Forum problems?

sparkyrich · Aug 16, 2013

Any one else having trouble lately? I access the forum from my iPhone and its getting slower and slower to load.
Also, when replying to a post, the cancel/ post screen remains till I press post for a second time then it goes back to the thread but I've posted twice.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

carty · Aug 16, 2013

I am finding it very slow today CAROL

paul-1976 · Aug 16, 2013

It's slower than paint drying to be honest and a speed check has come back at 77mbps so it's not me.

Hobs · Aug 16, 2013

It has been giving problems on and off for quite some time. This is the trouble with free forums, lack of maintenance and know-how. I would rather pay a couple of pounds and have a properly maintained forum, but I am probably in a minority.

zolabud · Aug 16, 2013

Slow. Been slow all day.

Maybe it's the numbers of folk online?

It mucks about on a regular basis quite frequently nowadays....

Anonymous · Aug 16, 2013

zolabud said:
Slow. Been slow all day.

Maybe it's the numbers of folk online?

It mucks about on a regular basis quite frequently nowadays....

It happens every time I post. I have a large number of screen snapshots showing this quite clearly. It may stop for a while as a result of this post. I'm afraid that I am the catalyst but all I'm doing is using the forum. But, the next time things go very slowly, take a look at the posts coming up and browse back over the various discussion subjects, like General Discussion, Diabetic Discussions, Ask A Question, Low Carb Dieters etc., and you should see a pattern. I told the mods a week ago, but they have assured me that there is nothing amiss.

zolabud · Aug 17, 2013

But this happens quite frequently doesn't it.

If the admins are not going to do something it will deter new diabetics won't it?

Giverny · Aug 20, 2013

Not sure how I've only just noticed this thread.

I can assure you all that we are actively investigating this issue. We had some downtime last night and this morning which is being looked in to by our web host, as it was out of our control.

The forum speed has been an issue for a while now and I have raised my concerns and am looking in to long-term solutions to this.

@Gezzathorpe - the forum is slow when anyone posts, as it has to create entries and call information from our forum database. As things stand, the database is quite large.

@Zolabud - Trust me, I'm looking in to it. I wish I could just click my fingers and fix everything but unfortunately it's just not that easy :thumbdown:

@Hobs - We're looking at paid options right now (XenForo, IPB, vBulletin etc.). I've always been a phpBB hater and this will never change. Having run a forum 5x the size of this one on vBulletin for a few years now, I know how a forum *should* run. phpBB is simply not cut out to run forums as large as this one has become. It was alright at first but now it's become sluggish and is showing its age. I'm sure you can appreciate that we want to do this properly and it takes time and research to implement a large update with as little interruption to users as possible.

carty · Aug 20, 2013

You can always do what I do and have a game of solitaire while you are waiting :yawn:
CAROL

anna29 · Aug 20, 2013

I went over u-tubes whilst the forum was 'down' last night .
Listening to Luther Vandross and Barry White hits .
My favourite hits are Any Love and Secret Love and Dance with my Father by Luther .
The trouble with me and another groovy ballad done by Barry .
Was feeling very groovy and reflective listening to these and reading up on
both their Diabetes stories .

They both died from strokes and diabetes .
Read up on Luther Vandross's story his mother lost her husband to Diabetes
only in his mid 30's then ALL of her children died young with Diabetes too .
His mother , poor woman is 82 now and still campaigns strongly about Diabetes in families .
Luther even went on stage with his blood sugars at over 25 :shock:
Dunno HOW he even managed to DO this !
He wouldn't check his blood sugar levels and didn't take enough care with self managing
his diabetes .

Don't get wrecked - get your blood sugars checked ...!
As she says :thumbup:

I was moved by his story and what a voice he sang with - no more gorgeous new songs for us

Anna .

WeeWillie · Aug 20, 2013

Hi :thumbup:

Just popped in for a couple of minutes to reply to the thread.

This is not a complaint, more a concern.

From what we read via admin, it's obvious they're doing all they can to remedy the unstable condition the forum now finds itself in, and, as has been mentioned before by members, we really do appreciate their hard work and efforts.

So,for what it's worth, allow me to put my tuppence worth in.

I was cut off during mid-sentence so to speak, last night (see below) and was unable to log back in again, so I stopped trying and went on to do something else.

Now, that worries me, and here's why, I'm aware that visitors who, intentionally or by chance come across a web site/forum, are prepared to wait for any web page to load is approx 10 secs, after that, they simply move on.
So the potential of attracting new visitors/members is very much in the balance and tipping the wrong way.

I would, like Hobs, far rather financially support the forum in some small way, rather than become frustrated as many of as are at present, concerning the inconstancy of page loading times.

Would it, do you think, Admin, be prudent to post a short questionnaire thread asking who would be prepared to donate a continuous reasonable members fee for the help, support, and pleasure we all enjoy in Diabetics.co.uk.

Best wishes.

willie

Giverny · Aug 21, 2013

WeeWillie said:
Hi :thumbup:

Just popped in for a couple of minutes to reply to the thread.

This is not a complaint, more a concern.

From what we read via admin, it's obvious they're doing all they can to remedy the unstable condition the forum now finds itself in, and, as has been mentioned before by members, we really do appreciate their hard work and efforts.

So,for what it's worth, allow me to put my tuppence worth in.

I was cut off during mid-sentence so to speak, last night (see below) and was unable to log back in again, so I stopped trying and went on to do something else.

Now, that worries me, and here's why, I'm aware that visitors who, intentionally or by chance come across a web site/forum, are prepared to wait for any web page to load is approx 10 secs, after that, they simply move on.
So the potential of attracting new visitors/members is very much in the balance and tipping the wrong way.

I would, like Hobs, far rather financially support the forum in some small way, rather than become frustrated as many of as are at present, concerning the inconstancy of page loading times.

Would it, do you think, Admin, be prudent to post a short questionnaire thread asking who would be prepared to donate a continuous reasonable members fee for the help, support, and pleasure we all enjoy in Diabetics.co.uk.

Best wishes.

willie

Whilst it is an interesting idea, I think that the beauty of diabetes.co.uk is that there is such a wealth of information and support here for free. The issue is not funding, we're fine for that. It's simply down to logistics. We have the knowledge, equipment and money but it does take time and meticulous planning to make changes to such a large forum.

Website downtime is sadly an inevitable part of running a website. Our host is usually reliable and has actually helped us pick up on an external problem that was affecting the loading time of the forum dramatically. We've now rectified that and the forum has been running faster in the past 24 hours than it has been for a long, long time.

As previously stated in the thread, I am actively looking at ways to 'upgrade' the forum with minimal disruption to users that will give present and future users a more comfortable posting experience in the long-term. This is a very large project and I want to make sure it's done right. I am 100% in agreement with those who feel the forum is currently too slow - I'm a user too and I also get frustrated with it :thumbdown:

paul-1976 · Aug 21, 2013

I don't know if it's just me but it's LOADS quicker on here today!

Giverny · Aug 21, 2013

paul-1976 said:
I don't know if it's just me but it's LOADS quicker on here today!

Yup! Our host helped us to source a problem that was affecting the forum loading time quite badly :thumbup:

sparkyrich · Aug 21, 2013

Indeed! Faster than a fast thing from fast town! Well done all!

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

daisy1 · Aug 21, 2013

One thing that happens since this morning is that in a one-paged thread, "first unread post" no longer takes me to the actual first unread post. It remains on the first post in the thread, and I have to scroll down to see what I haven't read. (I'm not using the app). On multi-page threads it works as before and I am taken to the first post I haven't seen as usual.

The speed is very good now :clap:

WeeWillie · Aug 22, 2013

Giverny said:
WeeWillie said:

Hi :thumbup:

Just popped in for a couple of minutes to reply to the thread.

This is not a complaint, more a concern.

From what we read via admin, it's obvious they're doing all they can to remedy the unstable condition the forum now finds itself in, and, as has been mentioned before by members, we really do appreciate their hard work and efforts.

So,for what it's worth, allow me to put my tuppence worth in.

I was cut off during mid-sentence so to speak, last night (see below) and was unable to log back in again, so I stopped trying and went on to do something else.

Now, that worries me, and here's why, I'm aware that visitors who, intentionally or by chance come across a web site/forum, are prepared to wait for any web page to load is approx 10 secs, after that, they simply move on.
So the potential of attracting new visitors/members is very much in the balance and tipping the wrong way.

I would, like Hobs, far rather financially support the forum in some small way, rather than become frustrated as many of as are at present, concerning the inconstancy of page loading times.

Would it, do you think, Admin, be prudent to post a short questionnaire thread asking who would be prepared to donate a continuous reasonable members fee for the help, support, and pleasure we all enjoy in Diabetics.co.uk.

Best wishes.

willie

Click to expand...

Whilst it is an interesting idea, I think that the beauty of diabetes.co.uk is that there is such a wealth of information and support here for free. The issue is not funding, we're fine for that. It's simply down to logistics. We have the knowledge, equipment and money but it does take time and meticulous planning to make changes to such a large forum.

Website downtime is sadly an inevitable part of running a website. Our host is usually reliable and has actually helped us pick up on an external problem that was affecting the loading time of the forum dramatically. We've now rectified that and the forum has been running faster in the past 24 hours than it has been for a long, long time.

As previously stated in the thread, I am actively looking at ways to 'upgrade' the forum with minimal disruption to users that will give present and future users a more comfortable posting experience in the long-term. This is a very large project and I want to make sure it's done right. I am 100% in agreement with those who feel the forum is currently too slow - I'm a user too and I also get frustrated with it :thumbdown:

Aah, now that puts a completely different perspective to it, Giverny.

I take your point, and it's a good one. :thumbup:

Thank you for your reply.
willie.

Janiept · Aug 24, 2013

So glad I found this thread, as I have not been receiving notifications of threads I am following. Has anybody else been having the same problem I wonder?

Scarlet10 · Aug 30, 2013

Hi I have 5 posts but I can't respond to a pm any ideas?

Thanks

A Simple hi can make you smile

BaliRob · Aug 30, 2013

The Site is extraordinarily fast today here in Indonesia

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