Long Threads, Do or Don't?

[Rattlesnake Gal]

I'm gearing up to post again from Three Centuries on Winnipesaukee.
Should I keep adding to the existing thread or start a new one using the title?
It seems to take a while to load, is that because of the photos we are including?
Thanks!
Also, I have been wondering about that cute little patriot.
It's supposed to be saluting and holding a flag, but that is not what you get when you try to use it. I think it’s broken.
Not a big deal though, just curious.

[upthesaukee]

I'm guessing that it could be the photos that are taking so long to load. I don't know what size the photo's are (# of kb's, but even several small ones can add up to a rather large file). Perhaps Don can give some advise here... I know I have Adobe photo elements and I try to use the "save to web" feature when saving pics to put into the forum especially. It's about the only way I can get more than one photo into the forum.

As far as a long thread is concerned: We certainly have had a few lately, with page two popping up. If the reader is interested in the thread, then that reader probably knows where he/she left off (page 1 or page 2) and additionally won't mind if it takes a while to load. It's all in the reader's perception of what is included and if they have the interest in waiting for the post to complete.

If something is worthwhile, I can wait.

[Mee-n-Mac]

For the loading reasons you mention above, my suggestion is to keep the title, add (cont.) to it and start a new thread. I'll guess most people will have read the original post and if not then they can always go back to it. Indeed why not post a link to it in thread #2, then it's just a click away. This way people on dial-up won't be punished when they want to view the new material. Here at work the load time isn't bad but at home, well let's say I can feel FLLs pain.

[webmaster]

Originally Posted by Rattlesnake Gal

Should I keep adding to the existing thread or start a new one using the title?

You are welcome to start a new thread, especially since the other one is so long.

Originally Posted by Rattlesnake Gal

It seems to take a while to load, is that because of the photos we are including?

There are 3 things that could be causing the slowness:

1. The length of the thread itself. Forum pages are not static HTML pages like much of the Web. They are dynamically generated each time they are requested. The longer the thread, the more server resources it takes to generate it. The site runs on a modest server that just doesn't have the raw power that newer and much more expensive servers have but most of the time it works fine for this purpose.

2. Pictures loading can certainly slow things down, especially if they are not prepared properly. Raw images from a digital camera or scanner can be very large and take forever to upload and download. Just opening and resaving pictures in a program like Paint Shop Pro (what I use) can shrink the file size by as much as 90%. Even properly prepared pictures can be slow to load if they are coming from another source. As with all Web pages, the more pictures the longer it takes to load.

3. When long threads develop it is usually because there is a lot of interest in the topic and traffic on the server climbs as a result. For example: the site had more traffic last Monday than it did since last summer most likely because of the long "speed limit" thread. The more visitors, the slower the site gets. Also keep in mind that the site's activity peaks from noon to 1 pm each weekday. Apparently many people check the site during their lunch hour. Almost every day I get "Server being heavily used" alerts at the lunch hour. If the site is slow at that time (or any time) it may be because you've got lots of company on the site at that moment.

[upthesaukee]

See, I told ya he could help and give advise...Great explanation and in easy to understand terms. Interesting about the peak time at noon time. Oh for internet access at work so I could join in the fun.