We need to strengthen the p2pool for VTC and MON.
+1
Vert p2p is time tested...be patient...give it 24 hours to account for variance. Ping each node to see which is closest to minimize latency and have at it.
Diggin the MON...
No need to ping anymore. Use combined scanner which automatically sorted by latency.
http://coin.cubeconnex.com/poollist/
Take note that "Merged mine" is not accurately display all merged mining enabled nodes.
Open scanner and see the fronpage of it see whether node operators announced the merged mining.
If i'm using the "scanner" it will find my own p2pool with a latency of over 350+ msec and my p2pool is in the basement...
It is not a guess. It sends a packet in real time to each target node from the user's PC and time how long it takes for the response to come back. It depends not just on the PC-to-node internet speed but also whether the user PC is under heavy CPU and network load. If, for example, one is mining on his PC at the same time use that PC (or another PC on the same LAN) for finding nodes, the scanner's result will be erratic.
In your case, the packet is sent out to your Internet Service Provider's router and then come back into your home's node. The round trip is via external and not within the home's LAN.
EDIT: Check that your CPU and Internet bandwidth are not heavily use. This will give better result.