The Forum is being very difficult.

[FairySlayer]

After logging in this morning (which I haven't needed to do for at least a few weeks, and this time it tried to force OpenID on me), I'm occasionally getting the following message:

[#20312] Sorry, but you do not have permission to use this feature. If you are not logged in, you may do so using the form below if available.

It was happening every time I tried to post a message, though it finally let me post one (two if this one works). Sometimes it logs (kicks) me out at the same time and I need to log in again, and other times I'm still logged in and can navigate around some more.

I was also able to send a private message — though the pop-up box was just a thin horizontal box until I reloaded her profile page and tried again.

The computer I'm using hasn't been on since Wednesday evening and everything was working fine then. (I didn't have a chance to try the forums from home today, but it was fine last night.) Every type of automatic update is disabled on this machine: Windows, Firefox, Java, Adobe products (a toughie)...

[DemonGoddess]

Clear your cache and cookies. I did some adjustments to the login and cookie settings. Open ID isn't a forced part of the login, it simply appears as an OPTION. You bypass that field and simply input your user name and password like always.

[Guest talkblocked_FairySlayer]

Okay, now I log in and it shows me the notice saying I've successfully logged in, but when it transfers me to the forum I'm logged out again.

And I can't log back into The Archive either: the Birthdate Verification Page refuses to let me pass. (I couldn't find a way to log out of The Archive before clearing the cookies, but still...)

BTW: Yes, I easily found the regular login this morning. I wrote "tried to force" only because pop-overs irritate me more than most people. (Double meaning intended. )

[DemonGoddess]

Thing is, by saying it was trying to force you, that would make it so I would look into an issue. As that's not an expected behavior.

If you're using IE, you're going to not only have to clear cache and cookies, but history as well. You'll also need to restart your machine. IE is pissy at BEST with cookies.

[ApolloImperium]

Oh god yes it is... we used IE at work and I hated it! Anytime it was a cookie issue it took the rep offline for at least 15 min...and considering 90% of our apps were web based? Yuck!

[DemonGoddess]

Forgot to add you may have to do this several times in order for it to "stick" in IE. This isn't an issue in any other browser like this. Those, you follow the steps, close your browser, restart it, and it's done.

[FairySlayer]

It seemed to weird to me that The Archive would misbehave so I dug a little more: I had Firefox's "block future cookies" option enabled, which puts a site on the cookie block list when its cookies are deleted. Clearing the block list got me back into both — and the thirty-something other sites using persistent cookies. So that was a DUH-ME moment.

... but the forum is still doing the same flaky things. The funniest part is getting permission errors when signing out. Since no one else was affected I'm assuming this affects me only at the library, like before the forum software was upgraded. It's not slowing me down too much, so I can live with it as-is.

(I'm curious about what cookie options make this happen, but I understand you're busy enough already.)

[DemonGoddess]

It could very have something to do with the library's filtering options which you've apparently *ahem* bypassed.

[Shadowknight12]

Huh. Today I've been getting a lot of "security code" stuff with my posts and PMs, which force me to be extra careful before hitting the submit button. Hasn't happened before, only today. The option to preserve the contents of the post was pretty awesome, I tell you that. Is it possible that it's timing out quicker than before? Or at random?

[DemonGoddess]

Explain what you mean by "security codes"?

No don't think it's a time out issue, but more a security setting I tightened up. But, without knowing what codes and/or errors you get, EXACTLY, I haven't a clue where to look.

[Shadowknight12]

I *knew* I should've copypasted the error message. It was something about a security key not coinciding, asking me to go back and reload. That's about all I remember.

[DemonGoddess]

that would be the board wide cookie reset/security tweak I did yesterday.

[Shadowknight12]

Ah. How do I avoid it? Post quickly?

[DemonGoddess]

Just like I told Fairy Slayer, you need to clear cache and cookies, it'll reset and you'll be fine.

[Shadowknight12]

Ah, gotcha. Thanks!

[FairySlayer]

It could very have something to do with the library's filtering options which you've apparently *ahem* bypassed.

Heh, this is Massachusetts, the most liberal place in the solar system. Anyone with an adult library card and their PIN gets full unfiltered access. Trust me, I've gone to seen folks visit sites that would make most content filters explode. (Users are required to make sure no one else is exposed to offensive content, though.) Their policy states that they don't track web usage and that even borrower information for each item is removed once it's returned. (Thank the Patriot Act for that.)

Now maybe they do track everything and lie about it. But hey, even if some quite a few 97% of all people find my stories distasteful I'm certainly not doing anything illegal. (Plus many artists seem to love my reviews, so it all evens out in the wash.)

They do filter IP ports so that only web, e-mail, and FTP work. (I haven't tried NNTP though, or Gopher. )

Oh, I found one sure-fire way to sign out of the Forums instantly there: clicking on "Preview Post." That's okay. I'll preview any formatted posts on Fla—, uhm, another forum.

Like I said, it's very workable for me as-is, so don't worry about it for my sake.