The forum is now back online, though is still suffering some issues with regards to speed (mainly when quoting posts). The website suffered a server overload yesterday, which meant that the web server often returned an error code preventing access to the entire website. Other times, users were enduring long delays when trying to access the forum.

The problem has arisen due to the 'update' we performed last month, when we merged all of the main operator "Latest" threads together to tidy the forum up. The Go North East thread is causing the most problems, due to the fact it is now approaching 19,000 posts.

I spoke to both Liam and aureolin about this last night, and we have established that, to prevent this from happening again, we need to reduce the load on the server. One way this can be achieved is by splitting our main "Latest" threads. We can still work on tidying up the forum by implementing sub-forums for archived threads, with only the main active threads being displayed on the main page, but we need to act sooner rather than later.

We've come up with two ideas and we'd like to gather your feedback so that we can discuss the way forward.

Option A:
The "Latest" thread is abolished. Instead, news and discussion is categorised by thread. For example, Go North East is implementing some service changes later this month, and we have discussed these changes since November when the company undertook a customer consultation in Sunderland. Instead of having all of these posts in the "Upcoming Service Changes" or "Latest" threads, the discussion would take place in a new thread, entitled "January 2015 Service Changes". All VOSA registrations would be copied into this thread, all speculation with regards to the new allocations, all consequent repaint updates, all updates when content on the website has been changed, etc. After a period of time (30 days, for arguments sake), this thread would be automatically locked and archived in a sub-forum which could still be viewed, but no longer posted in. The threads could be unlocked by a moderator if there was a need to discuss the changes again, but I'd imagine that by the end of February, there would be no need. My personal fear is that this option is potentially quite confusing, but the advantages are that users can select the individual discussion topics they want to view (for example, one user may not want to read about the service changes occurring later this month, but they may want to read about GNE taking on the QuayLink commercially). In a "Latest" thread, users are somewhat forced to read through everything.

Option B:
The "Latest" thread continues, but is split by month. We tried this before, and it did work well at the time, but it was incredibly tedious for Liam and I. There is nothing available (as far as we know) which is capable of automatically splitting a thread by month, nor is there anything in place to select all posts on a page in a thread, which means each and every post has to be selected individually. The advantage of selecting this option is that the simplicity of there only being one thread to post in remains. The old thread would be archived in a similar way to Option A. An issue arises at the end of each month, though. Although possible, it is more difficult to quote a post in a locked thread to transfer it over to a new thread which is still active.


Thoughts/opinions? If neither option is clear enough above, post below and I'll try and make it clearer...

NB: Do not quote the above post - use "Quick Reply" to post your opinions... Trust me, it's a lot quicker.

Delete most of the latest thread but keep the posts from December and this month.. means it will be well cut down.

I think it's important that we don't delete anything.

Some pages of threads still rank quite highly on Google, and a lot of people still refer back to old news and discussion (presumably to see how things have evolved since that time).

If anything, older threads need to be archived so that they can still be accessed, but aren't the main focus. As long as they are split in some form, this should reduce the strain on the server.

Option A

Option A.

Every month, start a new thread for each (main) operator but keep threads unlocked for a period of three months. After that period - lock the threads as suggested.

Option A for me Dan...

How exactly would it work...

Say the Topic is January GNE Services, obviously we discuss said changes, would that topic then be locked and archived once the changes come into effect so we can move onto the next topic...Does that make sense?

As for GNE Latest, 19k posts in one thread is crackers, I have never seen one thread topic go on so much, so split and archive it every 4 -6 weeks or when it reaches 500 or 1k posts, whichever comes first.

Could threads be archived in a way that they could be offered as downloads, archived as a text file, so if people want to cross reference information they can download the thread.

I agree we need to keep all the information that is already here, but something does need to be done about the amount of information going into one thread...

As you pointed out Dan, we come up high in Google, I have done random searches in Google and I have found NEB sometimes having 3 or 4 links in the top 10 and it is vital we keep that going

Option B for me.
It worked previously and the site was working until the changes were made.

To ensure the threads are easily quoted, I would suggest the previous months thread, isn't separated/locked down until a week or so has passed of the new month.

To keep the sections looking tidy, I would suggest the locked threads are kept in a sub-forum.

Go North East latest - > Jan 15
                            - > Previous posts
                                                       - > Dec 14
                                                       - > Nov 14 etc 
Go North East Rare/Odd Workings  - >

Go North East Service Suggestions  - >

Go North East Service Changes  - >

Option A seems okay, but what happend to minor discussion? And who decides when to create a new thread. It could mean loads of nonsense thread for little minor things, but on the same hand where else do you post these minor things?
Posts by Gtom/Andreos on 15/01 I'm not sure where you could post them?
Maybe a latest thread could remain (archive pre-2015) so that most people will be loading just the 2015 posts. Others years or a half year could be locked away, but visible to members?
These is opportunity to dilute the latest thread further? A REPAINTS thread could be an idea?

@Fozz:
We often discuss two or three things at the same time. For Go North East, the bulk of our posts lately have been in relation to the upcoming service changes. However, we've had a few other minor topics amidst this discussion (ie accidents, loans, application of vinyls, etc).

So we'd have a 'January 2015 Changes' thread, but also a thread for 'Application of Vinyls', etc. If you had no interest in the discussion about vinyls, you could skip over this and only read the January 2015 changes thread, marking the vinyls thread as read. After the service changes are implemented, we may discuss the changes for a few days more with any photos or suchlike, but after a set amount of time with no posts in the thread, we could lock it and put it into an 'archive' sort of sub-forum, where it could still be referred to, but nobody could post in it. Obviously if there was a need for the thread to be unlocked after that period of time, a moderator could easily do this.

(17 Jan 2015, 11:51 am)Dan wrote @Fozz:
We often discuss two or three things at the same time. For Go North East, the bulk of our posts lately have been in relation to the upcoming service changes. However, we've had a few other minor topics amidst this discussion (ie accidents, loans, application of vinyls, etc).

So we'd have a 'January 2015 Changes' thread, but also a thread for 'Application of Vinyls', etc. If you had no interest in the discussion about vinyls, you could skip over this and only read the January 2015 changes thread, marking the vinyls thread as read. The thread would remain alive for a set period of time before it is locked and put into an 'archive' sort of sub-forum, where it could still be referred to, but nobody could post in it. Obviously if there was a need for the thread to be unlocked after that period of time, a moderator could easily do this.

Cool, sounds good mate

Could archived threads be converted to a text file and offered as a download for people to look at without having to trawl through the boards???

One thing is obvious Dan, something has to be done, otherwise the wig makers in Sunderland will be getting some business there way sometime soon

@Fozz:
Aye - there'll be nee hair on my head left soon, with the amount that's been pulled out since last night!

I'm not sure about the text file.

Can you archive as opposed to delete?

Most of the heavy use forums (for example DigitalSpy) follow the 'lock thread' when it gets to big.

You can still easily quote by linking the post number.

Have to say I am not a fan of yet more derivative split threads

Option A sounds best to me.

@gtom - We don't want to delete anything, just archive it so it's still viewable but locked so it can't be posted in.

Keep your thoughts/opinions coming.

(17 Jan 2015, 11:56 am)Dan wrote @Fozz:
Aye - there'll be nee hair on my head left soon, with the amount that's been pulled out since last night!

I'm not sure about the text file.

Next time I get my hajr cut I will save the hair cut and make u a wig

I am still thinking towards split threads or locked and archived

(17 Jan 2015, 11:56 am)Dan wrote @Fozz:
Aye - there'll be nee hair on my head left soon, with the amount that's been pulled out since last night!

I'm not sure about the text file.

You'll end up being a 

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[/img]
Whoops! First unnecessary post of the thread.

Anyway, my reasoning for selecting option A is because it just sounds the best and easier to work around. If we wanted to find a specific post and they were all split up by month, i think it would be too hard to find what you wish to refer to in a post.

Definitely don't delete anyrthing. If it is split will you have to do a separate search each month if you are looking for something?

Option A.

Option A for me, although currently I am having zero issues with the forum in regards to running slowly etc, for me its running as it should be, no idea about anyone else though.

I do think the Bus Management and Infrastructure and Off Topic Threads should be looked at, as there are a lot of Threads in those areas which have some repetitiveness to them and should otherwise be merged together.

A few examples:

Bus Stop Numbers/Darlington Town Centre Bus Stops/Timetables - Why not just have one Thread titled "North East Bus Stops and Timetable Information"

Washington Area Developments/Sunderland Area Developments/Gateshead Area Developments/Newcastle Area Developments/South Tyneside Area Developments/Gosforth High Street Improvements/Durham Road - Why not just have one Thread titled - "North East Area Developments"

Option A.

(17 Jan 2015, 2:47 pm)Malarkey wrote Option A for me, although currently I am having zero issues with the forum in regards to running slowly etc, for me its running as it should be, no idea about anyone else though.

I do think the Bus Management and Infrastructure and Off Topic Threads should be looked at, as there are a lot of Threads in those areas which have some repetitiveness to them and should otherwise be merged together.

A few examples:

Bus Stop Numbers/Darlington Town Centre Bus Stops/Timetables - Why not just have one Thread titled "North East Bus Stops and Timetable Information"

Washington Area Developments/Sunderland Area Developments/Gateshead Area Developments/Newcastle Area Developments/South Tyneside Area Developments/Gosforth High Street Improvements/Durham Road - Why not just have one Thread titled - "North East Area Developments"

I'm not merging any more threads... Liam will shout at me for increasing the server load again

Not sure whether the forum is running fine or not for me - but managed to quote no bother using Tapatalk in this post.

Delete unused threads then, quite a few on here which hasn't being used for ages....

Also still taking ages when replying.

(17 Jan 2015, 2:49 pm)Dan wrote I'm not merging any more threads... Liam will shout at me for increasing the server load again

Not sure whether the forum is running fine or not for me - but managed to quote no bother using Tapatalk in this post.

Delete unused threads then, quite a few on here which hasn't being used for ages....

The issue is having more than 1,000 posts in one thread. Anything more than that, and problems do start to arise.

The only issue with having lots of threads is that the forum may become untidy - but this won't affect forum speed.

@Cock Robin - search function will do that for you. Select GNE for example as the parent forum, and it'll search anything live and archived beneath it.

Option A sounds good.

anybody having problems with tapatalk?, I get the message alerts on my phone, but when I go into a message, it just saying loading with black screen

(17 Jan 2015, 3:00 pm)Michael wrote Delete unused threads then, quite a few on here which hasn't being used for ages....

Unused threads aren't really causing an issue, as it's more load related rather than storage space. Think of it this way; you load a thread with 100 posts, and it's like a queue of 100 people orderly walking through a turnstile. You load a thread with 19,000 posts, it's like 19,000 people trying to barge through a turnstile, but in the same amount of time. Now times that 19000 by an average of 10 users at a time browsing that thread, and it's inevitably going to put a strain on the database.

(17 Jan 2015, 5:01 pm)cbma06 wrote anybody having problems with tapatalk?, I get the message alerts on my phone, but when I go into a message, it just saying loading with black screen

Nope. Mine seems to be fine. 

(17 Jan 2015, 5:01 pm)cbma06 wrote anybody having problems with tapatalk?, I get the message alerts on my phone, but when I go into a message, it just saying loading with black screen

My tapatalk is quite slow, but I think that is just my phone, as it has a lot of shite on it, lol...

I also have speed issues on my Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 if I let alerts pile up, I dont use my tablet as much and when I switched it on a few days ago, it picked up 300 updates for NEB alone, despite checking the alerts on my phone, sometimes it can be slow enough that I am surprised it does not sprout roots lol

Tapatalk is a pain in the arse at times, but apart from the downtime yesterday, I have never had an issue with loading up the boards...even if it is slow