Rails optimization cuts role queries by up to 99% on Forem's dev.to codebase

A performance optimization merged into Forem, the open-source codebase behind dev.to, has reduced redundant database role queries by 75% to 99.3% across four key request paths. The core issue was that Rolify's authorization checks repeatedly issued COUNT or EXISTS SQL queries for the same users, even when their role data could have been loaded once. The fix modifies the Authorizer layer to inspect Active Record's in-memory association state, using cached role data when available and falling back to database queries only when necessary. Preloading roles via Active Record eliminated per-user N+1 query patterns in the admin member list and CSV export paths. The changes were regression-tested and merged upstream, also delivering measurable reductions in SQL duration, memory allocations, and overall request time.