1A) Remember that every command you input has an inherent delay to it. That delay can be short (walking down a road), or long (performing a complex combat maneuver, like the Wheel Kick example given), but it's always there. (This prevents, among other things, you winning fights just by somehow typing 'wheelkick' 40 times per round.)

1B) Also, some commands issued by other players can temporarily delay your input. For example, if someone successfully bashes you (see 'help bash'), your next command will be delayed slightly while you regain your balance. This would generally only show up in combat.

2) If your computer is a little older, it's possible a client can be set up in a way which strains it and slows things down. If you've added any long lists of substitutions, triggers, or other client-side functions which require repeatedly parsing all incoming text, you might see a degradation in performance during "busy" moments like quick movement or combat. If you aren't sure, maybe uninstall and reinstall the client so you know it's not bogged down with extra stuff.

3) Going by the traceroute, I agree with the other posters that it doesn't look like a network problem at all.

valguarnera@carrionfields.com