How can server-related issues affect the functionality of a PHP forum for certain users?

Server-related issues such as slow server response times or server downtime can affect the functionality of a PHP forum for users by causing delays in loading pages, errors in submitting posts, or even complete unavailability of the forum. To solve this issue, you can optimize server performance by upgrading hardware, optimizing server configurations, or using a content delivery network (CDN) to cache static content.

// Example code snippet to optimize server performance by enabling caching in PHP
header("Cache-Control: max-age=3600"); // Cache content for 1 hour
header("Pragma: cache");
header("Expires: " . gmdate('D, d M Y H:i:s', time() + 3600) . ' GMT');