Unoffical empeg BBS

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#46995 - 17/11/2001 06:43 BBS forgets what I've read
wfaulk
carpal tunnel

Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
Does anyone else have a problem with the BBS forgetting what you've read? Every once in a while, I'll go to the main index and it'll claim that there is some number of messages that are new. I'll go into that forum and there will be many times more there that it claims I have not read. But I've already read them all, except for the few that the main index claims. It's really annoying. I'm using multiple computers to access the system. Might that be the problem? (Not that I see it every time I switch computers.) I do try reloading the forum index page, but it doesn't change.
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Bitt Faulk

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#46996 - 17/11/2001 09:03 Re: BBS forgets what I've read [Re: wfaulk]
tonyc
carpal tunnel

Registered: 27/06/1999
Posts: 7058
Loc: Pittsburgh, PA
Yeah I have the same problem and so do many others. It's a known bug in the BBS and nobody knows where it comes from. Basically you've got a persistent cookie on your machine that corresponds to some settings on the BBS backend which indicate what messages you've viewed. Somehow those settings aren't being saved/restored properly.

It's a bit annoying but it's usually only off by maybe 10 or 20 posts to me. When I see it's happened, I just start reading from the top and going back until I recognize the posts.
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- Tony C
my empeg stuff

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#46997 - 17/11/2001 16:39 Re: BBS forgets what I've read [Re: wfaulk]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31594
Loc: Seattle, WA
Yeah, this bug seems to hop from user to user. For instance, it happened to me a few months ago then went away for a while. Hasn't happened to me since.

The scary thing is that it's been happening for a long time now but no one at wwwthreads has seen it, it hasn't been reported in their bug report forums.

Recently, Paul did a major overhauls which included re-doing the web server and database software along with the BBS software, but it didn't help if you're still getting the bug.

Try doing a full wipe of your cookies and cache, that sometimes helps.
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Tony Fabris

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#46998 - 18/11/2001 07:43 Re: BBS forgets what I've read [Re: tfabris]
schofiel
carpal tunnel

Registered: 25/06/1999
Posts: 2993
Loc: Wareham, Dorset, UK
I'm pretty much certain it's a database problem, not the PHP front end generator or the cookies mechanism.
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One of the few remaining Mk1 owners... #00015

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#46999 - 18/11/2001 12:48 Re: BBS forgets what I've read [Re: schofiel]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31594
Loc: Seattle, WA
Yeah, but he upgraded the database recently, too. What sort of a database problem do you think it is?
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Tony Fabris

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#47000 - 18/11/2001 16:35 Re: BBS forgets what I've read [Re: schofiel]
andy
carpal tunnel

Registered: 10/06/1999
Posts: 5916
Loc: Wivenhoe, Essex, UK
I'm pretty sure it isn't a database problem. As I have documented before I have:

- machine A using IE6 where the problem rarely happens (was using IE5.5 before with same behaviour)
- machine B where using IE6 will almost always trigger the problem, using Netscape or Mozilla almost never causes the problem (machine B also used to have IE5.5 with the same behaviour)


Edited by andy (18/11/2001 16:36)
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#47001 - 18/11/2001 17:41 Re: BBS forgets what I've read [Re: tfabris]
synergy
enthusiast

Registered: 20/02/2001
Posts: 345

Yeah, but he upgraded the database recently, too. What sort of a database problem do you think it is?



As Far as I can tell, the cookie stores a name, password, language and last visit time. As such, it's dependant on the database on the web side to store what you have or have not seen at any given time. I'd say it HAS to be a database issue. The db could be struggling to keep a record of what is and is not read. Hmmm... Maybe not just the DB. It might be that the BBS code itself is sending an out of date cookie, that then corresponds to an older entry in the database. It might also be a local client time issue, although I doubt that is the full cause... All of my machines are ntp-synched to within a second of each other, and I see it from time to time.

I'm going to turn on a bit of cookie tracking to see about that issue here locally, as I've been seeing it more and more often.

Also, I wonder if the machine the BBS is physically residing on has ntp running on it, or some other manner of time synchro.
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Synergy [orange]mk2, 42G: [blue] mk2a, 10G[/blue][/green] I tried Patience, but it took too long.

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#47002 - 19/11/2001 03:48 Re: BBS forgets what I've read [Re: synergy]
wfaulk
carpal tunnel

Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
The time on the front page exactly matches that of my public-NTP-server-set computers. Within a second, at any rate. Which would imply that it's also public-NTP-set.
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Bitt Faulk

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#47003 - 19/11/2001 06:43 Re: BBS forgets what I've read [Re: wfaulk]
morrisdl
enthusiast

Registered: 21/08/2000
Posts: 346
Loc: Rochester, NY USA
Ironically, the BBS has forgoten that I read THIS thread already. I had not seen this problem in a month or so, before today.
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Cheers, -Doug Morrison Mk2-32G Back light buttons, Neon red screen

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#47004 - 19/11/2001 11:01 Re: BBS forgets what I've read [Re: tfabris]
peter
carpal tunnel

Registered: 13/07/2000
Posts: 4180
Loc: Cambridge, England
Recently, Paul did a major overhauls which included re-doing the web server and database software along with the BBS software, but it didn't help if you're still getting the bug.

In case anyone's interested, I just had it happen to me on the Rio Receiver BBS -- the first time I remember that happening.

Peter

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#47005 - 20/11/2001 11:27 Re: BBS forgets what I've read [Re: andy]
Derek
addict

Registered: 16/08/1999
Posts: 453
Loc: NRW, Germany
I've been having this problem using IE and Netscape on both a PC (NT, and now 2k) and a Mac.
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#47006 - 26/11/2001 21:14 Re: BBS forgets what I've read [Re: morrisdl]
borislav
addict

Registered: 30/04/2000
Posts: 420
Loc: Sunnyvale, CA, USA
Ironically, the BBS has forgoten that I read THIS thread already. I had not seen this problem in a month or so, before today.

Here is another bizarre occurrence - the post I'm currently reading is unread.

Borislav



Attachments
46755-unread2.jpeg (164 downloads)


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