504 Gateway Timeout

I awoke drenched in sweat from a terrible terror

of an endless 504 gateway timeout error!

17

Continued.. and dedicated to Everything2.com..

Everything2 had done a disappearing trick,
I was staring at the white screen feeling quite sick.

Click-click-clicking wondering what was wrong
The 504 error mocking me all along!

Through F5 key abuse and keyboard percussion,
My efforts turned into a comedy production!

I tried other browsers, clearing cache with a sigh,
But still no precious Everything2. Oh why, why, why?

Until finally, sweet relief at last,
The E2 gods returned from their slumber so vast.

Now whenever I browse, I remember that night,
When E2 wouldn't load and nothing worked right.

For nothing's as silly as this whole online show
Like a website that's chosen not to get up and go!

(116)

Ah, the 504 Gateway Timeout—the internet’s way of saying, "Hang on, I’m thinking… nope, never mind." This infamous error pops up when a server is waiting on something else.

Think of it like this: You walk into a café, order a coffee, and the barista shouts your request to someone in the back. But instead of making the coffee, that person decides to check their messages, call their parents or contemplate the eternal mysteries. Your server tells you they're still waiting for your coffee to materialise, "…sorry but that's just the way it goes with Moira sometimes". That’s basically what’s happening with a 504 error—one server asks another for information, but it never comes for some reason.

Common causes? Overloaded servers, dodgy network connections, a stuck process, a database that's struggling to respond, or a website that's just having a bad day. It’s not your fault, though it may be AWS's.It does mean you’ll either have to wait, refresh frantically, or get on with something else for a while.

WHat can you do?

Refresh. (F5 or CTRL-R) maybe something just had a hiccup.
Try again later. Someeone or something is on a lunch break.
Restart your router. When in doubt, turn it off and on again.
Remain calm and patient. This is a growing moment for you.

So next time you see a 504, just remember—somewhere, a server is possibly sitting in a corner sobbing into a hanky, questioning its life choices.

Co-incidentally, I am in a cafe working on this and had a 504 error while writing it.
See also 500 Internal Server Error and 502 Bad Gateway.

xclip -o | wc -w
258 for Brevity Quest 2025