Thread: Slow page body loading

Since the last round of changes, pages have loaded very slowly. The page header appears quickly, down to the menu line which begins User CP, but the rest of the page can take several seconds to appear.

I had a look at the HTML, and I've got a feeling the cause is errors in code. Starting at the table which holds the Google stuff, there are many tags in the wrong order, missing tags, and other errors. This may mean that the renderer has to wait until the entire page is rendered before showing any.

Running the pages through a couple of validators showed quite a few more errors - 88, in fact, from the W3C validator.

It is possible that the slowness is caused by the response times from the Google ad server, but this should be compensated if well-formed HTML surrounds it.

Well I don't know problem cause or resolution but I am having the same experience.

In fact I find it quite frustrating and now restrict my time on the forum so as to lessen the stress.

I have so far put it down to the advertisements that must load with each page and of which I have read none and would respond to none anyway because of their disruption to my enjoyment to this site.

I have a powerful computer and highspeed connection so God only knows how others with lesser computer configurations cope !!!!.

Mine's very slow to load as well.

So what sort of slow are we talking about here. 5 minites, 1 minute, 30 seconds, 10 seconds, what?

I'm using Firefox and pretty well all pages are loading within a couple of seconds and many almost instantly.

IE is slower because it seems to dribble the page in from the top down, but longest wait for me on a hard refresh is under 10 seconds. Once cached the pages even on IE are loading at a very acceptable rate of a couple of seconds.

There are some issues with the pages which are slowly but surely being ironed out but this will take some time as there's a little more to do around here than just that. So far since the major stuff-up there has been very many hours of really hard background work done just to get on what we have here now.

For the moment I'm happy to sacrifice a few seconds of speed to keep the pages up and running.

Some things you can do:

• Get Firefox (it's free) and use it. The difference is between it and IE is absolutely amazing, and everything runs properly and looks the way it should.
• Do not log out. Each time you log out you clear the cookies which hold all the relevant details and have to start from scratch - There is nothing sinister or nasty in our cookies so it's safe to stay logged in all the time and ever so much faster. Your session stops as soon as you leave the forums the same as it would if you logged out but all your the cookies are preserved.
• Be patient sometimes the server gets overcrowded and things slow down or there could be a backup or IP query, counter update, etc, running in the background, which will also slow things.

We share the server with cyclingforums.com and at this time of the year they can have many as 5,000 people on their site which can also put a strain on the server.

Most of these factors will only account for a few seconds time delay at their worst.

We really are trying to make it better, but like building a new road you have to allow for the inconvenience of the road works. You may not like it but it's a necessary evil, because without it you don't get a new upgraded road, just the same worn out, pot-holed track you've wanting fixed for ever.

Cheers - Neil

Neil,

I have noticed a substantial improvement in speed over the last few weeks. General pages load faster than they ever have. I use Firefox and stay logged in.

What I have noticed when viewing non-cached pages is they seem to load in sections, then the content loads in four or five stages. Not a killer, but definitely slower than the "topical" pages kept in server cache (as you would expect).

Slow in this case is up to 5 secs at the very worst.

5 to 10 secs

I can certainly vouch for the slow loading on IE7. Last week when I was having some problems with the WSIWYG editor not working I had occasion to use IE7 and immediately noticed how slow pages load using it vs Firefox.

I agree with Neils' suggestion, if you are not already using Firefox, start using it. You will be amazed at how quickly it works compared to IE7, and the number of add-ons, like NoScript, RealPlayer and Bookmark Synchroniser are amazing. Firefox and nearly all the add-ons are free for the downloading so there is no "entry fee". Try it, you'll like it.

I am using Firefox 3 and I have a Satellite 512/256 connection I never log out and my loading of the forum has never been as fast as it is now. Very satisfied.

Perhaps Firefox is more foregiving of some types of coding error ... but that shouldn't be an excuse for not fixing the problem. After all, there are still more IE users than Firefox users, and it doesn't make good sense to alienate such a large percentage of users.

The suggestion to NEVER log out escapes my comprehension. Does this mean never, ever; or just within a single session? On dialup, I disconnect when I need availability of the telephone, and IIRC VBulletin does an automatic logout after some period of inaction. If such a logout doesn't clear the cookies, the suggestion makes some sense with regard to page loading time.

But according to my very imperfect understanding of the software, the "You last visited" TimeStamp controls the "New Posts" search, as I enquired in a separate thread. How is this implemented if I NEVER log out? If one never logs out, and stays connected, the "New Posts" search could become huge; I think. I haven't tested this theory, nor have I searched for it at the VBulletin forum; yet.

Joe

The difference is:

• Loggingout - where you physically click on the Log Out button - this clears all cookies from your computer meaning you have to start from scratch next time you log on.
• Ending a session - where you leave the forums without hitting the Log Out button - this preserves all the cookies on your computer for faster log in and page refreshes etc.

At least that's my understanding of the way it works.

After all, there are still more IE users than Firefox users, and it doesn't make good sense to alienate such a large percentage of users.

You're dead right on both accounts Ron and it should be unforgivable. But I would rather have, what was a reasonably spot-on forum with good code etc prior to the upgrade, up and running for now whilst the fixes go on (albeit slowly) in the background. I am aware of the problems with code but there was a hell of a lot that went west and was stuffed up because of the upgrade and version compatibility problems with hacks, that were previously OK..

Rather this way and a few seconds longer to load than shut the forums down completely for a week while all was repaired, tested, retested and retested and still comes out with a problem.

Unfortunately many of the problems are universal, which doesn't give the luxury of fixing it in the back ground. Added to this is the fact that I'm a woodcarver/turner/restorer/polish manufacturer, not a programmer and have muddle through most of the work myself in my spare time, of which there isn't a lot. This is why I'm often on line well into the wee small hours, after answering the 20-30 daily emails and half as many pm's, finding lost passwords, usernames and anything else a member can lose. Sorting disputes, holding the hand of computer illiterates to guide them on how to submit their first post or thread, etc, etc, etc.

It ain't easy being green - Think I'll go and eat worms, or take up drinkin' (a lot) - I'm not crazy but it certainly would help

Cheers - Neil

Originally Posted by ubeaut

I'm not crazy but it certainly would help

Cheers - Neil

Does this mean we're getting a crazy forum too?

Originally Posted by ubeaut

I'm not crazy but it certainly would help

Cheers - Neil

Sure would. It's helped me a lot.

Whatta you mean, "getting," Bob?

Joe

There's been a crazy forum for ages, you have to subscribe to it to get in though.

I was having page load problems Friday and Saturday but across all websites, not just the forums. I ran the Bigpond speedtest which showed I was getting much slower throughput than my nominal plan speed and that the quality of service was less than 50%. I think a lot of HTTP packets were getting lost or damaged as hardly ANY page actually finished loading. I don't know if it was something to do with the Optus link getting repaired after last weeks fiasco but so far yesterday and today things are looking healthy and pages loading quickly.

BTW I also tried speedtest.net but that test wouldn't run to completion on Saturday, it does now.

I would recommend anyone having problems to check one of the speedtest pages to see if your link to the internet is performing at the speed you are paying for.