# Why so many timeouts? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [March 19, 2020, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-timeouts/849815 "2020-03-19T17:06:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-timeouts/849815/21 "2020-03-22T14:25:59Z")
> [@Helena330](#): > > This place flies at 3 am Pacific. At least my insomnia’s good for something. 😃 😛 > [@Johanna](#): > > I’ve grown quite fond of a saying circulated by modern Buddhists: > > **Relax. Nothing is under control.** 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-timeouts/849815/22 "2020-03-22T17:00:12Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Yeah, the past couple hours have been as good as in the middle of the night in the US. Much better. I posted this almost 3 days ago and it’s still been good for me even during the day. I’m hoping it’s luck of the draw, as I’ve only been checking in a few times a day. A worrisome alternative would be that the problems have shed so many users that the volume of new posts is no longer big enough to cause the problems. EDIT: Yay! I timed out posting this. Weird to be happy about that. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-timeouts/849815/23 "2020-03-22T17:10:39Z")
…I actually timed out for 7 solid minutes of no response from the boards. Google says [noparse][ping.chartbeat.net](http://ping.chartbeat.net)[/noparse] can’t slow down your website, but I dunno, every time the site hangs, firefox shows it trying and failing to connect to [noparse][ping.chartbeat.net](http://ping.chartbeat.net)[/noparse]. I’m suspicious. (Another several minutes of hanging to post this.) ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-timeouts/849815/24 "2020-03-22T17:19:41Z")
Ellis Dee posted > [@](#): > > I posted this almost 3 days ago and it’s still been good for me even during the day. > > I’m hoping it’s luck of the draw, as I’ve only been checking in a few times a day. … You jinxed it when you posted this. If you’re going to make recklessly optimistic statements, make sure you’re typing only with your left hand, gripping a stalk of celery in your teeth (with the leafy part to the RIGHT-- **very important**!), and aren’t wearing any pants. At all. That sometimes foils the jinx, but no guarantee. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-timeouts/849815/25 "2020-03-22T17:41:53Z")
This board is now like a typical grocery or drugstore during the COVID-19 epidemic: long waits for the thing you want (read or write a post) and then 80% of the time you don’t get what you wanted anyway. Just think of a 504 timeout or server error as an “out of stock” sign and get used to the fact that the whole world has stopped functioning. Nothing to do about it but make myself a strong spicy Caesar with extra vodka and then maybe an early dinner with a couple of liters of wine. It’s not like I’m going to be driving anywhere. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-timeouts/849815.md?page=1)