Thank you for sharing this. I appreciate you all for being very open about this. I experienced the exact same issue.
I have also been experiencing prolonged technical difficulties applying online for Permanent Residency via Express Entry but since March 25th, 2023. Upon completing the 1st stage of the application (Information/Questionnaire Checklist) like you said which required filling out details on personal background (including education, employment, travel/address history and more) by clicking "Continue application", I came across an error message screen.
I have sent about 20+ webforms since that day. Screenshots were attached to the webforms showing the full website address field, pages where I am experiencing the problem, pages accessed before encountering the error message and specified date when problem occurred.
Two IRCC agents, James (agent # 4113) and Sonia (agent # 3587), responded on April 12th and today (May 4th) to two webforms that I had submitted on March 29th and April 12th with a few tips I should try. I tried every necessary step or tip they had suggested but learned that the error message continues to show. I have also tried many suggestions on the FAQ page to troubleshoot what I can, but nothing seemed to help fix the issue. The first guy who responded to me actually admitted that it was a periodic technical problem from their end (like you said) and that they were working to fix the issue, that I should keep trying again; which you know did not help.
It has now been well over 40 days (March 24th, 2023) trying to fix this issue or getting a response from CIC via the IRCC Webform link. I don't know whether you have figured out the solution to the issue yet. I am sorry that I did not look at your post sooner, I only just checked today. Please, I would really like any assistance/guidance on what steps to take in resolving the issue. Were you able to resolve the issue with IRCC? Are there any other alternatives you can suggest to me? I have continued to try again but nothing seems to fix it.
Kind regards,
Marcus