# Why is this board so slow?!? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 28, 2004, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-board-so-slow/252603 "2004-06-28T20:25:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pyrrthon1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/2acd7d/32.png) [@pyrrthon1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pyrrthon1)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-board-so-slow/252603/1 "2004-06-28T20:25:05Z")
I’m sure this question has been asked before but when I tried to do a lookup I sat there for three minutes waiting and nothing was returned. This is the only board I pay to post on and it is by far the _slowest_ I have ever experienced. Sometimes the pages take more than a minute to load. I use another board that gets 500-600 posts an _hour_ yes _hour_ at peak periods and they do it with banners. Pages load in a second and a half. Shouldn’t paying members at least get bandwidth priority? And yes I have broadband. ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-board-so-slow/252603/2 "2004-06-28T20:31:46Z")
People will jump your shit for asking, but I agree with you. It is faster than it used to be, but still the slowest board I post to. It’s frustrating. And forget about doing searches or anything, then you’ll be waiting all day. I think we have a right to constructive criticism, especially now that we are paying for the privilege of posting here. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-board-so-slow/252603/3 "2004-06-28T20:38:06Z")
> [@pyrrthon1](#): > > I’m sure this question has been asked before but when I tried to do a lookup I sat there for three minutes waiting and nothing was returned. This is the only board I \*\*pay to post \*\* on and it is by far the \*\*_slowest_ \*\* I have ever experienced. Sometimes the pages take more than a minute to load. I use another board that gets 500-600 posts an _hour_ yes _hour_ at peak periods and they do it with banners. Pages load in a second and a half. > > Shouldn’t paying members at least get bandwidth priority? And yes I have broadband. Signs of quality/success (bolding mine) ---
**Author:** ![pyrrthon1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/2acd7d/32.png) [@pyrrthon1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pyrrthon1)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-board-so-slow/252603/4 "2004-06-28T20:38:26Z")
> [@Indygrrl](#): > > People will jump your shit for asking, but I agree with you. It is faster than it used to be, but still the slowest board I post to. It’s frustrating. And forget about doing searches or anything, then you’ll be waiting all day. > > I think we have a right to constructive criticism, especially now that we are paying for the privilege of posting here. Who’s going to jump my shit? You’re paying for a board and the pages hardly load? Somebody’s making money on this. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-board-so-slow/252603/5 "2004-06-28T20:40:54Z")
I think he’s right. I started reading the OP ten minutes ago, and I’ve only just now finished. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-board-so-slow/252603/6 "2004-06-28T20:41:00Z")
> [@pyrrthon1](#): > > **Who’s going to jump my shit?** You’re paying for a board and the pages hardly load? Somebody’s making money on this. Simply for the fact that this question is very old and very often and thoroughly dealt with. ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-board-so-slow/252603/7 "2004-06-28T20:41:06Z")
Just sayin’. People will jump your shit for criticizing. They always do. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-board-so-slow/252603/8 "2004-06-28T20:49:22Z")
> [@pyrrthon1](#): > > Somebody’s making money on this. Nobody is making any money off of this. If they are lucky The Reader is losing less money than before but this isn’t a profitable venture. Also, we all know that the way to get the better bandwidth is to bribe the Admins. Don’t bother with the Mods, they don’t have the mojo. ---
**Author:** ![pyrrthon1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/2acd7d/32.png) [@pyrrthon1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pyrrthon1)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-board-so-slow/252603/9 "2004-06-28T20:51:57Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > Simply for the fact that this question is very old and very often and thoroughly dealt with. I’d say if it’s very old and someone is still bringing it up then it hasn’t been dealt with. In any event, if this is the case I guess no one will be doing anything about it. In my defense, I did try see if anyone had posted the question and kept timing out. I’ll consider the case closed. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-board-so-slow/252603/10 "2004-06-28T20:53:06Z")
I’ll guess that this board is slow because we’re bogged down by the million threads asking this question. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MrTuffPaws](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@MrTuffPaws](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrTuffPaws)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-board-so-slow/252603/11 "2004-06-28T21:00:03Z")
Because we have to pay for it now 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-board-so-slow/252603/12 "2004-06-28T21:03:19Z")
> [@pyrrthon1](#): > > I’d say if it’s very old and someone is still bringing it up then it hasn’t been dealt with. > In any event, if this is the case I guess no one will be doing anything about it. > In my defense, I did try see if anyone had posted the question and kept timing out. > I’ll consider the case closed. By ‘dealt with’ I mean a satisfactory answer is given. Asking it again is just ignoring the answer. But if you did look for the answer before asking then that’s ok (ish). I am just saying why people might _‘jump your shit’_. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-board-so-slow/252603/13 "2004-06-28T21:04:16Z")
It loads really fast for me. It must be calibrated to handsomeness or something. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-board-so-slow/252603/14 "2004-06-28T21:08:58Z")
Actually, ever since we’ve moved to pay and they’ve done some more enhancements I’ve only timed out a couple times and loading had been good. Compare that with the state of this board when I first met it two years ago and it’s amazing. I guess I’m feeling lucky that my posts haven’t been gobbled lately. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-board-so-slow/252603/15 "2004-06-28T21:20:53Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > It loads really fast for me. It must be calibrated to handsomeness or something. Can’t be. It works fast for me too. ---
**Author:** ![Hedda\_Rosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hedda_rosa/32/1204_2.png) [@Hedda\_Rosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hedda_Rosa)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-board-so-slow/252603/16 "2004-06-28T21:49:50Z")
It’s pretty damn speedy for me, similar to other sites I visit. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-board-so-slow/252603/17 "2004-06-28T21:56:13Z")
Basically, the server is overloaded, and there’s not much that can be done. No one’s profiting off the board–the registration fees just offset the loss that the Reader incurs running this. And since they’re already losing money on it, they don’t really feel the need to throw more money at it. We’ve had a couple server upgrades, and upgrading to the current version of the messageboard software definitely helped, but every time the boards become faster, the traffic rises enough to slow them back down. What’s to be done? ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-board-so-slow/252603/18 "2004-06-28T22:09:51Z")
I don’t know how or why the board loads faster for some than for others. I’m one of those for whom the system is slower than it was before it sold memberships. Often it times out–that is, if it isn’t taking as long as ten minutes just to open a page. Never does it run fast for me. How does one get to be one of the lucky ones for whom it loads fast? ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-board-so-slow/252603/19 "2004-06-28T22:18:15Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > How does one get to be one of the lucky ones for whom it loads fast? Well, I _had_ a theory, but **Lobsang** ruined it. 😛 To get to the bottom of this, we need to be scientific. We should put everyone who has fast load times (the SDMB “haves”) in a room and see what they all have in common, beyond the obvious (e.g. devastating good looks, unparalleled brilliance and wit, etc.) Maybe we all have a vestigal tail or something. Alternatively, we could just seal the door of the room and see if load times improve for everyone else… ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-board-so-slow/252603/20 "2004-06-28T22:38:33Z")
For me, the board seems to be loading much better than when I first joined. And that was when I still had cable modem. Now I’m stuck with dialup (where’s the massive raspberry blowing smilie?, or the valley girl sticking her finger down her throat smilie?). At any rate, it’s now slow, but only because of dialup, it’s very steady and reliable, and I haven’t lost a post to hungry hamsters for a long time. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-board-so-slow/252603.md?page=2)