[imported_Chuck Weinstock]

I pretty much got the answers that I expected to get. At this point I see two options (and deleting posts outright is not one of them...never really was):

1. Dump older posts into a flat file.
2. Move the older posts to a new "archive" set of forums that is separate from the main forums.

The key is to get the old posts out of the forum database. But there is no problem if they are stored in a different database. Also, I am somewhat indifferent if it takes longer for people to browse the archives than the main forums.

Either option is going to take some work, and won't be done overnight. In the meantime, during peak times, we're likely to experience longer delays than I would like.

Chuck