How I know that Twitter is down

I begin to suspect that Twitter is down when the Update button fails to post a new tweet promptly.

I become more suspicious when browser Refresh/Reload fails to load the Twitter web page.

My suspicion is mostly confirmed when Bit.ly has a notification at the top of the page:

Twitter is currently experiencing some API issues. Posting may be unavailable.

Finally I go to IsTwitterDown.com and it says "yes" in red letters in the middle of the page.

Twitter is still down.

How long has it been down? Answer: Too long.

How long is that? Long enough for me to complete three old-fashioned blog posts!

-- Jack Krupansky