My homepage (index.php) started redirecting to the page I had just created. Since the page had been deleted, what I actually saw was my 404 page. Uncool!

I tried changing to the default WordPress 3.0 theme, but that didn’t fix the problem. I disabled the All-in-One SEO pack, but that didn’t help either. Out of desperation, I disabled every plugin, and — viola! — it worked.

I reenabled everything but Redirection and everything was still working. So, the Redirection plugin was the culprit. I reported the issue. We’ll see if it gets fixed.

Note: If you add a parameter to the request, like http://usefullittlethings.com?x=y, the problem goes away.

Yesterday, I got fed up with the slow response times and called them.  They’re reply was simple and to the point: We can’t do anything about it.  They actually tried to tell me that it normally takes a really long time to read content from a database and that 20-30 seconds to dynamically generate a page is normal!

So, I switched to a new provider for a 60 day trial.  I’ll let you know how it works out.  As it stands so far, response time has gone from 20-30 seconds to generate a page to sub-second response.  I’m cautiously optimistic.

Update: I haven’t found anything to complain about, so I’m making the switch to WebFaction permanent (yes, the link to WebFaction will get me a “kick back” if you sign up).