resolved Forum Upgrade Update Please

[MoparKevUk]

Frustrating! That's what this board is now!

Before I start I'd like to say that I know it is hard running such a big MB and I could never, ever do it, and I thank all those involved with the running of the MB, but this is a free country (most of the time!) so I'm having my 2 cents worth!

Since the upgrade it's been slow, glitchy and annoying. I've just gone from 250kb speed to 6mb speed, but still this board is as slow as a tugboat with a 15hp outboard. I click on AFO in me favourites and it takes an age to load, then i have to log in, despite using the log in at the top right and ticking remember me. Then, despite the page being up, Ihave to wait for all the stuff to load, in the mean time, thinking it has loaded I've clicked the down button to get rid of all the drop down menus. Then, when the page catches up it scrolls down a load. Then I have to wait for it to fully load and scroll back up......From clicking on AFO in my favourites, then slowly navigating to here to post a message had taken nearly a full stubby of 5 Seeds.........

And it's not just me, despite the lack of complaining from anyone else. I was discussing my frustrations at Wavebreak and the fellows I talked to have the same issues. Bring back the old board, it was quicker, more user friendly, and I can live without multiple image uploading where I have to, after insertion, cut and paste the link of the upload to where I want it in me text! I like the fact I get an email when some messages me and I like the fact that the "fatty diet" ads are gone!

Once again, thanks for all the effort, but when i have 5 mins spare for a quick fishing fix I can't really face the age it takes me to actually read something. By the time I actually get a topic up my 5 mins is over! Vista IE7 6mb ADSL (Nothing weird)

I look forward to the replies from the WebMaster!

All the best, Whinging Pom Kev xxx

PS Is the server in Tibet or somewhere far flung? The Mopar Board I frequent in England is up in a flash, although you can only use it if you are a paid up member. Would the MB go quicker/better if we all paid a sub????

[ellicat]

Using F/Fox with Add block

Load homepage 3 sec

Load Latest Posts page 5 secs

load this thread 2 secs

[noname]

here here kevvy! i hear it's a lot better than it was but i aint seein it, dont crae much for all the wizz bang features, not sure many do. just need to get back to the standard basics...

[AZZA]

I have had trouble since the up grade but I put it down to the fact that I have a gov computer that runs the same software that Noha used to plan the ark. I cant post photos and this real anoying add that tells me to upgrade my browser that wont go awat no matter how many times i click the dont ask me again box.

[Do$tylz]

yeah it might come down to browsers Kev.. I know IE8 has some issues with websites where it will put its blinkers on and have a bit of a FIFO attitude with pages that don't comply with what its expecting.

I actually think its faster???

have a dip at either firefox or google chrome. Better browsers overall and will load this up faster mate.

[straddiebrad]

yer kev try firefox mine is pretty quick

[AFO]

Firstly thanks for your comments. We do actively encourage feedback and always want to know the community's thoughts.

The board upgrade was a necessity not just a done on a whim to provide multiple attachments. The upgrade actually changed many things in the database and overall fundamentally changed some administration functions to make it alot easier and more on par with larger forum software. The forum for our users, has pretty much stayed the same. A couple of better ways to do things, like upload multiple attachments but on the whole not much has changed at all. The overall site however needed to be updated to be compatible with the new javascript code that the forum now leverages. The changes to the forum really are to improve its structure to be more future compatible. Hope that makes sense.

These database changes should have actually dramatically improved page loading and overall site performance. I know for me and many others it has made the site load super fast, that's why I am a little perplexed at why it is running so slow for you. It even monitors the page load time at the bottom of the forum page now and you can see the speed (usually about 0.4 seconds or so).

Our server is hosted in Australia, and we pay alot of money to host it here. We are currently looking into possibility of hosting it elsewhere if we can achieve a good latency and possibly using a cloud arrangement.

As with all things on the internet it really depends on many factors. Like henry mentioned, what browser are you using? Internet Explorer is a terrible browser and the thorn in every webdesigners side. The new IE9 which is in beta is actually starting to get more in line with proper web standards developed by W3C.

If there is a popup saying to upgrade your browser it is because you are running IE6. This browser is no longer supported worldwide. Technology has moved forward so much in 10 years that this browser is just not compatible. Google has dropped support for it and so have we. It is unfortunate if governments still use it, they need to update their software, this is something out of our control.

[AFO]

We do highly recommend Mozilla Firefox as a browser as it is far superior to Internet Explorer.

[nadders]

using google chrome here and things are quick enough, I know from past posts you don't want to change browsers mate, i used to be the same but ie really is crap lol

give google chrome or firefox a run for a week and see what you think, i'm tipping you'll have a better experience and not just on afo

cheers

Dan

[fishingnut]

generally better for me loads page in 0.44 using IE 8, posting pics is a breeze now too

[kriso]

loads pretty quick for me on IE8 too , kev have you got your's set so it dumps the temp files or cookies regulary? that may be why your having to log in each time .

[AFO]

Since the upgrade it's been slow, glitchy and annoying. I've just gone from 250kb speed to 6mb speed, but still this board is as slow

As mentioned, we need to work out why it is slow for you as the key reason for the latest forum upgrade was to improve performance and speed which to me and many others it has dramatically

I click on AFO in me favourites and it takes an age to load, then i have to log in, despite using the log in at the top right and ticking remember me. Then, despite the page being up, Ihave to wait for all the stuff to load, in the mean time, thinking it has loaded I've clicked the down button to get rid of all the drop down menus. Then, when the page catches up it scrolls down a load. Then I have to wait for it to fully load and scroll back up......From clicking on AFO in my favourites, then slowly navigating to here to post a message had taken nearly a full stubby of 5 Seeds.........

Not sure why this is happening to you, the site loads in a blink for me and is ready to go.

Bring back the old board, it was quicker, more user friendly, and I can live without multiple image uploading where I have to, after insertion, cut and paste the link of the upload to where I want it in me text!

On the contrary, the old forum code was outdated, buggy and slow and less user friendly. The new forum is faster, easier to use and moderate

I like the fact I get an email when some messages me

Will need to look into this, must have turned off a setting

and I like the fact that the "fatty diet" ads are gone!

Yep refined the ads settings

By the time I actually get a topic up my 5 mins is over! Vista IE7 6mb ADSL (Nothing weird)

Again, not sure why this is occuring. The page loads in 0.3 - 0.4 seconds for me

PS Is the server in Tibet or somewhere far flung? The Mopar Board I frequent in England is up in a flash, although you can only use it if you are a paid up member. Would the MB go quicker/better if we all paid a sub????

Server is in Australia which costs more than overseas hosting as it is much better latency/connection. We are looking at some other server arrangements (ie cloud etc) but this comes down to cost and time.

Again sorry I can't be much more help, we will be putting more time into trying to correct some of these concerns soon (as I have just moved house and so has Angus) and we are always trying to improve the site and its performance to make it more enjoyable for everyone.

[bootyinblue]

Have to say I am happy with the all round package of the AFO website as it is now. It loads fast enough for me, although not super fast but I put it down to my machine getting a bit old. The hovering over the menus is not a big deal either really.

But I think I have lost count at the number of search buttons on the page though.... 3, 4, 5.

Great stuff and happy to be here.

[crazywalrus]

I use google chrome and I have to say it is a hell of a lot better than IE8 or 7. The pages open a heap faster for me now since the upgrade. Before i could sometimes go get a beer and it had just loaded. Now I do not have time to get a beer hmmm not happy (joking)

I think all the improvements are good. It does take a little to get used to the new style and I am never good with change but I am pretty happy.

Kev give google chrome a go. Maybe you need to do some maintenance on the PC as well.

Maybe try the following.

1. check for malware/spyware - it can slow things down a lot - download malwarebytes and run it.

2. Run a system cleanup - Download and run CCLEANER will get rid of old internet files and cookies and can also do a registry cleanup CCLEANER

3. a lot of folks have a lot of toolbars running that slow everything down. go into "start" "settings" "control panel" "add remove programs" and uninstall these things, google toolbar, yahoo toolbar. Nero toolbar, msn toolbar, and so on.

4. update your adobe flash program - http://www.adobe.com/

give these things a try. I hope it helps.

[Dusky]

I am using Opera 10 and have no problems what so ever, as Johnny say the page loads in super fast time.

Run a few malaware programs on your computer MoparkevUk you may find you have a browser hijacker trying to redirect you??

The only thing I will say about the new layout is that if someone puts up a large photo in there post it cuts off the text in the post and there is no scroll bar at the bottom ??

Not sure if it's just my screen resolution but thought I would mention it??

Your doing a great job Johnny, well done mate.

Cheers.

[noname]

and wots the go with messages, i dont get any notification of a message... wait no 1 ever messages me LMAO:lol:

[MoparKevUk]

Hello Boys!

Thanks for all the replies (especially Webby )

Found the page load time interesting. This reply page took 0.30s to load, but then it hangs and I have no functionality (scrolling, typing etc) then i can scroll for a bit, then it hangs then eventually I can use it. Any ideas on that one? So the page loads quick (all under a second) but then I can't use it ("waiting for AFO" dialogue at bottom of screen, green bar of waitingness slowly filling). I regular clear history and temp files I run IOBit, Revo and Advanced System care for all my malware worries, this also cleans the registry and optimises my system. I will run them all tonight to sort that side of the equation.

MoparKevUk wrote:

I like the fact I get an email when some messages me

Will need to look into this, must have turned off a setting

I now get email alerts which I didn't previous to the upgrade, thanks!

As for changing Browsers, If my Valiant had a flat, would someone say get a Holden? :sick: :dry:

[MoparKevUk]

Talking functionality, the smileys now need a space before deployment. I remember this happening in the past, but then it was fixed. An oversight on the upgrade? All the best, xxx

[MoparKevUk]

Still piss poor slowness but why do I have to always log in!!!!!!!! Surely this can be fixed? I leave a post up for a few minutes, go back to latest posts then have to log in again, taking me through 2 pages at least using angler log in or the one at the top. Yawn o rama as I wait for the load then navigate (yawn) to the latest posts then (yawn) while I wait for a post to load. Surely it's not just my computer??????????????????? Are you all too scared to say anything?????? (I have this on my laptop, the wife's new desk top and the 100mb connection at work..........) PooStix! :evil:

[bootyinblue]

Kev..... before you blow a pork pie or somethng, are you ticking the remember me box? Is you machine set to remember cookies and passwords?

I have had none of the issues you have raised and I am not using anything special, just regular Windows Vista with IE on a laptop.

[aussie123]

I had the same problem several weeks ago being constantly logged out about every 15 minutes.

I am using firefox and found the following solution to fix the problem.

Open up the History tab at the very top of the browser.

Click on Show All History

Double click on Today in the box to open up today's history.

A list of all todays history will show up.

Pick a entry for AFO and right click on it.

Then select Forget About This Site.

Refresh you page and login remembering to tick Remember Me and that should solve your problem.

Hope it helps you out as I know how frustrating it is.

Lance