The secret of how to get on to a congested site

Don't just re-enter the Web site's address - that makes the problem worse, since it lodges two requests for the same page. Try pressing "Stop" and then trying again.

See if there is a text-only version. The text-only page for Altavista (www.altavista.com/query?text) is only 2 kilobytes and loads 10 times faster than the standard page (www.altavista.com).

Try using a search engine to check what is on the site. You can specify the domain to search (eg britannica.com) and the information. It may lead you straight to the page.

See if there are "mirror sites" - copies - of the one you want. The nearer the copy is, the more likely that you will be quickly connected. To find mirror sites, check with news sites or search engines.

Set your browser up to allow multiple downloads of data. You can load many different elements of a page at once.

If it is not urgent, wait until it is quiet time, around 4am, in the place where the site is based (9am GMT if it is in New York, 12 noon if it is in California).

Charles Arthur