EDIT 1:19pm UTC-4: all clear! you shouldn't notice any changes but we sure will! (this was a change that Saves Us Money by using resources more efficiently)
we're currently making changes to our server environment to improve site performance when we get big load spikes (like we did when the verge article dropped yesterday). we don't anticipate any downtime associated with this, but wanted to give a heads up just in case you see anything. we'll be monitoring everything closely during this process.
we'll let you know when it's all clear!