# What's up with this place's hosting?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-this-places-hosting/364884
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [July 17, 2006, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-this-places-hosting/364884 "2006-07-17T17:12:10Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@diggleblop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggleblop)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2006, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-this-places-hosting/364884/1 "2006-07-17T17:12:10Z")
It seems to randomly time out at least 4-5 times a day for me. I know it’s not my connection either, all other sites work fine. Does this place really have that many hits a day and if so, who do they use for hosting?
Also, with the money in memberships, I find it hard to believe they can’t find reliable hosting for the boards. I have a forum with 1500 active users and it never times out or crashes, hell, it doesn’t even slow down and I only have a VPS. Granted, that’s no where near the million or so they probably get here a day.
This isn’t a slam on this place at all, I’m just asking because this place seems to have terrible hosting.
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### Author:  [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2006, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-this-places-hosting/364884/2 "2006-07-17T17:15:45Z")
See the thread in ATMB.
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### Author:  [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2006, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-this-places-hosting/364884/3 "2006-07-17T17:24:38Z")
I believe the webhost is “Tony’s Back Alley Dontcha Ask No Stupid Questions Biker Bar and Tattoo Emporium”.
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### Author:  [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2006, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-this-places-hosting/364884/4 "2006-07-17T21:10:06Z")
> [@wolf\_meister](#):
>
> I believe the webhost is “Tony’s Back Alley Dontcha Ask No Stupid Questions Biker Bar and Tattoo Emporium”.
I got a tat there. Great work. Their computer services? Well, it leaves something to be desired. At least you get a beer while you’re waiting.
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### Author:  [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2006, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-this-places-hosting/364884/5 "2006-07-17T22:07:20Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#):
>
> I got a tat there. Great work. Their computer services? Well, it leaves something to be desired. At least you get a beer while you’re waiting.
But the server looks really cool!!!
Seriously, though **diggleblop** questions about the server are a long and cherished StraightDope tradition. I’ve been on the Boards since 1999 and complaining about the server was a long-established practice then.
Believe it or not, it’s better than it used to be.
Somewhere deep in the back of my heart, I believe the server is deoptimized on purpose. I believe The Powers That Be have decided that one of the benefits of membership should be the right to bitch about the service. By giving us the occasional problems with the Board, they are providing us more value for our $14.95.
For rational responses, check ATMB.
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### Author:  [@Kebert\_Xela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kebert_Xela)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2006, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-this-places-hosting/364884/6 "2006-07-17T22:13:36Z")
From [this thread:](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=379578) (bolding added)
> [@CK Dexter Haven](#):
>
> Where does the money go? Software, hardware, and technical services upkeep. These things cost money. I guess there are some organizations out there who are willing to take the financial loss, for whatever reason, and provide free services. The Chicago READER is not: it’s a small, privately-held organization that can’t afford to take a significant financial loss on message boards. **Your money goes to upgrading the server as needed,** and to salaries for the tech staff (moderators and admininstrators are unpaid volunteers.)
I guess the membership money goes toward upgrading the board so it only times out 5 times a day instead of 10.
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### Author:  [@diggleblop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggleblop)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2006, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-this-places-hosting/364884/7 "2006-07-17T23:35:07Z")
I was going to post a longer responce, but it timed out and I lost my browser window. Ironic, huh? lol
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### Author:  [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)
#### Post date: [July 18, 2006, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-this-places-hosting/364884/8 "2006-07-18T02:28:12Z")
If you’d been here five years ago, you’d think the server was fabulous.
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### Author:  [@if6was9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/if6was9)
#### Post date: [July 18, 2006, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-this-places-hosting/364884/9 "2006-07-18T04:16:16Z")
> [@kunilou](#):
>
> But the server looks really cool!!!
After some clandestine, private dick type work, I got a pic of “Tony’s Back Alley” servers [here](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v340/if6was9/SDMBHamsters.jpg).
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### Author:  [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)
#### Post date: [July 18, 2006, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-this-places-hosting/364884/10 "2006-07-18T06:13:33Z")
> [@FisherQueen](#):
>
> If you’d been here five years ago, you’d think the server was fabulous.
Amen to that.
I remember taking it for granted that if you attempted to read the boards during peak hours you’d wait several minutes for each page to load and as often as not have no luck at all. “Oh, I’ll just try to squeeze in during that sweet spot when most people go to bed and the servers go down for the scheduled daily maintenence that lasts an eternity.”
One of the main reasons that I switched to Opera was that I didn’t lose my form data (read: posts) every time the server timed out when I tried to submit – so I could dispense with the precaution of copying my post the clipboard which I was in the habit of doing _every single time_ I was ready to submit my post. (It was really only strictly _necessary_ about a quarter of the time.) And _still_ the content was so good that I kept coming back in spite of the feeling that the board’s traffic was being routed through the center of the sun and back again using a 20W tight-band microwave transceiver.
It’s fecking _fantastic_ now.
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### Author:  [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)
#### Post date: [July 18, 2006, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-this-places-hosting/364884/11 "2006-07-18T07:07:50Z")
> [@FisherQueen](#):
>
> If you’d been here five years ago, you’d think the server was fabulous.
She ain’t lyin’.
Otherwise, you might want to look in ATMB.
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### Author:  [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)
#### Post date: [July 18, 2006, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-this-places-hosting/364884/12 "2006-07-18T07:31:58Z")
> [@iampunha](#):
>
> She ain’t lyin’.
>
> Otherwise, you might want to look in ATMB.
This thread is in the wrong forum, so I’m closing it. There’s already a sticky thread in ATMB about this topic.
Lynn
For the Straight Dope