I observed something today that gave me a big clue about the server-wide lags that sometimes happen on FIBS.

Fixing the problem was trivial-- it took me all of about ten lines of code and five minutes of work.  If I'm right about this, and I'm about 80% confident that I am, most of the big lags on FIBS should go away.  It's too early to celebrate, but I'm cautiously optimistic.

Of course, it's hard to know for certain that something isn't happening-- all you can do is observe the system over time and look for the problem.  I'm enlisting everyone's help on this.  If you see a big server-wide lag over the next few days, one where everyone seems to block for a few seconds, please let me know.  As soon as the server starts responding, use the "date" command and then send me a note letting me know there was a big lag just before that time.

Thanks!  And cross your fingers.

Will do.