I enjoy this website when it's working but more times than not it's down ("feverishly working" message) or if it is working it is sooooo slow. I have cable hook-up (no modem) and LOVE the speed of downloading on other sites. This is the only website that I have such problems with. Are others experiencing this same problem?? I hope the webmaster can help me because when working, this is a great site to learn from and share info.

Certainly agree as to the usefulness of the site, Marcie. <BR> <BR>I too am on cable. (RoadRunner) The site is a bit slow ... on the average more so than the majority of other sites, but not as bad as many. Rarely find it 'down', though the occasional response would make one think it is, but a retry almost invariably gets through. <BR> <BR>I suppose we should take into account that this is a free service run at some considerable cost and so the response times might be expected to be a bit slower than others. Amazingly generous by Fodor's, in fact, considering that they don't even take the opportunity to run adverts, or even blurbs for their products. <BR> <BR>Rome.Switzerland.Bavaria <BR>www.twenj.com

You folks should have been here two years ago! The forum had all kinds of conniptions then, lengthy downtime, lost messages or messages repeated a bazillion times. The Fodor's folks were most responsive to the numerous complaints about the website and were quick to remedy our frustrations. I don't think they ever contemplated the amount of traffic this site has, nor the quality of the contributions made by so many of the oldtimers. Be patient...you won't find a better travel resource anywhere else.

No one questions how valuable (and usually, entertaining) this site is - - but I agree that the last 4 or 5 days, it has been down during many more hours of the day than usual, and response times are very slow. <BR> <BR>But if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all - - so here's something nice. I came here at the (indirect) invitation of Ben Haines back in November from www.lonelyplanet.com (ThornTree). I have all but stopped going there, because the pop-to-the-top interface here is so much better. <BR> <BR>Thank you, Fodors! <BR>

Well it's now about 10:30 pm PST and this is the first time this site has worked for me all day, so Marcie, you're definitely not the only one. <BR>

Well, you should have seen it during the time when it ate the messages you typed, and you ended up duplicating or triplicating your answers. <BR>Having said that, I should say that I come through from Europe, and that there is a big difference from right now (9:30 a.m in Spain) to let´s say 15:00 p.m. But I don´t think it´s a question of the site , but from the big amount of people getting to Internet from the States.

I access this page through my modem and it seems to be inaccessible about 40-50% of the time. YES, I love this site and it has been invaluable with planning trips BUT it does not appear capable of handling all the traffic.

I find it hard to believe that increased traffic is the explanation - - the number of postings per 24 hours is dramatically down, suggesting that no one can get in (readily). If it was due to increased traffic, the number of postings should be up. <BR> <BR>Could it be that the database has somehow become too large to handle? I hate to think that purging is the solution (that's the main thing wrong with www.lonelyplanet.com), but maybe it can't all remain accessable forever. <BR> <BR>Response from Fodors? <BR> <BR>I understand that the board is monitored for obscenity - - don't want to resort to that to get attention!

I've been trying for 3 days to get through and all I get is the message that it is "feverishly working" ... or else I get nothing at all. On the rare occasion I get it to come up, it comes partially and then just sits there until I lose my patience and shut down. <BR>I believe Fodor's needs to look at their software and figure out what it needs or does not need, if the database is too huge, discard old stuff. While I was waiting for this thing to come up I cleaned out a closet so maybe they need to also Seriously, it's a great site, I love it, I'm addicted, but it's getting to be a pain to get into. Please, Fodor's if you are out there, do something fast!

Hi everyone! Unfortunatly it's good to know that it's NOT my computer. The past week or so it has been horrendous just getting on to the site. I persevered the other day and e-mailed Fodors wondering what is goint on. This is one of my favorite sites, no nastiness, kid talk etc. just people exchanging information. Hope it gets back soon to "normal" alan

Have been visiting this site 6-8 times a week for approx. 3 months. Have never found it down and seldom find it slow. It is a great resource.

<BR>Thanks Marcie for your post. I have had so much trouble getting into the site this past week (no matter what time of day I tried) that I emailed Fordors today. At least now I am relieved to know it is not my Webtv unit for a change. Fodors is like my daily cup of coffee. I have to have it at least "once" a day! I sure hope Fodors gets things running better soon! The wealth of travel knowledge on this site is invaluable and we have more trips to plan!

Thanks to all above who've expressed concern over the performance of the site. We have been experiencing some technical problems and we *are* currently working on improving things. We appreciate how important this site is to you, so rest assured that improving the performance is a priority for us. <BR> <BR>Thanks again to all who've helped make Fodors.com become such a valuable resource for all travelers. We hope you stick with us as we continue to improve the site. <BR> <BR>Sincerely, <BR> <BR>Aisling Brennan <BR>Senior Producer <BR>Fodors.com

When I couldn't get past the home page, I figured Fodor's took the weekend off. <BR>Just like us, they're entitled to a little R&R. Glad to have you back on line -- you're the best.

Aisling Brennan <BR>Senior Producer <BR>Fodors.com <BR> <BR>Thank you for informing it was techical and not increased volume which could not be handled. Things certainly were slower than usual and I am glad to hear you are on top of whatever caused this slowdown. Keep up good work, Aisling. <BR>

I use this site on a regular basis and I too, became frustrated over the past few days. Thanks to you folks at Fodors for being so responsive. I'm addicted!!

Oh thank you, Aisling for letting us know what's going on. Found out in the last few days just how addicted I am to this site. Just about pulled my hair out!