In re: Authentication Upgrade for the World of Warcraft login servers, posted 5/15/06 at 11:45 am PDT (that will become important later), by Tseric, everyone’s favorite albino Blizzard poster:

UPDATE 3:20 PM PST- We will be holding off on the complete migration to the new authentication system, so that we may do testing in a more “live” environment. We will engage in further testing of this new system during the time that PTRs are available and active. It will not be necessary to follow the step I outlined below. Again, the 1-5 PM window is no longer occurring, as previously described. See you on the PTRs!

UPDATE 2:00 PM PST- Authentication should be returned to normal operation for the time being. With more changes coming during maintenance, we recommend one piece of advice.

If you log in now, there is a good chance you will not encounter log in issues prior to the realms being taken down for maintenance.

At 1:00 AM PST on 5/15/06, we will be migrating data over to the new authentication system. If you have logged in prior to that time, cached data can help you log in to the game during the period of 1:00 AM to 5:00 AM, when we shut everything down for maintenance. If you play during the hours of 1:00 AM and 5:00 AM, it is recommended you log in before that time, so that you can prevent log in issues during this changeover.

——–

We are preparing to add and upgrade equipment on our Authentication service to improve the login process and other areas of performance which need attention. In preparation for this work, we will be making adjustments to the authentication process, taking place today up until approximately 1 PM PST. During this time, players may experience difficulty logging in. We will provide more information regarding improvements of authentication in the near future. Thanks for bearing with us.

2:00 pm PT?? — why the FUCK didn’t you call me on my cell and warn me? I could have had my neighbor run over to my house, use the super secret garage door code, toss a doggy snack to the enraged Labrador, look up my Warcraft password in my super secret book of passwords and ATM codes (aka The Keys to the Kingdom), log into my main Warcraft account and I’d be on easy street right now.

Seriously. He has nothing better to do during the day, he wouldn’t have minded.

(UPDATE: oh ffs. forums are down. don’t click on that link. UPDATE2: ffs, forums are up. How bout I archive the thread?)