Mmm. That better?

Look here Brad..>Go check how much I have spent here on this site...You are running your mouth at this point..YES I Know who you are..But this site has been super slow for awhile....If now you are taking away from what I have paid for to take care of another project then you are ripping me off..I did subscribe to Wincustomize, I do have an OD Subscription current and have had one for several years now...Plus I have bought over 70 percent of all the add ons to ..I have several of the premioum packages from all of your top guys..I do support the site, but if you are going to stop working on OD and start doing more for GC then why bother with this site at all, why not go and make games.....the reason I let my Wincustomize subscription run out a few months ago and did not renew it..BUT I DID RENEW MY OD SUBSCRIPTION...Was because this site was no faster for me to pay...So if you are going to slow down development to OD users and new realeses, then why should I be happy????..If your going to do that, then why not extend the OD subscription time to compensate for the slowness of realeses because youy are admitting that you took away from OD Development to work almost full time on GCII...So your saying I should pay for another site to justify my complaint..So to be valid I have to start playing videogames to justify your remark...go figure......So to be in your good graces I should buy every single little product and subscribe to every little service you come up with...and Im sure all your homies will just love to jump on me and tell me what a (insert cutdown here) I am....But no...I am here for OD and skinning period, and if This is swuch a drain for the company then you should close it down and be a game company not a multi offering.....Keep it seperate or stop telling us I need to bow down to your new projects........

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Compiler Error in SDC seems to be fixed. Thanks!

Posted via WinCustomize Browser/Stardock Central

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Jafo

Join Date 03/2001

+1846

and Im sure all your homies will just love to jump on me and tell me what a (insert cutdown here) I am..

Words from a 'homie'....

The situation is truly a temporary one that everyone has their noses out of joint over.

I can't even remember the first time I purchased [Windowblinds] from Stardock.....must have been sometime last century/millennium. It was a long time ago. Now recently there has been a relative 'slowing' in the GUI development works and a few days' site downtime/slowness.

And why?

To ensure that this same GUI development work can afford to continue, along with its related Community Site.

Somehow this is perceived as the galloping of the Four Horses of the Apocalypse, or some such dire disaster is afoot.

Hardly that, now is it?

It's actually for OUR betterment, and those sufficiently NOT myopic will see that....[and the 'OUR' refers to US as in 'we, here'].

It really gets tired quite quickly - all this 'I paid for it so I demand it NOW' prattle. We paid for 'it' as an annual subscription, and at last count that's 365 days plus change. Now, with shiny new servers and the GalCivII finally released what say we make use of this new-found speed, etc to further our Community, not complain about what 'was'...

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Maybe it's just where I am or something, but I've been getting server busy messages a lot, amd it definitely isn't running faster. I've had pages time out on me a several times. I'm using FasterFox, and I've had pages take up to 29 -30 seconds to load.

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I think it's better for things to be a bit screwy for a week or two, and to have things done properly. Apparently, they're redoing parts of the site and dealing with new servers, and selling the new game which all benefits us at WC. It's better for them to do things well and take their time, than to rush and half-ass everything to appease people who are complaining. Remember, your subscriptions aren't just about uptime, but all the behind the scenes stuff like servers and overall site maintenance.

Sites go down all the time for maintenance, and all people can do is wait it out. Be lucky that WC wasn't shut down entirely until everything settles down.

I think some people are being just a tad too short-sighted.

By the way, I found someone's wallet in the dorm here, and they gave me $25 for it. I think I'll use it to get a subscription.

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Hate to say it, but from where I sit, it seems just as slow and buggy as it was before... last couple of days have been continual "Server to Busy", "Server not found", or error pages... page displays are horrible slow.

Tried with Firefox, IE, on several different machines.... the real sad thing is that I noticed the slowdows the most right after I renewed my WinCustomize subscription.

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Yeah, I've had a lot of problems too. But I'm hoping that it will all be resolved soon by moving to the new servers, or something else.

Is there any way to know when things will get back to normal?

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Seems my point is still valid 2 days later..the site is still slow and buggy, just the same as it was before when my subscription was current...Why renew if it wont make it better...I dont come to this site to benifit servers for games....But hey I should pay more for something and get less right...Im not short sighted as someone likes to claim..This slowness has been ongoing for quite some time..Somedays were better than others..but most weren't..That is why I didnt renew...Ive been a customer for almost 3 years now..I love the OD product..But sorry..I do not have time for games and gamers....As an IT administrator for a company with over 10,000 users I think the slowness we see here is not acceptable...nor were the comments that Im some kinda non paying bandwidth leech....Sorry..Ive paid more to Stardock than purchasing the game runs...So how does that add up?? OD purchase..50 dollars, renewed OD subscription 30 dollars, Several packages of premium skins bought from Stardock..Including several not offered by stardock...Abracadabra,Universal Metal, Orion Icon Suite, ToonXP, Curser XP...just to name a few...plus a 2 year subscription to this site.....How does this equate to me being a non subscriber??? But I guess Admin Jaffo KNOWS ALL...seeing as how he has me pegged as a freerider...

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Jafo

Join Date 03/2001

+1846

As an IT administrator for a company with over 10,000 users I think the slowness we see here is not acceptable

I think that's where the comparison falls down in a neat little heap. Wincustomize.com has in excess of 2.4 Million registered Users. 10,000 is peanuts...

BTW....'freerider' [your term] would equate with what the [your] current status is. 2 years of subscriptions is commendable...but they were SUBSCRIPTIONS. They had a start and end date. Ongoing support of Wincustomize.com cannot be simply switched off one day and still be considered 'ongoing'.

I plan to continue to support Wincustomize.com, not just with my 'time' but also with monetary input - products/subscriptions, etc, because I plan to want to benefit from the site and it's ongoing presence, not get all wobbly and in a panic of disdain and malcontent when the ride gets bumpy for a while.

Think back to the site's inception....had we had the servers we now do you'd likely have got your downloads even BEFORE you clicked the button....but now there's so many more people/popularity....but unfortunately too many are still looking for a free ride.

Subscriptions are like a seasonal bus ticket. They enable you to go anywhere you wish....during that season....but they don't guarantee there won't be a bingle on the road ahead and an ensuing traffic jam...or the bus may be cancelled and you need to wait for a later one.

You can say..."bugger this... why buy a ticket when the bus doesn't always get me there? I can always just walk". And yes, you can always just walk....but with no ticket you likely will have to. Once the ticket's expired you'll be walking anyway....

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Hmmmmm....as the question of this current topic was asking people what they thought about the speed of the site (presumably because the new servers are supposed to be in and woking), I should imagine that people have a right to voice their opinions either way without getting personally insulted or flamed by admin if those requested opinions dont add up to what admin is expecting or wanting themselves or others to hear.

If there are voiced concerns over the site not working as well as it should be with these new servers already functioning,then I should imagine that those concerns should be listened to with professionalism and understanding.

As, I wrote in my previous opinion, I suggested that people dont 'waste' their money..only to be put down as a freeloader. For myself there is a difference between 'spending' money and 'wasting' money.

I will gladly spend my money on something that is promoted as efficiently functioning better than a previous edition, version or state of time...if however,it is suggested or proven to have difficulties, I wont waste my money untill the situation has been rectified and is working at the potential to which it has been advertised.

This topic was put up to tell users that the new servers are now installed and that the majority of people (subcsribers and non-subscribers alike) should be experiencing a vast improvement. After reading through this forum before initially posting, I gathered that this was not the case...and considered subscribing at this time a 'waste' of my hard earned dollars.

When I see an improvement in the speed and the site functioning as it 'should' be, then I will feel more secure that in the future my dollars spent in support will be worthwhile.

Perhaps I should subscribe now, to try to support and make these improvements work smoothly, but with the belittlement by admin of my own concerns and the concerns of others, it just strenghthens my reslove NOT to subscribe until the promised results are at least experienced for a duration of time; where the majority current subscribers are considering their money well-spent.

If I, as a non-subcsriber, have no right to express my opinion here because of my status, and if I am to be belittled due to that status, I suggest that administration asks that only subscribers should place their opinions within this topic and that this be stated clearly within the topic title.

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PurrBall

Join Date 02/2003

+23

about 2,000 people on WC at a time can stess the site a bit.
Just stop complaining, give Jafo a rest.

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No Jafo, I do understand Subscriptions are just that...My whole issue is the fact that even the last 2 years has been that this site is for the most part slow, and errors out alot. I just have a resentment now with the fact that you seem to think I supported this site very little when In fact I had renewed my stardock account and am only downloading rarely on this site..If you check my downloads, you will see that I have only Dl'ed about 1 gig or 1000 megs in a little under 3 years,with the majority of that being in the first year as I built my skins list, in fact this last year and when I was a subscriber I still Downloaded very little compared to some people....I usally archive every single thing I download so I do not have to come back and re download it, so I save bandwidth....for Us , here, as in Wincustomize......My feelings are very offended that right off the bat you ask, Hey hows the site speed, weve been devoting our attention elsewere for sometime to develop a new game...Which I would not use or purchase..Why?? Because I dont think I need to constantly upgrade my machine to keep up with other online gamers so I can Frag, sidswipe, Woot or whatever the heck it is you gamers seem to feel you need 4000 dollar rigs to play...Sorry...But I have spent more in money here and with stardock. to feel that Im not being cheap......I have 3 computers, of only which one is running OD(my laptop), all the others are basic installs to do a job...One plays music, the other records music in my studio off my mixer and my laptop which I use to go online and watch DVD's on the plane.If you didn't want a current non subscriber to comment you should have left the question unsaid...not try to hand out a snap....

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Jafo

Join Date 03/2001

+1846

It's always interesting how responses to comments target excerpts from a person's post, rather than its message. It's not just semantics so I guess it's a human trait to want to be seen scoring points of some sort....

Frogboy posted this thread to evince responses regarding the site's restored speed.

What he gets instead is people vowing NOT to support the site because the issues of slowness, etc was due to an outside source and not something directly from the site's use itself.

Comments, opinions?....

Why not 'this damn thing is still bloody slow...pull your finger out and fix it'?

That'ds better than what amounts to "I will penalize this site for its [lack of] speed by withdrawing my contributions towards making it faster". That is hardly sensible as it only exacerbates the issue, and to the detriment of those still contributing.

Drop125 ....reread my post. there's a comment about "2 years subscriptions being commendable". That is an acknowledgement of your support, and again, 'freeloader' was your word, not mine....

Cybermessiah ...please, point to where an Admin is engaged in personal attack and/or flame. Clearly there is more than one interpretation of what constitutes those...

I think several people are still missing the point that it was/is the popularity/success of GalCivII that has enabled the purchase and installation of these new servers FOR Wincustomize.com's benefit.

If that means we all 'appear' to be sidelined here in deference to the Gamers on GalCiv then so be it. It's worth it.

If, however, the site is still slow, when the expectation is that it 'should not now be' then say so.

Complain to your hearts' content. But don't withdraw support to cut off your nose to spite your face. You'll be on a hiding to nothing. [and more cliches]....

Currently the site will still be experiencing the odd issue as coding is revised, etc. Nothing remains truly static for long.

But it's all good....

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In that case.....

Why not 'this damn thing is still bloody slow...pull your finger out and fix it'

I second that notion since this is exactly my opinion

I am also still annoyed (and have never received an answer to my questions)about the change that was implemented while moving to the new site (seems an eternity ago now). On the old site it used to be that subscribers where on their own dedicated server, this feature was taken away after the move. Why?.

In the "Development traffic jam!"-thread, Brad mentions that a similar feature will be implemented again.

This I agree with totally. And in fact this is something we've started working on. In the future, if something like this occurs, there will be a button that lets us switch the site to subscriber only so bring down traffic.

If the dedicated server for subscriber wasn't removed in the first hand, there would be less problems with frustrated subscribers who had never a completely working site (the new site has been fighting with bugs since day one). And even more important. There would be a really - and I mean really, really - good incentive to subscribe to the site.

My opinion is that there would have been more new subscribers (and that the subscription drive might have reached the 2000-head limit) if people know that they will get a fast and fully working site for their money.

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Fuzzy Logic

Join Date 05/2002

+496

I've tried several times to post here but all I get is timeout errors I'll try again...

The new servers should be for subscribers only. A few days ago I renewed my OD subscription, and, because my e-mail had to change I was logged out of the site. The site was fairly nifty... until I logged in, then the lack of response and server errors returned. This needs sorting. Subscribers are the ones who support this site and should not have to suffer.

There will always be a small dedicated few who will support the site whatever. That few will not grow to many with the site as it is. If WinCustomize wants to expand its subscriber base then it needs to deliver QOS to those people. It's the only way to grow.

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Aufisch and Fuzzy make excellent points..I for one agree 100%...

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I subscribed the other day, does that mean I can complain?

What I think all of us would appreciate is an ETA of when WC will be back to normal. I don't mean when all the behind the scenes programming or whatnot is done, but when we'll stop getting Server Errors and timeouts on a regular basis.

I'm not asking for a specific date, but at least a general timeframe. A couple more days? A week? Month?

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What I think all of us would appreciate is an ETA of when WC will be back to normal. I don't mean when all the behind the scenes programming or whatnot is done, but when we'll stop getting Server Errors and timeouts on a regular basis.

I'm not asking for a specific date, but at least a general timeframe. A couple more days? A week? Month?

The thing is *Adamness* is that the site hasn't gotten "much" better since the move a few months ago as far as server errors and time outs, and now with the popularity of the "Vid Game" it has really gone downhill..
The new servers help but still during the day it is at a snails pace with connection errors left and right...

I understand that there is ALOT of traffic and I try not to complain at all about it, but C'mon guys..you know what they say about "Excuses" and I think people would prefer results at this point, especially some of the "Long" time subscribers...Of which I really am not one of, im only on my second subscription, but there are those that have been with WC since day 1 and they deal with the same issues as the rest of us..

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Long time subscribers shouldn't get any special advantages as recent ones. Ususlly companies give special deals to newcomers anyway.

I think people would prefer results at this point

Of course people would like results, but in the meantime to quell some of the bad feelings around here, I think it would be a measure of good faith to put out a time table of what's going on around here.

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Fuzzy Logic

Join Date 05/2002

+496

Timeout expired. The timeout period elapsed prior to completion of the operation or the server is not responding

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Is it just me or is it getting slower??? I click on a link and can run down to the circle K and get a soda befor it opens the link.

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Is it just me or is it getting slower??? I click on a link and can run down to the circle K and get a soda befor it opens the link.

Thats the ticket, "Use it" Do the dishes, Laundry, change the oil on your car(s)...etc..

LoL...See there is a positive side to everything!!!

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*Still getting these**...will wait & see if it's me or you or my local ISP or..?..not a whine, just an observation. With all the site traffic (millions of hits?!) it's a wonder the system works at all. Keep up the amazing, cutting-edge management of it all!

*Also, in the last day or so, when I click on a skin, the new page displays a red "You are not authorized to comment..." note below the skin preview even tho I'm logged in...then I hit "comments" and I can blah to my heart's delight..

* now and then, when I click on a smily, here in a comment box, it doesn't always work...(there, it didn't work again..

... WHOA! hmm, it put all these at the end of the text and I just found them...maybe I just fatfingered the keyboard or maybe it's this Logitec cordless setup.

)

Enough drivel, no need to reply, let's see what this note looks like [pushes SUBMIT...]

----------------------------------------------- ------------------ ---------------------
**Server Error in '/' Application.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Server Too Busy
Description: An unhandled exception occurred during the execution of the current web request. Please review the stack trace for more information about the error and where it originated in the code.

Exception Details: System.Web.HttpException: Server Too Busy

Source Error:

An unhandled exception was generated during the execution of the current web request. Information regarding the origin and location of the exception can be identified using the exception stack trace below.

Stack Trace:

[HttpException (0x80004005): Server Too Busy]
System.Web.HttpRuntime.RejectRequestInternal(HttpWorkerRequest wr) +149

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Version Information: Microsoft .NET Framework Version:1.1.4322.2300; ASP.NET Version:1.1.4322.2300

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Actually night before last I was completely locked out of the site for 3-4 hours..
probably due to maintenence and actually....
The site *Has* been getting better I admit, im getting fewer and fewer server errors and the load speeds are picking up..

Thanks guys!

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Mmm. That better?

Can..you feel the speed tonight?