diff --git a/public/index.html b/public/index.html
index 591e118..228fa0f 100644
--- a/public/index.html
+++ b/public/index.html
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@
     function appendBadge(parent, label, className) { const badge = document.createElement('span'); badge.className = `badge ${className}`; badge.textContent = label; parent.appendChild(badge); }
     function parseMetadata(value) { if (!value) return {}; try { return JSON.parse(value); } catch { return {}; } }
 
-    async function loadGuilds() { const guilds = await apiRequest('/api/guilds'); renderOptions(el.guildSelect, guilds, 'Select guild'); if (state.selectedGuild) { el.guildSelect.value = state.selectedGuild; await loadChannels(state.selectedGuild); } else if (guilds[0]?.id) { await postUIState({ selectedGuild: guilds[0].id }); } }
+    async function loadGuilds() { const guilds = await apiRequest('/api/guilds'); renderOptions(el.guildSelect, guilds, 'Select guild'); if (state.selectedGuild) { el.guildSelect.value = state.selectedGuild; await loadChannels(state.selectedGuild); } }
     async function loadChannels(guildId) { if (!guildId) return; const [voiceChannels, watchChannels] = await Promise.all([apiRequest(`/api/guilds/${guildId}/voice-channels`), apiRequest(`/api/guilds/${guildId}/channels`)]); renderOptions(el.channelSelect, voiceChannels, 'Select voice channel'); renderOptions(el.channelFilter, watchChannels, 'Select channel'); if (state.selectedVoiceChannel) el.channelSelect.value = state.selectedVoiceChannel; if (state.selectedTextChannel) el.channelFilter.value = state.selectedTextChannel; apiRequest(`/api/guilds/${guildId}/threads`).then((threads) => { appendOptions(el.channelFilter, threads); if (state.selectedTextChannel) el.channelFilter.value = state.selectedTextChannel; }).catch((error) => showError(`Thread discovery failed: ${error.message}`)); }
     async function refreshStatus() { try { const status = await apiRequest('/api/status'); el.voiceStatusText.textContent = status.connected ? status.activeChannelName || 'Connected' : 'Not connected'; el.voiceStatusNote.textContent = status.connected ? `Connected to ${status.activeChannelName}` : 'Idle'; } catch (error) { showError(error.message); } }
     async function connectVoice() { const guildId = el.guildSelect.value; const channelId = el.channelSelect.value; if (!guildId || !channelId) return showError('Select guild and voice channel first'); await postUIState({ selectedGuild: guildId, selectedVoiceChannel: channelId }); const status = await apiRequest('/api/connect', { method: 'POST', body: JSON.stringify({ guildId, channelId }) }); el.voiceStatusText.textContent = status.activeChannelName || 'Connected'; el.voiceStatusNote.textContent = `Connected to ${status.activeChannelName}`; }
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@
     el.channelFilter.addEventListener('change', () => { const selectedTextChannel = el.channelFilter.value; const url = new URL(location.href); if (selectedTextChannel) url.searchParams.set('channel', selectedTextChannel); else url.searchParams.delete('channel'); if (el.guildSelect.value) url.searchParams.set('guild', el.guildSelect.value); history.replaceState({}, '', url); postUIState({ selectedTextChannel }).catch((error) => showError(error.message)); });
 
     connectWebSocket();
-    loadGuilds().then(refreshStatus).then(() => apiRequest('/api/ui-state')).then(applyServerState).catch((error) => showError(error.message));
+    apiRequest('/api/ui-state').then(applyServerState).then(() => loadGuilds()).then(refreshStatus).catch((error) => showError(error.message));
     setInterval(() => { if (state.activeTab === 'text') fetchText().catch(() => {}); }, 7000);
   </script>
 </body>
diff --git a/src/moderation/backlogSync.ts b/src/moderation/backlogSync.ts
index 5fc993b..850704d 100644
--- a/src/moderation/backlogSync.ts
+++ b/src/moderation/backlogSync.ts
@@ -17,24 +17,51 @@ function isWatchableChannel(channel: { type?: string; messages?: unknown }): boo
 
 async function collectWatchableChannels(guild: any): Promise<any[]> {
   const channels: any[] = [];
+
+  // Fast pass: collect text channels from cache only
   for (const channel of guild.channels.cache.values()) {
     if (isWatchableChannel(channel)) {
       channels.push(channel);
     }
-
-    if (channel.threads?.fetch) {
-      for (const archived of [false, true]) {
-        const fetched = await channel.threads
-          .fetch({ archived, limit: 100 })
-          .catch(() => null);
-        if (!fetched?.threads) continue;
-        for (const thread of fetched.threads.values()) {
-          if (isWatchableChannel(thread)) channels.push(thread);
-        }
-      }
-    }
   }
 
+  // Slow pass: discover threads with timeout per channel (non-blocking to message sync)
+  const threadPromises: Promise<void>[] = [];
+  for (const channel of guild.channels.cache.values()) {
+    if (!channel.threads?.fetch) continue;
+
+    threadPromises.push(
+      (async () => {
+        for (const archived of [false, true]) {
+          try {
+            const controller = new AbortController();
+            const timeout = setTimeout(() => controller.abort(), 5000);
+            const fetched = await Promise.race([
+              channel.threads.fetch({ archived, limit: 100 }),
+              new Promise((_, reject) => controller.signal.addEventListener('abort', () => reject(new Error('timeout')))),
+            ]).catch(() => null);
+            clearTimeout(timeout);
+
+            if (!fetched?.threads) continue;
+            for (const thread of fetched.threads.values()) {
+              if (isWatchableChannel(thread)) channels.push(thread);
+            }
+          } catch {
+            // Skip this channel's threads on timeout/error
+          }
+        }
+      })()
+    );
+  }
+
+  // Wait for all thread discoveries with overall timeout
+  await Promise.race([
+    Promise.all(threadPromises),
+    new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 30000)),
+  ]).catch(() => {
+    logger.warn("Thread discovery timeout, proceeding with cached channels");
+  });
+
   return Array.from(new Map(channels.map((channel) => [channel.id, channel])).values());
 }
 
diff --git a/src/webserver.ts b/src/webserver.ts
index c8291b2..e32b58d 100644
--- a/src/webserver.ts
+++ b/src/webserver.ts
@@ -129,6 +129,7 @@ export function startWebserver(
     }
     res.on("finish", () => {
       if (req.originalUrl.startsWith("/.well-known/appspecific/")) return;
+      if (req.originalUrl === "/favicon.ico") return;
       if (res.statusCode >= 400) {
         logger.error(
           { method: req.method, url: req.originalUrl, statusCode: res.statusCode },