I think we found our limit ..

[Brandon Martus]

Originally Posted by Brandon Martus

I took off the limitation .. there's probably a better way to handle this. I'll have to think about it tomorrow, when I'm looking over the apache configuration. Hopefully some configuration optimization will help fix this.

I just installed the Zend Optimizer/Encoder which should increase php/apache performance by 40%. Maybe that'll speed things up a bit.

Woah, 1:28am. Work @ 8. Whoops.

[jgannon]

Originally Posted by D.J. Fluck

This website was deisgned for the purpose of sharing of knowledge and ideas...i dont see how a guest is possibly benefitting or is fair to the other people who took the time to register.

Okay, I'll bite. When I'm at school, it's nice to have access to Chief Delphi for any number of reasons. However, the computers are public terminals, and are so loaded with adware/spyware/malware that I try to avoid transmitting confidential information on them unless I'm certain that the machine is reliable. Outright denying my access to this site because I don't want to risk compromising my password wouldn't make any sense, so I think I can see how a guest could indeed benefit from this site. It's not an issue of time, but rather of security.

That being said, giving registered users priority over guests in high-load situations is not a bad idea, so long as there's a way on the denial page to log in.

[JohnBoucher]

A few thoughts....
Would tightening up the rules for signatures make a difference? Sig's are nice but unnecessary.

Would banning SE spiders help. Your robots.txt already disallows quite a bit. How about banning by them by IP?

Is there a way to detect user inactivity? I try not to, but I know I have left CD up and unattended. Is it possible to warn then sign-off inactive users?

[Brandon Martus]

Originally Posted by JohnBoucher

A few thoughts....
Would tightening up the rules for signatures make a difference? Sig's are nice but unnecessary.

Most signature content is stored on a different server, so removing signtaure content wouldn't put a dent in the problem.

Would banning SE spiders help. Your robots.txt already disallows quite a bit. How about banning by them by IP?

I have to see if theres a way to disallow them during certain times. Having the site spidered between 6pm->1am eastern (being our peak time) is a bad thing. I'll have to investigate.

Is there a way to detect user inactivity? I try not to, but I know I have left CD up and unattended. Is it possible to warn then sign-off inactive users?

If you aren't clicking things, the server isn't affected by you. The forums automatically forget about your presence after 15 minutes of inactivity, too (well, kind of).

[Josh Hambright]

I still want to buy a CD web forums T-shirt!

Merchandise on this Brandon! License it! Take a page outa the New Kids on the Block and Star Wars Handbook and make everything from action figures to lunch boxes! I know i'd buy them!


--EDIT---
In response to Kyles post below...

"I WANT MINE WITH THE NEW B Money D-TOWN ACTION NINJA ACCESORIES!!!"
"No I WANT MINE WITH OPTIONAL SLASH WIG AND HAT!!!"

[Kyle]

I can see it now,
Kids going to see Santa and asking for the new Brandon Martus action figures.
You could get even more money by adding on extras like a computer station for the action figure to monitor CD from, and maybe a guitar for after work fun..
I know I would want a cool CD lunch box.

[Ryan M.]

Originally Posted by oneangrydwarf

what about some system that based your priority of access to the server off of reputation? Like it would be guests with the lowest priority, and then registered users, and then go up as your rep went up...

Just an idea....

Main problem with that would be that the people who gain (possibly), the most use out of CD will find it harder because they don't have rep...

[Katie Reynolds]

Originally Posted by Ryan M.

Main problem with that would be that the people who gain (possibly), the most use out of CD will find it harder because they don't have rep...

I agree.

Originally Posted by Kyle

I know I would want a cool CD lunch box.

Haha, you'd definitely be the coolest kid in school with one of those!!

[tkwetzel]

I think the CD crew is doing a great job with the service they already provide. I would like to thank Brandon for his tremendous amount of time that he dedicates to these forums and his quick notice of and reaction to this problem. I agree with the many people that have said that this occurance does not warrant an upgrade (although it would be nice) because we have hit that limit once (probably coming close a couple of other times) and it will only occur a few times a year. Merchandise would be cool, but I don't think that the number of consumers would warrant it. A lot of the people on this site would buy it when it first came out but then the sales would drop and probably be very low for a long time to come.

Thanks again Brandon!

$.02

[Petey]

Originally Posted by KyleGilbert45

I totally agree with ya on this one. Registration should be mandatory, at this time in the season, to view most of the forums (maybe except chit-chat and others of the like). Of the times I've looked today there have been more guests logged on then registered members.

Maybe this really won't solve any problem because then those guest might just log in if they have a username or go through and quickly fill out a registration using some "dumb" username and false information.

I'm not sure, it just seems that if you have to be logged in to view the forums then it could alleviate some of the stress on the servers.

Bad idea--

Remember, there are still quite a few teams who don't use ChiefDelphi, or who don't know about it. I don't want to sign up for a forum until I know it is worth it. Who knows--you could be getting spam!

It is imperative that guests be able to view, so that they may judge for themselves the quality of the site and whether or not they wish to register.

I instead go with the person who suggested CD shirts and/or donations: I'd definitely chip in money, especially if there were some CD shirts with great quotes.

--Petey

[Petey]

Originally Posted by oneangrydwarf

what about some system that based your priority of access to the server off of reputation? Like it would be guests with the lowest priority, and then registered users, and then go up as your rep went up...

Just an idea....

But then you are basing access to the site off of what is essentially an arbitrary qualitative measurement.

I don't think so--

I think we really just need to all pitch in some cash and buy Brandon a new server. FIRST is growing--it is logical that it's de facto online community would need to as well.

--Petey

[Joe Matt]

Start a buffer system. At 275 people start turning away guests saying we are reaching capacity, so log in. That allows for more users to log in if needed. Also, an automatic log-off system, where if you are viewing a page for a certain time, you'll be logged off (10 minutes), so someone else can get on.

[Petey]

Originally Posted by JosephM

Start a buffer system. At 275 people start turning away guests saying we are reaching capacity, so log in. That allows for more users to log in if needed. Also, an automatic log-off system, where if you are viewing a page for a certain time, you'll be logged off (10 minutes), so someone else can get on.

I like your first idea--although it wouldn't be my preference.

Log off system could be bad. 10 min isn't long, and what if you are researching material to post? That would kind of suck.

I trust in Martus.

--Petey

[Ryan Albright]

I WANT A CD SHIRT! I WOULD BY 7 OF THEM, ONE FOR EACH DAY OF THE WEEK

[evulish]

I've always wondered what kind of performance increase the Zend Optimizer would have on a big system like vB3. Should be pretty impressive.