First off... there is nothing that a mod locking a thread could do to make the forum lag.
Second off... the original post is in violation of our ROC by questioning MOD actions. You may want to believe that mod actions are not needed, but our younger forum members (at least their parents) believe otherwise. The rules are there for a reason. For this reason, I am locking this thread as I reply.
Third off... I never experience the problems you are describing and I note several others here doing the same thing. Perhaps you need to update adobe flash since the ads are not from Stratics and could be part of the problem... or just use Mozilla's Firefox and turn off the ads! Based on many others not having a problem, I would hazard a guess that it is something on your end.
Fourth off... to answer your last question... once you log in to the forum, look towards the upper left and select "User CP". From there, scroll down the left column and select "Edit Options". Now scroll down to "Thread Display Options" and uncheck "Show Signatures" - "Show Avatars" - and "Show Images" as you like.
I hope that helps... if you still have questions or problems with it, feel free to PM me or one of the other Stratics team members and we will try to help.
