Deb's Weird Computer Questions: Why Does email Speed Change?

do you use a letter opener or your fingernail?

Sometimes, Dyslexia, I have this paranoid feeling that you do not take me entirely seriously....crazy, I know.....

I use my teeth....

There could be a whole laundry list of reasons for the speed difference. The most likely cause would be the current laod on the e-mail server at your ISP. If everyone is checking mail at the same time then the it is going to take more time for the server to respond.

The size of the individual e-mails and the amount of network traffic at the ISP's level will also have direct effects on how long it takes. That is why things are generally faster at "off peak" hours.

Thankee Fishin'! Computer life is sooo complicated! Like a bloody animal it is - "I don't FEEL like opening emails today, mum!"

Besides the server, there are many nodes between your computer and the eMail server. Any one of those nodes may slow things down. Sometimes, if things continue to be slow - close down your session and open a new one. Your routing may change and spped things up!

ah - thankee!

Sorta like goin' to the Post Office blindfolded, but pushing a magic button which says: "Go get my mail." Just as in "real life," in unreal life, you have to know when the marketplace will be crowded, and when it will not. Which is Fishin's point about "off peak." And here you thought it was those who had eschewed the mountain top.