Discussion: API Limits... real problem

Hello

for some reason instead of 3 calls every 3 seconds... now the api (getStreetInfo() call) is working at 1 call every 3 seconds. is this by design?
(some times 1 call every 4 seconds)
And I read somewhere that the limit is 5 calls every second, is there anything I'm missing... should I always use oauth to call the API, even from a server?

TIA
sometimes it takes 7 seconds for one call
The limit of 3 calls every 3 seconds is per IP, not connection.  

If you have 1 thread running making API calls, and it waits for a response before doing another call, you should never run into the limit (on account of the 500-1000ms time for a full transaction).  If you have 3 threads making 1 call each, waiting for the previous to complete before making another, you will hit the limit and incur a 3s penalty *for all requests* because your IP will have exceeded the limit.  

Also, keep in mind that some of the calls are larger and can take 3-5 seconds to return.

Dane
Thanks. I have only one thread, using a static IP (is the only process using the API).
I thought that after the 3 seconds of penalty, you could call 3 times again immediately... but it seems that is not always the case. I made some changes so now instead of just calling the API and wait, I make sure to don’t call more than 3 times every 3s… and now (without any penalty) it is working ok.
Thanks!