Mahoning Valley Forum

Hi Folks,
Intermittent connection  issues have been reported on the forum recently.  Please respond to this thread if you have experienced problems connecting and also an approximate date/time if you can remember.  Trying to figure this out.  If you can't post at all, please email me at mahoningvalley@gmail.com
Thanks much!
Forum Manager

Yes ... I sent you an email about it.

Thank TownTalk...still trying to figure it out...there are no error logs showing anything. Have been chatting with support and they are no help. Hopefully it is a temporary glitch.

I haven't had any issues, but then I'm not here every day.

As can be seen by my stats, I spend hours on this site per week I have stared having issues with this site the past couple of days. Many times when I want to come here, I can't ... other times when I do get in and want to post a message, I can't ... there are times when I'm on a thread it will freeze up. I'm confident that the issues will be solved, and I thank the site's owner for the very best local site bar none.

I'm still having problems 1/30/15. This morning I got in ... made a post ... all OK, but when I was trying to make a change to another, it wouldn't let me and I couldn't log off. and after that I couldn't get back in till now.

test post

test post

sorry ... another test post

I've removed the sharing buttons and the extra  social media icons from profiles  to see if they are causing the issue.  Please keep me posted.  Thanks for letting me know about problems.

test

test

test

test

The issue of timing out could  be due to very large images being uploaded.  That puts a strain on the server and can the host to throttle the connections to the forum.
For the next week  there will be a limit of 100 kilboytes in image size to see if this is the issue.
Sorry for the inconvenience.

If your photos are large in byte size you can  crunch your photos down at these links
http://www.webresizer.com/
http://www.picresize.com/
Ideally photos should be under 80 kilobytes.

Is anyone still having problems with the Forum?  If so, please describe the problems you are having.

Yes, there will be times when I try to get in, but can't, but it's not a consistent problem, yet very annoying when there is something that I want to post, but can't. There are also problems when I try to log out. The next time I get the problem, I'll post a screen shot of the message I get.

I set up the image upl0ad to be smaller Towntalk so you might have issues if trying to upload large images.  The hosting company has looked into this but can't fined the problem.  I am running the forum with barebones settings now.

I haven't been posting pictures after this problem started. My problem is that there are times when I can't log in, and others when I can't log out. Also, at times I can make one or two posts, but then the next post will not get posted and I'm knocked off the site. When all this started, I thought there was something wrong with my computer, but I wasn't having any problems with any other site, so I don't know what's wrong, but I'll be careful not to post any pictures here until you say it's OK.

You can post pictures.... it just won't accept big ones.. but I think I will remove the limit soon since that doesn't seem to be the issue.
You are saying there are problems staying logged in?
Have any of you changed your cookie settings on your browsers.  They site uses cookies to identify people and remember preferences.  I am going to see if there is a way I can run tests on the cookies.

I haven't been knocked off at all... I've tried to make it knock me off by posting several times in a row.

I thought about the cookie business so I shut off both security and privacy to see if that was the problem, but the results were the same so I put them back on default.

Are there issues today so far?

Not so far. I'm going to be busy all day today on a research project but I'll check in again this evening. Hopefully the problem can be resolved because I really love this site.
I was also thinking. Would a bulk delete of the pile of old stuff that has been on the memories page help? Most of that material has long run its course, and if it would help that's OK with me.
I'm currently working on compiling a history of Youngstown theaters for another web site, and that is taking up much time between sifting through old Vindicators, editing pictures and posting them on the CinemaTreasures web site.

Deleting old posts or attachments probably won't help. I was only concerned about attachments because of the bandwidth used during the upload process... if the connection is slow it can bog the system and cause timeouts, not only for the person uploading but for others that are connected.  There are maintenance  tools in the control panel for the forum and there are automatic maintenance activities on a schedule as well   I did  database optimizations and repairs, removed old logs etc. There were very few minor issues reported during checks and those were fixed.  It doesn't seem like any of those issues would contribute to the issue of members staying connected. It was things like "the size of this file is being reported incorrectly" etc.  I can change a server setting to be  "persistent connection" but if I do the forum might be blacklisted as a resource hog with the host and they could shut it down completely.  They have assured me that nothing is going on with the server... not sure that  I believe them but I have no choice but to trust.  Nothing has changed on the host in the last few weeks.  I have 10 websites running on my account and none are experiencing any kind of timeouts or connection issues.  Although none of them are similar to a forum with people actively posting material.   I don't know what to say.  I've looked into the issues, the company has looked into the issues and there are no errors showing that could tell us why this is happening. I can't re-create the issue on my computer...I wish I could so I have more source information right in front of me.

I wish to thank you for your patience, and My friend has suggested that possably some of the problem may be on this end due in no small part to the fact that my computer is older than dirt, and my operating system is just as old (Vista Home Basic).

I have a vista home computer here and it also connects fine.  Jay is also having issues. I am also wondering if it could be Internet Service Related.  Some ISPs are now blocking certain aspects of internet usage.  According to Google   "dot info" sites are usually not good sites.   I guess google statistics show that dot info sites are usually spam sites. I didn't realize that many years ago when I set up the site name.

The question is... why did this start recently?  It seems new. That is the mystery.

My ISP is Time Warner Roadrunner.

I don't know what Jay uses.  I used to have TW  and I was always having connection issues. I complained constantly... finally it was resolved - it was too many customers on my node. They had to do something to increase the signal.   But that doesn't explain a sudden change in your connection  with only this site.  I will continue to look into it.  I hope everyone continues to report their issues.

Since switching from my former ISP which was dial up and getting TW I was able to download thousands of songs with no problems and as I said, none of the other web sites have given me any trouble. As for this site it seems that when I do have trouble getting in, it's a timing issue. By the way, if you would like me to burn you some CD's of music let me know via personal message.

I was on the Forum for about 10 minutes this morning and everything seemed to work OK for me.  We'll see if it works later.

Good to hear... maybe the issue has resolved.... hoping.

I'm still having problems staying on or sometimes getting on the Forum.

:'(

I am too. Who is your ISP?

I haven't had any problem at all, of course I'm not here as much as many of you.

I wish I knew what it is.

I'm still having problems.

Has anyone noticed that there have been fewer visitors since these problems started? And fewer logging in?

I recently met a Forum member who stated that he couldn't log on to leave a message that he was also having problems with the Forum.

Al I can say is I'm sorry.  I've tried everything possible. Should I close the forum?

Maybe I should remove all the spam controls?  That's the only thing left.

Please don't. My day centers around this forum ... first thing in the morning ... many times during the day ... last thing before going to bed. You've given us an inmearurable gift and words can't properly express our gratitude. If you were to go to another host, how would you be able to transfer all the members over to a new one? If you were to just shut it down, I for one would honestly be heartbroken.

I don't think it is the host.  I just don't know what to do.

I created a special folder to put notes in for things I want to post here so that when things are working right I can post them. I wonder if the weather has anything to do with it. When things get super busy ... and what about all those spiders? I heard that they could cause problems for web sites.

hmmmm.... spammers are an issue- spiders are only browsing.  I just removed  spam controls today so we will probably be dealing with tons of bad registrations again. The spiders are fine. They haven't caused an issue in 10 years.  Spiders browse all websites.  I have the settings so they can be seen by members too.   They would still be there if you didn't see them. 

I read some time ago that that Chinese spider gave other sites a problem so that was why I asked. Could there be some sort of virus?

Too bad that Allan isn't in town he could be a lot of help in tracing the problem. His whole career has centered around programming starting with AOL.

Things are working better this evening.

Things have been better all day.  :)

 :) EVEN BETTER TODAY  :)

Thanks for all of your patience. I made some changes today... Please report any problems.   I RE-installed  the spam controls that will deter many of the  spam registrations.  I also upped the attachment  image size limit to 250kb so you can attach bigger images to your posts.

As usual you've done fantastic work, and we're really greatful to you.

Thanks Towntalk. The issue seemed to have fixed itself so I am stumped.  Today I restored the spam control  and will wait to hear if there are any problems before I add back other modifications one at a time.

I'm happy to have the spam control placed on new members.  Each day the Forum was getting oven 50 membership applications from all over the world.

Craziness... hope that it doesn't interfere with your access.  We'll see how it goes.