News
OpenAI Tackles DDoS Attack-Induced Outages on ChatGPT and API Services
OpenAI’s ChatGPT and API services experienced a series of disruptions over a 24-hour period due to a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. The company promptly addressed the issue and restored services. The outage highlighted the importance of contingency plans for those relying heavily on AI tools.

In a recent turn of events, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, along with its API, Labs, and Playground services, experienced a series of disruptions over a 24-hour period, prompting concerns among its extensive user base.
OpenAI’s Response to Service Interruptions
OpenAI promptly reported the outages affecting ChatGPT and API users. These glitches manifested in various forms, ranging from login difficulties for logged-out ChatGPT users to delayed response times due to unusually high demand. Concurrently, Google Bard also faced similar service disruptions early Wednesday.
Resolution of DDoS Attack
As per OpenAI’s incident report, these outages were attributed to abnormal traffic patterns, indicative of a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. The company swiftly implemented fixes and monitored the situation to ensure service restoration.
The Role of Anonymous Sudan
Reports emerged that the DDoS attack was claimed by Anonymous Sudan. The group publicized their involvement via their Telegram channel, sharing screenshots of error messages from ChatGPT and explaining their motives behind the attack.
Impact on New Features and Custom GPTs
Initially, the outages were suspected to be linked to the new features introduced across OpenAI’s platform on DevDay, particularly concerning the recently released custom GPTs. The issues, however, were resolved shortly after the updates were rolled out.
User Experiences During the Outage
Throughout the day, ChatGPT users encountered a variety of error messages, signaling high demand and server issues. These included login issues for logged-out users and general access blockages to ChatGPT. Users attempting to create new custom GPTs also faced several error messages.
External Confirmations of the Outages
Independent sources like Downdetector and Checkhost recorded multiple reports of outages on ChatGPT’s website and app over the last 24 hours, confirming the widespread impact of the disruptions.
Timeline of the Outages
The outages began on the night of November 7, with partial service interruptions. The situation escalated on November 8 at 5:42 AM PST, leading to a significant outage across ChatGPT and the API. OpenAI’s engineering team quickly responded with a series of fixes to mitigate these issues.
OpenAI’s Commitment to Uptime
Despite this rare disruption, OpenAI maintains a 99% uptime for its services. The recent incident highlighted the complexities of maintaining large-scale AI services and the importance of swift responses to such challenges.
Implications for AI Tool Dependence
For those relying heavily on AI tools for content creation, data analysis, and automated customer service, the robustness of systems like ChatGPT is vital. This outage serves as a reminder of the need for contingency plans to tackle unexpected downtime.
Exploring ChatGPT Alternatives
During the outage, many users turned to alternatives like Google Bard and Claude.ai. However, these services also experienced problems, underscoring the challenges faced by AI-driven tools in ensuring consistent service availability.
News
WP Cult attending WordCamp Denver 2009
It is official, today I purchased my ticket for WordCamp Denver! I as well as Jeana from Jeana Says, will be flying out to Colorado! Now all we need to do is find a place to stay..
News
How to: Show/Hide any div box with jQuery in WordPress
If you take a look at my current sidebar (right) and see the heading Google Search you’ll notice that when you click it the Google Search box show’s into view.
Let me show you how this is done.
First make sure that your WordPress site is calling jQuery, buy pluggin this code into our header.php
file above the <?php wp_head(); ?>
text:
<?php wp_enqueue_script('jquery'); ?>
Then anywhere above the </head
>, plug this code in:
<script type="text/javascript"> jQuery(document).ready(function() { // hides the slickbox as soon as the DOM is ready jQuery('#toggle-search').hide(); // toggles the slickbox on clicking the noted link jQuery('a#slick-slidetoggle').click(function() { jQuery('#toggle-search').slideToggle(400); return false; }); }); </script>
That’s simple, huh. Okay now lets write the Search code:
<h2><a href="#" id="slick-slidetoggle">Google Search</a></h2> <div id="toggle-search" style="padding:10px;"> <form method="get" id="search" action="<?php bloginfo('home'); ?>/"> <div> <input type="text" value="Enter Keyword" onclick="this.value='';" name="s" id="s" /> <input type="text" name="search-button" id="search-button" value="<?php _e('Search') ?>" /> </div> </form> </div>
That’s it.
News
How to: Limiting the posts in you archive widget
I have show you how to create a custom widget in a previous post. But how about adding and additional “Archives” widget that won’t list the last 3 years (if you’ve been around that long) in month form stretching down your whole sidebar?
Well, lets take a look at the original code found in the widgets.php
file in the ./wp-includes/
folder.
<?php /** * Display archives widget. * * @since 2.2.0 * * @param array $args Widget arguments. */ function wp_widget_archives($args) { extract($args); $options = get_option('widget_archives'); $c = $options['count'] ? '1' : '0'; $d = $options['dropdown'] ? '1' : '0'; $title = empty($options['title']) ? __('Archives') : apply_filters('widget_title', $options['title']); echo $before_widget; echo $before_title . $title . $after_title; if($d) { ?> <select name="archive-dropdown" onchange='document.location.href=this.options[this.selectedIndex].value;'> <option value=""><?php echo attribute_escape(__('Select Month')); ?></option> <?php wp_get_archives("type=monthly&format=option&show_post_count=$c"); ?> </select> <?php } else { ?> <ul> <?php wp_get_archives("type=monthly&show_post_count=$c"); ?> </ul> <?php } echo $after_widget; } /** * Display and process archives widget options form. * * @since 2.2.0 */ function wp_widget_archives_control() { $options = $newoptions = get_option('widget_archives'); if ( isset($_POST["archives-submit"]) ) { $newoptions['count'] = isset($_POST['archives-count']); $newoptions['dropdown'] = isset($_POST['archives-dropdown']); $newoptions['title'] = strip_tags(stripslashes($_POST["archives-title"])); } if ( $options != $newoptions ) { $options = $newoptions; update_option('widget_archives', $options); } $count = $options['count'] ? 'checked="checked"' : ''; $dropdown = $options['dropdown'] ? 'checked="checked"' : ''; $title = attribute_escape($options['title']); ?> <p><label for="archives-title"><?php _e('Title:'); ?> <input class="widefat" id="archives-title" name="archives-title" type="text" value="<?php echo $title; ?>" /></label></p> <p> <label for="archives-count"><input class="checkbox" type="checkbox" <?php echo $count; ?> id="archives-count" name="archives-count" /> <?php _e('Show post counts'); ?></label> <br /> <label for="archives-dropdown"><input class="checkbox" type="checkbox" <?php echo $dropdown; ?> id="archives-dropdown" name="archives-dropdown" /> <?php _e('Display as a drop down'); ?></label> </p> <input type="hidden" id="archives-submit" name="archives-submit" value="1" /> <?php } ?>
Simple enough? Or not..
Anyway lets just add on and change a few things. Then will add the final code to your functions.php
file.
Okay, starting with the first function: wp_widget_archive
and rename to widget_archive_limit
Should look like this now:
function widget_archives_limit($args) {
Then under the this line:
$title = empty($options['title']) ? __('Archives') : apply_filters('widget_title', $options['title']);
Add:
$limit = empty($options['limit']) ? __('Limit') : apply_filters('widget_limit', $options['limit']);
At this line:
<?php wp_get_archives("type=monthly&format=option&show_post_count=$c&limit=$limit"); ?>
We have added in &limit=$limit
. The same goes for the second wp_get_archives
:
<?php wp_get_archives("type=monthly&show_post_count=$c&limit=$limit"); ?>
At the end of this code add:
wp_register_sidebar_widget('archives limit', __('Archives Limit'), 'widget_archives_limit', $widget_ops);
The whole code should look like this:
function widget_archives_limit($args) { extract($args); $options = get_option('widget_archives'); $c = $options['count'] ? '1' : '0'; $d = $options['dropdown'] ? '1' : '0'; $title = empty($options['title']) ? __('Archives') : apply_filters('widget_title', $options['title']); $limit = empty($options['limit']) ? __('Limit') : apply_filters('widget_limit', $options['limit']); echo $before_widget; echo $before_title . $title . $after_title; if($d) { ?> <select name="archive-dropdown" onchange='document.location.href=this.options[this.selectedIndex].value;'> <option value=""><?php echo attribute_escape(__('Select Month')); ?></option> <?php wp_get_archives("type=monthly&format=option&show_post_count=$c&limit=$limit"); ?> </select> <?php } else { ?> <ul> <?php wp_get_archives("type=monthly&show_post_count=$c&limit=$limit"); ?> </ul> <?php } echo $after_widget; } wp_register_sidebar_widget('archives limit', __('Archives Limit'), 'widget_archives_limit', $widget_ops);
That takes care of the widget its self, now we need to create the controls. Once again find the second function and change wp_widget_archive_control
to widget_archives_limit_control
Find this line:
$newoptions['title'] = strip_tags(stripslashes($_POST["archives-title"]));
and add this line below:
$newoptions['limit'] = strip_tags(stripslashes($_POST["archives-limit"]));
Then find this line:
$title = attribute_escape($options['title']);
and add this line below:
$limit = attribute_escape($options['limit']);
Finally look for this line:
<label for="archives-dropdown"><input class="checkbox" type="checkbox" <?php echo $dropdown; ?> id="archives-dropdown" name="archives-dropdown" /> <?php _e('Display as a drop down'); ?></label> </p>
and add this line below:
<p><label for="archives-limit"><?php _e('Limit (enter a number):'); ?> <input class="widefat" id="archives-limit" name="archives-limit" type="text" value="<?php echo $limit; ?>" /></label></p>
then register the widget controls:
wp_register_widget_control('archives limit', __('Archives Limit'), 'widget_archives_limit_control' );
The code should look like this:
function widget_archives_limit_control() { $options = $newoptions = get_option('widget_archives'); if ( isset($_POST["archives-submit"]) ) { $newoptions['count'] = isset($_POST['archives-count']); $newoptions['dropdown'] = isset($_POST['archives-dropdown']); $newoptions['title'] = strip_tags(stripslashes($_POST["archives-title"])); $newoptions['limit'] = strip_tags(stripslashes($_POST["archives-limit"])); } if ( $options != $newoptions ) { $options = $newoptions; update_option('widget_archives', $options); } $count = $options['count'] ? 'checked="checked"' : ''; $dropdown = $options['dropdown'] ? 'checked="checked"' : ''; $title = attribute_escape($options['title']); $limit = attribute_escape($options['limit']); ?> <p><label for="archives-title"><?php _e('Title:'); ?> <input class="widefat" id="archives-title" name="archives-title" type="text" value="<?php echo $title; ?>" /></label></p> <p> <label for="archives-count"><input class="checkbox" type="checkbox" <?php echo $count; ?> id="archives-count" name="archives-count" /> <?php _e('Show post counts'); ?></label> <br /> <label for="archives-dropdown"><input class="checkbox" type="checkbox" <?php echo $dropdown; ?> id="archives-dropdown" name="archives-dropdown" /> <?php _e('Display as a drop down'); ?></label> </p> <p><label for="archives-limit"><?php _e('Limit (enter a number):'); ?> <input class="widefat" id="archives-limit" name="archives-limit" type="text" value="<?php echo $limit; ?>" /></label></p> <input type="hidden" id="archives-submit" name="archives-submit" value="1" /> <?php } wp_register_widget_control('archives limit', __('Archives Limit'), 'widget_archives_limit_control' );
The final code:
/** * Display archives widget. * * @since 2.2.0 * * @param array $args Widget arguments. */ function widget_archives_limit($args) { extract($args); $options = get_option('widget_archives'); $c = $options['count'] ? '1' : '0'; $d = $options['dropdown'] ? '1' : '0'; $title = empty($options['title']) ? __('Archives') : apply_filters('widget_title', $options['title']); $limit = empty($options['limit']) ? __('Limit') : apply_filters('widget_limit', $options['limit']); echo $before_widget; echo $before_title . $title . $after_title; if($d) { ?> <select name="archive-dropdown" onchange='document.location.href=this.options[this.selectedIndex].value;'> <option value=""><?php echo attribute_escape(__('Select Month')); ?></option> <?php wp_get_archives("type=monthly&format=option&show_post_count=$c&limit=$limit"); ?> </select> <?php } else { ?> <ul> <?php wp_get_archives("type=monthly&show_post_count=$c&limit=$limit"); ?> </ul> <?php } echo $after_widget; } wp_register_sidebar_widget('archives limit', __('Archives Limit'), 'widget_archives_limit', $widget_ops); /** * Display and process archives widget options form. * * @since 2.2.0 */ function widget_archives_limit_control() { $options = $newoptions = get_option('widget_archives'); if ( isset($_POST["archives-submit"]) ) { $newoptions['count'] = isset($_POST['archives-count']); $newoptions['dropdown'] = isset($_POST['archives-dropdown']); $newoptions['title'] = strip_tags(stripslashes($_POST["archives-title"])); $newoptions['limit'] = strip_tags(stripslashes($_POST["archives-limit"])); } if ( $options != $newoptions ) { $options = $newoptions; update_option('widget_archives', $options); } $count = $options['count'] ? 'checked="checked"' : ''; $dropdown = $options['dropdown'] ? 'checked="checked"' : ''; $title = attribute_escape($options['title']); $limit = attribute_escape($options['limit']); ?> <p><label for="archives-title"><?php _e('Title:'); ?> <input class="widefat" id="archives-title" name="archives-title" type="text" value="<?php echo $title; ?>" /></label></p> <p> <label for="archives-count"><input class="checkbox" type="checkbox" <?php echo $count; ?> id="archives-count" name="archives-count" /> <?php _e('Show post counts'); ?></label> <br /> <label for="archives-dropdown"><input class="checkbox" type="checkbox" <?php echo $dropdown; ?> id="archives-dropdown" name="archives-dropdown" /> <?php _e('Display as a drop down'); ?></label> </p> <p><label for="archives-limit"><?php _e('Limit (enter a number):'); ?> <input class="widefat" id="archives-limit" name="archives-limit" type="text" value="<?php echo $limit; ?>" /></label></p> <input type="hidden" id="archives-submit" name="archives-submit" value="1" /> <?php } wp_register_widget_control('archives limit', __('Archives Limit'), 'widget_archives_limit_control' );
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