Is 100 Posts Per Page Too Many?

[Nick]

This subject was touched on at the LA meet, but I didn't pursue it.

The consensus is that the site is noticeably faster since we moved to the new server, but I also heard that people get bogged down when they have their options set to display 100 posts per page.

If most people aren't attached to seeing 100 posts per page, I will probably remove it as an option. It seems like an unnecessary strain on the server to have that many images going out over and over when most users are only reading the last ten posts at a time or what have you. The avatars and other images are not cached and, so, are needlessly served - what? - hundreds of thousands of times a day. And pages would load even faster in some threads if the option were disabled.

What would be better for the majority of users? I'm leaning toward having it be 15, 30, or 50, selectable by the user, with 50 as a default.

[Rumpy]

I have mine at 80 right now. 50 wouldn't be bad if it's needed.

[Nick]

I eliminated anything over 50 as a test, but it's not working for me. The forum may be self-aware.

[Cowutopia]

SHIT GET OUUUUUT.

[Nick]

I think as long as you have already chosen over fifty posts to be displayed, your setting will be preserved until and unless you change it. That seems fair to me. I'm going to fifty so that threads can load more quickly, but the forum won't force the choice on everyone else.


Uh, Cow, why are you hiding in the fridge?

[Some Stupid Japanese Name]

I've always been at 50. I tried 100 a few times, but it seemed unwieldy.

[Cowutopia]

lol.

Whatever you did the site's been running slow as fuck for the last hour.

[Advocate]

I have mine set to 100. I like 100 better than anything below 50.

[Drewbacca]

I know it's a principle of web design that one huge image will always load better and more efficiently than that same image chopped up in to 3 parts (assuming they're all optimized). From a server side point of view it's probably less strain to do 100 in a row than more sets of 50. I can't confirm this, but if the property translates it seems logical.

I actually really like the longer option. I find it a nuisance to add click-throughs to something that doesn't need it. If I can reach the same information without having to click 5 or 6 times more to get it then I'm better off.

[Othello Harrington]

In before the arbitrary Biff reference.