slow here as well, I'd be glad to contribute and sponsor to the cause, would it be a one time upgrade fee for the server, or would it be monthly usage fee charged by the server? If it were a one time charge, I'm sure we could get enough volunteers to contribute, but if its a monthly access fee, I could see where it would be good in the beginning, then the contributions would drift off slowly, causing the whole thing going in the red. I've seen a couple of sites find their demise that way. Would any changes to the format help with the speed. I hate to be the one that suggest it, but would eliminating the gallery help with the speed?
Go figure that Reel would be having no issues up in BFE with his old school equipment, he probably doesn't even have to peddle fast on the generator/exercise bike to keep the lights on
My niece has her own company that does internet advertising type jobs for other companies.. Basically she designs websites so that when you do a google search their company comes up on the first page. Pretty tricky stuff actually. But one of the things she has to do is arrainge advertising on the sites to get the better spots. No promises, but I'll speak to her over the weekend and see what she can come up with.
As to the gallery issue, if it's not being used it doesn't contribute to the bandwidth slowdown issue. Basically it just is data lying dorment on the hard drive. There are no issues with it unless it's being accessed. So no worries there.
There are 3 (hardware) things that determine speed.
1) The server itself. Obviously, the faster the computer the quicker the data can be accessed and disseminated out to the users.
2) The wiring. And by that I mean anything between the computer and the ISP's server. That includes the modem, router, switches, hubs, and any wires themselves.
3) The available bandwidth. The ISP only provides a certain amount of space (bandwidth) for data to travel over for a given fee. Basically, the more you pay, the greater the amount of data they will allow to travel over their wires at the same time.
So, all that being taken into account, the only things that we can control is the server and the equipment leading out of the house. Once it hits the pole it's out of our hands.
Unfortunately, I believe that Spare is right on the money. A monthly usage fee will only result in a slow death to the site. I, like him, have personally seen it happen 4 times to sites I was involved with. So a contribution to help upgrade the server and the various other equipment is going to be the only realistic route we can go. Like everyone else, I'm more than willing, (eager in fact) to contribute some coins to help with an upgrade.
And, like Reel, I have no real issues with this site from my home. Most times it's fast and my wait time to make a post is less than 5 seconds from the time I press the enter key.... But as soon as I go to work and try to access this site from there it's like I've stepped into molasses. Everything slows down to a crawl and a few times I've actually timed out waiting for the site to accept a post.
The only thing that really changes is the anti-spam, anti-virus programs and the firewalls that my company uses on thier servers. I cannot help but wonder if that's a part of the issue. Some kind of incompatability between their server and this servers' software/firewalls?
MJ, what kind of CPU and memory is the server using? Would an upgrade help? I'd be more than happy to help pay for upgrades if they are necessary or advisable.
