because, no one is talking about it anymore, and the server is so damn slow. Plus, i’m still not sure why the Chicago Reader is turning away 4 thousand dollars.
Well, if you were as accomplished at finding the fairly recent threads in which this issue has been discussed in mind-numbing detail as you are at finding the very old ones, then you would already know the answer.
I note that your registration date is December 2000 - there are many, MANY threads in which this issue has been discussed over the last 6-12 months; hell it’s even been discussed since we went to the new version of Vbulletin, without someone feeling compelled to dredge up threads from July, 2000.
You might even want to read through the posts which have been made since “the crash” explaining the current position in respect of the server.
Or then again, you might not.
i lurked those old links because when i asked why the sever was so slow i was directed to them. I apologize bro, i wasn’t trying to ruffle any feathers.
I read the most recent thread on the subject from a month ago, and i’m still unclear as to why there is no feasible way to improve the SDMB’s bandwidth. I’ve seen this message board tackle problems that were a lot more difficult than this one.
This suggestion may be totally off the wall, but do any techie dopers know if a distributed network app similar to the SETI program could pool the bandwidth of the teeming millions for use by the message board (voluntarily of course :)). I’m on a fast connection and i’d be more than willing to share some of my bandwidth to speed up the board. Something tells me this is not possible, and I’m sure someone knows why not.
any other new ideas? Because according to TubaDiva the demand for this priceless web resource is only growing.
I can’t live without this site, like many of us i’ve become addicted to knowing the “straight dope” to absolutely everything that crosses my odd little mind – and to hear what people from around the world are wondering as well. But, the load times and timeouts are horrendous, worker productivity around the world would benefit from a faster SDMB. There’s gotta be a workable solution.
question for the admins,
is it cool if i ask about improving the SDMB’s bandwidth in GQ?
The problem is a business-related one more than a technical one. If the Reader wanted to fund a bandwidth increase and server upgrade, they would and could. The issue is how to make something work IRL from a business case standpoint.
You are confusing two issues here. Bandwidth pooling is not really the net effect of distributed computing - CPU time pooling is. That issue aside, there is no real practical way we can help from a technical standpoint. We have to wait for the Reader to decide what to do.
absolutely nothing can be done? My half baked distributed network idea didn’t pan out but perhaps someone in GQ has a better idea, or knows of a loop hole the SDMB can take advantage of.
admins, i’m sorry i keep bumping this thread, but i never got an answer to my question. Is it alright if i ask GQ if there any ideas not yet discussed for improving the SDMB’s performance? Am i beating a dead horse here?
I think you have a good point from a technical standpoint, but the issue is not technical.
I may be speaking too much for the Reader technical staff, but…
There are two issues at play, as I understand it: bandwidth and server power. My understanding is that the SDMB has the bandwidth, even though it does get saturated at times. And it is true that the traffic has increased since the Board was brought back from the dead.
However, my understanding of the current primary source of the slowdown is related to Server speed, especially because of the TABLE locking issue with the new software.
That having been said…it comes down to more of a Business Case Issue than a practical one. If the Reader suddenly wanted to, they would just put the SDMB on an OC-48 network or something, get a dual Athlon 1800 system with 4 GB of RAM and SCSI RAID system, and dare people to try and swamp it.
But the issue is money and effort. Setting up any sort of “distributed Board” effort would easily start to cost more than what the fanciful option I put above would.
Of course, there is another way to make a “distributed Board” to allow for load-sharing - first, you could host a Board yourself. But more practically, since hosting your own Board is an insane idea, you can visit one of the SDMB-related Boards that crazy people have set up for you, such as Fathom, the G’Dope, or another Board I can’t remember right now that several Dopers call home as well…
While I am not a mod, you are beating a dead horse. This issue comes up fairly frequently, and every time someone suggests something ‘new’ a mod will eventually say, we’ve thought of it, we’re discussing it, and we’ll pass your ideas on to the legal/technical/whatever staff at the Reader.
cainxinth, do a couple searches in ATMB and you will see what I’m talking about. You can also just set the view on the forum page to show threads from the last 60 days or so. This should show 3-4 forum pages for ATMB, and you can look through the threads on the money issue to your heart’s content.
cainxinth, the answer to your question is mostly in the technical issues FAQ. Making the board faster is no big mystery - we need a more powerful server. The Chicago Reader is not going to pay for an new server until they make money on the board. They won’t make more revenue from the board until they finalize the method they will use to generate that revenue. There is no way to have members contribute processing power to the SDMB server à la SETI. To do that the software we use for the board would have to be totally rewritten.
The best website on the net is also the slowest, and absolutely nothing can be done. Oh well, i’ll accept it, but i don’t have to like it. 
thanks for your responses
Of course something can be done about it, if you convince the powers that be at the Chicago Reader. Have you tried a letter-writing campaign, peaceful protests in front of their office, or a hunger strike? I can tell you from past experience that posting in ATMB “the board is very slow” is not going to effect the change that you hope.
I’ll be the very first to admit that I know practically nothing about running a business, at least from the financial end of it. But, haveing said that, isn’t there something in the US of A tax code that says that a business loss is deductable? The Reader could buy one of those “$40,000” servers and write the loss off as a tax deduction. Businesses do it all the time. I believe they call it “depreciation”.
It seems to me that the boards are just not all that important to the “powers that be”.
Well, see, carts don’t pull horses. You have to have the forty grand first.
“Tax deduction” does not equal “free”. At best, it just means that you’re paying 40k minus the tax on 40k.
And no, the boards aren’t all that important to the Powers that Be. Well, except for Cecil, of course, but I imagine that all of the other Powers at the Reader have learned to ignore him, as a defense mechanism to keep from going insane. Hence Noodles’ suggestion of hunger strikes and letter campaigns to get them to change their collective minds.
As Chronos suggested, this is probably correct. How can you convince the powers that be that the board should be an important concern? As mentioned in the technical issues FAQ, you can support the board by purchasing Straight Dope stuff. If every visitor to the board purchased, for example, all the Straight Dope books and items, I am personally convinced that this would make the powers that be sit up and take notice.
P.S. cheezit, feel free to communicate your tax deduction idea to the Chicago Reader. There contact information can be found here.
Hmm, hunger strikes, eh?.. [rubs chin thoughtfully]
What. I need to lose weight anyway. 
(this is a good bump thread. I like hearing Zotti lay the smack down.)
I’m nearly 46 (176->130) pounds down from my high last year. I can’t lose a whole lot more on a hunger strike. I guess I could get rid of that last 30 or so, before the sweet release of death.
What do you expect for free?
A rubber biscuit?
Bar Bor Bar