A More Likely Explanation
It's probably the case that the web servers are being attended to right now, getting prepped for the start of class. Or, given that this "always" happens at the end of a weekend, perhaps after two, or in this case four, days of not having anyone in charge, the system has either crashed or been rendered inoperable by the bizarro endless chain of hacker attacks that all universities seem to have to endure. I think the computers must sound like C-3PO... "It's our lot in life to suffer."
Either Way It Is Inconvenient
In our modern gotta have it now culture, to have to come back to this setup and try again in a few hours is so inconvenient. Well, it is, really. On this old machine, I have multiple operating systems and I need to do the more robust work in Windows NT4, but the WiFi-to-DSL connections uses Windows 98SE. So I have to close everything and reboot, which wastes many minutes.
More to the point, Sunday afternoon and evening I expect a number of students to check the websites and look for stuff to download or check out. But all my hours spent creating PDF files to download and updating the HTML to make them accessible is all for naught if I can't get in to update the servers! Or if the servers themselves are not available.
Nothing on the official Downtime page, but that doesn't seem to mean anything. I just know as soon as I post this pissy little comment for all to see, that I'll be able to get in. (sigh)
The Current Solution
I think I'll shut down and take a nap.
Dr. Phil