Please please please fix the \"New Posts\" bug!

I have a feeling the new posts aren't showing because it's conflicting with the front page. I hear that you log in \"twice,\" maybe your cookies are logging you into the front page and immediately logging you into the forum. Does that make sense? Maybe some of you should delete your cookies and log on in the \"forum\" not the frontpage.

I think its a browser problem, not some php problem.

I don't buy that. If it were a \"browser\" problem, it would have been apparent on the old forums as well, which it was not. These problems started for us all AFTER the new forums, and continue despite the fact that I think everyone here has tried that solution (clearing cookies, that is).

And, the problem is not whether it is logging in at all, but rather that when it logs you in to the forums, it does it *twice*, thus there are no new posts between the milliseconds between \"visits.\"

Well the old forums was Snitz. I'm not at all familar with Snitz, but I believe that snitz wasn't based off PHP. So maybe Ryan recoded the frontpage-forum interegation...causing something to goof up?

If clearing cookies doesn't work, it probably is the some code problem...

Yes, it is logging in twice. It logs you on at the frontpage and then logs you on at the forum. To come to think of it, it COULD just be a cookie error. Hrmm, I'm using Firefox. Let me see what I can do.

No no no.

It is logging users in twice successively when you go to the forums. We are seeing that the last time we visited the forums was the very same moment we are visiting now. This according to the forums' own clock.

Yes, I'm convinced it is at frontpage portal to forum issue. It makes total sense to me. The forum and the front page seem to be constantly synced. So when you check your "last" log in, it was the time when you "logged" into the frontpage. When you "logged" on to the frontpage it redirected you to the forum, causing you to log on a second time.

Here is how I see it.

User clicks "Log In" (In Forum)
Forum redirects user to front page where the user is asked to log in.
User enters info and presses submit
Frontpage logs user in.
--This is where the problem is.

The front page is most likely using the "forums" software to keep track of the members. All comments are counted as "posts" and the profile system is based off the members in the forum.
When you log on to the forums, you log on the frontpage aswell. To make things simplier, ryan put all the "log-ins" on one page. When you log in, the forum acknowledges your "onlineness thing." However, when you chose to go to the forums, the frontpage tells the forums that the user is coming, and for some reason "relogs" the user on.

I don't know...maybe its something else, but that seems to be the best explanation of the double log in.
(...gosh, I need to make more sense then this..)

no. wrong.

because most of the time, it will direct you to the forums w/o logging you in. EVERY time go to pic (fromt page), i am logged in. that is not so with the forums. in fact, it works better when in doesn't.

the problem is SUCCESSIVELY logging in. You are misunderstanding. if I go to pic then read a story, then peruse through the forums, that gives a few minutes or so between visits. the problem is that sometimes when we visit the forums, it logs us in twice SUCCESSIVELY. I can tell when it is doing it, I know before the screen comes up whether it will be the case. If it doesn't log me in automatically, it will direct straight to the forums. If it tries to log me in beofrehand (which it will do twice before the page comes up, thus the problems), it goes to another page and \"redirects\" me to the forums, after which I have \"visited\" the site twice in the last millisecond. THIS is what is happening. NOT an issue where the front page is logging in first, then the forum. I am ALWAYS logged in to the front page, that has not changed. Only how the forum handles it. It either logs you in twice immediately, or not at all. If not at all, if you refresh, it will log you in only once.

If it were like you said, then there would be a few minutes between visits. However, Like *I*said, THE LAST TIME I VISITED IS THE **SAME** TIME AS THE CURRENT VISIT.

Trust me on this one. I have been experiencing this (along with others) for the whole time you have been on hiatus. Well versed in the problems.

I don't understand your ...post


Don't quite understand this. Are you saying that when you are logged in at the frontpage you are already logged into the forum? Then the probelm does not lie at the "redirection" it lies in the "log-in" itself. Which is a conflict with the frontpage to forum.


Yes. It is SUCCESIVELY logging us in. No doubt about that. Yes, you could spend a whole hour on the front page, come back to the forum, and look! There is little "orange" posts. You notice that if you browse for a while, you could see the new posts? It has something to do when you log in for the first time. It logs you into the Frontpage then the forums which run on the SAME software which causes the user to log in twice.

That is what you're saying no? Same thing as I am saying? Hrmm?


Still don't understand this. Yeah...uh...hrmm. I need to take more reading lessons. Maybe its the font. Hmm


Ok, I understand this. Interesting, so maybe that is the case. That when you redirect yourself to the forums it logs you in at that time. So that when you're logged in at the front page, you aren't logged in at the forums? No...how does that work? Correct me if I'm wrong but, whenever you make a comment, it gives you a post at the forums. Your profile, is the same as the forums, it is impossible to be logged in at the front page and not the forum--since they are running off the same program!
Bah, maybe I'm wrong, I don't much about phpbb anyways. I don't know ANY php aswell.


Hmm...something I did?

You are still misunderstanding.

By \"successively,\" I mean literally a one-two punch, one right after the other.

Whenever I visit PIC's front page, I am logged in and have access to post messages to the stories. However, at times, when I go on over to the forums afterward, I am NOT logged in. I can always tell before the pages comes up, because it goes straght to the forums page, www.palminfocenter.com/forum .

However, this double-login thing happens instead sometimes. When that happens, clicking on the forum link takes me to the forums, but first it directs me to what I can only assume is the \"Login\" page, tells me \"if your browser doesn't support metadata redirection, click here,\" and I can watch as the browser logs into that sight once, then logs in AGAIN, then takes me to the forums, where it shows that The last visit to the site was the same exact time as the current visit, hence no new posts.

Trust me, we are not saying the same thing. Your second take at my last post is more accurate an assumption given the current facts of the case. THAT is how it is behaving, whether it is right or not (obviously not right, as this problem exists).

If you are not experiencing this, good for you. But, unless you know what you are talking about, stop devaluing the experience of others. This post was started to try and get the problem solved, so I would ask that you either solve it, or give case points to help locate the culprit, since you are not capable of actually solving the issue. Not doing any good pretending to know what the deal is.

No, actually, I am experiencing this.


I know what I'm talking about. And no, I'm not making fun of anyone who is having problems. I have this problem right now. How the hell would I know how to fix it if I didn't have the problem? Naw, I have the problem...


Yes. And I am trying my best to solve it.


Culprit: Small line of code that repeats itself somewhere along the lines of the frontpage to forum syncronization(sp).


I'm not capable of actually solving this issue? Hah! This is the highlight of my day. If you think I'm not capable of solving a simple problem such as this, go ahead and think so.


Ouch. Am I pretending to know what the deal is? Ehehe, sure, I'm probably WAY off, but in my mind it is the closest to what is happening. But then again, I don't know, is PIC running off a portal? Is the frontpage and forum running on the same Database? Is PIC even syncing the fontpage and forum, or is it basically the same thing? Is the frontpage just a 'hidden' board with topics and comments? Do I know? No. This is my best guess. If you don't agree with it, you can ignore it. But let me tell you, I am trying to solve the problem. We're on the same side...


EDIT

Ok, well I decided to look at the cookies, I mean heck, it still could be the cookies. I'm not a 'cookie-expert' so bear with me...

Thats the lovely firefox cookie-viewer. As you can see, PIC has two cookies. If you click between the two to check what they do, you notice that BOTH log you in. As I stated before, it seems to be the cookies that are the root of the problem. This \"USER\" cookie seems to log you in--very simple. The \"phpbb2mysql_data\" cookie is a generated cookie that relogs you in. It looks like two cookies are logging you in at the same time...

I don't know jack about cookies so I compared it with another phpbb forum that I freaquently visit.

As you can see, the generated, \"relogin\" cookie is there. That is all I have. There is no \"USER\" cookie. The other two cookies have nothing to do with the forum. They're just some settings for phpMyAdmin.

They're both phpBB and I snooped around the Administration Panel of g2fusion and it doesn't look like I can \"force\" a user to always relogin. So meh, maybe this is a cookie thats from the frontpage that conflicts with the cookie from the forum. Ryan, can you confirm this?

EDIT 2

I hate it when some user edits his post like a million times...but meh --

I fixed the \"relogin\" issue by deleting the \"USER\" cookie. Ah, finally, I see some \"orange\" buttons. However, I think the USER cookie gets recreated ...somewhere, I don't know where but if it gets created again, I'll trace it.

Well I hope you find the source of the problem.

Whether or not the cookies are doing it, it still stands as I said, though: that people are being logged in twice successively when visiting the forums. But not all the time. It is either twice at the same time, or not at all. Not at all is actually better, because when you get the the forums and are not logged in, you can just \"reload\" the page or click the forum index link and everything will be as it should, with you logged in once and the new posts displayed.

If it were the cookies, though, I would think it would be a problem with EVERY visit. However, that is not the case. In fact, I have actually gotten it to behave relatively stable and NOT log me in... I have discovered (with Safari as a browser - YMMV) that if I keep safari running, PIC forums will not log me in automatically. However, as soon as I shut down the program or the computer, then get safari up again, the problem re-occurs.

Eh, take it for what it's worth. I'm a detective, not a scientist...

pnp:

Per your apparent success w/ cookies, I checked mine once more. Here is what I found:

There are FOUR cookies for PIC, 2 each for palminfocenter.com, and www.palminfocenter.com, and like you were saying, one with USERID and one with User as a title, with one of each for the cookie titles (palminfocenter & www.palminfocenter).

I ALSO noticed that one of each one did not have a valid expiration date for the security certificate. I deleted both of the cookies w/o the security certificate end date, and the forums are behaving properly (for now).

Thus far, it has not recreated that cookie... We'll have to wait and see.

Now, another question arises. if that solves the problem now, why did it not solve the problem months ago when the new forums appeared, and we all \"deleted cookies\" as a quick-fix try to solve the dilemma then? Any way, I have only done this a total of 2 times with correct behavior. I will post back after some program shutdowns and restarts, and some time has elapsed (this evening when I get back from my t/th classes).

Thanks to the comments from acaltabiano and pen_n_paper, I've done some experimenting.

I'm using Firefox 1.0, with the CookieCuller extension installed. I have the Extension set to delete all unprotected cookies each time I open the browser. I set the cookie named USER to Protected, and closed my browser. I waited a few minutes, then reopened my browser. Checking the cookies, all PIC cookies are gone except for USER. Visiting the Forums again, I am automatically logged in and my last visited time shows my last visit a few minutes ago, and no longer displays the current time.

So far so good, but I'm not going to jump to any conclusions. If it keeps on working for a few days, then I'll be satisfied and finally able to stop opening IE every time I want to come here.

sorry for the ongoing issues - I promise to do more work on this today and this week.

-Ryan

moot - i cannot find a download link anywhere on that page you linked to. Am I missing the obvious or is there some other place to download it from?

Along the top, there is a row of links. Click on the "Installation" link. Right at the top of that section, 3rd line down should be a link that says "Install CookieCuller". If you click it from within Firefox, it should install automatically. You may have to allow that particular site to install extensions, and Firefox should alert you if you need to do this by showing a gray bar at the top of the window below the tab bar saying that the site is trying to install an extension. If you click on the button there, you can set the site to "Allow", and clicking the link again it should install.