I am responsible for a few web servers in addition to this blog, but in all of these cases they are servers that I don’t own or have root access to (nor any particular pull with the sys admins). For a while we kept having server outtages on one of them that would go unnoticed both by me and the sys admins until it was too late and users would get effected. So I started looking for a site monitoring service that didn’t require a software install nor the cooperation of any sys admins, and a few months ago came across this one, Montastic . It is very straightforward – after creating an account based on your email address, you simply give it a website and address and … that’s it. It will send you notifications either by email, RSS or ‘widget’ if that server stops responding so you can start appropriate actions. Perfect for your average instructor or blogger who does not necessarily have control over their server environment and yet feels responsible for the quality of their users’ experience. In an ideal world this is a service any web host should be able to offer you by default, active notification of server outtages, but until then, this is worth a try. – SWL