I think the loading of your chat box causes slow forum page loads. If it's not used alot then maybe it could go. Otherwise, maybe look into seeing if instead of having it load on the forum each time, if there could be a link we could access it at instead. That may eliminate that page loading problem you have.
Sometimes it seems slow and only after the chat box is up does it work good. I have more problems at work than at home but it could be all the crap our work servers do before we even get online. Also, I use Firefox. Haven't tried any other browser. Could be the browser too. I will check that out in a few minutes.
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The brain is a wonderful organ; it starts working the moment you get up in the morning, and does not stop until you get to the office. (Robert Frost)
We have the worst connection on the planet at my work and the chatbox doesn't seem to affect my connection all that much. The only time it may be an issue when excessive use of smilies are used.
I think it may be a good idea to minimize your smiley bar as rendering these images (especially the animated images) may lead to slower page loads.
People on broadband should hardly notice unless their systems are really outdated.
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I am using Opera now and it had the thing where the page resizes and then is usable. But the page settled down much faster than with Firefox. Safari worked the best so far. Will have to switch between the two for a while and see what happens.
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The brain is a wonderful organ; it starts working the moment you get up in the morning, and does not stop until you get to the office. (Robert Frost)
No, I have DSL. Each time I access the forum, when the page comes up and I go to scroll to the top or bottom before the chat box has a chance to load completley, my whole page is........well, how can I descibe this........the hole page is like it's drawn out into multiple pages kinda like if one were to line up paper on the table with a quarter inch showing at the top before you place the next paper and so on and so forth, times a hundred. Did I describe that well enough?
I'm glad it helped. My page loads do the same thing as yours. The frames of the forum readjust themselves. Then, the forum thread jumps from bottom to top, usually when I'm trying to read. LOL!
It annoyed me and I don't chat until it's chat party time, so the collapse option makes me happy.
I've tried every system (4 computers) in my house and page loads go quite well in firefox. The only time I've ever seen the chatbox mess things up was when a Huge image was pasted into it, but never load times.
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I've tried every system (4 computers) in my house and page loads go quite well in firefox. The only time I've ever seen the chatbox mess things up was when a Huge image was pasted into it, but never load times.
lol, that was that day you and I were on I think and I pasted some monstrosity in the chatbox.
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My Daughter Rules!
Ofear.com: Peer support forum addressing phobias, panic attacks, OCD, symptoms, treatments, etc.
Movie Talk: Discussing upcoming, current and even past movie titles.
Are you both using older systems with older video cards because the chatbox itself should not result in additional page load times?
Also, if you keep the chatbox open but keep the smilies minimized, does that make a difference?
Ummmmmm.......video cards? My computer is about four years old, does that make it an older system?
I hadn't thought to see if I could minimize the smiley's. I didneven even realize we had the option. Somehow I think that would have made a difference as well, as it did seem that those smilies loading were a problem regarding this difficulty.
Yes, minimizing the smiles did help as much as collapsing the chat box. This isn't a gamers forum and most people with the specific problems that your forum gives solace to will likely not have top-of-the-line computers to read from. Us charity cases do have older systems for the most part. If I need a gaming system to read forums, it's pretty sad, imho.
My system is 2 years old and was a customized gaming system for the greatest of what it was that many years ago. I use Firefox and I don't always update it on time, which has caused loading page problems in the past.
This isn't a gamers forum and most people with the specific problems that your forum gives solace to will likely not have top-of-the-line computers to read from. Us charity cases do have older systems for the most part. If I need a gaming system to read forums, it's pretty sad, imho.
Geebus Ivy, it's not necessary to have a gaming computer to use the chatbox. Do you honestly think that I'm that thick headed that I'd create a site like this and make it so only gamers could use it?
While it's true I'm a gamer, I spend a lot of time accessing this site using a 900MHz AMD Athlon that is at least 10 years old and have no issues. If I can load pages and browse these forums on this POS then I know at least 80% of the population should be able to as well (probably more).
The issue you both are having is likely due to the amount of smilies having to be rendered when you refresh the page. The chatbox itself carries little to no extra load and in fact utilizes ajax for most of it's core functionality.
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My Daughter Rules!
Ofear.com: Peer support forum addressing phobias, panic attacks, OCD, symptoms, treatments, etc.
Movie Talk: Discussing upcoming, current and even past movie titles.
I've been thinking though, if it will help you gals I can limit the number of smilies in the chatbox to a much smaller number and make it so none of the images rendered by default are animated.
Those who want to use animated smilies can click the more option and choose from a popup window like they would in the forums.
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My Daughter Rules!
Ofear.com: Peer support forum addressing phobias, panic attacks, OCD, symptoms, treatments, etc.
Movie Talk: Discussing upcoming, current and even past movie titles.
I guess the other thing I'm wondering about now is if the main page is causing any issues due to photo gallery thumbnails being rendered at the footer? Have you noticed any issues with the main index:
Now that everyone has mentioned this issue I have been paying very close attention when I click on a thread. If I open firefox then immediately come to Lifers, then click on a thread to read it, I see what you are saying, the window quickly pops open and fills the whole screen in the browser window. This goes away VERY quickly, the thread re-sizes properly, and I don't see it if I am not paying attention. It only does it under the specific circumstances that I have listed above. It certainly does not bother me in any way because it's so fast.
If firefox has been open a while or if I am coming back to revisit a thread without closing firefox it never happens.
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Don't drink and park, accidents cause people.
"The moon is more important than the sun, because at night we need the light more."
My computer is about four years old, does that make it an older system?
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