Problems On The Site

[wintergirl]

Originally Posted by Pattywack

I also can not submit a new thread, says my number of "tags" exceeds the limit by 20! Trying to post a picture of my Pleurothallis luctuosa that is ready to explode with blooms. Frustrated

I had that happen once. Just delete some of the tags that the system made up at the bottom. Maybe delete when you preview it, I can't remember. Anyway just delete all the excessive tags, and the post will go through. The system makes up tags by what you write.

[estación seca]

The tag function doesn't work properly. Often the tags I enter are not in the actual list of tags, even when I put them in manually. I still add tags every time I start a new thread because it can prevent the site from having the too many tags issue.

Most every time I start a new thread I:
Write the message;
Post the photos;
Delete all the tags the site may have put in the tags box; and
Fill in exactly five tags, separated by commas.

If I know I'm going to write too much, I compose it in a text editor first, then paste it into the text box. Then I enter my five tags. If I haven't taken the photo I want to post, I submit the message without photos, and come back later to edit my message and add the photos. Since doing this I haven't had the tag issue.

[RosieC]

Sorry, you are having problems

Originally Posted by cjm3fl

I have always had issues while visiting here.
Many times while typing my own post/reply when I hit the submit button I get told I'm not logged in.

The forum times out your login after 15 minutes of no activity. Because of the way websites work when you are typing on a page the server doesn't see that, only when you refresh the page or change page does it see that as activity, basically it thinks you've closed the web-browser without logging out first. If you take longer than that to write your message it does time out The way I get around this is to hit the 'Preview Post' button below my reply occasionally to keep letting the forum know I'm still there.

Originally Posted by cjm3fl

Same thing if I spend a lot of time reading a thread, when I go to leave it or move on to another page of the thread I get told I'm no longer logged in.

Again same thing, it times out after 15 min. This one can be solved by clicking the 'remember me' when you log in. That way every time it times out it invisibly logs you back in. If you log out when you leave it will cancel the 'remember me' so that you need to log back in when you come back (otherwise you won't need to log in even if you come back a few days later.
(this doesn't work for taking a long time to write a post, because you get a new security token when it invisibly logs you back in and generally posting after that will fail )

Having a time-out is necessary because people often do leave the website without logging out first (or their connection dies). Many forums or other websites that you log in to have something similar, although the length of the time-out may vary (I know my bank does, as does a site like Amazon). It makes sure that if you are on a machine that others may use that they can't carry on using the site pretending to be you.

Originally Posted by cjm3fl

Another issue I'm having is many times (but not all) I try to move around the site it takes forever to leave or load a page.
I've hit to refresh and I get dizzy watching the little arrow go round and round for several minutes.

The thing that seems to help is opening another window and coming to the site on the new one then just closing the one that's stuck.
But I quickly have the issue happen again on this new window.

I do not have anything like this happening on any other sites that I visit.

Originally Posted by estación seca

I think slow page load time is related to how much it costs to run a site with a quick response time. I don't know whether the current advertising and subscriptions even pay for the cost of running Orchid Board. I suspect more money would solve the response time issue. That's why I became a supporting member.

estación seca is correct. It's all down to the number of people trying to use the site at once, the more people use it the faster the servers need to be and the more it costs to rent them. I strongly suspect that the advertising and subscriptions don't pay enough to run our servers and that Marty who runs it may have to subsidize it out of is own pocket. Seeing as he hasn't used the forum himself in years that's really good of him. He has not told me specifically that it doesn't pay for it's self so I may be wrong, but he has said that the google advertising doesn't bring in much at all. I don't know about the sponsors, but at least one of them is Marty's own business. I have seen the list of supporting members and it's not massive.

Being a supporting member does not give you any better service, however estación seca is right that without enough money to run the site we have no chance of upgrading to faster servers. Unfortunately the other factor here is even given the money, Marty would need to find time to do the upgrade, but at the moment that's not the biggest factor.

We have become a victim of our own success, the more popular we become the more it costs to run fast enough servers.

---------- Post added at 08:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:47 PM ----------

On the issue of spam, this forum only sends out emails based on your settings.

Default settings mean that every thread you take part in is subscribed to, and you get an email when there is further activity. However this is NOT spam, because you can set up your account to not receive these, every email you get has links to the settings to stop them. Many members want them and complain if they are not working.

Personally I have them all turned off, and the only emails I get from the forum are ones telling me of moderator/admin related ones. It's actually been months since I've even had one of those to the email account registered here, as it's been quiet on the moderator front thankfully.

Unfortunately people thinking this is spam and reporting it as such to their email provider is part of the reason that currently no-one can register with hotmail and no-one using hotmail already for the forum can receive the notifications they want

Anyone who doesn't want emails from the forum, please change your settings. We won't send them if you tell us you don't want them

[cjm3fl]

I really appreciate all the helpful suggestions, and I will begin to try them out and see which one(s) work/help!

The spamming issue....I've never received any unwanted emails/notifications from here.
As a matter of fact, I have the notifications turned off for here.

Years back, other sites weren't as secure or sold email addy's for some extra $$.
I haven't been to those problem sites in a very long time and I don't even know if they are still active sites, nor do I care.
That was the spamming I was referring to. Problems from other, much older, sites...not from here.
Sorry for any misunderstandings.

If some of my problems is bandwidth and number of uses on at the same time I am, I can learn the "busy times" here and do my looking-around and posting when the site isn't so busy. Most of my days are open.

I know a bit more about onsite advertising and website stuff then most, and the activities in those areas are none of my business, on any site I frequent.

I'm hoping that the tips I've been given will do the trick.
I was a really really bad boy and made another purchase yesterday, over the 20 orchids I purchased Sunday
And I want to share pictures and information about them with all the other folks here!

[No-Pro-mwa]

Well I guess I don't have it near as bad as you do. I also find if I pull up and down on my side bar that sometimes helps. I have my setting turned of also except if I get a PM.

[fishmom]

There have been several mentions of the cost of upgrading the servers and of maintaining the site. This site is very active compared with some others, but there is no way to know about the financial status.

I would think that if Marty (I gather he is the one who knows) would post an occasional simple accounting, then users who value the access might be more generous in supporting the site. As it is, a donation gets rid of the ads, but there is no way to know if there is a deficit or what the need is for support.

I know I would welcome this information.

[Ray]

I certainly can be wrong about this, but I don't see this simply as a server speed issue at the host site.

Marty has a lot of ads posted as part of the forum structure, in the header, the side bar, and in the body of messages, and no-doubt they are coming from other servers. That means that when you open anything, calls are made to all of the servers to "dish out" the content, so you're waiting for feeds from several, not just one server, and there's no telling how many servers each of them is connected to, slowing them down, so it's no wonder that it's so slow!

[fishmom]

You are sure right about the number of ads. If the site is making a profit for the owner through ads, the prospects for a change are slim.

I still would like to see some kind of accounting fo justify donations, though.

[cjm3fl]

To be honest, I have no problem supporting ($$) a really nice site that I would be comfortable to visit daily, that is every active with member participation, and full of great advise and help.

Any site that was to get my financial support would definitely have to act a lot better then this one has recently. Especially when some members that are supporting it report some of the same issues I've been having.


Where I've moderated before didn't have advertising. It was full maintained by the site owner. But he would take donations.
What I know about using advertisers is; each pays depending on the number of visitors the site gets, and if the link is clicked from the site.
More advertisers = more income.
I don't know, nor is it any of my business, how much any of the individual advertisers are paying this site's owner. But add the $$ from supporting members and a site might pay for itself, and possibly turn a profit.

[AnonYMouse]

I would like to thank Marty for this board. The community here is the least bias and most active I've seen of the orchid forums I've encountered. That's a lot of knowledge, freely given.

However financed, whatever the problems, we have this place. Nothing is expected of you except for courteous discourse. OB is not a public institution. Donations are gifts, not an investment.