Technical problems with this forum

[Quiet]

This forum is impossibly slow in loading and that difficulty is a real disincentive for participation.

I have wireless broadband and don't have this trouble with other internet forums. I wonder if the surfeit of the material on this forum contributes to the slowness in loading. There is a lot of stuff that is not longer used and could possibly be archived, but I could be wrong.

I see that KatyKing is no longer present either. If that's so, it's a pity. He brought some life and vitality to the group.

Best wishes to all

[obiwan]

I don't have that problem. Perhaps it isnt the forum?

[Quiet]

I don't have that problem. Perhaps it isnt the forum?

Well, as commented I belong to other forums using similar software and don't experience the problem there.

You might have a more powerful broadband connection, obiwan, and that could help you but it doesn't explain why I can access other larger forums without difficulty.

It might also have something to do with the Forum server is located. It could be anything, in fact.

I don't think that Jim and the other admins are necessarily IT gurus either.

Just making a comment. If I am having difficulty it is likely that others might and is worth seeking comment from those in a position to know.

[hiorta]

The speed here in Scotland is as nippy as it always was.

[mac]

I'm a regular on five other websites, less regular on another four, and this website behaves no differently on my Virgin broadband set up to any of the others.

That's not to say that all websites load and change pages at the same rate as others but mostly differences are scarcely noticeable. It's inevitable that website and server routing traffic will vary day-to-day and even one's own ISP's service may vary on some websites rather than others - I've certainly found some websites, on some days, are ponderously slow and/or the regular formatting functions when typing are missing. I don't have the technical understanding why that is and I doubt that many or even any regular website owners have it either.

For those who miss the words of KK, he may be found elsewhere on another Spiritualism website where his, quote, "life and vitality" may still be found.

[obiwan]

I don't have that problem. Perhaps it isnt the forum?

Well, as commented I belong to other forums using similar software and don't experience the problem there.

You might have a more powerful broadband connection, obiwan, and that could help you but it doesn't explain why I can access other larger forums without difficulty.

It might also have something to do with the Forum server is located. It could be anything, in fact.

I don't think that Jim and the other admins are necessarily IT gurus either.

Just making a comment. If I am having difficulty it is likely that others might and is worth seeking comment from those in a position to know.

I wasn't suggesting you're not having a problem. Just providing more info for Jim.There are a number of factors which can affect the speed of response, most of them won't be under jim's control. I don't see there is a general problem with this site from the responses of posters.

[Wes]

No problems here, though I will say that sometimes browsers can be a factor, as I used to use Opera which had issues with some websites after installing an update, and Google Chrome was a real mess on my PC. Plus ISPs can do some strange things when routing internet traffic. Just a thought but perhaps this forum isn't allocated enough bandwidth to cover peak access times, which ties in with Quiet's comment about the amount of material stored on the site.

[Admin]

I think you may be right Wes but its hard to decide what to get rid of on this forum. I notice there are times when it slows down but then we are on servers hosting a myriad of other forums.

I think Quiet you may understand a little of the issues surrounding Katy King if you go to the link I will give you. Despite our best efforts, to provide an outlet for his posting method, the issue became so excessive that we had to make extra changes. https://www.spiritualismlink.com/t1897-conversation-as-a-selection-of-mutually-agreed-received .I think the thread explains matters fully, although the first post was a reply by Wes to one of Katies where he was stating and suggesting ideas which Lis deals with later on in the thread as well.

It may have lost some "life and vitality" but it has regained credibility in the quality of posts. The forum was never intended as a tea and cakes, with any kind of approach to Spiritualism. Indeed as this is a voluntary exercise, commenced by Lis and I, the time which had become necessary to moderate and deal with behavioural issues had become excessive. Indeed the strife that was arising, all too often as a result of careless posts by KK such as the fracas on his derisive post over the lovely aboriginal proverb, came very close to a decision on my part to shut the forum.

The description on the forum says it all really" A Forum for Spiritualists and those interested in learning more about the Religion, Philosophy, Science and Truth of the Spiritualist Movement". This forum is less a chatty forum and more an informational one. The forum is a place where people can present thoughts, ideas, ask questions without fear of being put down or trivialised. There are a myriad of very chatty, new agey, Spiritualist Forums (and Facebook pages) out there, some with ideas which I find to be pretty scary. There is no intention, on the part of the Administrators or Moderators of this forum, to go down that path.

I have realised the limitation of this approach and the potential problems a forum, with a myriad of allowable opinions, which we will endeavour not to censor, may have in achieving this aim. However, given the numbers who visit it I think it is doing a useful service for Spiritualism.

However, I am dealing with my need to get a correct history of Spiritualism, major figures, philosophy etc, by progressively developing a blog based site on word press. It will take a time........

[Admin]

Oh I forgot to mention one thing, to highlight the difficulty of culling posts, this site performs surprisingly well on google searches. Sometimes I am looking for new information and find myself linked back to a topic on the site which I had forgotten about.

[obiwan]

As far a KK is concerned the forum is better off without his posts IMHO. Abraham Lincoln's words spring to mind regarding the value of keeping silent when one has nothing to say.

[Admin]

His all to many posts sadly Obi which said little but occupied so much space. In the end it became totally divisive, hopefully he is now on a forum more suited to his tea cakes and homilies.

I ended up feeling that he had no interest in the deeper meaning of the philosophy, just some interest in parts of the phenomena plus the social chit chat tea and cakes. Still we attempted to redefine the rules to allow a place for that style but it just spread to all parts of the forum, regardless of all and any requests. Indeed those requests just escalated to suggestions we became like Twitter and gave up any sensible discussion.

Well sadly I feel that is the direction of most groups that define themselves, euphemistically, as "Progressive Spiritualists" which was where he based himself.

[obiwan]

His all to many posts sadly Obi which said little but occupied so much space. In the end it became totally divisive, hopefully he is now on a forum more suited to his tea cakes and homilies.

I ended up feeling that he had no interest in the deeper meaning of the philosophy, just some interest in parts of the phenomena plus the social chit chat tea and cakes. Still we attempted to redefine the rules to allow a place for that style but it just spread to all parts of the forum, regardless of all and any requests. Indeed those requests just escalated to suggestions we became like Twitter and gave up any sensible discussion.

Well sadly I feel that is the direction of most groups that define themselves, euphemistically, as "Progressive Spiritualists" which was where he based himself.

Agreed. You were very patient.

[mac]

On the new website he uses he is now able to chat away at length as he always liked to do here. Thus far the website has attracted few active new users.

His style is ideally suited to social networking sites and blogs. He rarely engaged in serious forum interchanges here and it will be interesting to see if that is any different on the new site.

I suspect there will be little change....

[_Leslie_]

Please... Let's not be judgemental about other members social skills or ability to hold conversations... Such comments really sadden me, deflect from the real message of this forum and serve no purpose.

The Forum.... works fine (and with some speed) for me, I access it via my PC and iPad without any hiccups at all. The only 'slight' comment I'd make is the 'design skin' that is offered to mobile users - just a personal thing, but its not for me... I always reset to the 'full' site mode.

[normy]

Works fine for me too

[petal34]

On the new website he uses he is now able to chat away at length as he always liked to do here. Thus far the website has attracted few active new users.

His style is ideally suited to social networking sites and blogs. He rarely engaged in serious forum interchanges here and it will be interesting to see if that is any different on the new site.

I suspect there will be little change....

Your remark has been noted,Mac.

[mac]

Please... Let's not be judgmental about other members social skills or ability to hold conversations...

I didn't comment on his social skills and as for the other point I had already expressed my concerns directly to Peter who agreed with what I concluded....

And as adults I suggest we're adult enough to form views based on what we experience - that's not judgmental.

[mac]

On t....

Your remark has been noted,Mac.

good to know

[Quiet]

I'm sorry to hear that KK's contribution was deemed to be problematic. I enjoyed my conversations with him and probably don't agree that he lacked depth. I know they are not the words you've used but it is certainly the implication. Perhaps it is simply a matter of style. In his 'real' life he is a teacher of some kind. Sometimes a lot can be said in few words.

It is a pity that there is not room for every style but that's life, I guess.

About the speed of this forum, it has certainly gotten a lot slower since I first began to participate. I had a look at the forum where KK is now which uses the same software as this one, and that is quite slow as well. With greater activity it could become quite a lot slower as well.

I think it might have something to do with that, or with the server on which these forums are based (if it is the same one). I have mobile broadband and that could be a problem as well. I have thought of switching to a higher speed broadband (through Telstra) but haven' done that yet. It is more expensive.

I belong to another forum which is very much larger than this one and uses V Bulletin software. There are no problems with speed there. The forum server is located in the US, however, and the site owner is an IT professional who can manage these sorts of quite complicated technical arrangements.

Thanks for the reply to my questions. I will still drop in from time to time and wish you all well. I have found some of the material here quite interesting.

[obiwan]

I don't think the reason for KK's extramuralisation had anything to do with his 'style'.

[mac]

"I enjoyed my conversations with him and probably don't agree that he lacked depth. I know they are not the words you've used but it is certainly the implication. Perhaps it is simply a matter of style. In his 'real' life he is a teacher of some kind. Sometimes a lot can be said in few words."

correct - I did not use any such words and did not imply what you're now suggesting. They are your words. On your final point, using a few words was never KK's strength.

I hope the link I sent you to the website he uses was of help?

[Quiet]

Well, mac, I acknowledged that they were my own words and the implication was something that I certainly took from what was said. And you are not the only person from whom I derived that implication.

Obviously I touched a sensitive point to get such a personal response.

And yes, thank you for the link to the forum he uses. I have not joined because it seems that forums are not necessarily the place where one can find like souls, I'm sorry to say. Not to say that I might join at a later stage. Not now though.

And that forum uses the same software as this, which is problematic as well

[mac]

Well, mac, I acknowledged that they were my own words and the implication was something that I certainly took from what was said. And you are not the only person from whom I derived that implication.

Obviously I touched a sensitive point to get such a personal response.

And yes, thank you for the link to the forum he uses. I have not joined because it seems that forums are not necessarily the place where one can find like souls, I'm sorry to say. Not to say that I might join at a later stage. Not now though.

And that forum uses the same software as this, which is problematic as well

I am sensitive when others misconstrue what I say. My words were "His style is ideally suited to social networking sites and blogs. He rarely engaged in serious forum interchanges here and it will be interesting to see if that is any different on the new site."

When supplying the link I pointed out that you'd find the former member there because earlier you had remarked "He brought some life and vitality to the group." and you gave the impression that you missed that.

Until you try that website you can't know how it will work compared with this one.

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