University magazine DUB should never get offline so easily again, editor-in-chief believes

A fire at a data centre in Almere brought the ICT systems of Utrecht University to a standstill. Classes and exams were cancelled, data and documents became inaccessible and doors could no longer be opened.

News platform DUB also went offline – precisely when there was so much to report. It happened on Thursday 7 May and the website only came back online eight days later. Editor-in-chief Bas Mesters is frustrated by it: it should never take that long again, he writes in an editorial.

Even the door to the editorial office remained closed.

“We really could no longer get inside. The doors here do not have keyholes, everything works with a pass and that system stopped working. We had to work from home or sit in the corridor.”

How did you get through those days?

“We worked harder than ever. We continued on LinkedIn and Instagram, but there is limited space there. We started making images of our texts so we could still publish longer articles. You have to figure out all those things, but you would rather focus on the content.”

Did you consider publishing a paper edition?

“No, because the problems started on a Thursday. Then you think: hopefully it will be over today or tomorrow, or otherwise by Monday. I did think: it would be useful if there were still a printing press somewhere around here, in case it lasted longer.”

And it did last longer.

“That Monday some university services were restarted, but not DUB. It happened in phases. We belonged to the last group to come back online. By then it was already Ascension Day.”

How do you look back on it?

“I see it as a stress test for our independence and we did not pass it. We went offline. It was not done deliberately, of course, but still: apparently it is that easy. If someone wanted to take us offline, they could do so, so to speak, at the push of a button.”

Because you do not have your own server.

“It’s bizarre that we had so many problems because of a fire in Almere. We are going to see whether we can create a secure back-up of our website outside the university’s systems.”

Why does this say something about DUB’s independence?

“We stayed offline for a very long time and that gives cause for concern. It makes sense that education and research were given priority, but we were right at the back of the queue. We were not seen as core business. We sometimes talk about the dangers of big tech, but we also need to think about local tech.”

And now you are back online.

“Yesterday evening we were offline again for two and a half hours because of a power outage in Almere, together with several other UU websites. But on Monday we did manage to publish a story on the site describing the week of the outage. Today we are giving two critical ICT researchers a platform. The big question, of course, is how this could happen. Ultimately, we would like an interview with the Executive Board about it.”