Thanks for the tip.

I’m running Sage-Too for RSS/Atom feeds, which uses its own folder. I’ve actually deleted my Live Bookmark folder precisely to avoid the problem you mention.

As to Sage, I have it set to not automatically update. In addition, the problem occurs even if I have Sage disabled or uninstalled.

The problem occurs even when I run FF in safe-mode.

I’m currently running the Swiftweasel 3.0.3 PGO build of Firefox. I installed it as a test, because it installs into its own directory and forces the creation of a blank profile. I continue to run it because it runs in several processes which somehow makes it easier to shut down when it runs totally amok. (FF itself runs as a single process, and when it runs off the rails, it’s much harder to arrest.)

I routinely disable Java. Disabling Javascript a) is massively inconvenient and b) doesn’t help.

My OS is Ubuntu 8.10. The problem has existed since at least Ubuntu 7.10, with its default FF RC3 browser. (RC3? I think RC3. Whatever the default was at the time.)

Incidentally, since posting this, I’ve also tried Opera. Very nice, but it doesn’t run FF’s add-ons — including Sage, which is the only newsreader I’ve found that doesn’t get in my way too much.

I have a dual core CPU in my desktop, and I do notice spikes now and then when my huge list of RSS feeds refreshes, but nothing that would slow me down.

What version of Firefox? I’m using FF2 and FF3 on my Fedora 6.