I know there are lots of threads to the tune of “what the hell do you do with your money… why does every other message board on the internet work fine?”
However, I’d like to ask a slightly better question, what’s causing the problems? Moreover, why is it that one moment we have really bad performance, and the next excellent?
It doesn’t sound like a load/hardware problem, it sounds like something more complex, like a messed up configuration that causes big periodic hickups.
I’m not an expert on servers (especially if you’re running Linux), but it’s almost as if every once in a while you suddenly have a huge swap-to-disk frenzy (made worse by a database that sits on that same disk). Have you checked if that’s the problem (ie have you tried disabling the swapfile)?
None of the moderators or administrators have server-side responsibility over the message board server – we can’t claim credit for it when it works and we can’t be liable for it when it doesn’t.
We also cannot tell you exactly what’s going on because frankly, we don’t know.
Jerry tells me occasionally when something really big happens (good or bad), but he’s not resporting in regularly and we usually have no clue as to what’s going on.
There’s really not much more any of us can tell you.
I don’t want to speak for management, but I think you can assume that Jerry has checked for the obvious stuff.
There is some discussion of the problems in this thread from early this year when the server was upgraded:
But the real problem seems to be a known issue with vBulletin and MySQL creating locks in the database when it shouldn’t, or at least when it might be better not to. It seems to only effect boards with fairly large databases. This post of Ed’s in a thread from a few months ago seems to say they’ve identified the problem:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=8529930#post8529747
(If that link doesn’t go directly to the post, look at posts #124 and #129 in the thread)
If you read the thread on the vBulletin message board that Ed links to in post #124, there are some work arounds and fixes, but IIRC, they require an update if the vBulletin software, splitting off the search function to a different database, and/or installing a separate search engine. None of these are particularly hard or expensive to so (the second server to hold the search database is a few bucks) but all require time and effort, which is a short supply item for Reader staff. Ed says as much about 5 messages later in the same thread.
Thanks, RJK; as usual, you’re spot on.
We hope for betterment – we always hope for more and better – but have no schedule for when that might happen.
Again, I don’t want to speak for the Reader or for TubaDiva but I think you’re wrong here is just about every respect.
Jerry works for the Reader, but TubaDiva and the other Administrators and Moderators are volunteers who report to Ed, they are not part of the Reader’s corporate structure at all.
So they absolutely do not pay Jerry, and he does not report to them, except (based on what TubaDiva said above) as a courtesy when he sees a need.
Based on what has been said in previous threads (of which an important one is linked above if you’d like to take the time to read it) Jerry has done his job, and can do little more until time and resources are budgeted.
It works enough to register your complaint . . . and all the other stuff that goes on here.
Is it elegant as it does so? Not particularly.
The board is what it is. It does operate. Not beautifully, not with breathtaking speed. But by and large it does work.
Vote with your wallet, nonny. Oh wait. You are. Why are you here again?