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From: <>
Subject: [DEARMYRTLE-L] FamilySearch.org -- Limiting Access to 15 Minutes
Date: Sat, 29 May 1999 08:50:34 EDT

DearMYRTLE's DAILY GENEALOGY COLUMN
FamilySearch.org -- Limiting Access to 15 Minutes

DearREADERS,

The long awaited arrival of FamilySearch data online has overwhelmed the site
with hits.

The Deseret News reports that the site has changed allowable access time:
"Limiting visits to 15 minutes gives more people access to the site
considering people have been staying from one to six hours, according to IBM,
which supplies computer hardware for the site.

Technicians and church officials working with the FamilySearch Internet site
at http://www.FamilySearch.org estimate people are trying to access the site
at the rate of 100 million hits per day, making it one of the most popular
sites on the Internet.

FamilySearch.org was consistently seeing seven million hits per day during
the public test period that preceded Monday's formal launch by LDS Church
President Gordon B. Hinckley. The site was designed to handle 25 million hits
per day and has been reconfigured, after being swamped and taken offline for
several hours Monday afternoon, to accommodate 40 million."

Full Context: http://www.desnews.com/dn/view/1%2C1249%2C100003951%2C00.html

ZD-NET reports on the mechanism of the 15 minute limitation:

"Outside your 15 minutes, you get a message like this:

"FamilySearch Internet is receiving so many visits that users are temporarily
being given access on a rotation basis for 15 minutes at a time. We apologize
for this inconvenience. Please look at the message below to determine when
you should be able to access the site. Thank you for using FamilySearch.org.
Access in: 44:59."

The system provides an alternative to the usual "Connection Refused" busy
signal, said Dan Rascon, a spokesman for the LDS Church, which is popularly
known as the Mormon church."

Full content:
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0%2C4586%2C2266660%2C00.html

According to the articles, the LDS Church is expanding their equipment
capacity in a cautious manner. They are thinking that perhaps the volume will
calm down once the "newness" of the site wears off.

I am one of the guilty parties, who stayed online at FamilySearch.org for
hours on end last Saturday. I am preparing for another research trip to Salt
Lake, and needed to make printouts of all the microfilms and books I intend
to use at the Family History Library. Online access to the FHL's card catalog
will be the second wave of interest, as people move beyond finding references
to their ancestors in the IGI (International Genealogical Index) and the
Ancestral File.

It seems this genealogy bug has bitten a few more people this week!

Myrt :)
DearMYRTLE,
Daily Genealogy Columnist
America Online Keyword: myrtle
http://members.aol.com/dearmyrtle/index.htm
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  • [DEARMYRTLE-L] FamilySearch.org -- Testing the Timer by <>