Account issues: Unable to login

[Greg Bernhardt]

We are aware of an issue resulting in some members being unable to login. We are working hard on a solution. Please stay tuned for more information!

 

[jedishrfu]

Thanks Greg!

 

[jim hardy]

Perhaps related...

I log in
go to "Watched Threads"
open one in a new tab and it comes up but I'm not logged in on that thread.

Firefox , Windows 7

btw @ is completely dysfunctional now. Completes the name for me but clicking it has no effect.

old jim

 

[Mark44]

btw @ is completely dysfunctional now. Completes the name for me but clicking it has no effect.

@jim hardy works for me. I'm using IE 11 in Win 7. Clicking has no effect until you actually post the message.

 

[jedishrfu]

How much do you pay him?

 

[jim hardy]

Clicking has no effect until you actually post the message.

Hmmm. Used to be it completed the name immediately. Guess I've got ""Who moved my cheese?"" syndrome.

will try it.now
@jedishrfu
@jedishrfu
worked twice in a row just like it used to.completing your name as soon as i click it.
We have some intermittent bugs.

@dlg
Aha ! There's the rub, it displayed but DID NOT autofill dlgoff's name when clicked. Maybe the bug depends on whether the name is in the current thread ?

Will post further symptoms as i observe them.

Gonna post now and see if it tags don.
EDIT nope, it didn't.
Let's see what happens if i complete his name myself. @dlgoff WOW that time it DID autofill when i clicked.
Used to be computers were consistent. I sure miss DOS.

Sorry Don - hope you don't mind the interrupt.

old jim

 

[Mark44]

Aha ! There's the rub, it displayed but DID NOT autofill dlgoff's name when cicked. Maybe the bug depends on whether the name is in the current thread ?

The autocomplete works for me, but you have to wait a bit. If you have a slow internet connection it could take a while to find the user names that match your partial name start. For me the delay was about 1 second, and it does not have to be someone who is already participating in the thread.

 

[Tom.G]

I agree intermittent. It's been an intermittent annoyance here for some months. After selecting an individual from the drop-down menu, sometimes the name will complete in the text and sometimes it won't complete; which causes me to type in the full name.

Another intermittent is when accessing the site, sometimes the banner (the one that has the log-in button) shows up, sometimes it shows only after scrolling. This is always from the tower computer at home, not a portable or laptop. This too showed up some months ago. It seems like some servers are configured differently than others. (assuming a server farm.)

Used to be computers were consistent. I sure miss DOS.

@jim hardy It doesn't appear that the problem is out here on the leaf, more likely at the root...but probably not worth calling in a tree surgeon!

Oh, and just curious. What is being done at 0700UTC when there is perhaps a one or two minute response delay?

 

[phinds]

Interesting. I'm on a wood forum that uses the same base software as PF and I've just recently noticed the same issues --- occasional lack of auto-complete on user names AND sometimes it not clickable when entering the message (then becomes clickable when posted). I posit that the flaw is in the underlying code but this would require that both forums have done an update recently.

 

[Tom.G]

Ahh! A response that doesn't say "Update your browser, operating system, eyeglasses,... etc."

 

[dlgoff]

. @dlgoff WOW that time it DID autofill when i clicked.
Used to be computers were consistent. I sure miss DOS.

Sorry Don - hope you don't mind the interrupt.

No problem. I didn't even get an Alert.

btw I miss DOS too.

 

[jim hardy]

@Mark44

autocompleted on 3rd try, didn't turn blue

will see if it does when click post

EDIT looks like it did

 

[Mark44]

I believe, but haven't verified this, that the problem of slow or nonexistent autocomplete has to do with internet traffic. The PF client that appears in your web browser has to send an HTTP POST request to the server, and must wait for the HTTP OK response from the server containing a list of names that fit the letters typed in. It's highly possible that if there's a lot of traffic, this back and forth can take several seconds, or maybe longer.

 

[jim hardy]

@Mark44 worked again ok.
Delay makes a lot of sense. My isp is "Century" link .

 

[jim hardy]

Back to post 3

I log in,
go to "Watched Threads".
open one in a new tab and it comes up but I'm not logged in on that thread. Have to log in again.

Reference https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/account-issues-unable-to-login.936265/#post-5930601

Am i an outliier on this ?

EDIT Happened on this one. When i clicked "Post" i got the 'must be looged in ..' page.

 

[jim hardy]

Something besides my thumb logged me out at least five times today. Gonna let Security Essentials chew on my disk tonight

 

[jim hardy]

The 'phantom logout' is becoming increasingly frequent and only on PF.

Any windows7 or firefox58.0.1 settings i should check ?

Symptom - i log in, get 'forums' screen. When i select a thread it shows up but as if i weren't logged in. If i try to comment i get either "You must be logged into do that" page , or "Security error please refresh the page and try again" . page.
I am able to log in
but it's worrisome when things don't work as expected...

old jim

 

[jim hardy]

Thanks Mods, for the cleanup... old jim

 

[dlgoff]

When i select a thread it shows up but as if i weren't logged in.

Do you check the "Stay logged in" check-box?

 

[jim hardy]

Do you check the "Stay logged in" check-box?

Hmm first time i'd ever noticed that. Will see if it's checked on next login. Thanks !

 

[jim hardy]

Well, this morning things are different. Working fine just like it used to,

i tried logging in with it checked and with it unchecked. No difference . No unexplained logouts so far. At this moment I'm logged in with the box unchecked...

Computers used to be consistent . Tower of Babel ?

old jim

 

[jim hardy]

Auto logout back again. Intermittent.

 

[Bandersnatch]

Just chiming in that I also have the same issue with automatic logging out as Jim has. Often happens within seconds of logging in.
Firefox, win 10.

 

[jim hardy]

more frequent today. Doesn't care whether ":stay logged in" is checked. Firefox & win7

edit happened when tried to post this.
Edit again but not on edit.

 

[phinds]

Jim, I'm also using Firefox and Win7 and have never experienced this. Have you loaded any new software recently? Are you using a good anti-virus program?

 

[Tom.G]

@jim hardy
Check the browser cookies. PF saves two cookies on your machine at login named "userinit" and 'xf_session". To view cookies on my earlier version of Firefox, in the browser window, I click:

Tools->Options->Privacy->Show Cookies

The originators of the Cookies are displayed in alphabetical order. Find Physicsforums.com and double-click it to list the Cookies. If they aren't there it's probably a local problem; if they exist and have content, problem source is indeterminant.

If you want to delve deeper, there is a program available that logs all network traffic in and out of your computer, but it is not for the faint-of-heart. Pgm name is "Wireshark".

 

[jim hardy]

if they exist and have content, problem source is indeterminant.

Five of them ,
a snip ...

will look into wireshark... thanks, old jim

EDIT wireshark looks like a science unto itself... not for the faint of heart ? I have a pacemaker that should plow right through it.. it's just that I'm faint of brain...

 

[OCR]

Just three, for me...

Lol...

.

 

[OCR]

Now there are no cookies....

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Has wiping the cookies helped anyone?

 

[Bandersnatch]

I did not delete the cookies, but all problems were gone the next day as inexplicably as they had appeared.

 

[jim hardy]

I'm on a different ISP now, in Denver. Just happened again. Will try wiping the cookies this evening.

 

[phinds]

I'm on a different ISP now, in Denver. Just happened again. Will try wiping the cookies this evening.

Computers hate you.

 

[OCR]

Will try wiping the cookies this evening.

You could try setting Firefox up this way, also...

Here's my "Show Cookies..." as or right now.

This is my "Settings..." .

This is where I've been since I logged in, and I can still go back to any of those tabs...

You will get logged out if you quit Firefox, though...

.

 

[jim hardy]

No auto-logouts since last night's PF offline. Will see if it holds.. Was that a maintenance outage?