I have been experiencing access issues lately. Seems like the forum has been going down frequently and has been behaving slowly when it is up.
I’ve never had an issue with the new software, but there seems to be a performance issue with the forum in general. Perhaps an update from the moderators would help clear things up?
The server was acting up most of yesterday afternoon and evening. It was back on line, if typically slowish, by about 2200 hrs Eastern.
I think the large and small images has something to do with the cookies stored on your computer from the last viewing session. I have found WPF to be full sized images, but when I go on to the next page they are all small again. I think if the page is new, then I haven’t accessed the larger images yet.
Oh come on!!![:(!] This is the NEW IMPROVED forum!!! [:O] Nothing ever goes wrong here!!![:-^] Besides, they havn’t increased the forum membership dues - have they [%-)]
Last night and this morning I wasn’t able to get on at all. I tried with Firefox, IE and Google Chrome. I’m using Windows XP Pro so there shouldn’t be a problem. I was finally able to get on this evening with Google Chrome, which I’m not favorably impressed with. The on;y thing that impresses me worse than Google Chrome is this new forum software. So far I’ve seen more bugs in it than there are in a bait shop.
Finally got on with Firefox but had to clear all my cookies to do it. Now I have to go around to every site I visit on a daily basis (and that’s a lot) and log back in at each and every one of them. I’m gonna be busy for a while.
I’m starting to wonder if we might not be having hardware issues as well? I think one can have the best software but if the hardware can’t cut it then?[%-)][:-^]
I think it’s very clear by now that MRR was sold a sub-par software set for the new forum. (There may also be hardware issues, I don’t know.) Indeed, it does have a MUCH more refined look on the surface. It also seems to perform well in off peak hours situations. This tells me that they could beta test until the cows came home, but until this thing got loaded up with a billion users all trying to post at once, they couldn’t know if it was really going to work 100%.
In the end, it all boils down to this. I’m absolutely sure that MRR knows there are problems. The thing is, except for this newest software issue, all of the past upgrades have all turned out to be just that…upgrades. Were they all perfectly smooth…no. I’d say they were smoother then this one maybe, but there have been hiccups in the past too, but MRR has stood behind this concept 100% in the past, always working to make this forum better. This fact can hardly be in dispute.
I say, based on that, we should allow them the time to correct these issues We should work with them by reporting these things in a constructive way in an effort to aid in their most difficult task. I’d suggest that those who are technically minded might offer up their services in order to rally together and solve these issues for the good of the forum in general. I’m not terribly technically minded, but I know a thing or two. I’d be willing to offer myself up.
MRR has stood behind the concept of a free forum for our use. I say they deserve our support, not our scorn.
Is it frustrating sometimes…yes. But you know what. Imagine how frustrating it is for them when everything they try to do to fix this all pans out to nothing…EVERY TIME!
So what do you say folks? Do we give them some time and offer up a helping hand, or do we grumble
I’ve been seeing the “Ooops” message altogether to often. Actually, I think it was added sometime after the new forum software came on line. It’s not a good sign when they add an error message like that. It tells me that they can’t figure out what the problem is, and they’re putting in a sugar pill to take away the bad taste.
MR and Kalmbach are publishers, not software people. They didn’t write this stuff. They paid for it. The company that sold it to them, to my way of looking at it, did not provide value for the price paid. This software has been online now for months, and we seem no closer to resolving some of these issues than we were in week one. Picture size and posts running so far off the page that the guy in the next cube to the right is getting the end of the sentence are quirks. It tells me that the software team that built this product doesn’t test thoroughly, doesn’t review their code and doesn’t understand their own product. The repeated outages and crashes, on the other hand, demonstrate that this software was never ready for prime time. This is typical of a management mindset that ships a product knowing that it’s flawed.
Bad software is just like bad trackwork. If you don’t fix it, you’ll never, ever, be happy with it.
That may be a problem for you but not for me. I don’t scimp when it comes to my computer. The main board alone cost more than many of the more expensive computer packages you see in the stores.
Ah, Jeffrey…, I think Barry was talking about Kalmbach’s hardware…??? The problems are hitting all of us, so it seems at least. And since we are among us using all varieties of hardware and internet software it doesn’t appear to be anything that can be blamed on a particular platform or program.
Personally I think Kalmbach should ask for their money back and look for other software as this stuff just doesn’t seem to cut it. Just my [2c]
I agree completely. In my opinion this new software isn’t cutting the mustard and I’m not favorably impressed with the forum speed either. I know it’s a free forum and all but I’ve seen much higher speed and performance on some other large free forums.