I've been using Linode for many years, and DO for some time now (a year? not sure, since I can't even login to their control panel right now and check). I've seen issues on both providers, and dealt with support of both not too infrequently.
I'd still say Linode is miles ahead in terms of expertise and responsiveness. Most of my servers are on Linode for this reason, and only a few on DO.
As a customer I enjoy this competition and would like to keep both players compete - because I'm benefiting from it. So I'm likely to stick to both. But I would still recommend Linode more easily than I would DO.
Thanks for your input. I might be switching over as a result of the recent downtime and the support Linode has been receiving on this thread. Unfortunately, especially for non-hobbyist apps and services, this is an area demanding fickleness.
I'd still say Linode is miles ahead in terms of expertise and responsiveness. Most of my servers are on Linode for this reason, and only a few on DO.
As a customer I enjoy this competition and would like to keep both players compete - because I'm benefiting from it. So I'm likely to stick to both. But I would still recommend Linode more easily than I would DO.