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Lily Fairbairn
Half-elven
Jan 17, 3:30pm
Post #26 of 79
(806 views)
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It's working perfectly this morning! //
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Where now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?
Where is the helm and the hauberk, and the bright hair flowing?
Where is the hand on the harpstring, and the red fire glowing?
Where is the spring and the harvest and the tall corn growing?
They have passed like rain on the mountain, like a wind in the meadow;
The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow....
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Ataahua
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Jan 17, 7:48pm
Post #27 of 79
(801 views)
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Yep, just as I used to do back in the days of dial-up internet. /
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Celebrimbor: "Pretty rings..."
Dwarves: "Pretty rings..."
Men: "Pretty rings..."
Sauron: "Mine's better."
"Ah, how ironic, the addictive qualities of Sauron’s master weapon led to its own destruction. Which just goes to show, kids - if you want two small and noble souls to succeed on a mission of dire importance... send an evil-minded beggar with them too." - Gandalf's Diaries, final par, by Ufthak.
Fantasy novel - The Arcanist's Tattoo
My LOTR fan-fiction
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Ataahua
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Jan 17, 7:48pm
Post #28 of 79
(802 views)
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Celebrimbor: "Pretty rings..."
Dwarves: "Pretty rings..."
Men: "Pretty rings..."
Sauron: "Mine's better."
"Ah, how ironic, the addictive qualities of Sauron’s master weapon led to its own destruction. Which just goes to show, kids - if you want two small and noble souls to succeed on a mission of dire importance... send an evil-minded beggar with them too." - Gandalf's Diaries, final par, by Ufthak.
Fantasy novel - The Arcanist's Tattoo
My LOTR fan-fiction
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Ethel Duath
Half-elven
Jan 17, 8:37pm
Post #30 of 79
(799 views)
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Yep, better this morning, and now back to watching glaciers grow---
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jan 18, 2:13pm
Post #31 of 79
(772 views)
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zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz *fidget* zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...
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*startled snort!* I keep forgetting what I was doing ;) Going to 2-screens is a great idea... but I'd be doubly lost!!
At least our Beloved Boards haven't ditched us altogether! *grateful smile*
We have been there and back again.
TIME Google Calendar
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Altaira
Superuser
Jan 24, 3:39am
Post #32 of 79
(615 views)
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----> Sorry this has been so frustrating
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Like many of you, I thought: Wheee, the problem's been fixed when the boards moved faster, only to have it last only a minute or two before slowing down again.
I've been doing some research on my own and have come to the following conclusions. I'll pass them on to Calisuri and Corvar (who it's optimal to communicate with over weekends because they are volunteers and have RLs too):
1 - nothing I can see on the 'back-end' (i.e., board administrative functions) has been changed, so don't seem to be related. In fact, they're moving slowly too.
2 - delays aren't browser-specific, which points to the problem being ancient server the forums reside on, and/or the server configuration, and/or any recent changes, and/or all of the above.
3 - 'something' caused the boards to slow down almost 24/7 around Christmas, and 'something else' briefly and rarely causes them to go back to normal speed.
4 - I ran some publicly available site testing specifically on the forums and, sure enough, it showed problems and offered some ideas. Not being a web-designer or administrator for the site, I'll pass the results on to those who are.
One thing that might be helpful - if you notice the boards speeding up temporarily, could you post here with the time of day and your time zone? That would help me to tell exactly when the speed-ups occur. It may not be important, but might be helpful even if tangentially.
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Ethel Duath
Half-elven
Jan 24, 6:43pm
Post #33 of 79
(597 views)
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if Inferno might be available to help?
You sure don't want me messing with it . . . 
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Altaira
Superuser
Jan 24, 7:05pm
Post #34 of 79
(591 views)
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want to be 'messing' with this. Having run the 'back end' of the boards for 17+ years I think it's safe to say I know what I'm doing, and the more information I give to Calisur and Corvar, the higher the chances that they'll be able to identify the problem and fix it.
As my post said, I'm now 99% sure the problem isn't with the back end, administrative part of the boards. For one, nothing has recently changed in that environment. The issue is with the site/server and how it's processing board activity. Neither myself or Inferno can do anything about that. We're 100% dependent on help from Calisuri and Corvar.
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DGHCaretaker
Rohan
Jan 24, 7:08pm
Post #35 of 79
(592 views)
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Despite RL, and other nicely supportive and understanding posts above, I'm disappointed that the techs have made no appearance here. I do volunteer maintenance and support and feel obligated - a responsibility - to provide thoughts and status when there's an issue. I treat things professionally even if it's volunteer work. It might even be more important in volunteer work.
That said, I also tell people I want solutions offered along with their complaint so:
I thought maybe TORN was self-hosting in someone's residence, but I did a tracert, ping, and domain lookup to check your hosting , DNS, and response. Pings and traces returned in reasonable time. Outside of my region, responses from newboards.theonering.net (or theonering.net) were consistently 32 to 35 milliseconds - the same as responses from microsoft.com. It appears you are hosted in or near Chicago. DNS is provided by Tucows. Hosting appears to be public (i.e., not in someone's basement) via PowerUser and PowerUser's DNS servers show in Tucows as PowerIsp.com.
I was going to suggest, and still do, contacting both your DNS provider and host, presumably Tucows and PowerUser, to check for any issues with the DNS and on to the website. DNS looks good from the tracert and pings, so that indicates the problem is not along the way to your actual website, but I'd still make the call. If they deny any issue, that moves the problem somewhere into your domain - something involving or changed in your database or hosting configuration maybe. Maybe Apache, PHP, and the database (MySQL/Postgres?) was upgraded by the host to a newer version. That can cause issues and delays with error logging and recovery. Check all your hosting logs.
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Ethel Duath
Half-elven
Jan 24, 7:51pm
Post #36 of 79
(588 views)
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Oh, I meant me, literally, not you.
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I know you can handle it. I just wondered if Inferno could help, too. I was just saying you wouldn't want me personally working on it--that I'd leave it to you experts. Sorry for the misunderstanding!
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Altaira
Superuser
Jan 24, 7:55pm
Post #37 of 79
(588 views)
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Thanks for taking the time do do some research (which I can see you're good at). 
If a DNS provider was the problem, it would be affecting the entire site, and it's not. Adding to the complexity is that there is more than one TORn server. The whole impetus for having to find new board software is that the forums are on the oldest server which is past the time it should have been retired.
The board software is so antiquated, if the boards could be updated enough to move to a newer server, one change to Apache, PHP, SQL, etc. could bring them crashing down. Believe me, when I was going through my 'denial phase' of having to move to a new platform, I tried pursuing that option. Opinions varied about whether it is technically possible to do. One very capable and wonderful person even volunteered to see if it is possible. But, even if it is, we'd need someone dedicated to patching and fixing the board software after every change, not to mention figuring out which change did what. Realistically, it's not going to happen, so I've moved on to the 'acceptance' phase. 
But I digress. I suspect it *was* an update, or updates, that caused the boards to slow down. Thus, providing Calisuri and Corvar as much information as I could to help them zero in on it. I'm the liaison from the forums and they depend on me to alert them if something is awry. They might come and read related threads, or I sometimes link them. But once they find a problem and fix it, they move on. They obviously haven't found the problem yet, but I know that they know everything you suggested, so hopefully the extra specific information I provided will help them get there.
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Altaira
Superuser
Jan 24, 8:05pm
Post #38 of 79
(582 views)
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So no worries.
In any case, as I said there's nothing Inferno or I can do at this point, other than me testing things on my end, and conveying that info, plus everyone's feedback, to Calisuri and Corvar.
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Lissuin
Valinor
Jan 25, 2:50am
Post #39 of 79
(572 views)
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Today 25 January 2025, 3:25 pm, Wellington, NZ
Logging on takes approx. 30 seconds, as does posting a reply. That is marginally better than a week ago.
Cheers.
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Lissuin
Valinor
Jan 25, 3:04am
Post #40 of 79
(572 views)
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If not for the dedicated volunteer service of Calisuri and Corvar and others to TORn, and therefore to the many Tolkien enthusiasts who have read and posted here, there would have been no "here" ever. Any knowledgeable information, such as yours, that might help in this situation is welcome.
And any volunteer work that has lasted for over 20 years to maintain this site has earned more respect than upbraiding from those who have benefited directly from that work. Acknowledgement of RL and all nicely supportive and understanding posts are what is, in fact, called for.
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DGHCaretaker
Rohan
Jan 25, 6:13pm
Post #41 of 79
(527 views)
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Check Error Logs. Check Downgrade Options On Recent Upgrades..
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This is the sort of attitude that promotes mediocrity. I'm more of a "what have you done lately" sort of person. We can be appreciative and critical at the same time while offering solutions in a helpful spirit.
What I see above is dismissive. It's diplomatically saying don't bother the experts with things they already know.
I gave it a try.
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Meneldor
Valinor
Jan 25, 7:40pm
Post #42 of 79
(520 views)
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at many things. Talking about how volunteers provide mediocre service is not an effective way to make them feel motivated to keep volunteering.
They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters, these see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep. -Psalm 107
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Kimi
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Jan 25, 8:34pm
Post #43 of 79
(517 views)
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25 Jan 21:30 NZ Summer Time - notably fast, as good as I've ever seen it.
The Passing of Mistress Rose
My historical novels
Do we find happiness so often that we should turn it off the box when it happens to sit there?
- A Room With a View
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Lissuin
Valinor
Jan 26, 2:07am
Post #44 of 79
(497 views)
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"Dismissive" isn't how I'd describe my or others' replies, DGHC. If you took mine as such, however, consider it as turn about being fair play. 
You gave your frank opinion of the workings of TORn along with technical solutions, and helpful your suggestions will no doubt prove to be. The point I was trying to make was that while it would be nice to regain instantaneous response times once again, there is something far more important for me about this unique website, the only social media-ish website I subscribe to. (Yes, really, in 2025. Everything else out there comes with booby traps.)
I am grateful for the perseverance of the builders and maintainers of this site who, as was pointed out, generally work behind the scenes as problems arise. Then there are the tireless moderators of TORn, who valiantly see to the work of maintaining an atmosphere of civility day to day, film after film, face to face as it were.
The ongoing presence for over two decades of many of these Companions has maintained a community through much social change and ongoing technical adaptations that boggle my liberal arts mind. I marvel, frankly, that they have all continued to show up to keep the lights on.
Those of us who benefit from all this seen and unseen work, whether posting or reading and perhaps less frequently than in ages past, can be assured of a reliable level of civil discourse when we arrive, kindness that might not always be available in RL. That is what I've come here for these 15 years.
Now back to my cuppa. I am patient. I can wait.
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Kimi
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Jan 26, 7:58pm
Post #45 of 79
(444 views)
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almost exactly 24 hours later, again very fast. Perhaps related to 21:30 NZ Summer Time being the early hours for much of North America.
A few minutes ago (08:55 NZ, 27 Jan) the site was briefly fast but slow before and after that.
The Passing of Mistress Rose
My historical novels
Do we find happiness so often that we should turn it off the box when it happens to sit there?
- A Room With a View
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Starling
Half-elven
Jan 27, 5:44am
Post #46 of 79
(423 views)
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Since the boards first slowed down I have barely been able to get on the message boards at all, and when I do, the average page loading time is 20-30 seconds.I haven't noticed any improvement at all, but that might just be my bad luck.
Although I don't post much these days I am definitely missing the ability to do my regular lurking!
Thanks everyone behind the scenes as well for working on the issue.
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Ethel Duath
Half-elven
Jan 28, 12:12am
Post #47 of 79
(399 views)
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Tracking time of day and board speed:
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Morning around 10:30 to noon seems the fastest, EST, but still very slow.
The last 2 days, nothing has been fast, any time of day, but loading time is a tiny bit faster, consistently for those 2 days, but only by about 10 seconds.
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Inferno
Superuser
/ Moderator
Jan 28, 3:30pm
Post #48 of 79
(369 views)
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Don't have the necessary access
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so I can't do any more than has already been done by Altaira (mostly) and me (a little). It requires actual server access, not just boards superuser privileges. That's Corvar and Calisuri's domain exclusively.
I am digging into new forum options, although I realize that isn't helpful in the short term.
Inferno.
======================
Good night, tOR.Nados. Good work. Sleep well. I'll most likely delete you in the morning.
======================
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Ethel Duath
Half-elven
Jan 28, 11:26pm
Post #50 of 79
(358 views)
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Just about 5 minutes ageo (6:20, EST),
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a couple of navigations in the RR went almost normally, and then everything slowed way down again. Don't know if this will help, but I thought I'd mention it.
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