-its-census-night-tonight-whos-doing-the-online-option/592042/49 "2016-08-09T13:48:31Z")
It all worked ok for me, must have got in at the right time. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australians-its-census-night-tonight-whos-doing-the-online-option/592042/50 "2016-08-09T13:58:16Z")
Haven’t got as far as entering my log-in code. :eek: Couldn’t fill in early because I didn’t know how many of the kids were staying the night. > [@](#): > > if people could not get on the website they had until September 23 to complete the census questions. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australians-its-census-night-tonight-whos-doing-the-online-option/592042/51 "2016-08-09T18:13:38Z")
My wife and I filled in the online form yesterday (Tuesday, census night), and submitted it about 5.30 pm without any problems. I got an email confirmation, so I assume it worked fine. ---
**Author:** ![Robrein](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robrein/32/6728_2.png) [@Robrein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robrein)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australians-its-census-night-tonight-whos-doing-the-online-option/592042/52 "2016-08-09T21:40:22Z")
Tried last night at 7:44pm, answered the questions but couldn’t submit. ☹ Turns out the ABS shut it down after getting slammed by foreign interests… [Census website attacked by hackers, ABS claims](http://www.theage.com.au/national/census-website-attacked-by-hackers-abs-claims-20160809-gqouum.html) Them RAT F… rats! ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australians-its-census-night-tonight-whos-doing-the-online-option/592042/53 "2016-08-10T01:41:54Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > So the online census form crashed and nobody can get on. Nobody? :dubious: > [@Giles](#): > > My wife and I filled in the online form yesterday (Tuesday, census night), and submitted it about 5.30 pm without any problems. I got an email confirmation, so I assume it worked fine. Same here, except between 5:30-6pm. Not the slightest problem or hiccup. I had to go back and forth a few times to correct things, it all worked perfectly. And that was with an iPad on a wireless connection. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australians-its-census-night-tonight-whos-doing-the-online-option/592042/54 "2016-08-10T02:53:06Z")
ABS says they were hacked and attacked. The Minister responsible says they were not hacked or attacked, but an attempt was made to frustrate the collection of data via a DDoS, but it wasn’t a DDoS _attack_, it was just a DDoS. Web traffic monitoring sites that look for DDoS events did not pick up unusual traffic directed at Australia. The evidence suggests that, despite the half million dollars they spent on load testing, the system was manifestly inadequate to deal with the demand. We’ll never hear this from the government themselves. I’m sure they’re currently trying to find a way to blame Labor/refugees/renewable energy for causing the outage. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australians-its-census-night-tonight-whos-doing-the-online-option/592042/55 "2016-08-10T02:57:26Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > I’m sure they’re currently trying to find a way to blame Labor/refugees/renewable energy for causing the outage. Government announces 6 new extra-large bigger coal fired power stations! Only coal can reliably power the internet on census night! ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australians-its-census-night-tonight-whos-doing-the-online-option/592042/56 "2016-08-10T06:59:29Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > Nobody? :dubious: Well excuse me for slightly exaggerating for brevity? The problems began at around 7.30, which is when most people tried to do it, after they got home, and after dinner. At that point, nobody could get on. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australians-its-census-night-tonight-whos-doing-the-online-option/592042/57 "2016-08-10T12:59:22Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > ABS says they were hacked and attacked. > > The Minister responsible says they were not hacked or attacked, but an attempt was made to frustrate the collection of data via a DDoS, but it wasn’t a DDoS _attack_, it was just a DDoS. > > Web traffic monitoring sites that look for DDoS events did not pick up unusual traffic directed at Australia. > > The evidence suggests that, despite the half million dollars they spent on load testing, the system was manifestly inadequate to deal with the demand. We’ll never hear this from the government themselves. I’m sure they’re currently trying to find a way to blame Labor/refugees/renewable energy for causing the outage. I believe it was a DDoS attack perpetrated by a critical mass of people who had been coordinated by a government agency. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australians-its-census-night-tonight-whos-doing-the-online-option/592042/58 "2016-08-10T13:52:24Z")
They said it was capable of sustaining 1 milllion logging on per hour, far more than they expected. But they also said they anticipated 15 million households to use it between 6 and midnight. That’s 3 million\* per hour. \*_Numbers rounded for simple maths_. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australians-its-census-night-tonight-whos-doing-the-online-option/592042/59 "2016-08-10T21:56:27Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > I believe it was a DDoS attack perpetrated by a critical mass of people who had been coordinated by a government agency. 😃 “The call is coming from inside the house!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australians-its-census-night-tonight-whos-doing-the-online-option/592042.md?page=2)