The timeout setting is pretty low right now.

July 16, 2003 3:25 PM

These days there's enough traffic on MeFi (which is a good thing) that it takes a while, what with interruptions and such, to get through all the new links, comments, and new comments on previously-seen threads. So Matt, could you increase the timeout setting (or make it configurable on the User Page) for deciding when to update the new comments count? Thanks!
posted by billsaysthis to Feature Requests at 3:25 PM (7 comments total)

I vote for "configurable on the user page", since I visit very frequently and often see the same # of new comments/links even though I know I've already read them, so I'd be in favor of decreasing the timeout setting.
posted by jonson at 5:06 PM on July 16, 2003

I'll second that.
posted by Witty at 5:18 PM on July 16, 2003

Keeping the software chugging along waiting longer for the response might make it more likely to clog the system up and get more time out messages because the system doesn't get a chance to breath. It's about finding a timeout sweet spot, not just increasing it.

As it's a system balance thingy it probably shouldn't be a per-user setting. The thing to do is to get stats on timeouts, change the timeout, measure again, adjust, measure, adjust, and then kick coldfusion in the nuts.
posted by holloway at 6:21 PM on July 16, 2003

yeah, think about it:

for (number_of_threads_shown_on_the_front_page_as_already_set_by_user$) {
    $num=count(query.database.for.comments.in.thread.newer.than.cookie());
    echo "($num new)";
}

the server is already working damn hard just to put together your front page.
posted by quonsar at 7:02 PM on July 16, 2003

what jonson said. we addicts need it easier.
posted by graventy at 7:48 PM on July 16, 2003

then you addicts had better get used to seeing things like this.
posted by quonsar at 8:01 PM on July 16, 2003

You can just start a new browser session every time you want to refresh the stats. If you're into that kind of thing.
posted by vraxoin at 7:08 AM on July 17, 2003