# Log in screwed up



## turf3 (Mar 9, 2015)

For the last dozen years or so, if I am scanning through posts without being logged-in, and I want to reply to one, when I push the "Post Reply" button it sends me to a login page; I log in; and then my post is there and I hit "Post Reply" and it goes up. Just like every other forum I use.

For the last couple weeks the log in page to which I'm directed has looked different; which is OK, since software people never leave anything that works alone.

But now it's gone altogether. So, to be clear, I'm scanning through posts without being logged in; I want to reply to one; if I type a reply and push "Post Reply" NOTHING HAPPENS. It SHOULD take me to a login page, just like every other forum; but instead it just sits there. If I go up to the top of the page and log in, the text I just typed is disappeared.

My request, which I know will be ignored, is to put it back the way it was, so that typing a reply to a thread when not logged-in, and pressing "Post Reply" will take one to the login page, and do so without deleting the text of the reply.

Honestly, why can't you people just LEAVE THE DAMN THING ALONE WHEN IT WORKS?


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## Dr G (Feb 2, 2003)

@turf3 Let’s get the attention of someone that can respond to your issue. Our local moderators have no sway over the coding of the forum, and the people that do manage the platform don’t monitor the comments much. The most direct way to be heard is to call them explicitly.

@VSadmin


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## turf3 (Mar 9, 2015)

Awright, I copied the post above and "opened a conversation" with @VSadmin as you note above. One would think that "Forum problems and reports" would come to the attention of people who can do something about forum problems (which is NOT moderators, I understand that), but I guess what you're saying is it's like the "Close Door" button in an elevator, or the "Press Button for Crosswalk" on traffic lights; you press it to make yourself feel better but it's not connected to anything.

I LOVE software!


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## Hoosier Ken (5 mo ago)

turf3 said:


> Awright, I copied the post above and "opened a conversation" with @VSadmin as you note above. One would think that "Forum problems and reports" would come to the attention of people who can do something about forum problems (which is NOT moderators, I understand that), but I guess what you're saying is it's like the "Close Door" button in an elevator, or the "Press Button for Crosswalk" on traffic lights; you press it to make yourself feel better but it's not connected to anything.
> 
> I LOVE software!


The buttons on the crosswalks actually do place a call to signal controller that someone is waiting to cross. Many actuated signals won't ever give a walk light unless someone presses the button. As for the forum software, the feature was probably either broken or removed in an update. These updates are necessary to patch vulnerabilities that malicious coders to exploit for nefarious purposes. It may be a piece of third party software that had to be recoded or removed that breaks a feature or changes behavior. The people who code the forum software can't do a damn thing about this problem in the short term nor can the admins but once aware of the problem may be able to restore it.


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## Dr G (Feb 2, 2003)

turf3 said:


> Awright, I copied the post above and "opened a conversation" with @VSadmin as you note above. One would think that "Forum problems and reports" would come to the attention of people who can do something about forum problems (which is NOT moderators, I understand that), but I guess what you're saying is it's like the "Close Door" button in an elevator, or the "Press Button for Crosswalk" on traffic lights; you press it to make yourself feel better but it's not connected to anything.
> 
> I LOVE software!


Amen, Turf3. I had a friend in grad school that was convinced that the buttons on crosswalks were nothing more than “people pacifiers”, just something to do while waiting for the light to change. (Facts be damned, @Hoosier Ken, we were in engineering and knew the Truth, even though the user experience says otherwise.)

G’luck to us all with the forum!


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## JL (Feb 3, 2003)

turf3 said:


> software people never leave anything that works alone.


Yeah, this drives me crazy too. I realize there are certain fixes, maybe due to malicious malware (how's that for alliteration? Fun to say,), but way too many 'updates' for my taste. Anyway, I just stay logged in on this forum, so I don't have to log in every time, except when I clear my browsing history.

As to stop light buttons, yeah in some cases they might do nothing. However, just down the block from my house, crossing Hwy 1, there's a streetlight that will turn green for about 10 seconds (enough time to cross at a jogging rate) without pushing the button. But if you push the button the walk sign comes on and the green light lasts considerably longer, so you can stroll across slowly and still make it. That button at least, does something.


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## turf3 (Mar 9, 2015)

Hoosier Ken said:


> The buttons on the crosswalks actually do place a call to signal controller that someone is waiting to cross. Many actuated signals won't ever give a walk light unless someone presses the button. As for the forum software, the feature was probably either broken or removed in an update. These updates are necessary to patch vulnerabilities that malicious coders to exploit for nefarious purposes. It may be a piece of third party software that had to be recoded or removed that breaks a feature or changes behavior. The people who code the forum software can't do a damn thing about this problem in the short term nor can the admins but once aware of the problem may be able to restore it.


I will tell you that the behavior of traffic lights in Boston and surrounding towns does respond to crosswalk buttons. I will also tell you that the behavior of traffic lights in Dallas does NOT respond to crosswalk buttons.

And some years ago the "Door Close" buttons in elevators were investigated and it was found that in many cases they have no function.


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## turf3 (Mar 9, 2015)

Hoosier Ken said:


> ...As for the forum software, the feature was probably either broken or removed in an update. These updates are necessary to patch vulnerabilities that malicious coders to exploit for nefarious purposes. It may be a piece of third party software that had to be recoded or removed that breaks a feature or changes behavior. The people who code the forum software can't do a damn thing about this problem in the short term nor can the admins but once aware of the problem may be able to restore it.


Well, testing software after changes are made seems to be anathema.


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## Ixthusdan (Jan 17, 2015)

The function check after updates has been relegated to the users to complain. Efficiency is sad. The Users should never have to point our corrections.


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## Kirk B (Dec 18, 2020)

As a web application developer I can tell you that we have a motto. "I don't always test my code. But when I do, I do it in production." 😁


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## SteveS (Feb 3, 2003)

Correct, this is something for @VSadmin to look into.

Meanwhile, let me ask -- Do you have access to more than one browser? Internet Explorer, Chrome, FireFox, Edge, Safari? I'd definitely try this same operation on multiple browsers and see if you get a different result. One POSSIBLE problem is you have a pop-up blocker enabled. I'm not familiar with the innards of how this site is configured, but if the login screen is presented as a pop-up, and you are blocking pop-ups, that would possibly prevent you from getting the login screen.

Also, is this on a PC or a phone? I think SOTW comes up in a mobile version be default on phones. That may or may not still be the case. Definitely a @VSadmin question. When there was a mobile version (and if there still is), there was an option to disable it and use the desktop version on your phone. (I used to do that because I was not a fan of the mobile version.)

EDIT: Just tried this on a PC using both FireFox and Edge. Both failed to bring up a login screen. Unfortunately, I'm pressed for time and could not check to see if these browsers were suppressing pop-ups. 

Yes, it definitely could be something buggy. And as someone else said, software patches (updates, changes) that are mandated by security vulnerabilities and other problems do AT TIMES introduce new bugs. Seen it, and seen it, and seen it. If that's what happened here, I'm sure it will be tested and passed to a developer who could fix it. Once @VSadmin sees this, he'll likely have to pass it to the development team, so please be patient. Best workaround is to note whether or not you are logged in when you first bring up SOTW. If you are not, please log in before browsing the site. (Apologies if that seems painfully obvious, but we never make assumptions about someone's computer experience.)


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## PigSquealer (Dec 27, 2017)

SteveS said:


> Correct, this is something for @VSadmin to look into.
> 
> Meanwhile, let me ask -- Do you have access to more than one browser? Internet Explorer, Chrome, FireFox, Edge, Safari? I'd definitely try this same operation on multiple browsers and see if you get a different result. One POSSIBLE problem is you have a pop-up blocker enabled. I'm not familiar with the innards of how this site is configured, but if the login screen is presented as a pop-up, and you are blocking pop-ups, that would possibly prevent you from getting the login screen.
> 
> ...


@turf3 has been more than patient. He’s been dealing with the issues since @VSadmin took over the site. The dude has tried everything in the universe before posting complaints. Honestly I’m surprised he’s still around. Big PIA to post what he does. 
@VSadmin look at ALL the posts Turf has made on different issues IE Facebook login. Maybe it’s a combination of several small issues in the program ?


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## turf3 (Mar 9, 2015)

SteveS said:


> Yes, it definitely could be something buggy. And as someone else said, software patches (updates, changes) that are mandated by security vulnerabilities and other problems do AT TIMES introduce new bugs


Umm, yes, if "AT TIMES" is defined to mean "damn near 100% of the time".

I design stuff for a living. The stuff I design, if it doesn't work, we get customer complaints. Vice presidents of the company get involved. Daily status meetings till the issue is resolved. If resolution is slow, the status meetings will be twice a day. I have little sympathy for an industry where pretty much every design change ever implemented has serious bugs and where most of the time the user simply has to learn to live with the introduced bugs and change their behavior to use workarounds.

And you don't want to hear what I REALLY think.


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## Dr G (Feb 2, 2003)

... and the pain will continue until the issue is resolved."

Yeah, been there. Fun while it lasted - even better as memories.

Back to the forum tho', I wish I could see improvements that accompany the changes. So far, the most noticeable "features" are the ads - many inappropriate in my regard - that fill the right side of my screen.


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## PigSquealer (Dec 27, 2017)

Dr G said:


> Back to the forum tho', I wish I could see improvements that accompany the changes. So far, the most noticeable "features" are the ads - many inappropriate in my regard - that fill the right side of my screen.


I am on all Mac goods. Using Safari. After I installed Malwarebytes I don’t see squat anymore. 
nothing top, right or anywhere !


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## Hoosier Ken (5 mo ago)

PigSquealer said:


> I am on all Mac goods. Using Safari. After I installed Malwarebytes I don’t see squat anymore.
> nothing top, right or anywhere !


I am using Chrome in Windows 11, I don't see any ads here.


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## Dr G (Feb 2, 2003)

PigSquealer said:


> I am on all Mac goods. Using Safari. After I installed Malwarebytes I don’t see squat anymore.
> nothing top, right or anywhere !


I am running Safari on an iPad Pro. Thanks for the feedback.


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## Ixthusdan (Jan 17, 2015)

I use Brave in Windows 11. All good here.


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## Kirk B (Dec 18, 2020)

Ixthusdan said:


> I use Brave in Windows 11. All good here.


Brave solves just about everything as far as ads go.


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## turf3 (Mar 9, 2015)

Well, my post wasn't related to ads, but I will point out that it's absolutely idiotic not to confirm that one's product revision doesn't work with what's probably the most common combination in current use - Microsoft Edge and Windows 10 - which is what I'm using. If your software "upgrade" requires users to jump through hoops to download special softwares (that my firewall would likely block), just to return to the functionality it had before the "upgrade", you need to be fired, not promoted.


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## JL (Feb 3, 2003)

SteveS said:


> Just tried this on a PC using both FireFox and Edge. Both failed to bring up a login screen.


Thanks for checking, Steve. But this whole thing is confusing to me (no surprise there!). I use Edge. So, does this mean I better not log out or clear history? If I do that, will I be unable to log back in? I'll just stay logged in until I know I can get back in.


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## VSadmin (Mar 20, 2017)

turf3 said:


> Well, my post wasn't related to ads, but I will point out that it's absolutely idiotic not to confirm that one's product revision doesn't work with what's probably the most common combination in current use - Microsoft Edge and Windows 10 - which is what I'm using. If your software "upgrade" requires users to jump through hoops to download special softwares (that my firewall would likely block), just to return to the functionality it had before the "upgrade", you need to be fired, not promoted.


Edge is used by 4% of the internet, its definitely not one of the most common setups. 

With that little nugget out of the way, I'll have to do some troubleshooting. I just did the step above on another site (logged out without realizing, clicked reply, went to login page but then I was met with an error after)...so there might be something weird going on with a recent update.

(I can test with Chrome, FF and Edge...so I'll see what happens)

-Mike


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## SteveS (Feb 3, 2003)

VSadmin said:


> Edge is used by 4% of the internet, its definitely not one of the most common setups.
> 
> With that little nugget out of the way, I'll have to do some troubleshooting. I just did the step above on another site (logged out without realizing, clicked reply, went to login page but then I was met with an error after)...so there might be something weird going on with a recent update.
> 
> ...


Hi, Mike. Thanks for grabbing ahold of this Good luck with your troubleshooting. Please keep us posted, good or bad.

Thanks,
Steve


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## SteveS (Feb 3, 2003)

JL said:


> Thanks for checking, Steve. But this whole thing is confusing to me (no surprise there!). I use Edge. So, does this mean I better not log out or clear history? If I do that, will I be unable to log back in? I'll just stay logged in until I know I can get back in.


I don't think that's the issue that was reported. As I understand it, if you are NOT logged in, if you try to reply to a posting, you are supposed to be prompted to login. That does not appear to be working.

If you log out of SOTW, you should be able to log back in (as long as you remember your password, of course!).


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## JL (Feb 3, 2003)

SteveS said:


> I don't think that's the issue that was reported. As I understand it, if you are NOT logged in, if you try to reply to a posting, you are supposed to be prompted to login. That does not appear to be working.
> 
> *If you log out of SOTW, you should be able to log back in (as long as you remember your password, of course!).*


Thanks Steve! That's good to know.


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## PigSquealer (Dec 27, 2017)

turf3 said:


> Well, my post wasn't related to ads, but I will point out that it's absolutely idiotic not to confirm that one's product revision doesn't work with what's probably the most common combination in current use - Microsoft Edge and Windows 10 - which is what I'm using. If your software "upgrade" requires users to jump through hoops to download special softwares (that my firewall would likely block), just to return to the functionality it had before the "upgrade", you need to be fired, not promoted.


Looks like this post had a clue VS needed. funny how things work that way.
Hope it pans out.….after 3 years.

Ford holds the record for field testing.


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## VSadmin (Mar 20, 2017)

I can reproduce this in Chrome pretty easily. I have a hunch this is tied to guest replies, which is something fairly new, so I'm not sure where the "doing it for years" comes from (I have a guess on that as well, but can't test now vs then). Gonna work with a dev to try and figure out whats blocking the url to fire that allows for the log in prompt to show. Its not adblock related either, which would have been an easy win.

I'll keep you all posted.

-Mike


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## turf3 (Mar 9, 2015)

Well, I was typing a reply, pushing "post reply" and being prompted to log in, at least 5 years ago on this forum. Also, pretty much every other online forum I participate in, works the same way. If you're not logged in, you can type a reply, push "post reply" and it sends you to a login screen; once you log in it allows you to post your reply. So whatever changed about a week ago is the cause.


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## turf3 (Mar 9, 2015)

12 days, still not fixed. Counting!


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## VSadmin (Mar 20, 2017)

turf3 said:


> 12 days, still not fixed. Counting!


I'm not a dev and I can only do so much. We (meaning the Community Management team) have a meeting Thursday with engineering and I can raise it once more then. Since you are the only one bringing this up across 1000+ sites (at least from a ticket generated standpoint), I can't exactly raise this as an urgent matter, unfortunately.

I'll update you guys later in the week.

-Mike


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## VSadmin (Mar 20, 2017)

So this appears to be working again for me? I now get a box popping up asking me to register or login. Can you test?

-Mike


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## SteveS (Feb 3, 2003)

VSadmin said:


> So this appears to be working again for me? I now get a box popping up asking me to register or login. Can you test?
> 
> -Mike


Tested with FireFox. Didn't pop up a login for me.


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## turf3 (Mar 9, 2015)

Just now tried it, Edge with Windows 10, if I type in the window and press "post reply" it still does NOT bring me a login screen or dialog box.


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## VSadmin (Mar 20, 2017)

Works in Chrome and I was able to get a lot of team members to reproduce. Let me try Edge...which is basically Chrome but see if maybe its unique to certain browsers.

Edit: Hmm, still busted on Edge. AND it once again no longer works in Chrome.......sigh. Back to the drawing board.

-Mike


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## VSadmin (Mar 20, 2017)

Naturally, it works on another site but is broken on this and another site I just tested. So its very random and going to take some time to pin down.


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