We're not really sure exactly what is happening. In fact, I haven't actually experienced any problems. John thinks he might have found something though. Let us know if you have any further problems as of this post.
The past "week"? This behavior has been happening off and on for the past few months. I'm surprised people are still using the site after all this. I try the site once every few days and it almost always takes minutes for a forum thread to load.