Twitter tried to launch a new home page today, one that would better appeal to mainstream users. Instead, the microblogging service has reverted to the original "Old Twitter" interface it replaced last year—when it's not failing entirely.

A large swath of Twitter users are reporting that their interface has reverted to "old Twitter," a simple interface that Twitter Inc. replaced in September with a split pane view that expanded tweets to show video, images, replies and other related content. In at least some cases, Twitter fails to display at all, showing an error message accompanied by a drawing of a robot.

Perhaps not coincidentally, Twitter was going to roll out a new home login page that let prospective users search the service, that showed off all the media and fashion brands and celebrities associated with the service, and that touted Twitter's "instant updates from your friends, industry experts, favorite celebrities, and what's happening around the world." Upgrades like that can set off a cascade of unintended bugs, as we well know. Chronic outages are hardly new to Twitter. What's funny is that the more Twitter tries to change, the more it stays the same.