# Why is it so glacially slow? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 23, 2015, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-glacially-slow/720669 "2015-05-23T19:50:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-glacially-slow/720669/21 "2015-05-24T18:36:20Z")
I see about 8 items blocked with Ghostery. And this particular page took 8 seconds to load - all “Waiting for [straightdope.com](http://straightdope.com).” ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-glacially-slow/720669/22 "2015-05-24T20:54:19Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > I downloaded it, there was no tutorial, it doesn’t seem to do anything, and there are zero instructions, so I’m not sure whether it’s working or not, or have any hope to make it work! No buttons nothing. I’m mystified! > > No icon in my browser, Safari, no lists. (iPad mini!) Ghostery on iOS is a standalone browser app, it is not installed as a browser extension as it is in Safari on OS X. That means on iOS you must use it as the browser, not Safari. Load a web page in the Ghostery app, look at the bottom right of the screen and tap the ghost logo. Up will come a list of all the trackers tracking that page. Then turn off all the ones you don’t want to be track you. Reload the web page a few more times and again tap the ghost logo to see the tracker list because sometimes a page will serve up a tracker and sometimes it won’t. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-glacially-slow/720669/23 "2015-05-24T21:08:50Z")
Adding Ghostery makes this site fly. Worlds better. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-glacially-slow/720669/24 "2015-05-24T21:15:02Z")
Still slow. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-glacially-slow/720669/25 "2015-05-24T21:39:16Z")
Yep, I agree, this place is much faster than it was. It’ opens and changes pages very fast now. Thanks again **Crazyhorse**. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-glacially-slow/720669/26 "2015-05-24T23:32:18Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Thanks **Crazyhorse**. > > Wow, there were 9 trackers active when the program found them. No wonder it is so slow. I have 7 trackers now. As you surf around the internet, you will realize that this is in no way unusual. Try Talking Points Memo: currently 12 trackers. CNN: 17 trackers. The Weather Channel: 15 trackers. Being the eccentric guy that I am, I only disable 2 trackers (Doubleclick and I think Taboula), which blissfully filters out the 1 weird trick clickbait articles. So I experienced some slowness on this website over the past few weeks. Current trackers enabled here: Chartbeat eXelate Google Analytics Quantcast Rubicon Scorecard Research VigLink Here’s a comparison of different websites and the trackers they use: [Drowning in JavaScript - Dan Goldin](http://dangoldin.com/2013/12/01/drowning-in-javascript/) Rundown of trackers: > **[Top 100 websites: How they track your every move online | Digital Trends](https://www.digitaltrends.com/web/top-100-websites-how-are-they-tracking-you/)** > > The Web is a dangerous place for privacy. Here, a list of the companies that are tracking your Web activity on the top 100 most-visited websites in the United States. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-glacially-slow/720669/27 "2015-05-24T23:34:40Z")
> [@zbuzz](#): > > Ghostery on iOS is a standalone browser app, it is not installed as a browser extension as it is in Safari on OS X. That means on iOS you must use it as the browser, not Safari. Using the iOS Ghostery browser isn’t a requirement. Its presence is required to block trackers, but it sits unopened with other unused apps in an “Unused” folder on my iPad. The app has instructions on setting up a proxy at Settings\>Wi-Fi Settings. Doing this protects the entire wi-fi connection, so it protects against trackers in other apps, too. It has simple, three-step instructions on setting the proxy that takes about 15 seconds to do. But if you change to another wi-fi connection, you have to set it up again. I have it set to block “All,” which includes trackers in ads, analytics and beacons (beacons are otherwise known as web bugs). The setup instructions warn that there are issues with Mobile Safari, so it suggests using Chrome, the Ghostery browser or another browser. Since I use iCab Mobile, it isn’t a problem for me. (iCab Mobile uses the same Adblock filters that Firefox uses if you choose to download them.) Of course I use the Ghostery add-on in my desktop Firefox app. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-glacially-slow/720669/28 "2015-05-25T00:28:20Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > Using the iOS Ghostery browser isn’t a requirement. Its presence is required to block trackers, but it sits unopened with other unused apps in an “Unused” folder on my iPad. Since the poster I was responding to didn’t seem to understand the app at all, I didn’t want to suggest using an experimental feature that needs to be reconfigured every time you join a new wifi network. Just using the Ghostery browser seemed enough. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-glacially-slow/720669/29 "2015-05-25T01:10:37Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > The SDMB uses [a lot of trackers](http://i.imgur.com/Ox2mClK.jpg?1) that slow things down considerably for all users, paid and unpaid. I disabled them a long time ago with a program called [Ghostery](https://www.ghostery.com/en/download). Thank you for that link. It whacked 7 trackers and now the Dope loads almost like a real message board. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-glacially-slow/720669/30 "2015-05-25T04:33:56Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > Slow with some odd overlap-ish thing happening. It’s almost like a couple pixel=blocks of other pages are getting stuck to some of the pages I’m trying to read. I snagged a screen-shot of this tonight. Who among TPTB would be best to e-mail it to and whats the best way? Straight attachment? The board has been especially slow and troublesome tonight (and I suspect the new pop-unders but that’s another thread) and I’m real curious to make it better if I can. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-glacially-slow/720669/31 "2015-05-25T13:48:28Z")
Even slower today… ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-glacially-slow/720669/32 "2015-05-25T14:18:43Z")
Huh, has been better for me during this holiday weekend, presumably because of the lighter traffic… ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-glacially-slow/720669/33 "2015-05-25T16:19:15Z")
Ghostery rocks! Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-glacially-slow/720669/34 "2015-05-26T02:17:52Z")
I installed Ghostery in the past but had to uninstall it since it screwed up my computer royally. (Made the whole computer move glacially.) Just tried installing it again and had to uninstall it for the same reason. My computer is going on 10 years old now, so that could be part of the problem. Maybe it just can’t handle it? ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-glacially-slow/720669/35 "2015-05-26T02:45:34Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > Here’s a comparison of different websites and the trackers they use: [Drowning in JavaScript - Dan Goldin](http://dangoldin.com/2013/12/01/drowning-in-javascript/) > > Rundown of trackers: > [Top 100 websites: How they track your every move online | Digital Trends](http://www.digitaltrends.com/web/top-100-websites-how-are-they-tracking-you/) That guy uses the term “javascript libraries”. What does he mean? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-glacially-slow/720669/36 "2015-05-26T05:11:40Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > That guy uses the term “javascript libraries”. What does he mean? A “library” in the sense of computer code means a set of functions all grouped together. When someone writes javascript code, they often don’t write every single line of code themselves. Instead, they use pre-packaged libraries of functions that they can call. This saves the person writing the code a huge amount of time since they don’t have to re-write the functions that already exist in the library. From the end user’s point of view, though, the library is one more thing that has to get opened up and accessed in order for the web page to work. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-glacially-slow/720669/37 "2015-05-27T02:31:27Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > I have 7 trackers now. > > As you surf around the internet, you will realize that this is in no way unusual. Try Talking Points Memo: currently 12 trackers. CNN: 17 trackers. The Weather Channel: 15 trackers. > > Being the eccentric guy that I am, I only disable 2 trackers (Doubleclick and I think Taboula), which blissfully filters out the 1 weird trick clickbait articles. So I experienced some slowness on this website over the past few weeks. > > Current trackers enabled here: > Chartbeat > eXelate > Google Analytics > Quantcast > Rubicon > Scorecard Research > VigLink > > Here’s a comparison of different websites and the trackers they use: [Drowning in JavaScript - Dan Goldin](http://dangoldin.com/2013/12/01/drowning-in-javascript/) > > Rundown of trackers: > [Top 100 websites: How they track your every move online | Digital Trends](http://www.digitaltrends.com/web/top-100-websites-how-are-they-tracking-you/) Say you’re a website manager. If you had to pick just one tracker to keep, which would it be? I’m guessing it would be VigLink, because it’s monetized. Then again, I haven’t a clue what the others do. Do they all in fact deliver funds to the website? ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-glacially-slow/720669/38 "2015-05-27T03:03:57Z")
If you use Firefox: [ol] [li]Type in **about:config** in the location bar and hit enter.[/li][li]You’ll see a warning about possibly voiding your warranty. Hit “I’ll be careful, I promise!” to continue.[/li][li]Search for **privacy.trackingprotection.enabled**.[/li][li]Double-click that to toggle the value to true.[/li][/ol] If you make this setting change, you should be able to remove any adblock addons you may be currently with Firefox. While I’ve used the AdBlocker Plus addon for years, it does bloat the Firefox footprint. Making the config change performs the same function, but also speeds up pages because it stops tracking even before the rendering engine sees the page. There is even a research report documenting this: [http://ieee-security.org/TC/SPW2015/W2SP/papers/W2SP\_2015\_submission\_32.pdf](http://ieee-security.org/TC/SPW2015/W2SP/papers/W2SP_2015_submission_32.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-glacially-slow/720669/39 "2015-05-27T19:20:22Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > A “library” in the sense of computer code means a set of functions all grouped together. [Snip] From the end user’s point of view, though, the library is one more thing that has to get opened up and accessed in order for the web page to work. So it loads the javascript, which calls for more scripts stored elsewhere, either another file on their server, or someone else’s file. Thanks. Basically, strings of code blocks. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-glacially-slow/720669/40 "2015-05-27T20:06:10Z")
Everything online seems unusually slow these days. I have cable broadband and [Speedtest.net](http://Speedtest.net) nearly always tells me my throughput speed, both download and upload is in the 30-50Mps range. Yet many websites seem unusually slow. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-glacially-slow/720669.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-glacially-slow/720669.md?page=3)