[CTPP] Troubles with data.census.gov

Am I the only user having chronic problems with data.census.gov? After nearly a year of constant attempts at use and self-training, my personal experience is that data.census.gov is capricious, inconsistent, and inadequate. The potential is (probably) there but to my view it's not yet ready for prime time - yet it is the only way you can access the 2018 ACS. American Factfinder is going away in a matter of months, so soon the shaky and unstable data.census.gov system will be all that we have. Perhaps there's some magic bullet I have yet to find. Or an alternative that provides the professional reliability the data community needs. API? Can anybody in the data community offer insights? Thanks! Jonathan Lupton AICP Senior Planner - Publications Metroplan Little Rock AR