# slow boards **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 18, 2002, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-boards/109685 "2002-05-18T10:17:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Diff\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@Diff\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diff_T)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2002, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-boards/109685/1 "2002-05-18T10:17:56Z")
I’m going to hold in my hate because I like these SD boards. I just wrote a long post, and it was deleted because the boards went down again. I know these are free, I’m just frustrated. I know boards that are in this exact format but have very few problems in comparison. There are some days where it takes me 5 minutes just to read a response that I was informed about in an Email. What is the cause of this? I didn’t think that this would work well in GQ, because the moderators might say this is a complaint in the form of a question. But I would like to know what makes it so slow at times? ---
**Author:** ![LolaBaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@LolaBaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaBaby)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2002, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-boards/109685/2 "2002-05-18T10:20:53Z")
> [@](#): > > Arnold Winkelried > Administrator > > Registered: Oct 1999 > Location: Costa Mesa California USA > Posts: 7248 > More details on board speed/performance. > > Q: Why would the server be slow even during the middle of the night (continental USA time), when hardly anybody in the USA would be on? > A: Doing a large search can cause everyone to have to wait. So if you have only a few people, each doing a large search, that can slow down all the other users. > > Q: Could it be slow because of board maintenance? > A: Usually board maintenance is at the same time every night - from 03:30 to about 04:15 (Chicago, Illinois, USA time) the database is locked down so that we can capture a consistent backup. Due to the current hardware configuration the old system of modifying the status of the SDMB to present a “down for maintenance” screen is no longer in place. > Any special maintenance done by the Information Services (IS) team at the Chicago Reader office could happen unexpectedly and we (SDMB staff / posters) might not always be notified of it. > > Q: Why doesn’t the Chicago Reader do anything about this? > A: This message board is not a big part of the Chicago Reader business, and they get very little revenue from it, so they don’t spend a lot of money on it. > > Q: Are there any plans to make revenue from it? > A: People at the Chicago Reader are discussing possible ways to start getting revenue from the board. > > Q: Would you like suggestions on how to make money from the board? > A: This has already been discussed at the SDMB multiple times, at great length, with many different types of suggestions, so forgive the staff if they don’t become actively involved in any new discussions. > > Q: Oh come on, how expensive/hard can it be to beef up the SDMB server? > A: Any hardware upgrades done in the past have almost immediately been met by increased demand, and the board speed went back to its usual, not-so-fast (at peak times) self. > > Q: I get a lot of enjoyment out of the SDMB and would like to contribute financially to my host in some way. > A: You can always Buy Straight Dope Stuff. If you already own all the Straight Dope items, you could buy some more and give them away to friends / local libraries / high schools etc. From the ATMB forum ---
**Author:** ![MattK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@MattK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MattK)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2002, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-boards/109685/3 "2002-05-18T10:27:08Z")
For me, it is sometimes so slow that it won’t even load. Maybe it’s worse since I’m overseas. But I sure would be willing to contribute a few bucks via Paypal. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2002, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-boards/109685/4 "2002-05-18T10:56:32Z")
Off to ATMB. It’s just a very popular board, with an increasingly international fan base. ---
**Author:** ![Diff\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@Diff\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diff_T)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2002, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-boards/109685/5 "2002-05-18T14:12:38Z")
It is a nice board. You learn a lot and get to talk about pretty much anything on your mind. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2002, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-boards/109685/6 "2002-05-18T19:11:08Z")
You can also try to do some basic things to enhance your SDMB experience, such as clearing out temporary internet caches, removing tmp and chk files from your system, etc. Check over all your settings, including modem strings and browser preferences, that can also make a difference. Try to get your system to run at peak performance before you tackle the SDMB. If you are on AOL, be advised that the notorious “resource leak” will drain away your RAM and not release it until you do a total reboot of your system, this will slow you down until the system crashes if you disregard it. Also the internal AOL browser is often slow or flat refuses to load pages; try external IE or Netscape or one of the alternate browsers and see if that doesn’t change things for you. What else can you do? If you have a truly important post, compose it in an email or word processor window and paste it in to the SDMB reply box; you’ll still have it if Something Bad Happens. your humble TubaDiva Administrator