Icons are gone?

[AndyL1]

I don't know if others have this problem but the cool, new icons for the topics are now replaced by a generic icon. No more little brown flames in a circle for "Hot Topic", etc. Also didn't the overall site have a tannish color to it? Mine is displaying white now. Is there a setting in my browser (Firefox) that I need to update/change/clear?

-Andy

Edit: Here is a screen shot of what I see now.

Edited September 4, 2009 by AndyL1

[Johanna]

We are repairing the brown skin (comfy) that had some of the special icons. It slowed the board down too much for the IE users. This skin is lighter and faster, and we'll give people the choice when comfy gets fixed. Don't adjust your computer- we're still tweaking and testing. If it helps, threads you have read will show their icons lightly, and threads you haven't clicked on have the darker icons. Use the "Today's active content" above members online today as a substitute for "view new posts" until we get the comfy skin beaten into submission. I imagine comfy will be the default eventually, but this lighter skin can still be an option for those who prefer it.

Johanna

[AndyL1]

Thanks Johanna!

[celticleather]

It'll be good to get the 'comfy' skin back! I'm having to wear shades to view this one . . . and I notice Johanna seems to be having the same problem!

Keep plugging at it!!

[electrathon]

Johanna,

Something I thought of the other day after you commented on the "skin" being the issue. Even with the current format, this is one of the slowest forums/websites that I get on. I really doubt the skin is the problem, but rather it is magnafying the condition that still exists. It is almost impossible for me to get on and look around anymore, I sit here and wait for the screan to change, decide that is not what I am interested in and then sit and watch a locked screan again. It would take me an hour to look at less than I could have in a few minutes a few months back. It is far to frustrating to deal with. I have to think about every screan click knowing it may cost me a full minute to be able to look at something and then get back out. I am not trying to belittle the work that you all have done, but in the cruuent format it is now a chore to look through the site and not longer enjoyable. I know that you have said thet there are far more security features than there used to be, could this be part of the issue? Possibly the security is verifying and checking everything so much that the site just drags. Sort of like what an anti-virous program can do to an otherwise well running PC. I am assuming that the software you currently have running the site is used someplace else too? Do any of the sites that run this software run properly? Or is it a contition that all of the usere have to deal with?

Again I do apreciate all the work, but don't be fooled into thinking that the operation at this time is even close to average for a site.

Aaron

[Johanna]

Aaron,

I'm sorry you are having such difficulty. No other users are reporting the extreme problems you are describing, not even the ones on dial up. I'm not sure what advice to give you, but I will do some checking around. Perhaps the problem is not with the forum, but some other setting or hardware limitation? I don't know, but I hope we get it straightened out soon. I'm sorry you are having the inconvenience of the delays.

Johanna

[electrathon]

I just did some clicking around. I located a number of sites running IP Board. Most of the sites load in just over 2 seconds to just under 3 seconds. I guess what I am saying is the problem is here and appears to not be with the software.

[TwinOaks]

I'm not having any problems loading these pages in either IE8 or FF 3.5.2.

Have you cleared out all the cookies, temp internet files, history, et al. from your machine? I don't know that it will help this specific issue, but letting your cache get clogged up is an easily avoidable thing, and it always seems to help me when my machine gets a little bogged down.

I wonder if there might be some issues between the 'new' cookies, and some old ones still on your machine. I mean, I KNOW the doughnuts around here get stale, so maybe the cookies do too.

[Johanna]

If other people were reporting problems with load times, I'd be looking for a pattern, but it seems that only you are having this issue. have you cleared your temp files lately? have you tried Firefox just to see if IE was giving you a problem? I need your help to troubleshoot this because I can't duplicate the problem on my end, and the other members aren't seeing long delays like that either. If there is anyone with the kind of problems electrathon is having, please speak up!

Johanna

[electrathon]

The computer I am running at home is old and slow (it is the one I can get other sites to load in 2-3 seconds) and running a cable modem. My work computer is brand new and very fast, running a high speed connection. It is a little better, but not much. If I get the chance this weekend I will access the site from friends computers and see if I notice and differances.

And I do know that you are trying, I apreciate the effort more than you know. I do a couple volunteer things and I know they can be very draining.

Aaron,

I'm sorry you are having such difficulty. No other users are reporting the extreme problems you are describing, not even the ones on dial up. I'm not sure what advice to give you, but I will do some checking around. Perhaps the problem is not with the forum, but some other setting or hardware limitation? I don't know, but I hope we get it straightened out soon. I'm sorry you are having the inconvenience of the delays.

Johanna

[electrathon]

I just looked around some. Earlier this evening I got frustrated wehn I posted the above. Something has speed up to some degree since then, it is consistantly loading in 5-6 seconds per page. Still slow compared to most sites, but 2-3 times faster than it was.

[electrathon]

I loaded Firefox into my computer and the Forum now works properly. Defiantly is an issue with the forum not properly running internet explorer.

[TwinOaks]

Aaron,

Glad to hear that you've found a solution! From things I've read here, there were some initial problems with how IE loaded the forum; it caused a perpetual loop. There seems to be some type of file corruption that occurred with '8'that's caused all the glitchyness. There's a bunch of articles on howto remove '8' online, if you need instructions. I had to remove SP3, IE8, reload SP3, overwrite a new 'clean' IE8, and do some clean up on the remnants of IE7.....now IE seems to be working well.