Site slow to load

[parmalee]

It may be coincidental, but I can't help but think the influx of ads has something to do with it. Even when I'm logged in on my phone, different sections of the forum are split because of so many of them. I get it, SF needs to pay the bills, but it's just food for thought.

Really? I only do this on a laptop, but when I'm not logged in, I only get maybe 3 or 4 ads per page, and they're all like "banner" form--you know, they're not taking up the whole page.

I'm curious though. I recently acquired an actual television, having gone without one for two decades, and I've noticed that YouTube puts way more ads on the tv than on my laptop--to circumvent this, I will watch YT on the tv through my computer. I mean, fuck them!

 

[DaveC426913]

It may be coincidental, but I can't help but think the influx of ads has something to do with it. Even when I'm logged in on my phone, different sections of the forum are split because of so many of them. I get it, SF needs to pay the bills, but it's just food for thought.

Well, I don't see ads, ever, so it's not that.

 

[wegs]

Really? I only do this on a laptop, but when I'm not logged in, I only get maybe 3 or 4 ads per page, and they're all like "banner" form--you know, they're not taking up the whole page.

I'm curious though. I recently acquired an actual television, having gone without one for two decades, and I've noticed that YouTube puts way more ads on the tv than on my laptop--to circumvent this, I will watch YT on the tv through my computer. I mean, fuck them!

The ads on YouTube can be pretty excessive/lengthy, but you can buy an ad-blocker which helps. Depending on the video, you can 'skip' the ad, within a few seconds, but there are some obnoxiously long ads for sure. But, on my laptop, agree with you - I'm seeing ads in the form of a banner at the top or off to the right side of the page. But, on my phone, they literally cover the entire page, and if there's difficulty loading the forums, even the error message gets buried. It could be more of a phone thing, although, I've seen the slowdown of the forum loading using my laptop.

This is the wordy, TLDR response for 'perhaps, there's no rhyme or reason to this.'

 

[wegs]

Well, I don't see ads, ever, so it's not that.

You never see any ads?

 

[parmalee]

The ads on YouTube can be pretty excessive/lengthy, but you can buy an ad-blocker which helps. Depending on the video, you can 'skip' the ad, within a few seconds, but there are some obnoxiously long ads for sure. But, on my laptop, agree with you - I'm seeing ads in the form of a banner at the top or off to the right side of the page. But, on my phone, they literally cover the entire page, and if there's difficulty loading the forums, even the error message gets buried. It could be more of a phone thing, although, I've seen the slowdown of the forum loading using my laptop.

This is the wordy, TLDR response for 'perhaps, there's no rhyme or reason to this.'

Interesting. I only just recently discovered that different operating systems (for different devices) have very different protocols and such with respect to ads.

I get frustrated with most ad-blockers. I do a fair bit of questionably legal downloading and watching of films on unofficial sites and the like, and they tend to mess that stuff up, unless you disable them.

But it seems that the web software for laptops/desktops generally get far less advertising overall. That kinda surprises me, but I guess they generate far more revenue from phone usage as people have moved more towards browsing with their phones. Seriously though, isn't viewing videos on a phone screen just really annoying?

 

[C C]

It may be coincidental, but I can't help but think the influx of ads has something to do with it. Even when I'm logged in on my phone, different sections of the forum are split because of so many of them. I get it, SF needs to pay the bills, but it's just food for thought.

Seems like it was Bells who once pointed out that she only encountered forum ads when she wasn't signed in to her account. And that's what I have witnessed as well.

Whether similar might explain Dave avoiding ads on YouTube is another matter (since I never "sign in" there, period).
_

 

[DaveC426913]

You never see any ads?

On SciFo? No.

Whether similar might explain Dave avoiding ads on YouTube is another matter (since I never "sign in" there, period).

I haven't said anything about Youtube. If I did, it was a mistake. I see ads on Youtube, not SciFo. I thought we were talking about SciFo


I am not sure of the Use Case Scenario where a registered member might visit here logged out. Why would one want to come here and be pwlted with ads and not see their alerts?

 

[C C]

[...] I haven't said anything about Youtube. If I did, it was a mistake. I see ads on Youtube, not SciFo. I thought we were talking about SciFo [...]

That's what I initially thought, but as I traced things back a bit I stumbled into mentions of YouTube and wondered if the overall conversation had instead veered off into that somewhere. Also a hazard of oscillating back and forth between this recreational place and doing other unrelated slash occupational tasks. Sorry for the mix-up.

I am not sure of the Use Case Scenario where a registered member might visit here logged out. Why would one want to come here and be pwlted with ads and not see their alerts?

With respect to others, I have no idea.

For me -- speed is not a problem, and I practice something equivalent to a "private window" version of a browser. Constantly wiping cookies, tracking ware, history, etc. Quickly getting signed-in again is no problem, either. I simply don't operate like Earthlings.
_

 

[DaveC426913]

For me -- speed is not a problem, and I practice something equivalent to a "private window" version of a browser. Constantly wiping cookies, tracking ware, history, etc. Quickly getting signed-in again is no problem, either. I simply don't operate like Earthlings.
_

I am the opposite. My browser stores my creds for the site.

I am always signed in, on both my phone and my lappie. There is no circumstance (except the occasional cache-clearing) where I ever see the site when I am not logged in.

 

[parmalee]

That's what I initially thought, but as I traced things back a bit I stumbled into mentions of YouTube and wondered if the overall conversation had instead veered off into that somewhere. Also a hazard of oscillating back and forth between this recreational place and doing other unrelated slash occupational tasks. Sorry for the mix-up.

_

I introduced the YouTube angle. I recently got an actual proper tv and I've noticed that I get way more ads with YT on the tv than I do on the laptop--I'm signed in on both devices (I like my crap expertly curated). My ingenious workaround is to only look at YT on the tv via the laptop--I have no patience for ads, but I also am disinclined to pay for... well, most things. So it's a slightly bearable compromise.

 

[DaveC426913]

The page I get when this happens.

There is no Error code returned i.e. this error page loads. i.e. the fault is occurring server-side, and system is failing over to this message.

 

[C C]

The page I get when this happens.

There is no Error code returned i.e. this error page loads. i.e. the fault is occurring server-side, and system is failing over to this message.

View attachment 6797

Okay, that I have noticed occurring over the past week. Restarting a browser doesn't seem to get rid of it, but changing browsers occasionally does.
_

 

[TheVat]

There is no Error code returned i.e. this error page loads. i.e. the fault is occurring server-side, and system is failing over to this message.

I've been getting this oops page, too, the past week or so. More often in the evenings (US mountain time zone).

Okay, that I have noticed occurring over the past week. Restarting a browser doesn't seem to get rid of it, but changing browsers occasionally does.

Hard to tell what makes a difference, since remedy is often just the passage of a few minutes. (I used to have wifi problems like that - I'd switch it off for a couple minutes then switch back on and it would work better. Never knew if I was clearing a buffer or correcting flipped bits or ...it was just that the neighbor's truck was no longer idling in their adjacent driveway.)

 

[C C]

Hard to tell what makes a difference, since remedy is often just the passage of a few minutes. (I used to have wifi problems like that - I'd switch it off for a couple minutes then switch back on and it would work better. Never knew if I was clearing a buffer or correcting flipped bits or ...it was just that the neighbor's truck was no longer idling in their adjacent driveway.)

I've had a different browser being able to access SF at the same time that the original browser keeps getting the "Oops" after repeated attempts. So it's more a practical matter of having a way to (sometimes, not always) get here faster, rather than waiting via sticking with the original. Or such being done without any concern about association with what the ultimate cause (and fix) is.
_

 

[wegs]

I'm getting this error now, too. I tried to post in the 'word of the day' thread a few minutes ago but continue to get the error. Ironically, the word I want to post is ''anathema.''

 

[C C]

"Oops!" seems to be occurring more frequently. No arrangement of occult symbols and juju habits deter it now. The bots do not necessarily seem to be any greater in number than before (a few thousand?), though one perhaps can't sample what the count is when the site is paralyzed.

EDIT: Whew. I see that the amount of "guests" spiked to well over double the previous, just a few minutes later. So the unsanitary automaton hordes are beating at the gates.
_

 

[exchemist]

"Oops!" seems to be occurring more frequently. No arrangement of occult symbols and juju habits deter it now. The bots do not necessarily seem to be any greater in number than before (a few thousand?), though one perhaps can't sample what the count is when the site is paralyzed.

EDIT: Whew. I see that the amount of "guests" spiked to well over double the previous, just a few minutes later. So the unsanitary automaton hordes are beating at the gates.
_

Yup I was Oopsed out about 90 mins ago.