what's the deal with Apple's Discussion forums?

Hey! You're right! I did'nt notice. It's usually the second place I go when my lil' mac is acting weird. (The first place being the Apple Support Database) I hope it's back online soon. AppleCare Knowledge base is also working OK. You might want to have a look: http://kbase.info.apple.com

Maybe they're revamping the interface... but that would be the second time in the past months.

It has been playing weird since they switched to the new layout 4 weeks ago. It has gone down about 4 times a day at times. I have been a helper there, and since Wednesday's repairs which were announced have only been able to log on once to report my problems.

Just as long as we don't get another episode of the TechTV "volunteer" forums, I think we'll be doing all right.

I've noticed that voting has been disabled for some time, and the download speed has been getting slower, and slower, and slower...

Well the moderators have been informed. I am a Level 4 person and have contacted them about the issue. So far they are mum, but I'm sure they are working on it. It has become a little more responsive today than yesterday, but nowhere near normal.