I have been updating a few of the back end functions of the software/server to bring it up to date and close a few security issues. It may have meant that some members received the occasional database error over the last few days, but I hope the bulk of the work has now been done. There should not be any real major front end changes.

GMIC is still growing in size and despite some slow down in posting which is reflected across all military collecting forums (sign of the economic times maybe ?) the traffic actually has increased. This combination of traffic and database size can challenge the server. Of course if money was not an issue then a fast modern dedicated server would make a vast differences. As GMIC is essentially a free service then unfortunately this is not an option and I rely on voluntary subscriptions to pay for what I can afford to run. So speed is dependent on subscriptions, the more of you that pay a small annual subscription, the faster server I can afford and the better the service we all get !

If anyone has noticed any significant differences i.e. slow downs or speed ups in the forum please let me know as it is good to get feedback either way.

GMIC is eight years old next month and there is a lot of images and information stored on the forum. Over the coming months I will be getting some of the moderators to do a bit of housekeeping as I intend to start archiving some of the old posts to reduce server space. The information will still be there and retrievable under searching, but because it is old and not regularly accessed it will be stored in a slightly different way to save space and make the forum run more efficiently.

I have also changed my username to Nick rather than Chairman (although I still am the Chairman) as have the Vice Chairs as I felt titles were a little too impersonal and I want to promote the use of peoples real names. If you would like to adopt your real name (even if it is only your first name with a last initial or tag to retain a agree of anonymity) let me know as it makes it a bit friendlier than some forums where members adopt juvenile usernames as par for the course.