My initial thought was that it referred to optimistic locking in VFP, but obviously not. The site in question is using Samba and there is an entire literature on the failures of OPLOCK when using Samba. I passed the info along to the site administratior and hopefully he will be able to turn if off and solve the problem. Thanks for your help!
A problem is a problem only as long as it has a possible solution. Lacking that, it becomes a FACT!