Users are experiencing access issues with the forums, with reports of slow responses and intermittent downtime lasting 5-10 minutes. A recent server maintenance to address a failed drive may have contributed to these problems, although no significant issues are logged. Some users speculate that external factors, such as ISP throttling or network rerouting due to floods, could be affecting performance. Additionally, there are warnings related to an RSS feed timing out, which may be causing further errors, but the core issue appears to be outside the Physics Forums server. Overall, users are concerned about ongoing performance issues and the potential need for adjustments to the RSS feed.