Recently I seem to be having trouble with this website. Opening threads and new pages etc.

I have no such problems on any other web sites I visit. My security system often 'filters' forever before opening a new page here and often it won't allow the page to be opened at all without repeated new and persistent attempts.

I wonder if there has been any new 'features' added to this site lately, or in someones adverts. that management aren't aware off?

Something is different here anyway that isn't conducive to visiting the site.

I've also been having problems with the site over the past few days, but knowing little about computers I just assumed it was my computer being tempermental or infected by something my defence software could not clean, but now to my relief it's not.

Yes crash, it seems to have slowed right down when navigating through thread to thread. I wonder what's happened?

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All generalizations are dangerous.

I've had a similar problem; but not just for days --- for quite a few months. Sometimes things go as they should; at others it simply won't open. Like others I have blamed it on my rather old (as far as computers go) machine!

Yes, it has been happening for some time and I too, often can't even open the site !

Not good for visitor numbers and after reading the other comments here, i ran a multiple security check [I have an arsenal] on my PC before re-visiting to make sure my computer is squeaky clean, logging out and re-running the security sweep.

Sure enough, this site is depositing a little 'uninvited guest' onto my PC and I don't mean the friendly cookie. Nothing serious, but enough to be down right annoying!

Well I did a check and the 'guests' are just MRU lists. 5 of them [MRU: most recently visited web pages]. Nothing nasty there, but my security system has forced me to add this site to my 'trusted zone' to minimize problems here.
It's just too buggy otherwise.

Thanks for the feedback.

We're looking into it. Preliminary report back from our main IT person is that the server load is too great and we may have to upgrade.

If that decision is taken it should be less than 2 weeks before the new server is operational. The main issue is the expense and whether there is any other solution to the problem that could avoid the extra expenditure. A large part of the load is the massive amount of spam we are subjected to, many thousands of e-mails a day that the server has to assess, virus check and sort

Thanks for your patience while we resolve the issue.

I don't know if this means anything but since posting my problem a few days ago I have had no trouble with the site.

Worst time for me is first thing in the morning and for me that's between 4am and 6am., so I can't see a server load problem from visitors, although spam would do it from O/S around that time.

The site has grown and it becomes a delicate balance between bandwidth and cost effectiveness. Too little or too much of one, always effects the other. It does sound like the site needs a little more investment in bandwidth perhaps [if that's the problem].

Crash - thanks for highlighting .

I, like I'm sure many others, tend to think these little niggly things at first are just our own system or our own network temporary problems, and will "go away".

I'm sure I speak for many others in stating that if we didn't have this particular forum access and the tremendous dialogue exchange and the stuff we are all learning from it and the comradeship, albeit sort of distant, - our lives would really take a knock, and our daily activities ......aw shucks you know what I mean
So thank you Management for taking it on board and hope that you can keep up your position as the outstanding NUMBER ONE punters friend.

Indebted.................Mancunian