Data Loss Last Night -- No Real Response in 24 Hours
(closed account) says:
So what's going on? I mean, obviously, even if this is free, you want people to USE what you give. I appreciate the fact that this is a great service -- but the fact that I did what YOU guys advised and put the URLs into the Notes, only to have them completely disappear, only to have one response at 12:33 am and then no response for the entirety of the day -- this isn't great. How can someone trust putting their tasks in this service given these circumstances? Again, I appreciate the structure, but this response to an emergency hasn't really been wonderful at all.
emily (Remember The Milk) says:
Reposting from the original topic:
Mike, I apologise for the delay. We did have this fixed within 24 hours of receiving the information on which tasks it was affecting.
The problem was related to notes being loaded into a Smart List that was also the default list -- they would have been loading fine into the regular list (and the iCalendar and Atom feeds). We have now fixed this issue, and you should see notes in your Smart List.
I also wanted to note that it's impossible for data to be lost once it's saved in Remember The Milk -- all incoming data is logged so that even if for some reason it wasn't processed properly, it can still be recovered. In cases where data appears to be lost, it's most likely a display-related issue.
I'm sorry for the inconvenience -- please let us know if you experience any other problems.
Mike, I apologise for the delay. We did have this fixed within 24 hours of receiving the information on which tasks it was affecting.
The problem was related to notes being loaded into a Smart List that was also the default list -- they would have been loading fine into the regular list (and the iCalendar and Atom feeds). We have now fixed this issue, and you should see notes in your Smart List.
I also wanted to note that it's impossible for data to be lost once it's saved in Remember The Milk -- all incoming data is logged so that even if for some reason it wasn't processed properly, it can still be recovered. In cases where data appears to be lost, it's most likely a display-related issue.
I'm sorry for the inconvenience -- please let us know if you experience any other problems.
argotnaut says:
I hope I don't get punched for saying this, but people should remember that RTM is still in BETA. While RTM has been very stable for me in general, I make sure that I have a copy of all of my tasks in iCal in case anything should be lost.
It's a good policy to have a backup of your important information, even when using services that are out of beta. I never trust any service so completely that I wouldn't do my own backup. :)
It's a good policy to have a backup of your important information, even when using services that are out of beta. I never trust any service so completely that I wouldn't do my own backup. :)
(closed account) says:
I sent private thanks to Emily, along with my apology for sounding as if I was being rude or pushy. It was merely my panic about possible data loss, but I didn't mean to come across like an ass.
As for having a backup of information, I asked Emily if she might consider a total-export feature such as 37Signals' Backpack offers. I am too of a backing up kind of mind -- but things aren't set up here to easily permit cut-and-paste, etc. At the very least, a "print-friendly" mode might be useful for printing out hard copy (or PDFing it, if you're on a Mac) as a backup.
As for having a backup of information, I asked Emily if she might consider a total-export feature such as 37Signals' Backpack offers. I am too of a backing up kind of mind -- but things aren't set up here to easily permit cut-and-paste, etc. At the very least, a "print-friendly" mode might be useful for printing out hard copy (or PDFing it, if you're on a Mac) as a backup.
argotnaut says:
True, I think some kind of text/ical file export would be handy.
argotnaut says:
I mean, besides the ical subscription already available. Just downloading a single, all-inclusive file.
emily (Remember The Milk) says:
Mike, no problem.
I just thought I'd mention that a total export is already available -- the iCalendar service provides a way to export of all your tasks and notes in a standard calendar format that's readable by a number of applications. You can find the link for the export for all your tasks and notes under Settings/Info.
The way to save a copy of the iCalendar export file varies depending on which software you're using. Under iCal, select the calendar, then go to 'File' then 'Export'. You can also save a copy of the export file directly from your browser -- you may need to change the link from webcal:// to https:// to get your browser to prompt you to save it as a file rather than try to open it in a calendar program.
Anyway, I'll add something in the FAQ about 'how to backup your data' -- sorry if this wasn't clear already. I hope this information is useful.
I just thought I'd mention that a total export is already available -- the iCalendar service provides a way to export of all your tasks and notes in a standard calendar format that's readable by a number of applications. You can find the link for the export for all your tasks and notes under Settings/Info.
The way to save a copy of the iCalendar export file varies depending on which software you're using. Under iCal, select the calendar, then go to 'File' then 'Export'. You can also save a copy of the export file directly from your browser -- you may need to change the link from webcal:// to https:// to get your browser to prompt you to save it as a file rather than try to open it in a calendar program.
Anyway, I'll add something in the FAQ about 'how to backup your data' -- sorry if this wasn't clear already. I hope this information is useful.
(closed account) says:
Great! Thanks so much. :)