# What killed the hamsters? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [January 26, 2012, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-the-hamsters/610658 "2012-01-26T00:32:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2012, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-the-hamsters/610658/1 "2012-01-26T00:32:43Z")
When I was here originally (c. 2002) multiposts blamed on “hamsters” were rampant. I’ve yet to see it since I returned, what solved the problem? ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2012, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-the-hamsters/610658/2 "2012-01-26T00:46:52Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > When I was here originally (c. 2002) multiposts blamed on “hamsters” were rampant. I’ve yet to see it since I returned, what solved the problem? Terriers. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2012, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-the-hamsters/610658/3 "2012-01-26T00:49:44Z")
Can’t speak for others, but the timeouts, database errors, and other assorted technical nonsense has greatly abated in the past year or so. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2012, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-the-hamsters/610658/4 "2012-01-26T02:12:58Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Can’t speak for others, but the timeouts, database errors, and other assorted technical nonsense has greatly abated in the past year or so. More like the last five years or so. I haven’t had a problem with the board in a _long_ time. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2012, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-the-hamsters/610658/5 "2012-01-26T02:18:53Z")
The new server company and associated changes involved in that seems to have put us on the good side mostly. I’m saying that very softly, as I sure don’t want to invite any trouble back in. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2012, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-the-hamsters/610658/6 "2012-01-26T02:32:25Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > The new server company and associated changes involved in that seems to have put us on the good side mostly. I’m saying that very softly, as I sure don’t want to invite any trouble back in. Wave the big stick around if any gets close! ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2012, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-the-hamsters/610658/7 "2012-01-26T14:56:25Z")
Ed’s efforts at making the boards profitable has allowed the funding of newer servers. The hamsters aren’t dead, we just upgraded to ferrets and put in more of them. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2012, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-the-hamsters/610658/8 "2012-01-26T16:42:18Z")
The before times makes me scared. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-the-hamsters/610658/9 "2012-01-26T17:28:12Z")
When they found out how much money Hamster Moms in their area could make buying and selling junk, they all started home businesses and are now too busy to post. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2012, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-the-hamsters/610658/10 "2012-01-26T18:03:46Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Ed’s efforts at making the boards profitable has allowed the funding of newer servers. > > The hamsters aren’t dead, we just upgraded to ferrets and put in more of them. Does that mean we can now reduce the time between searches to … oh, one minute? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-the-hamsters/610658/11 "2012-01-30T18:10:02Z")
I’ve been finding that I get a dropped connexion and the “SDMB server busy” message quite a lot recently. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-the-hamsters/610658/12 "2012-01-30T18:32:07Z")
Minor background explanation: Hamsters running on wheels are proverbially what powers a server or other computer. When someone blames a glitch on the hamsters, the implication is that they’re slacking off on the job. Killing the hamsters, though, would just make things even worse. One ought to ask in this situation, what revived or motivated the hamsters? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-the-hamsters/610658/13 "2012-01-30T19:48:29Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > Does that mean we can now reduce the time between searches to … oh, one minute? Dream on! ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-the-hamsters/610658/14 "2012-01-30T23:43:22Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > Terriers. > [@Irishman](#): > > Ed’s efforts at making the boards profitable has allowed the funding of newer servers. > > The hamsters aren’t dead, we just upgraded to ferrets and put in more of them. You’re both wrong. The board is capybara powered now. Much more of a straight upgrade from hamsters to a larger rodent than the complete overhaul switching to canines or weasels would entail. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-the-hamsters/610658/15 "2012-01-31T02:29:53Z")
I hear video got out on probation last year (it’d been 30 years). Has anyone checked for an alibi? ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-the-hamsters/610658/16 "2012-01-31T03:13:31Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I’ve been finding that I get a dropped connexion and the “SDMB server busy” message quite a lot recently. Back on the 25th, I got a series of “connection reset” messages for about 5 minutes. Okay since then, and the previous occurrence of this I saw was in November. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-the-hamsters/610658/17 "2012-01-31T19:38:52Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > You’re both wrong. The board is capybara powered now. Robotic capybaras. With lasers in their eyes. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-the-hamsters/610658/18 "2012-02-01T05:10:49Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > You’re both wrong. The board is capybara powered now. Much more of a straight upgrade from hamsters to a larger rodent than the complete overhaul switching to canines or weasels would entail. Yep, capybaras. Here’s [proof](http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h207/mnems/SDMBserver.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-the-hamsters/610658/19 "2012-02-01T16:09:28Z")
The hamsters didn’t die. They unionized, and their demands became excessive. They were turned lose in a kitty thread and haven’t been seen since. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-the-hamsters/610658/20 "2012-02-01T19:51:56Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > I hear video got out on probation last year (it’d been 30 years). Has anyone checked for an alibi? Snerk. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-the-hamsters/610658.md?page=2)