Not a complaint....simply an observation.
I am a member of and visit serveral sites a day (all gun related), including my own and frankly the speed of this site is now no longer worth the effort and time involved in waiting for pages to download. I'm not suggesting a mass exodus, nor would I wish to see one. The site itself has a lot to offer and many, many loyal followers. However, it has reached the point that for me at least it is no longer worth the time and/or frustration needed in order to navigate it.
This issue was brought to light and discussed recently with no response (that) I saw from a staff member. Perhaps the announcment regarding the new up grades will solve the problem.
In the mean time....and I know the site will survive and flurish without me....I will no longer be visiting until it at least works effeciently enough to be able to load threads.
It is a shame it has reached this point.

Gunslinger

I know it's a pain in the ass, hopefully the speed problems will get worked out, but in the meantime, do what I do...

Pull up second IE (or what ever you use) screen and visit your other sites while the threads load.  Or play solitare or minesweep while it loads.

Of course I'm on a DSL, so maybe it's much worse for you.

I don't know how long you guys are waiting, but it just took 37.5 seconds for this reply page to load...and I've seen longer.

It does suck sometimes, but I love this board and it's predecessors, and I can't leave.

I am completely addicted to this site, I could'nt leave if I wanted to.  Heck when it was down I'd wander around the house with the 1000 yard stare going on, and the wife thought I was losing it.  I hate to see ya go, but as for me I'm staying.

It is not a matter of investing in a faster connection. Obviously I was not clear in my initial post.....I visit several sites, several times a day.....they load fast...this one is too damn slow now. Not them....not one or two others....not no and then....[i]this site[/i] is the slowest on the damn Internet (that I visit and there are about 12).
The fact is I am [b]not[/b] the only one to make this observation. There is a recent thread in which several members said the same thing.
Do not get me wrong....I am not criticizing Ed! He provides a [b]free[/b] service for those of us that want to meet here. I to (in spite of myself) am addicited to the site. But how slow must it get before all of the members decide it is no longer worth the effort to post? Will a staff member respond to this thread with some type of explaination....or an idea as to what may be causing the problem and when and if it will be corrected?
I'd do a search for the thread in which several others were complaining of the same thing but Hell who has the time?!?!?!?!?!?
My computer is fast....my connection is good. [b]The site is too damn SLOW![/b]

Again, I do appreciate the site and the fact that it is provided free of charge for any and all that wish to visit and exchange. But more members will start to drop if this continues!

Gunslinger, could you list some good sites to visit? I am losing patience with one myself. The old site was faster. Subguns.com is a popular board and it goes alot faster than this one. It doesn't have the bells and whistles that this one has but who needs a smiley face that humps another smiley face anyway?

C'mon... stop being a silly woof!

Waldo was suggesting a faster link for the server, not for you!

[:)]

My theory: with server hundred people on these boards at once, it slows the server down, and quite a bit at that too.   However, during the night hours, the site is much faster, as of the few amount of people browsing these forums.

Come at night, and it's not so bad.

my .03 cents (hehe)


-Green

I agree it takes forever for this site to load. AK-47/Assualtweb/Frugals/Glocktalk all load at warp speed compaired to this site.  There are days when I can only read what comes up on the first page due to the time it takes to load.   I love what I get here its just I dont always have time to wait for it. A life, a job, a wife, and two kids who need computer time each day leads to only so much time to spend.

BTW it took 30 seconds for the page to load for me to post this reply.    Thats on a 56k modem running at 49.3          

I had mentioned a few weeks ago about how slow it is for me to log on. It would be nice if i could get in  in under 30 seconds. I really like this site and hope the speed gets better. I had over 500 posts on the old site and it will take me till Bush is out of office to get that many here. The information here is great. I just wish i could get it quicker

[size=6][blue]"DON'T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU IN THE
ASS AS YOU LEAVE, BYE BYE[/BLUE][/SIZE=6]

Yes, I also bemoan the slow loading but I am so happy the board is up. I have my Shotgun News,
Gun List and outher diversions. I am not going
to bite the hand that feeds my brain for FREE,
NO COST, TAKE ALL YOU WANT, NO CHARGE!
Now if you want to talk about LOCKED THREADS.
Gunslinger why don't you be the guy to set up
a fundraiser to buy some whatever they need to
speed things up. I kick in $50.00 to get it
going.

As much as I appreciate the features Goatboy has put into this forum, perhaps it would be wise to go back to a proven board like UBB (this board gets virtually no traffic compared to some of the huge UBBs around) or ikonboard.  

UBB recently raised prices, so maybe thats why we are trying this home grown forum...

You could go back to UBB version 5.47d and have Goatboy use his skills to hack in all of the nifty features you desire.

As far as funds go, there should be enough "slush" between the actual cost of the LE rifle shipped, and the $660 shipped to pay for many months of bandwidth, esp if 1000 rifles sell!

By the time this board loads, then you log in, then find a topic, wait for it to load, then hit reply and wait for it to load, then hit submit, wait for it to load. Takes a very long time and I have been only posting once a day just to see if it`s as fast as when it started. Shame.
Now hangfire can post a hundred posts a day.  

This topic reminds me of how people used to have to preheat their ovens and warm up their left-overs for 15-20 minutes and now they are too impatient to wait 60 seconds for a microwave oven.
I have a slow 166mhz computer with a 33.6 modem that usually only connects at 28.8. If I can handle the wait, you guys with the 500-1000mhz computers with DSL and satallite modems should handle it even better.

One apparent cause of slowing could be the posting of many large photos.
The other day, there was a post consisting of many large photos (very high quality photography, by the way) of a Nambu and some other Japanese militaria.

While the many pics were interesting, I believe they took up a great deal of bandwidth as the site seemed slower than usual that night.

I could be wrong however.  Just my observation.

marsh

Good things come to those who wait.[smoke]

I play with my GUN while it loads!!!

Gunslinger,

You said you didn't want to come off as negative, but you managed to, anyway.  You said it was '...simply an observation' but it sure [u]sounded[/u] like a complaint.

I've never run a board (have you?) but I've been around plenty of volunteer operations, and let me tell you, the people that do all the work get real tired of the bitching.

Usually, and I think this is the case here, the people involved in actually doing things are far more intimately aware of any problems than the armchair coaches that gather to point out the shortcomings.  

By the time the first griper has spoken up, these people have already been stressed out by problems they recognized before anyone else, they've put in more of their own personal time  than they ever bargained for, and have received squat in the way of recognition for what they HAVE done.  Most of the time they do this and have to earn their living in whatever time is left and it often doesn't leave much for sleep.

Do you see dead/expired links?  I don't.

Do you get regular crashes in whatever browser you use?

Do you get a lot of "under construction" signs?

Is there a problem where you can't get in, period?

These kind of people feel inadequate enough just because they pride themselves in doing a good job and things are not up to their own standards.

Your subject line,
"This site no longer worth the effort..." is pretty demoralizing, even if you didn't mean it to be.

If you think checking your own spelling "is no longer worth the effort", then you'd be in for a real surprise trying to follow the hooves of Goat-Boy.

If you don't like your experience here, ask for your money back.

Please, be either constructive or quietly gone.

I don't want to lose these guys.  They've given me a community that fits me a hell of a lot better than the one I live in.

[red][size=5]P.R.K.[/size=5][/red]

It's true, this site has been slow as hell lately. I run a cable modem at home and access the site via T1 at work, and it's still slow as hell. But this is only during daylight hours. If you get on after 9:00 PM it's okay. And believe it or not, if you're on until the wee hours, it's great.

The board has gotten slower, real slow sometimes.  And it is directly proportional to the number of people browsing the board.  Late night, or in the morning it's not bad.  But if you hit it during primtime be prepared for a wait.

I have a simple solution for goatboy to speed it up.  

Don't allow lurkers!  This would speed things up for the members.  Although more than likely alot of lurkers are members that just haven't logged on because they are just reading post and not responding to them.

I hate to see anybody leave because of the speed this site loads at.  I myself use a dial up ISP and on these crappy phone lines my modem connects at a blistering slow 28800 bps.  Now that's pretty slow guys.  I never have any problems with this site loading slow except in the evening time so I simply stay off the puter in the evening and check this site in the morning and late late at night.  

I saw this topic and clicked on it-
took 60 seconds to load
I decided to respond to the post-
it took 60 seconds to log on
Now I hit the reply button-
it took 40 seconds for a page to appear.

HE'S RIGHT- this site is way to friggin slow. I pick and choose what topics to view because frankly, it takes too long to load up everything I'm interested in. It cuts both ways, too- when I ask a question, the guy with the right answer may decide it's not worth the effort to reply. You need a DSL or unlimited internet access if you want to soak things up at AR.com's beta site. I was a member of the old AR.site for years and it was MUCH faster. This board IS TOO SLOW- it discourages reading/writing posts and that hurts everybody. I want my old microwave back!
ALSO
I miss being able to type a website address and having that link become active automatically- I found that to be a great aid.  The beta site doesn't have this feature- www.WhyNot.com?

Go right ahead and tell me to go to another site and leave this one behind. I'm inclined to agree with you...
Now click "submit"-
waiting...
waiting...
waiting...
waiting...
ah- Fergit it!

I have to be a sheeple and agree with the group here...

Hangfire said something about the door making contact with your four corner point of contact??? EXACTLY......

HEY BLACK, kids do NOT know what 'pre-heating' an oven was...

I find the advantages in this forum FAR outweigh any possible(percieved or actual) drawbacks....

You have chosen the most drastic and negative option, and a few others have been listed here for your consideration....

OOPS, 'Dont get me wrong, I am not criticizing you'.....LIKE HELL IM NOT.....Increase the peace, stop the whining !!!!! If ya left, how could u respond to this thread? just havin a heavy flow day and feel like whinin??? If ANYONE wants to leave, 'JUST DO IT'..we DONT need your negativity....

OUT HERE....

So, what your saying is to stop complaining and whining??????????????????????????? Lead by example. Follow Me..
Were you in AirCav?

Regarding threads with pictures....

The pictures you see in threads [b]are not being pulled from the ar15.com server.[/b] Your browser is just resolving a little text tag that points to where-ever the picture lives. The only connection that will slow down is on your end (and maybe the site where the picture is hosted). The big pictures do not cost ar15.com any more "load" or "stress" than a few regular sentences.
(I usually know what I'm saying on these topics, but feel free to enlighten me if you can show me how I'm wrong)

As for the time it takes to get pages sometimes, why not work around the issue? Once a forum opens, I'll go down and "Open in New Window" a half dozen interesting threads and read them as they come up. As I close a few, I'll go back and get a few more opening while I'm reading the others.

I've done my own fair share of bitchin and moaning about the site being slow but ed sr.has once again addressed this issue as one that is being worked on.that's good enough me.i also don't feel the need to flame gunslinger for saying how he feels about this, as he did so without flaming the site or any one person.gunslinger keep checking back in as i'm sure the site will speed back up when they have had a chance to work the bugs out.mmk

If you don`t like the foremat, CHANGE THE CHANNEL!!!!....[chainsawkill].[frag].[rail]

Damn, I haven't heard this much bitching since kindergarten...  If you guys are unhappy with the speed, I think the only solution is to start sending in donations to help get new hardware and pay for the time and effort put into the site.  Who's with me? Put your money where your mouth is and let's help these guys out rather than whine like a bunch of schoolgirls.
For those of you who have an understanding of the time and effort these guys put into the development and maintenance of this site, I applaud you for trying to shed some light on the inconsiderate cry-babies who just sit back and complain about what others provide for them.
Don't get me wrong, I think constructive criticism can be very beneficial and is a great way to voice your concerns and opinions. But, when it is destructive criticism, you just make yourself look bad and annoy the rest of us who appreciate other people's hard work and effort.
For those of you who would like to help me by providing funding for the further development of AR15.com, let me know and I will set up a system to make this possible.

HEY...i can give you a dozen names of people who would bitch, if YOU PAID THEM TO STAY HOME!!!....and i am not kidding!!!!....[kill]

Over in the Group Purchase order form there is a section for donations to upgrade the servers and equipment.  Maybe there needs to be a general donation funding site so everyone can decide if they would like to kick in a little money to help out.  

As someone said somewhere sometime, "Money talks and Bull*&^% walks".  

COUNT ME IN!....K.KLOSS...s4659 morgan pkwy hamburg n.y. [email protected]

The site IS too slow.  This is a "discussion forum" and the speed IS stifling discussion.  Is this not a problem?

Do people really just want to throw out another group of members on top of the ones who have already left?

Opening new windows or reading a magazine while you wait does not solve the problem because many simply do not want to do that (some with actual info to share).

Someone who runs a site is not psychic, they need problems to be brought to their attention.  It is only natural that when someone brings up a problem and feels that they have been somehow ignored to bring it up again.

If you are reading this message on your Commodore or Atari or another equally outdated piece of equipment then I don't know what to say to you -  
- .... . /  ... .. - . /  .. ... /  - --- --- /  ... .-.. --- .-- .-.-.-  

Others have made different decisions and probably have a different view of what time is worth to go along with them.

.-- .... .- - /  .. ... /  ... --- /  ... .-.. --- .-- /
         .- -... --- ..- - /  .. -  

HANGFIRE
Sustaining
Senior
Member

Where do I send the money EdAvilaSr.?

Hey "Hangfire", which is bigger your head or your A$$. Apparently, you agree with controlled speech. I respect his right to speak his mind and not in BIG BLUE (my language makes up for my lack of brains) LETTERS. But I also respect those trying to provide this quality forum and hope they get it straightened out.

I perceive his opinion as correct. You gonna help push me out the door too?

The server is entirely too slow. But, like you I am willing to kick in even 100.00 if it will help.

I guess the only way to get along here is to agree with everything the annointed say and don't make waves. I certainly don't think he was being a mole. He simply aired his opinion. Last time I checked that's what this country was all about.

Your right Rich, maybe he can post 100 posts now.

Why don't we deal with it for now, not put the guy down for speaking his mind, encourage him to stay and lets all chip in some $ if thats what it takes. I too appreciate the forum and want to see it thrive.

Keep up the good work guys and let us know if you need $ chipped in. I assure you my check will be one of the first!

Out!

I will get working on how we can collect the money to help funding, and see if we can't get the topic in a prominent position permanently.
In the meantime, e-mail me at [email protected], so that I can get a list of names together and get this going as quickly as possible... thanx