Back with a new server!
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Finally we’re back with a new server.
The old host is going out of business and the new host seem to be awful so far 🙁
I’d love to say that the next few months should be trouble free – here’s hoping.
[i]By the way, thanks go to Cat who was in the right place at the right time to come in and fix a corrupted database table (that bloody awful ‘Session Initialisation’ error we had for most of the day – I’d been trying for hours and the techie at the hosting company (the bloke who messed it up in the first place) wasn’t around (as usual). Thanks Cat! [/i]
bfgweb.com
great prices and the service seems ok. Not been with them long enough to checkout fully. But the tickets asking for help have been answered pretty promptly, so I guess I’m confident so far.
Good luck! I changed hosts back in November and had all kinds of horrible things (site was hacked, server outages, ect, ect) happen for almost 2 months but things have been good the last month (knock on wood) I actually moved all 3 sites and my Invision forums myself and it was no fun at all editing the php files to use the new mysql databases. I guess whatever doesn’t kill us makes us stronger eh?
[quote=”Buk”] I guess whatever doesn’t kill us makes us stronger eh?[/quote]
Didn’t realise the geezer had become world’s strongest man yet with all the server changes in the past 😉
help!!!
just tried to start a new thread in the Science Faction section, and it won’t let me post it!! “error in posting” 3 times! 😕 🙁 looked like it was bumping me off the board. have just had to log in again. pages slow. 🙁[quote=”snooklepie”]help!!!
just tried to start a new thread in the Science Faction section, and it won’t let me post it!! “error in posting” 3 times! 😕 🙁 looked like it was bumping me off the board. have just had to log in again. pages slow. :([/quote]The most common reason is because of the privacy/security settings. Are those cookies enabled?
This post of yours certainly went through… After posting were you still logged in? What browser are you using? IE? Are your cookies enabled (and are they at a medium setting or lower? I know that happens to me when my “Privacy” settings are set too high). Are other sites running slower than normal for you, and were you logged in for a long time before you posted (I sometimes get bumped when I’m not browsing for quite a while, but I set it so it took a long time before I’d lose my connection before when I had a 56K modem — my broadband connection is almost always online now)?
MAybe there’s some network traffic, or you have many open programs or something, that’s seriously affecting your load-time etc., so it’s timing out on you.
BTW, just a note to all, highlight the text then “right-click” and copy your post before hitting that submit button, ’cause I’m sure we all lose them at times.
Edit: The pages here open faster for me with the new server and the last one was slower for me than the one before it but faster for others.
i was actually on the other half’s computer, and he’s on AOL. when i clicked on ‘submit’, it didn’t bump me offline, i got an “error in posting” message, and was bumped off the site 😕 like i said. i had to log in again, but just to the site. wouldn’t have a clue exactly what his security settings are…all i know he tends not to be as fussy about them as me, and my settings are quite high…. 😕 puzzled…..i know he’s had an awful lot of problems with viruses. it probably just hiccuped. i know something’s got to be wrong when a P120 starts going faster online than an 1800 Athlon!
Well, beyond any virus problems, AOL [b]IS[/b] a problem. They’re renowned for causing site difficulties for their users – I know there have been AOL issues when it comes to phpBBs like this one too. I tried them for a while a few years ago, and would never go back. I’m guessing you’re using the AOL browser (I can’t stand it); you might try downloading the newest version of the browser (personally I’d switch over to the Mozilla browser). Or if he has another browser available… As for the P120, this site certainly wasn’t designed with something quite that primitive in mind.
Still, my main suggestion remains much the same as before… [b]Check his privacy settings [/b](and possibly the security settings too). I can’t remember the specifics with the AOL browser (guessing it’s using Explorer for the base program, and you might be able to disable the AOL browser), but I would either use the browser’s “Tools” menu (or equivalent) then enable the cookies in the privacy part of “internet options” – and reset security options if necessary (say to medium-high, though that can be dangerous security-wise (I scan my computer for security loopholes) — make sure again that the cookies are enabled — low to medium-high), or do it from the windows Control Panel (change internet options there in the same way).
If changing the settings still doesn’t work, then you may consider updating the AOL browser or changing the browser altogether, but ask him first, we don’t like having our toys messed with too much 😉 (like I said, if he has another browser that’s easily accessible, then you might try that).
BTW, were you totally bumped off the site (left sadgeezer.com altogether)? Were you redirected to an address off-site? That’s interesting; I seem to remember that happening to me when I had AOL (but I think that was when my connection timed out – so I set it in Control panel for an hour’s time-out and disabled the screen saver).
Good luck! Anyone know of AOL specific problems with this site?
I’ve checked the sadboard security (session files) and things seem to be ok now. I’m not sure what the problem is but re: Logans post, AOL are widely known for causing problems for their users on dynamically generated webpages (ie. cookies, javascript, content mamagement systems etc.)
As Logan pinted out, this site is one of only about four (for the time being) that share the same server, so peeps should have noted some increase in speed.
Hope things are ok now.
AOL may be okay for chat, but it’s bad for these boards. AOL’s rotating proxy IPs can be a problem.
Here’s a read that won’t be really helpful (I was just quickly checking out the php.BB.com board) but may be of mild interest since it talks some more about the numerous problems AOL users have at these boards. The phpBB.com board can be a useful resource to search for board users experiencing problems (especially good for admin of phpBBs though). Seems the consensus is that AOL aint that great, to put it politely: [url=http://www.phpbb.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=174249&highlight=login+error&sid=484fb1fe0f5d3062162f09e5e9942506]CLICK[/url] (they do indeed suggest not using an AOL browser).
Hope it’s working out for ya now.
I’ve had to tell people on numerous occasions to use IE with their AOL connection, then to reduce the default settings on Norton and IE security.
The problem is the script keeps checking that the login cookie is coming from the same IP address. It was designed to keep people from having their identities hijacked. So with AOL’s wandering IP, the script believes that it’s a hacker on another computer. I’m thinking of commenting them out if I can find a way to do it without allowing any robot willy-nilly into the members-only areas.
Pet
My two cents. For me it is not the wandering IP address that presents a problem. I use dial-up with a new IP every time and never had a problem with phpBB2. Sad’s version was actually supposed to be better at handling AOL as opposed to the newer versions coming out of the php group.
I recommend that users avoid anything but IE. When I use old versions of Netscape, the hidden “php home” link on the top left is no longer hidden and appears as a “broken” link that is still usable; “img” photos present over script….. With all the other smaller browsers…..I would recommend that American users do not use these browsers as they flag you as someone suspicious; you really stick out like a sore thumb using these browsers and only the worst connotations go with using them…..nuff said….. If you have to use a non-IE browser for anonymity…..realize that even the designers of P2P look at this in legal terms in a Western judiciary…..but Homeland Security will see all this otherwise…..stick with IE. AOL is safe from scrutiny but all the crap that goes with it creates problems.
Personally, I am moving slowly away from message boards as their usefulness as a media tool is smaller than I originally thought. It is good as a venue when I was setting things up in my little corner of the universe, but a read only site (like so many other similar organizations to mine) seems the ultimate destiny….. I originally questioned the value of a message board and this assumption may now prove correct. They have their place and I will still use it for anonymous use, etc….. but much of what goes on at message boards is just chat….. So with regard to the AOL problems…..the correction becomes “not worth the time and effort…..”…..” (Oh, one other note of interest: Not only is the value of the board in question, but I just noticed on our new business cards that the entire website has been relegated to a “contact us…..” on the very bottom of the card….. My how times quickly change as the website was the “thing” and the message board was most important…..and now…..).
[quote=”3.14″]My two cents. For me it is not the wandering IP address that presents a problem. I use dial-up with a new IP every time and never had a problem with phpBB2. [/quote]
The wandering IP with AOL is per page (or is it timed now?), not per session. Basic dialup IPs are per session, so when the script checks for cookies you are still in the same IP as long as you remain connected. AOL users aren’t so the scripts see them as different computers every time they move.
Conspiracy theory: In addition, the AOL browser is designed to keep people using AOL. It’s unlikely they will change it any time soon because as long as people get frustrated when they leave AOL’s circle, most of them will just give up without saying anything and stick to AOL pages. Less than 1% of people with a complaint will actually say anything about it, and since many AOL users are beginners or not into the tech stuff they assume the problems are with the sites they visit because a company as large and popular as AOL couldn’t possibly be the problem.
(Can you tell I used to have AOL and I’ve had this discussion many times? 🙄 My ISP has trouble with newsgroups and sometimes pages in Britain come up blank, but at least I can communicate outside of it.)
When Mr. Pet worked for Gateway tech, he had a woman call who said that AOL told her to call Gateway because the reason she was having trouble with all the pages she tried to visit was because she had [i]too much memory[/i]. That’s not the only time they swung people, but that was the weirdest.
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i got bumped off the site- i logged straight back in again, and was able to send my original post on the subject. most odd. 😕
okay so i’ve got a stoneage computer myself- but (and i know this is going to sound odd!) his computer is on a BT line, and mine is on cable. before he upgraded to the Athlon, the other half had an P2 equivalent. i found that the download time on pages from sites like this weren’t that different….Sad’s site is definitely faster than at any of the other sites as far as I can see. If it is really because of the lack of other sites on the server, then this can only be the best thing to happen for the popularity of the site – Good move Sadgeezer!
[quote=”Logan”]
Good luck! Anyone know of AOL specific problems with this site?[/quote]Some versions of phpBB have problems with AOL – I had to campaign to get this secirity feature removed for lexx.com as not to lose several members who would not be able to stay logged in to post.
AOL does something that is technically “legal” in TCP/IP networking, but frustrates many means of tracking sessions over HTTP – they assign the proxy at the time of the request, and at every request. This means that a person viewing this page could have a different IP address for every image they get. Most other internet communication happens over a synchronous connection, so the proxy does not change, but HTTP was not designed as such, any semblance of sessions are hacks added on.
Them darned session ids (combo of unique session id and and the users IP); mind you don’t want to risk the sessions being hijacked. AOL of course aren’t the only providers that route their users using a cluster of proxys, but amonst them AOL is one of the most problematic since the IPs can vary so much as one flips through the pages, and these boards at least generally require the first three IP quads to remain static for session validation. Can easily be changed to two to work better for many AOL users.
Did you try changing the code to reduce the IP validation length?
BTW, re your changing the security features: I have noticed that at lexx.com I don’t have to enable my cookies to use the board (as long as the cookie is stored on my puter) and I remain logged in, whereas here I have to enable it each time and I get logged out here often (my session ends). This is a complex site and ahhh — these darned complex dynamically generated webpages. 😀
AOL uses proxies on at least 4 different clas A networks. Here’s an example IP history for an AOL user:
[quote]152.163.252.225 [ 49 Posts ] [ Look up IP address ]
68.155.173.192 [ 16 Posts ] [ Look up IP address ]
64.12.96.102 [ 9 Posts ] [ Look up IP address ]
64.12.96.168 [ 9 Posts ] [ Look up IP address ]
65.2.3.8 [ 6 Posts ] [ Look up IP address ]
68.219.100.199 [ 5 Posts ] [ Look up IP address ]
64.12.113.8 [ 2 Posts ] [ Look up IP address ]
205.188.208.69 [ 2 Posts ] [ Look up IP address ]
205.188.208.133 [ 2 Posts ] [ Look up IP address ]
205.188.208.137 [ 2 Posts ] [ Look up IP address ]
152.163.252.97 [ 2 Posts ] [ Look up IP address ]
64.12.96.73 [ 2 Posts ] [ Look up IP address ]
205.188.208.139 [ 2 Posts ] [ Look up IP address ]
152.163.252.100 [ 2 Posts ] [ Look up IP address ]
64.12.96.44 [ 2 Posts ] [ Look up IP address ]
205.188.208.74 [ 2 Posts ] [ Look up IP address ]
205.188.208.108 [ 2 Posts ] [ Look up IP address ]
205.188.208.172 [ 2 Posts ] [ Look up IP address ]
152.163.252.99 [ 2 Posts ] [ Look up IP address ]
152.163.252.101 [ 2 Posts ] [ Look up IP address ]
152.163.252.129 [ 2 Posts ] [ Look up IP address ]
68.218.14.18 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
205.188.208.107 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
205.188.208.170 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
68.211.140.78 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
68.218.47.9 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
152.163.252.72 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
64.12.96.78 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
64.12.96.40 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
152.163.252.102 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
67.34.195.100 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
152.163.252.104 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
64.12.116.198 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
205.188.208.101 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
64.12.116.78 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
205.188.208.166 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
64.12.96.74 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
205.188.208.104 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
64.12.96.71 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
205.188.208.136 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
64.12.96.72 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
64.12.96.70 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
64.12.96.45 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
152.163.252.103 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
205.188.199.29 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
64.12.96.76 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
152.163.252.130 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
205.188.208.71 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
64.12.96.77 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
205.188.208.134 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
205.188.208.135 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
152.163.253.40 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
152.163.252.136 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
205.188.208.138 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
152.163.253.97 [ 1 Post ] [ Look up IP address ]
205.188.208.171 [ 1 Post ][/quote]And before someone gets on my case, here’s the proxy list:
The problem is AOL and not mine…..nobody is holding a gun to the head of AOL subscribers. I have a long list of AOL users who viist me and only stay for a few pages ( probably the ones I made 8) ) and then…..”poof”….. This can be corrected…..don’t use AOL!
I got a ton of AOL users since my last post. Please let me/us know what you can and can not do on this latest version of phpBB2…..just curious (I have 2.06 with all the upgrades and security changes – 2.06c ). If you can’t post on Sad’s, e-mail me at maurice@fortressoffreedom.com. Sad’s board is supposed to be more accepting of AOL and this version (2.06) the worst…..I have no other way to tell…..
When I use the internet at work or home I always use my laptop/PC with the same ISP. And I’ve been using AOL since day 1 when they switched me over from Prodigy.
Actually the problem with AOL is really simple:
Don’t use their Browser. PERIOD. Just minimize AOL and use the Net from your external browser.
If you use their proprietary, “built-in” web module you will run into MASSIVE problems. It’s a piece of sh#@ outdated version of like IE 5.0, with all sorts of built in things meant for the AOL client.
[b]Always use the external browser. Always. [/b]
I’ve never ran into a single problem (on the web, IRC causes tons of problems) with AOL as long as I’ve used external browsers. (By external browser I mean clicking on your OS browser, like IE, Netscape, whatevers around these days)
Friends of mine can’t even access non-AOL mail from the client, but can do so with external browsers.
I’m not defending AOL, I think it’s a silly system too, just that there is a solution for some of the problems. And myself like many others are just too lazy to cancel =0
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