Isaac
Years ago
Forum modifications
Just a quick update. I've modified the query that builds the main index and it should now be roughly 7 times its original speed.
The time it takes to load that front page is composed of a few elements -- you querying the server, the server querying the database, the server sending the information back to you, and your browser rendering it -- and that second item is where the improvement has been made. You'll still get the usual lag of internet traffic and rendering a page full of laid-out text, but roughly 7-10 seconds have been shaved off.
The other change worth mentioning are the index listing options. You'll see them at the top of the index where it says:
Topics: Recent | Latest Action | Most Reads | Most Replies
Hopefully someone will find these useful. Recent is the default you're used to. Latest Action (which I think most people will like) shows topics with replies, ordered by their most recent replies; a lot of internet forums are ordered like this, but it means that new topics can quickly disappear from the front of the site. Most Reads and Most Replies are self-explanatory. Most Reads is weighted against older topics as the read-count wasn't introduced until a few months ago.
Oh, and for a bit of fun, below the Reply Leaderboard, I've added the Hoops SA Starting Five which shows the top five posters from the last seven days. Should give us a fair indication of who's slacked off at work, on holiday, etc...
There should be more changes over the coming months.
