Chiff and Fipple Forums

My last 30 page loads (from late afternoon GMT yesterday to late afternoon GMT today)... still wildly inconsistent, frequently tortuous enough to drive me away and quite simply typical of board performance right back to the last big (but clearly not total) fix...

[ Time : 5.319s | 11 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 45.876s | 14 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 53.970s | 18 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 0.205s | 10 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 0.620s | 11 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 0.146s | 8 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 2.646s | 18 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 0.863s | 9 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 1.260s | 13 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 0.590s | 14 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 2.123s | 10 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 0.832s | 13 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 2.053s | 9 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 14.520s | 14 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 3.224s | 18 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 0.218s | 7 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 33.928s | 21 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 3.465s | 12 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 3.723s | 25 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 9.236s | 16 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 5.751s | 12 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 1.626s | 16 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 0.623s | 11 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 7.912s | 9 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 0.333s | 9 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 40.015s | 13 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 17.421s | 9 Queries | GZIP : On ]
503 Service Temporarily Unavailable
[ Time : 48.231s | 13 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 17.421s | 9 Queries | GZIP : On ]

Yep.

Well, since posting that I've already had a 0.063s and another 503 Service Temporarily Unavailable.

Totally crazy, but had assumed from the silence of others that I'd got some relatively local Chiff–Kinlochleven connectivity/routing problem till I saw the page load stats which affect everyone!

Peter Duggan wrote: [ Time : 17.421s | 9 Queries | GZIP : On ]
503 Service Temporarily Unavailable
[ Time : 48.231s | 13 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 17.421s | 9 Queries | GZIP : On ]

Think those two 17.421s must be the same page load artificially preserved by back button review, but here's what I've been getting right now (last 10 consecutive excluding two further duplicates)...

[ Time : 23.655s | 14 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 17.728s | 12 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 2.496s | 8 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 9.164s | 9 Queries | GZIP : On ]
500 Internal Server Error
[ Time : 22.041s | 13 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 20.186s | 9 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 73.380s | 13 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 50.211s | 14 Queries | GZIP : On ]
[ Time : 15.926s | 9 Queries | GZIP : On ]

Thanks, Peter. If it's any consolation, the Mods are experiencing the same sluggish board behavior. Unfortunately, the Thanksgiving holiday weekend here in the States was not the best time to handle technical problems. But we will look into this in the coming week if the problems continue.

I would like to volunteer to help with the performance issues.

Thanks, Podge. We'll contact you by PM. Give us a few days ...

myself also, I cant believe how much Ive paid for this service and it doesn't work properly

its frustratin , but somehow I keep coming back

Thanks, Podge. We'll contact you by PM. Give us a few days ...

Ok. I'll wait to hear from you.

Whistling Archer wrote:myself also, I cant believe how much Ive paid for this service and it doesn't work properly

Makes no real difference in the end if it's free or not... if it doesn't work, folk will ultimately vote with their feet.

its frustratin , but somehow I keep coming back

As do we all when it fills a niche with no obvious alternative. Despite the technical performance of the forum being dire!

Peter, if after 13+ years of existence a few days of spotty technical problems raises talk of "no obvious alternative", then what may be dire is the need for instant gratification.

Sorry to editorialize, but the thanklessness of running a 100% free forum with no compensation whatsoever for the considerable and constant (and invisible) effort is sometimes very, very discouraging when the reward is comments like this.

By all means, go elsewhere for now, and come back when we're able to marshal the time and resources during the busy Christmas season to meet your expectations.

For what it's worth, our hosting provider (Dreamhost) is currently in the process of migrating our databases and physical resources to different hardware in anticipation of accommodating IPv6 functionality. If this has any further impact on the board's performance, we will certainly let everyone know with a general Announcement. Thanks.

MTGuru wrote:Peter, if after 13+ years of existence a few days of spotty technical problems raises talk of "no obvious alternative", then what may be dire is the need for instant gratification.

Sorry to editorialize, but the thanklessness of running a 100% free forum with no compensation whatsoever for the considerable and constant (and invisible) effort is sometimes very, very discouraging when the reward is comments like this.

By all means, go elsewhere for now, and come back when we're able to marshal the time and resources during the busy Christmas season to meet your expectations.

Over-reaction caused by misunderstanding here, MTGuru! My latest post was neither an impatient 'bump' (which I don't do!) nor a go at you, Nano, Ben, Dale or anyone else involved, but rather a (IMHO necessary) counter to Whistling Archer's slight red herring of what we (don't) 'pay' to be here. On which note, sure it's free, but we both know that doesn't mean you or Dale are any happier about it running badly than any other frustrated users...

However, since you've forced me to rejoin the thread that I didn't want to 'bump', perhaps I could point out that:
1. We're not talking about 'a few days of spotty technical problems' (and, believe me, I really didn't want to say that now!).
2. You've possibly missed my point re. 'no obvious alternative' (we come to Chiff because it still performs a unique service)?
3. As a busy musician working in multiple schools, I understand 'the busy Christmas season' and have no expectation whatsoever of you dropping everything to sort things right now!
4. I'm now more bothered by the original helpful intent of the thread being spoiled by misunderstanding and unfortunate timing (not really my fault it's Christmas!) than the blinking thing not running properly.
5. I'm still here, amn't I? (So please take that 'vote with their feet' stuff as generic reasoning and not as a personal threat!)

Yours misunderstoodedly (not a 'dictionary' word, but the most apt I could find!)
P

It's better today.

I'm not really a computer guy but I hear that many people find Viagra helps with performance issues...at least that's what they keep saying on TV.

Doc