The original title is: "Kafka is not a queue — and treating it like one will wreck your system"

Short summary

Kafka is an append-only distributed log, not a message queue—brokers don't manage delivery or remove consumed messages; consumers track position via offsets. Production failures like 'disappearing messages' stem from applying queue semantics to a log; you must explicitly manage offsets, monitor lag, respect retention windows, and design backpressure. Teams that internalize these core distinctions unlock Kafka's strengths for replay, audit trails, and event sourcing.

• •Kafka is a log where consumers own their position; the broker doesn't remove messages after consumption or apply backpressure
• •Common failures result from lag exceeding retention window or flawed offset commit strategy, not Kafka bugs
• •Prevent silent risk by monitoring consumer lag, designing explicit backpressure, and understanding your offset commit strategy

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