Hi, thanks for the responses.
This problem was reported by dozens of our users across multiple states.
Our site developer ultimately determined that it is an issue with our host - she has an unresolved ticket open with the host, but it turns out other hosted sites complained about the same problem yesterday - and she also had the same problem when trying to connect to the host's website.
So, looks like it isn't a UBB issue after all...
Thanks again, and this looks like a great resource, I will be coming by more often as I get more involved in running our forum.