Lost replies

Technical problems, questions, comments, and suggestions for the forum and wiki.

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cufflink
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Lost replies

Post by cufflink »

This has happened several times now, and it's frustrating as hell. I log onto the forum; I write a long reply to a post; I try to post my reply, but I get a pop-up box saying I have to log in first! So I click the login button again--and my reply is gone. I just lost a reply I had probably spent an hour on.

Is this a glitch in the system or am I doing something wrong? I haven't had this problem on other forums.
One Moment in Annihilation's Waste,
One Moment of the Well of Life to taste--
The Stars are setting, and the Caravan
Draws to the Dawn of Nothing--Oh, make haste!

—Fitzgerald, Rubáiyát, 2nd ed., XLIX
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brimstoneSalad
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Re: Lost replies

Post by brimstoneSalad »

Oh, I hate when that happens, sorry if happened to you. I've had that happen elsewhere often in the past.


1. Make sure you click the "stay logged in" check box whenever you log on. That will help keep your session from ending.

2. But when it does happen, click the back button. All modern web browsers will retain the text you input into the field before the page changed. So, if you click back, it should still be there.
You can then select it all, and copy it- then log in.

If not, update to the most recent version of Google Chrome or Firefox. Those will retain the text for when you click back.

3. I used to type longer replies in another window- gmail is particularly useful for that, since it will save while you're typing. Or a word processing program can help too- even just notepad, sometimes.

In that case, it's just a matter of getting into the habit of being paranoid whenever you write a long post (sometimes the power can even go out, and for that, having it saved in gmail is really useful).
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brimstoneSalad
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Re: Lost replies

Post by brimstoneSalad »

On the Administration side, this is a problem with phpBB:

https://www.phpbb.com/community/viewtop ... &t=2119996

And the session length settings if the cookies aren't working properly.

The staff at phpBB doesn't seem interested in fixing the problem, unfortunately.

to VeganAtheist: Please increase session time settings as mentioned in that thread in the administration control panel. Changing it to three or four hours would help resolve the problem, if it will accept those settings.
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Volenta
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Re: Lost replies

Post by Volenta »

The only problem I sometimes have is that I make a back-gesture on my trackpad and can't restore what I had typed when going forward again.
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brimstoneSalad
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Re: Lost replies

Post by brimstoneSalad »

Here's an image showing specifically which thing needs to be checked:

Image

Although that won't necessarily work with every browser and windows configuration (it works for me in Google Chrome browser on Windows)
Thus why we need to increase the session length.
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brimstoneSalad
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Re: Lost replies

Post by brimstoneSalad »

Volenta wrote:The only problem I sometimes have is that I make a back-gesture on my trackpad and can't restore what I had typed when going forward again.
Forward is more tricky than back. You should be able to change the settings on your trackpad, though, to disable annoying accidental gestures - either by setting a higher threshold/lower sensitivity, or by just disabling it entirely.
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cufflink
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Re: Lost replies

Post by cufflink »

Thanks, everyone, for the helpful hints. I need to get in the habit of first composing longish posts in my word processor, which has an auto-save feature, and then pasting it into the reply window.

While we're at it, another technical question:

Do we have a way of hot-linking words and phrases, or is it always necessary to use the URL button and include the actual URL in the post?
One Moment in Annihilation's Waste,
One Moment of the Well of Life to taste--
The Stars are setting, and the Caravan
Draws to the Dawn of Nothing--Oh, make haste!

—Fitzgerald, Rubáiyát, 2nd ed., XLIX
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brimstoneSalad
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Re: Lost replies

Post by brimstoneSalad »

cufflink wrote: Do we have a way of hot-linking words and phrases, or is it always necessary to use the URL button and include the actual URL in the post?
Sure.

Google

Use the syntax url=something

Code: Select all

[url=http://www.google.com]Google[/url]  
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TheVeganAtheist
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Re: Lost replies

Post by TheVeganAtheist »

to VeganAtheist: Please increase session time settings as mentioned in that thread in the administration control panel. Changing it to three or four hours would help resolve the problem, if it will accept those settings.
I will see what I can do. Sorry for any trouble you are having.
Do you find the forum to be quiet and inactive?
- Do your part by engaging in new and old topics
- Don't wait for others to start NEW topics, post one yourself
- Invite family, friends or critics
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cufflink
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Diet: Vegan
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Re: Lost replies

Post by cufflink »

brimstoneSalad wrote:
cufflink wrote: Do we have a way of hot-linking words and phrases, or is it always necessary to use the URL button and include the actual URL in the post?
Sure.

Google

Use the syntax url=something

Code: Select all

[url=http://www.google.com]Google[/url]    
Cool! :)
One Moment in Annihilation's Waste,
One Moment of the Well of Life to taste--
The Stars are setting, and the Caravan
Draws to the Dawn of Nothing--Oh, make haste!

—Fitzgerald, Rubáiyát, 2nd ed., XLIX
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