Anybody else notice that the site is taking a long time to load pages lately. Past couple of weeks at all times I have had real inconsistencies on the site running as fast as usual. Even got error messages and a "We're super busy" message. Also get some weird error code text website.
I am assuming it is not just my puter since every other website runs at usual speeds.
Is it all the new users slowing the site down? So much more content being added all the time?
Just wondering if I am the only one that is noticing?
I know sites are expensive to run, but is there anything else we can do to help?

yeah. been a month for me.

me to somedays its fine others it wont even load

presumably dain knows about the server load and could shed some light on what exactly is going on during peak hours

that last question you posed may come into play though! i have a sarcastic suggestion that you shouldn't take seriously at all. if nobody ever uses the site then it will always run fast so stop coming here. i am qualifying this as a joke suggestion just in case people don't understand what it means to have fun.

I implemented a change just this week to reduce the time allowed before timing out a request. I did this to help reduce the bottle-necking that was occurring. During peak time, however, there's not much we can do short of adding more servers. What this means is that if the site is busy, you'll get taken to a fail whale type screen instead of seeing the "Loading" for minutes on end. The source, as you may have guessed, is having more users than resources. I've looked into adding another server, and it's going to raise costs more than double due to needing a rack VPN (that's what they tell me anyway).

Good to know...Thanks for the info...
Not to get into your business, but does the site delete users that are not active? Like if they have not logged on in 6 months or so... would that help...or is it purely based on the amount of people logged on and using the site at the given time.
I understand why more servers means more $$$...maybe it is time for us to brainstorm for fundraisers for the site...if every user coughed up $5 bucks I am sure it would more than cover the costs...we just have to figure out a way to motivate people... I know times are tough...
Let me know if there is anything I can do to help specifically...

Yea man, I've been thinking of a couple fundraising ideas to help give back. You totally deserve it.

I wanted to reply to this so the issue is better understood.

Deleting inactive users is just removing a few records that weren't causing any harm in being there should the user return one day (which happens a lot in this hobby). The real problem is active users, people hitting their inbox, forums, uploading images, managing their collections, etc., just regular usage. The only real solution here is to add another server (which will solve the issue for a few more years, at which point a cluster will be needed if we still keep growing).

SegaAge, and the other hosted sites use about 2% of the resources, so I don't think those sites are suspect (yet).