# Why this Board so slow? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [April 29, 2005, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-this-board-so-slow/301797 "2005-04-29T22:10:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-this-board-so-slow/301797/1 "2005-04-29T22:10:45Z")
I’m still on as a guest, but this has to be one of the most interesting forums I’ve come across in years. Furthermore, everybody seems in very good humor with no flamming I’ve seen yet. Very nice and smart bunch of people here! I’m still in the boonies so stuck with 56K dialup. Unfortunately, this seems to be the slowest site I’ve ever come across. Clicking on a thread, it takes a couple of minutes before it ever comes up, and ditto to get back to the listings. Is this just my connection, or is it the case for all dialup computers? It is still good enough that I’ll probably join for a year. Fascinating subject matter. :wally ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-this-board-so-slow/301797/2 "2005-04-29T22:31:20Z")
Welcome. I would imagine it’s your connection, as I’m on DSL and everything loads very quickly for me. You won’t find flaming in General Questions. It’s not allowed. ATMB will have the rules if you’d like to read them. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-this-board-so-slow/301797/3 "2005-04-29T22:51:30Z")
It’s a big board. _Really_ big. There’s been various upgrades provided, many of them before there was any charge for membership. None of them could cope with the constant increase in traffic. If it’s running as slowly as you describe, then in my experience it’s often just a short-term log-jam…try again five minutes later and it’ll all be OK. It runs like a dream when I log on at 10am GMT 😉 ---
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2005, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-this-board-so-slow/301797/4 "2005-04-30T00:19:59Z")
Thanks, I guess you are right about the size being a problem. Good idea about logging on at 10 pm, IF I can stay awake. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2005, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-this-board-so-slow/301797/5 "2005-04-30T02:31:58Z")
Should we tell him it used to be free?? :smack: No no seriously though, there are times when it bogs down, and I think thats the exact reason why we have to pay for it now. Agreed that its the best board ever. If you want the flaming, I think thats what the BBQ pit is for. I think I’ve “been” in there a total of 5 times since I joined. Wont be long till you will know to say Hi, Opal! and attack fellow board members with a 1920 style death ray. A lot of other technical questions are covered in the “About the SDMB” section. Welcome (partialy?) a board. Pretty soon you will be a full convert to the ways of Cecil. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2005, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-this-board-so-slow/301797/6 "2005-04-30T03:15:33Z")
Since this is a question about this message board, I’ll move this thread to the ATMB forum. bibliophage moderator GQ ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2005, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-this-board-so-slow/301797/7 "2005-04-30T05:01:51Z")
In today’s cyberspace, anything on dialup is bound to be slow motion to begin with. This board is sometimes a problem, even for those with high-speed connections. Mostly it’s due to demand and supply; when performance bogs down, usually there’s a tremendous amount of call for the server to do things for a lot of people. The server times out, drops all the connections, and starts again. This does make for slow going. We do apologize. I can’t promise you an immediate fix for this problem, though it is being looked at. your humble TubaDiva ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2005, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-this-board-so-slow/301797/8 "2005-04-30T11:28:50Z")
Best time for us Europeans is morning when zillions of Americans are still in the arms of Morpheus. Evening is a little slower but not really bad. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2005, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-this-board-so-slow/301797/9 "2005-04-30T17:35:40Z")
My experience has been that the board is much more unbearably slow when viewed with Internet Explorer. Opera or Mozilla are quite a bit peppier. ---
**Author:** ![jsmith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df705f/32.png) [@jsmith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsmith)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2005, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-this-board-so-slow/301797/10 "2005-04-30T19:03:57Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > My experience has been that the board is much more unbearably slow when viewed with Internet Explorer. > > Opera or Mozilla are quite a bit peppier. Good point. I have the same problem. I also notice when I have Microsoft-AntiSpyware and Norton Anti-Virus web pages take longer to display. When I boot my computer into another install of XP with IE but with no anti-spyware or anti-virus software running the speed difference is amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2005, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-this-board-so-slow/301797/11 "2005-04-30T20:56:37Z")
Another point is that on older (that is to say, slower) computers, it may actually speed things up to turn off Javascript. Apparently, the Board uses scripting for some of the page layout functions, and on a slow computer, that scripting can take a while to run. If you turn off Javascript, the board will still be fully functional, just perhaps not quite as pretty. Of course, I can’t guarantee that for all sites: Some (unwisely, I think) need Java or Javascript, so you might be forced to turn it on and off for different pages. ---
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2005, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-this-board-so-slow/301797/12 "2005-04-30T22:31:57Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > My experience has been that the board is much more unbearably slow when viewed with Internet Explorer. > > Opera or Mozilla are quite a bit peppier. Hey, you’ve got that right! _Everything_ is slower, clunkier, stupider with IE (or anthing MS). I haven’t used it for years, being happier with Netscape, but recently started with Firefox, which is terrific, as is their email program Thunderbird. Also, over the 20 years been messing with computers, tried a number of antivirus programs, and found Norton and McAfee too complex and causing problems. “PC World” has tested them all and gave a “best buy” to Trend Micro’s PC-cillin. It works like a charm and is cheaper. Also can recommend Counter Spy as being better (but not free, although you can get a trial version) than AdAware or SpyBot. Anyway, have found lately things are working faster, so must have logged on during busy times before. Thanks for all the suggestions. Klondike ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2005, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-this-board-so-slow/301797/13 "2005-04-30T22:53:47Z")
Glad you’re using Firefox. It’s particularly nice here because sometimes, yes, threads take forever to load. So click a bunch, open 'em in tabs, grab a cup of coffee while they’re loading and then you’ll have pages upon pages of message board-related happiness when you return.