If there are 30 people on line at the same time -

All of which are using the right click buttom to open threads or look around by opening another window could that cause increasing load on the server.

If we stopped that practive would it help any?

Gon Fishn

Not to complain, but just to state this observation: All I know is that the loading speed at RBO is slower than ever, as far as my system and software configuration is concerned. Monday is always a slow day with my server, as well, ...... -Cliff Hall+++

30? Bill, you're not even close. This site often sees well over a thousand people all looking in and viewing topics, articles, photos, glossary, ad clicks, buy/sell page, etc., at the same time. The site is very popular and continues to get more and more hits each month. I'm tapped out and can't afford the equipment we need to get the performance of the site back up to par. The one thing I can guarantee you, is that things are going to get a lot worse in the next few months. That's just the harsh reality of the situation.

If only 30 people were using the site at the same time, we'd have no problems with traffic.

...................

Tom,

Thanks for being straight up!

It has become glacial but suppose I will survive!

Too many good things to read!

Keith

Glad to see this post. Thought something was wrong with my computer

Would it help if we were to donate, say $10 once in a while? Paypal is good for that.

Dave

Tom,

Are you using a hosting facility with guaranteed response time? I suspect that the problem is not with the server. The problem could also be related to the communication circuit. Is this a dedicated T-1 server?

Just wondering.

There are several bottlenecks all caused by the amount of resources on this site and the number of people who access them daily. Something will turn up. It always does. We'll just have to put up with a little slower site for a while.

.................

Sheesh. I got dial up service, and this site is hands down the fastest loading site I visit. Dell inspiron 1150 laptop even. Dont change anything, then I will have problems! Levi

I have a T1 line and this site is the slowest site I access. Sometimes it takes 20 seconds to view a page, while other sites (e.g. Wash Post) that get millions of hits a day takes less than one second. There is definitely a bottleneck here that very few other sites have. Were this not such a unique and awesome site, I would have given up long ago.

If I had the resources that the Washington Post has, this site would load just as fast as theirs does. I do the best I can with what I have.

..................................

I understand your policy on this type of thing but what I cannot understand is the attitude and actions of the companies in the rod building industry. Next to the Rodmaker magazine, this site has surely done more to further the craft of rod building than any other single thing and by the same token has done more to increase their sales than anything else. But too many of them continue to throw money away on a rod building "club" that does next to nothing for anyone. It just seems to me that their money would be better spent contributing to sites such as this one where their bread really gets buttered than throwing it down a hole where a few fat cats roll in the dough.

Related Posts & Replies for more background & history on factors effecting RBO Forum Speed & Loading:

Forum Load Speed by: Mike Barkley Sept. 8, 2005 [www.rodbuilding.org] Anyone else finding the load speed incredibly slow??? It's not my PC because all other sites load immediately. I have a high speed connection but this site has been extremely slow opening for awhile now. Mike Barkley

Survey: What's RBO, etc Worth to You? by Cliff Hall Sept. 12, 2005 [www.rodbuilding.org] To All my Fellow Rod-Builders and Visitors at RodBuilding.Org (RBO): Imagine a world –and your life– without any of these: [RBO-Forum, RBO-PhotoGallery, RMM, The Show, etc] -Cliff Hall+++



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/20/2005 09:41AM by Cliff Hall.

It is true that the rod building industry does not subsidize this site - I do not receive monetary donations as some others have. But if you check the sponsor list to the left you will see that quite a few companies do realize the value of this place and they do buy advertising here. Sure, the sponsor fee is pretty darn low compared to what they receive in return, but they do buy advertising here nonetheless. So I think most are aware of the impact this site has had and continues to have on the rod building craft.

It has been suggested that I raise the sponsor fee and that's a possible solution. $29 a month is pretty small potatoes considering that this site drives more traffic to their websites and contributes more to their business than any other rod building website in existence - and by a wide margin. But I also recognize that the market is tight right now - plenty of product is being sold but at very low margins. Nobody is getting rich.

As I said, something will turn up. For the time being, we'll just have to wait a bit longer for pages to load. Having too much traffic is a problem, but perhaps not nearly as bad as having almost zero traffic and a site that has little to offer anyone. Every scenario has its own set of problems, some are worse than others and I'd rather have too much traffic than too little. The participation here is still the best on the internet and the amount of information available here is unparalleled anywhere other than in RodMaker. Not a bad set of problems to have, really. It's all a matter of perception.


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At $29 per month, it's a STEAL, ... IMO, Cliff Hall+++ Merry Christmas

I use to pay $25.00 a year to belong to a club that I got nothing out of. I would gladly pay that and more to have access to this board.
I am sure Tom had a plan for a free board for everyone to have access to when he started this and I am just as sure he did not belive that it would be as big a hit with the rod building community that it is today.
Tom it is time to change the buisness plan, there is no good reason for one man to bear the burden so thousands can enjoy. When you sell a rod you are asking a price that covers the cost of the materials to pay for your time and put some profit back into the company so the equipment can be maintained or replaced as needed . This board should be no different.

Allen
San Jose CA.

Sure, the site is not the quickest loading, but I think we have all gotten spoiled. Imagine a time before the Internet - where on Earth could you find this much info, in one place? Nowhere. A few seconds waiting for a page to load is not too bad, considering the impossibility of getting such information just a few years ago.
But, I will say that the sponsors of this site get tremendous value. Every single component I have ever bought has been bought from one of these suppliers, and I found them on this site.
And, I second Shawn's comments on the "club." I have looked at that site, and associated meetings. It is almost totally worthless compared to this site.
Steve Broadwell

Slow as it may be, the site is still up and running. As I've said before, I will try and do my best to invest in what we need here to speed things up as funds allow.

I do appreciate the many comments and suggestions, it shows that people do value this site. I only wish I could accomodate all of them. In the meantime, I would ask that we not make any harsh comments about other rod building sites. Everybody likes something different and there certainly are some very good rod building sites around other than just this one. Besides, I know full well the work and problems associated with running such a forum. As I said earlier, we all have problems with our sites/forums, they just differ in nature. I have a lot of empathy for the owners and operators of most other forums.

.............

It may be worth at least letting your sponsors know the troubles you are having and see if it would be worth it to them put a little more into helping you keep this site working smoothly. It may be in their best interest too. I am sure that there is a lot of people browsing their sites and making orders that they wouldn't get if this site was not what it is.

My new New Year's resolution: I will not open up any threads dealing with site loading speeds, kicking in money to Tom when he's made it PERFECTLY clear that it won't be done (I'd still throw a 10 spot yer way to keep the Krishna's outa the airport, tho), or any others on this dead horse.

Putter
Williston, ND