We have changed web hosts from Amazon to Dreamhost. Our hope is that the system will now be a little bit more stable. Please let us know if you experience any new or unexpected behavior.
The Amazon server had several advantages: the account was free, and it was lightning fast. Unfortunately, there was a trade-off for this speed: any traffic spikes would result in a punishment called “steal time”, effectively bringing the site down for several minutes afterwards.
The Dreamhost policy is more traditional: the more traffic you have the slower the site will be, and that’s all there is to it. While it is no longer free, the cost is much lower than the cost of upgrading to a more powerful account with Amazon.