Well, I am sorry but i tell it like it is Bill. If I am negative then it is for a reason, not for the sake of it. <BR> <BR>By the way, Bill, who is the 'we' that you refer to? The Fodors collective I presume? I can be helpful but also negative if i deem it appropriate.

If it weren't for people like Christine, what would Fodor's people be "working on" to make better? Heaven forbid that anyone should tell Bill that a hotel rips people off, or that an airline doesn't have clean toilets. That type of knowledge and negativity would just ruin his vacation. Despite a slight lack of diplomacy, it is obvious that Christine was frustrated over trying to participate in a wonderful forum while encountering ridiculous delays. I have a very up-to-date computer/modem (re: fast), and at times I have become as frustrated as her. However, it would appear that things might be getting "better" and the advice about "off-hours" is good. I thank the Christine's out there who have, and will continue, to make this a faster and better site. Hat's off to Fodor's in devising an easy to use and probably the best UI that I have seen. <BR>Grow a skin Bill !! <BR>

I came over to this site from Prodigy Travel which I consider a terrific board. This is the first travel board that I really feel comfortable with. hats off to Fodors for providing a great service! Dave-Safety Harbor, FL

Believe it or not...I have yet to encounter any problems with this forum. I've posted thing on it and even replied to messages without incident. It's a great service and very informative and entertaining. In any case, I feel that Fodors did a great job on this travel Forum. But people will always gripe for whatever reason. You can't please everyone.

Tony, There's a huge difference between constructive criticism and insultive language (re-read the original post). And if you count the positive vs negative responses you will see that "we" (yes the collective) see this kind of criticism as un-productive. <BR>DB, I'm sure that the Fodor's people are working to make their forum as slow as possible. I'm certain that since your computer/modem is fast then it must be Fodor's problem. Has it occurred to you that maybe your service provider is not as good as you think it is, or that maybe the site is just overloaded. But even if it is Fodor's fault and they should improve their site, this is not the proper way to ask for the improvements. As for skin, no thanks I already have my own. However, you may need some.

No Bill, I think you need to do some re-reading and expand your venue of this site. Anyone who has been around here for a while has seen criticisms from your "collective" and at least read about if not experienced the dreaded Fodor's cookie monster (misnomer or not, and usually on the lighter side), but that's just one example. Face it Bill, your first post within this link was an outright criticism! And the point I was making is that I am not surprised that some write off-the-cuff from time to time about being frustrated by the (hopefully former) access issues. I think more recent adventeurs will have better experiences with this site -- hmmmm, I wonder why?? <BR>

I've been a regular visitor for about six months now and I've never had any difficulties reading or posting here. Of course it may be because I live in Scandinavia and visit the pages when most of you guys are still sleeping.

can you guys stop the arguing already?...seems a bit childish on everyone's part to keep dragging it on and on.

Let's get this sorted out as there seems to be two threads to this posting. <BR> <BR>1/ Connection problems. In short, many people had them, seemed to get worse (as one would expect) as more people attempted to make use of the server - that is when East Coast USA logged on. Now seems to have been resolved. <BR> <BR>2/ Freedom of speech. I will not be suppressed when attempting to give a less-than-positive reply to a posting. <BR> <BR>Bill, perhaps we were at cross purposes. I wouldn't call anyone an idiot especially, as people point out, Fodors is a free service. I'm just not too keen on people using 'we' under the assumption that the majority of readers/posters think the same way. <BR> <BR>Anyhow, recently i have tried to be more informative and less acidic, perhaps but every so often i feel the need to reply to postings like this. <BR> <BR>take care

I just checked this forum (April 10/12:25 EST) can only find messages from April 5th - anybody else having this problem?

Elizabeth: <BR> <BR>You logged on right after we finished adding some new hardware and finished upgrading our server operating system. Everything should be back to normal, and hopefully should run faster (we've also been making substantial software improvements over the past few weeks), but please let us know if you continue to run into problems. Even making positive changes can sometimes disrupt finicky systems. <BR> <BR>Thanks, <BR>Brent Peich <BR>Fodor's

<BR>This is a great site, for asking and responding to travel questions. I've really appreciated all the help I've rec'd and enjoy giving my two cents. I generally have no major problems, occasionally do have to "try again". However, it is well worth the wait. Would suggest those of you with concerns - try other sites - that would free up space!

Brent <BR> <BR>Thanks for your quick response - all seems fine now. I'm a big fan of Fodors forums and make a point of "voting with my pocketbook". Went to Italy last month and made a point of buying Fodor's guides - I work in e-commerce/communications and appreciate the significant investment Fodors is making in this free site - where business results are hard to quantify (and lets face it - it's all about business results). I would urge all users to use/recommend Fodors products so that this site can continue. <BR> <BR>

I'm just using this site for the first time, and it's great. Got on immediately, the downloads were acceptable fast, and the advice and suggestions are terrific! I don't doubt one minute that the site was not always thus and sympathize with the pioneers. (For the record I'm on the site on a Sunday at 6 PM, maybe not the most busy time.) As of today, the concept for the site and its execution are excellent. Congratulations to Fodors

I have had very few problems with this service and I love this forum. I agree with QueenMag about the split screen; so much easier to read and personally I like Tony's input. I think he is often very realistic, but hey, I'm married to a First Amendment specialist so I am brainwashed on Freedom of Speech...

I'm a great fan of it, and really enjoy spending time helping as much as I can as a french -or getting my own stuff, when I AM travelling. <BR>The only problem I had so far is that the "post a new message" link doesn't appear anywhere -I had to beg the link to it from someone on this forum, copy/paste the forum name (because I wanted to post something on the us forum, but knew only americans...), and that way I managed to get to the correct page. But I'm not complaining any way, it's worth the pain. <BR>And I'm so mad that I haven't got time those days to check my fodor's...

I think this forum is great. I found it just 2 weeks back and have been printing out a tremendous amount of info from back posts. Those people at Fodors are doing such a great job. I log on everyday to check on updates but have never encountered any problems. Maybe because I log-on when most of you at the other side of the world are asleep! <BR>

I love this Forum, to which I was introduced by the famous Dr. Abate when he asked me for a recommendation! Although I printed up a Fodor's miniguide before we left for Rome in March, I never used the Forum. Wouldn't think of travelling anywhere, now, without checking with you folks first! Thanks to Fodor's and all of you.

What you mostly find on this site are people who really enjoy traveling, I mean REALLY enjoy it. Whether you're a seasoned traveler who likes to impart their experiences to others, or one who is just starting to appreciate the varied joys of travel, this site presents a little bit of pleasure for all who click it on. <BR>Do I think that one has a right to criticize Fodors for technical problems? Of course I do. Though I have not had such experiences, I am sure others have. But please do not forget a major fact: this is a free site, yes folks, FREE, and Fodors owes nothing to us!!! <BR> Yes, criticize if wish to, there is nothing wrong with that, but also chill out and enjoy what you have.

Hah! The data rates during the off-peak hours are now super, probably due to the upgrades for handling the heavier loads. <BR> <BR>spaseeba Fodors. <BR> <BR>(Gee, guess it wasn't my provider after all). (:&gt;)