Limit unregistered Guests !

[MacksAviation]

Admin Types,

I am sure I am not the only one that gets miffed when something interesting "live" happens that FC grinds to a halt and becomes unusable due to the amount of unregistered guests.

Surely to protect genuine regular users of this site you can limit the number of Guests so that they don't kill this site.

It also adds to security in that those lovely guests aren't using the info off site. I'm damn sure the news agencies are monitoring this site and reporting on what is being said on here.

Thanks

[Richard B]

Good point, took me almost 40 minutes to get on after the Bang report.

[GreenBat]

Same here

In total there are 537 users online :: 145 registered, 3 hidden and 389 guests (based on users active over the past 15 minutes)

389 Guests

[Lowfly11]

Is that why i could't connect onto FC tonight..only just logged in.

[davedubya]

The guests aren't the issue. There would still be a spike in site traffic, regardless of the registration settings of the site. And it's the sudden increase that temporarily causes disruption, as the server can only handle a certain volume of responses.

[GOOSE]

MikeB is looking into this on our behalf. We'll update you all as soon as possible.

[POL]

Artificially limiting the number of visitors is going to add to the server overhead. It'll just take it off quicker...

As far as I know, you can't limit the number of guests in phpBB3.

[RichC]

The Worldwide Airband section which includes the Heads Up/OTT is only available to registered users but i believe everywhere else on the board is "open".

[ringo747]

I think a board like this should be mostly closed and should require registration for access. Surely anything military related shouldn't be accessible anonymously by Joe Public?

[Nighthawke]

Yes but this is a group set up by, and largely run by, civilians. I know there are a number of members who are serving in HM forces as well as a number (like myself) who have previous links (eg Cadet Forces). Trying to validate membership would be almost impossible. We also live in a democracy where much military-related information is in the public domain anyway. However I do not wish to get into a political discussion (not my forte for a start!).

I think I can see your point but it really is a non starter in my opinion.

[TheLincolnImp]

I think a board like this should be mostly closed and should require registration for access. Surely anything military related shouldn't be accessible anonymously by Joe Public?

Hardly the enigma code by registering

[Adam]

I have to agree... Its crap when we have the B1 rotations too. Why should everyone use our information without at least registering?

[Ben Montgomery]

I have to agree... Its crap when we have the B1 rotations too. Why should everyone use our information without at least registering?

The B-1s are in the Heads Up/OTT section, which is viewable to members only!

[Adam]

Okay so it's through pure member workload for them then - cheers.

Is that a bandwidth restriction then?

[Red Hound]

The guests aren't the issue. There would still be a spike in site traffic, regardless of the registration settings of the site. And it's the sudden increase that temporarily causes disruption, as the server can only handle a certain volume of responses.

I don't always login when I visit Fighter Control for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it is just a quick visit to check for new posts in my area, e.g any information on something I've seen and/or I am doing so at work. Quite possibly other members do likewise so ensuring users are registered wouldn't necessarily reduce the numbers accessing the sight.

If you only all allow registered users access then the majority of guests would probably register to maintain access to Fighter Control which again wouldn't greatly affect the numbers visiting at any one time.

[Red Hound]

The guests aren't the issue. There would still be a spike in site traffic, regardless of the registration settings of the site. And it's the sudden increase that temporarily causes disruption, as the server can only handle a certain volume of responses.

I don't always login when I visit Fighter Control for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it is just a quick visit to check for new posts in my area, e.g any information on something I've seen and/or I am doing so at work. Quite possibly other members do likewise so ensuring users are registered wouldn't necessarily reduce the numbers accessing the sight.

If you only all allow registered users access then the majority of guests would probably register to maintain access to Fighter Control which again wouldn't greatly affect the numbers visiting at any one time.

Also if I am logged in I tend to stay on even if I do something else online for awhile, before returning to Fighter Control. As a guest once I have looked I exit the site.

[SteveS]

All good points guys, keep them coming. It winds us up as much as you lot, but as has been mentioned, the Heads up and OTT forum is locked to members only, but we're looking at other ways round the problem.

Cheers
Steve

[magnum]

I have to agree... Its crap when we have the B1 rotations too. Why should everyone use our information without at least registering?

The B-1s are in the Heads Up/OTT section, which is viewable to members only!

Then why is there 1 guest viewing the OTT section at the moment ? I have noticed up to six on occasions. Also the HF section had 2 guests the other night.

[Ben Montgomery]

I have to agree... Its crap when we have the B1 rotations too. Why should everyone use our information without at least registering?

The B-1s are in the Heads Up/OTT section, which is viewable to members only!

Then why is there 1 guest viewing the OTT section at the moment ? I have noticed up to six on occasions. Also the HF section had 2 guests the other night.

If for example, I emailed you a link to a thread in the OTT section, and you tried to view it without logging in, you'd be sent to the "Please Login to view this page" screen - however, it would still show up as a guest "browsing" that forum. It's likely that the guests you see are trying to access the forum through a link posted on the FC Facebook page or some other place, but they will not be able to see anything without logging in.

[davedubya]

The guests aren't the issue. There would still be a spike in site traffic, regardless of the registration settings of the site. And it's the sudden increase that temporarily causes disruption, as the server can only handle a certain volume of responses.

I don't always login when I visit Fighter Control for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it is just a quick visit to check for new posts in my area, e.g any information on something I've seen and/or I am doing so at work. Quite possibly other members do likewise so ensuring users are registered wouldn't necessarily reduce the numbers accessing the sight.

If you only all allow registered users access then the majority of guests would probably register to maintain access to Fighter Control which again wouldn't greatly affect the numbers visiting at any one time.

Also if I am logged in I tend to stay on even if I do something else online for awhile, before returning to Fighter Control. As a guest once I have looked I exit the site.

That was sorta my point.

Having 100 registered users and 400 guests is no different to having 400 registered users and 100 guests. You've still got 500 people there. Making sure the server can adequately handle that load is the key, as well as coping with all those people who inevitably keep hitting refresh (which only exacerbates things).

I'm not really sure why any of this is particularly that big an issue. It's not like this happens very frequently, and when it does it not like it lasts too long. Can't access FC? Go do something else for a while.