January 16, 2025: DSLReports withdrawals after 24+ hours outage
Posted by Amerique_du_Nord@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 39 comments
Anyone else going through DSLR / BroadbandReports withdrawals after the site's been down for more than a day? Love the site, but worried DSLReports might not come back online one day. Hoping Justin has a succession plan, but doubt it with the site being so old / custom.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DSLReports
redneck-it-guy@reddit
It is sad to see DSLR go offline, but not surprising. Various site functions have been broken for years. It was inevitable that at some point the hosting bill or domain registration wouldn't get paid, a certificate would expire and not get renewed, or there would be some kind of security breach that knocked it offline. Even if it comes back, how many people have already given up and will never bother to check again?
It was a great resource for in depth technical information, especially for ISP related issues. I regularly checked the high split upgrade thread on the Spectrum forum. The AT&T Residential Gateway bypass threads were helpful. DSLR is site that broke the story on the PUMA6 cable modem chipset bugs that wreaked havoc on UDP traffic, which saved me a lot of time troubleshooting once I encountered the issue for myself the first time.
Hopefully something else takes its place. ISP subreddits haven't impressed me... the good technical information gets buried under complaints about bills or posts about outages that impact at most a few hundred customers which nobody on a forum can help with.
3dickdog@reddit
I lived on that site over a decade ago. I go and check back in a few times a year now. It has really been in a decline for a while. RIP thewatercooler days.
CrimsonFusion@reddit
Yeah, it's too bad. If I knew who the owner was, I would offer to take it over to keep it sustained. I had been a member since 2002... I think...
silverfang789@reddit
I love DSLReports. I've frequented the site on and off for years. I hope it doesn't go offline for good. :-(
JoeB1986@reddit
Been a member since 2001. Lot of good memories on that site.
Zarrakir@reddit
Good memories from longggg ago with that site
slyphoxj@reddit
I'll miss DSLReports if it's truly good for good now :'(
slyphoxj@reddit
2012 all over again...
processed_dna@reddit
Not sure if it's gone for good or not (who knows, especially over the years) but more people from DSL Reports are posting here, and about the latest outage: https://www.reddit.com/r/dslreports/
LeGoodBeef@reddit
That update in the OP is from 3 years ago...
processed_dna@reddit
Someone took over the subreddit and it's been quite active in the last few days.
We've launched an alternative to try and recreate the old DSLr
https://www.reddit.com/r/dslreports/comments/1i48lnk/the_successor_to_dslreports_broadband_bulletin/
LeGoodBeef@reddit
I'm already registered. :)
Amerique_du_Nord@reddit (OP)
A new similar site for DSLReports refugees has started with a good flow of the old clientele:
https://broadbandbulletin.com/d/2-welcome-to-broadband-bulletin
Here's another site where some DSLR folks, who tend to lean right, have migrated to. Unfortunately, it's missing many tech forums:
https://ho-lee-fooks.com/forum
News and rumors on DSLReports' demise:
https://www.reddit.com/r/dslreports/
Last snapshot of DSLReports:
https://web.archive.org/web/20250115013226/http://www.dslreports.com/forums/all
T3hN3wB@reddit
Has been my homepage for 24 years. I haven't really read anything on the site but it's where I learned all I know about broadband. I feel like a pc of my normal day to day is gone not seeing my homepage load up. The last time it went out I knew it was possible to see it go before I do but man this kinda sucks. I haven't really used the site in quite some time I just kept it because it was familiar. Really hope it comes back online.
Gbxx69@reddit
The costs to host truly independent sources for information and forums has skyrocketed thus, there are little to none left in the 2020s. The old timers are retired and facing their life's journey headwinds now... and it's unlikely even if they are well off financially, that a younger generation would care enough to be activists for broadband in this way. The fact that DSL is still around as an option vs a monopoly 2nd provider tells you all you need to know. So, RIP--
willwork4pii@reddit
End of an era. They were the authority for many years.
The direct support was such a great option. Always an expert and inside updates.
LVDave@reddit
And then, if you were a Cox subscriber, Cox came along and removed the many Cox employees who usually were able to get problems fixed, that local Cox support had no clue about. Really miss that..
phd_nick@reddit
I got Verizon Direct support last week, it was really great.
gregoryh325@reddit
DSL reports is where I get my tech support with Mediacom with a guy named Chad. The only reliable person I speak to about issues. Oh well.....
ll_Cartel_ll@reddit
what!?
Mediocre-Ad7235@reddit
Wikipedia is referring to DSL Reports in the past tense.
HuntersPad@reddit
Yeah but anyone can edit that
Riplinredfin@reddit
Was an avid user, stopped using the site when they started censoring the crap out of shit. Won't be missed here.
Spirited-Humor-554@reddit
Justin haven't been involved in years. It was only matter of time before it would be gone.
Computer_Tech1@reddit
I hope it will be back soon because I always to see news about technology and stuff. I like the site a lot.
QPC414@reddit
I hope this isn't the end. This really caught me off guard. I checked forums a few times a week and found yhe industry news feed on the main page and tge speedtest very useful.
phd_nick@reddit
How could Justin just let it go to crap like this...is he dead?
Amerique_du_Nord@reddit (OP)
I'm now learning about a December rumor that was circulated between users. Your best bet it to read posts on /r/dslreports/ to get the scoop.
h20534@reddit
Oh man, I remember reading DSLReports almost daily ~2005 following the Verizon FIOS rollout around my state. I was only a teen so I’m not sure how I found myself on DSLReports or interested in a fiber rollout I had no control over and couldn’t afford, but I enjoyed reading and soaking in all the knowledge that the posters shared.
bobk4thousand@reddit
Joined in 2003 (?) when I was running DSL with US West, then Quest and now CenturyLink. Got lots of info and did help out with various posts over the years (decades). Hope it does come back - got assistance and guidance on things other than broadband and it was a very friendly community.
StupidTimeline@reddit
I joined the DSLReports forums in 2001. The Gaming forum became a daily stop for me up to the present, despite posts being pretty infrequent for the last, I don't know, decade?
A few weeks ago someone posted in the gaming forum saying they had on pretty good authority that DSLReports was probably being shut down soon. The post was removed within a few hours.
There was never any official announcement on the site. So I really don't know what's going on. It's been a constant in my life for basically a quarter century. Gonna be sad if it never comes back.
HuntersPad@reddit
Oh no.. my 13 page journal of how terrible my cable co is 😂
RbtB-8@reddit
There are people there I have known for years. We do not communicate in any other way except in a few of my favorite forums. I hope that this is not the end. Makes me sad because I have been there over 20 years.
filequit@reddit
Sadly the site has been on the decline for the past decade or so, been on life support mode for years. Was unbeatable back in the Win XP era for anything tech related. ISP subreddits have largely stepped in to fill the void.
Amerique_du_Nord@reddit (OP)
I think it really depends. As an example, /r/Starlink constantly gets redundant posts asking if the service is decent enough for gamers who already have cable service.
FireTech88@reddit
It’s not an unreasonable question, depending on available options in a given region, Starlink will very likely be better than some cable providers. Which is crazy to think that some cable networks have higher latencies than literally beaming your data into space. Sure you’ll have throughput, but with your connections taking a roadtrip across the nation it means little for gaming.
I don’t disagree with your point about low effort didn’t search type of posts that seem to plague isp subreddits though.
Amerique_du_Nord@reddit (OP)
It was just an example, but as you said, the lack of search on already answered questions in reddit, astounds me.
deefop@reddit
I'll be really sad if they're entirely gone.
To this day I still follow a handful of the cable ISP sub reddits to keep an eye on things like DOCSIS upgrades. It's been so many years, would really be a blow to ISP nerds if it's truly gone.
mmmmmmmmmmmmark@reddit
I spent hours a day there back in 2001-2007. Made many good friends. Sorry to see it struggling.