Slow internet connections and the new boards...

[Lisa at Home]

I am wondering if those with dial up are having problems with the new board format. I remember when we did this before, and I had dial up, that I never could access the boards at all. I am just wondering if we will be seeing less of some folks, or if all is well with dial up.

I have DSL, but this is the first time I was able to post! I am going to be a visitor for a long time!

~Lisa

[Jenileigh]

and these things load a lot slower for me than the old boards did so I can't see how those with dial up will have much luck with these!

[BarbaraL in OK]

Tip: turn off avatars & images. There's a lot less to load on each page that way. I'm not sure exactly what difference it makes, because I have high-speed internet. I do it to simplify the pages and make them easier for me to scan quickly, but I would think it'd help dial-up members, too.

[nmoira]

Another tip: open up threads in new tabs so you don't have to keep reloading the forum page and threads can load in the background while you read.

[CleoQc]

Ooh, thanks for the tip on turning off avatars, signatures and images!
They're fun at first, but they're really taking too much real estate on the screen.
Threads are much easier to read without those items!

[Liberty]

I have dial-up and even with avators/etc.. turned off it is taking a very long time to go from page to page. To open this "reply to thread" in order to reply to you took so long that I almost abandoned the operation. I've noticed that I'm not reading anything beyond page 2 or 3 on anything (forum or thread) as my patience wears out by then.

[BarbaraL in OK]

Do you use the Quick Reply? Then it's not loading a new page for the Advanced Reply box.

The tip about opening threads in new tabs helps even high-speed me. I've also noticed that when I hover my cursor over a thread title, the next bit of text in the first post appears in a little box. Sometimes it helps me decide whether to open the thread.

Liberty, you have my heartfelt sympathies.

[Darcy from LWM3B]

How do you open threads in a new tab? I can't find that option.

TIA!

[nmoira]

How do you open threads in a new tab? I can't find that option.I have a mac, so I can't tell you exactly if you have windows, but I suspect you just have to left click on the link, or control click (I use command click, or the left button). It's a browser feature, not a board option.

[Brenda in FL]

How do you open threads in a new tab? I can't find that option.

TIA!



If you right click on the link you should get an option to open in a new tab.

[WTMindy]

How do you open threads in a new tab? I can't find that option.

TIA!

If you push "shift" while clicking to open it will open in a new window.

[nmoira]

If you right click on the link you should get an option to open in a new tab.I was close. Right click, left click -- it's all the same in a one mouse button world. :)

[Darcy from LWM3B]

I'm a Mac-girl, so I'll try the command click. thank you!

[Spock]

I have dial-up. I deal with slow-loading pages by flipping between forums. I open WTM K-8 forum on one tab, WTM High School Forum on another tab, and another home-school forum on a 3rd. (All of these have a similar format.). While one forum is loading the next page, I read one of the others. If I hit a really slow day, and all 3 forums are still loading the next page, I play Solitaire (on the computer) or do laundry/dishes while the pages load.

I also keep all my forums on the format that lists the entire thread in one page, rather than branching them out to show who answered who. While this isn't always as clear, it is much faster than clicking on each post one by one.

Lastly, I use the preview feature a LOT. I always put the cursor over the first post to see what the thread is about, and I don't read threads if I'm not that interested in the topic. I try to skip threads about curricula I know I will never use, for example, even though I am interested in knowing about the options I didn't choose.