jQuery Accidentally Deletes Their Plugin Repository

jQuery has long been my JavaScript framework of choice. Sometimes I use it for writing scripts of my own but more frequently I’m in a time crunch and turn to their plugin repository for finding a quick and easy-to-implement solution. Unfortunately that all changed when the plug repository was accidentally deleted from the server without a backup to restore it from. Not to worry though, there’s a new plugin repository spawning on GitHub.

As the glut of spam grew worse and multiple reports started showing up on the jQuery Core bug tracker, I wanted to at least take some steps to wipe a bit of the spam and egg off our face. With newly provisioned access to the administrative tools on the site, I teamed up with the Drupal Views Bulk Operations module and set out to identify and delete spammers and their posts. Within a day or two, nearly 90% of the alleged “content” was gone from the site. I continued to monitor the situation over the ensuing days, and deleted spam as it came in. Unfortunately, I likely cast too wide of a net, and threw out several perfectly good babies with the bathwater. Even more unfortunately, I didn’t back up the database before I began this process. At this point, you can probably see where this story is headed. Later in the week, while I was attempting to delete four spam items, I was left completely horrified when the results of the operation reported that the remaining 10% — every single plugin remaining in the database — had been purged. All that remained was a year-old backup. Of course, I realize that this is a dreadful outcome, and I take full responsibility for it. If it helps, I am very receptive to hate mail and tweets reprimanding me for being irresponsible, unprofessional, or just stupid. (via blog.jquery.com)

It’s good they’re getting a new site for plugins. The old one was getting hard to navigate and filling up with spam. I’m looking forward to the new site. Thanks for the update, guys!