Upgrade Issue: 2/21/2103
This week, we applied a security upgrade to some of the code libraries that SchoolAuction.net and Tofino Auctions are built on. It was an important upgrade, and one that was important to apply right away.
However, this upgrade has caused some issues, for our customers and for many customers of other companies. You may have seen some strange characters inserted into your item names & descriptions, donor names, and other text fields.
If so, you’ve probably wondered what the heck is going on. If you’re getting ready to print your bid sheets, you’re probably quite upset, and understandably so.
Here’s what we are doing to fix the situation:
First, we are fixing the underlying code issue that caused the problem. We’re not rolling back the security upgrade, but we are working to mitigate the unpleasant side-effect leading to the odd-looking text.
Then, we are going to run a program to go through every record in every customer’s database, correcting any odd characters that are in there. We are prioritizing customers based on how soon their auction is happening. If yours is coming up next weekend, you’re at the front of the list. If yours is not happening until April, it may take until later in the week before you see the weirdness vanish.
We understand that this is not what you expected, and believe me, it’s not what we planned. We’re working nonstop until this is done, and then we can get back to the regular level of craziness for this time of year. We apologize for the extra stress (we know auction chairs don’t need any more stress this time of year), and hope that this explanation mitigates that somewhat.
