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akbeemer

SURVIVOR
I write this critical post with the best of intentions and not to attack anyone. I was moved to write because yet again I cannot seem to remain logged in on any of the three Apple based devices I use. I?m not asking for specific help in solving this issue (I'll figure it out), but I do want to express my concerns in broader terms about how the forum is managed from a technical perspective.

I participate in eleven motorcycle forums. My participation in six of them takes place on a daily basis or, sad to say, even more often. The MOA remains one of my favorites in the nature of the interactions I have here and the technical knowledge that is available here. I also appreciate the work of the moderators who I know struggle mightily to keep things as open and enjoyable as possible while maintaining a modicum of law and order within the bounds of the rules set for them. That being said, I also believe that on a technical basis the MOA forum, Flea Market and to a lesser degree the website are the most glitch prone and irritating to use of any of the forums I frequent. It is noteworthy that the MOA is also the only forum to which I must pay to be a member. My criticism has nothing to do with the content of the forum, its members or moderators, but rather it appears to me that the people in charge of the technical side of the forum?s operation are either not up to the task or are not being given the training and resources needed to make things work. I have had issues logging on, staying logged on, posting pictures and posting on the Flea Market. Things work fine one day and not the next. I have sought help a few times (the mods were patient and helpful), figured it out on my own sometimes or just gave up on other occasions. I understand that there was a recent upgrade to the software, but from my perspective the result is that once again I have to login every time I visit the forum, and from reading recent posts others are having issues with the Flea Market. Most telling is that the forum's peers do not seem to have the same issues to the same degree and duration.

It is not my intent to discuss each and every glitch that appears on the forum; those discussions go on often enough. I do, however, want to point out that as a user of several other forums, some of which seem to use the same brand of software, I have not encountered the number of issues that occur with some regularity on this forum. While help is quickly and cheerfully offered to resolve problems, the real point is that such help should not be needed by a person who is reasonably experienced and adroit in using forums. On other forums I?ve never needed to be coached through logging in, posting a picture or video or posting an ad on their version of the flea market. Additionally, for my first 5-6 years on this forum I participated with no significant problems that I can recall. Something has changed in last 18-24 months and it has not been a change for the better.

The bottom-line, in my opinion, is that there needs to be a systematic assessment of how and who is managing the technical aspects of the forum. I have no idea how things are being done now, whether it is by paid staff, contractors or volunteers, but it is evident that there is significant room for improvement. I don?t expect that such a review would be an open process and I care not about getting any feedback other than a forum that is easy to use. Thanks.
 
:thumb

It's been frustrating for quite awhile now and all of the "improvements" haven't helped. I now sign on each time as well. The flea mkt. seems to be a work in progress, and to be honest it's all just not worth the hassle.

I've been a member for 10 yrs or so but I will not renew next month when my membership expires.
 
FWIW
In the past I have always been able to do a work around to solve this problem. I was successful the day after the upgrade until today; now I am unable to keep any of my devices log on. MS,OS8.? and an android device.
 
Same here. Something changed today. I never had a problem staying logged in on any of my devices. Today I have problems on all of them. Might be related to the roll out of single sign on. Hopefully they will get it sorted out soon.
 
:thumb

It's been frustrating for quite awhile now and all of the "improvements" haven't helped. I now sign on each time as well. The flea market seems to be a work in progress, and to be honest it's all just not worth the hassle.

I've been a member for 10 yrs or so but I will not renew next month when my membership expires.

+1, Gunny; been a member for 35+ years, I'm considering also not renewing when my membership expires!
 
FWIW
In the past I have always been able to do a work around to solve this problem. I was successful the day after the upgrade until today; now I am unable to keep any of my devices log on. .

Same here, the login problem started again today. I use Firefox on my home computer and see I have the same problem with IE. I also had the problem with my work computer using IE.
 
Just to be clear. I plan to be a member of the MOA and this forum for the foreseeable future. Others must choose their own path, but my post is aimed at making the forum a more enjoyable place to post.
 
Let me say that the reason it started today was because of some new software put in place in the background that helps with single-site logins and user control of their MOA profiles, etc. Even I was bumped off this morning at work and at my home computer. But after going through the proper process to relogin and remember me, I'm back to where I was before.
 
I write this critical post with the best of intentions and not to attack anyone. I was moved to write because yet again I cannot seem to remain logged in on any of the three Apple based devices I use. I?m not asking for specific help in solving this issue (I'll figure it out), but I do want to express my concerns in broader terms about how the forum is managed from a technical perspective.

I participate in eleven motorcycle forums. My participation in six of them takes place on a daily basis or, sad to say, even more often. The MOA remains one of my favorites in the nature of the interactions I have here and the technical knowledge that is available here. I also appreciate the work of the moderators who I know struggle mightily to keep things as open and enjoyable as possible while maintaining a modicum of law and order within the bounds of the rules set for them. That being said, I also believe that on a technical basis the MOA forum, Flea Market and to a lesser degree the website are the most glitch prone and irritating to use of any of the forums I frequent. It is noteworthy that the MOA is also the only forum to which I must pay to be a member. My criticism has nothing to do with the content of the forum, its members or moderators, but rather it appears to me that the people in charge of the technical side of the forum?s operation are either not up to the task or are not being given the training and resources needed to make things work. I have had issues logging on, staying logged on, posting pictures and posting on the Flea Market. Things work fine one day and not the next. I have sought help a few times (the mods were patient and helpful), figured it out on my own sometimes or just gave up on other occasions. I understand that there was a recent upgrade to the software, but from my perspective the result is that once again I have to login every time I visit the forum, and from reading recent posts others are having issues with the Flea Market. Most telling is that the forum's peers do not seem to have the same issues to the same degree and duration.

It is not my intent to discuss each and every glitch that appears on the forum; those discussions go on often enough. I do, however, want to point out that as a user of several other forums, some of which seem to use the same brand of software, I have not encountered the number of issues that occur with some regularity on this forum. While help is quickly and cheerfully offered to resolve problems, the real point is that such help should not be needed by a person who is reasonably experienced and adroit in using forums. On other forums I?ve never needed to be coached through logging in, posting a picture or video or posting an ad on their version of the flea market. Additionally, for my first 5-6 years on this forum I participated with no significant problems that I can recall. Something has changed in last 18-24 months and it has not been a change for the better.

The bottom-line, in my opinion, is that there needs to be a systematic assessment of how and who is managing the technical aspects of the forum. I have no idea how things are being done now, whether it is by paid staff, contractors or volunteers, but it is evident that there is significant room for improvement. I don?t expect that such a review would be an open process and I care not about getting any feedback other than a forum that is easy to use. Thanks.
Hi Kevin and all, there has been a lot of catching up being done in the last year and a half. It's kind of a lot to really go through- as far as your questions. We are now running updated VB software packages and like you, I frequent other forums, and I like to look at the technical aspects of those forums as well. Many of the forums are still running software that is way behind- from the Can-Am forum-
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The MOA is here-
Powered by vBulletin? Version 4.2.2
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I would guess these "tried and true", "trouble-free" forums will have some pain when they go into "catch-up" mode. The MOA forum was well behind and had some customizations that made going to a newer version of VB sorta difficult. Add in some of the other problems including a site that has a Home Page with "features" and a link to the forum and we have what it takes to be here today.
Anyway to to yours and other login problems, we need to have everyone with the problems do the basics- clean history,cache, cookies and any retained browser login/password helpers out of their computers
All this "retained information" is the pathway association that lets your device hook-up with the forum. And in case anyone is wondering, I had to do some messing around to get logged in as well.
Off this months best of forum there is a link to a thread in the clubhouse that unfortunately not a lot read but gave some great insight especially for Apple. I am going to post some more tips shortly. Here is the link to the thread-
http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?74775-Login-discussion-thread
Remember computers only know the commands, they don't work under their own intuition. If there is an old "cookie" giving an old command, things don't work so well.
Gary
 
I logged in successfully a few days ago, and all was well until today. Now I have to log into the forum every time: PITA.

Harry
 
I logged in successfully a few days ago, and all was well until today. Now I have to log into the forum every time: PITA.

Harry
The next time you are ready to leave the forum, use the log-out button.
The next time in when you log in, use the remember me button and see if that helps.
(along with the tips in the thread I referenced above)
OM
 
The next time you are ready to leave the forum, use the log-out button.
The next time in when you log in, use the remember me button and see if that helps.

Didn't help

Also cleared my cache again, deleted my bookmark again, and saved a new bookmark.
Didn't help.
 
Must have missed something. Was there a general membership vote or widespread complaint which triggered this yet another improvement? Flea market is a zero to me, however, must have made a couple of members happy. About what, have no idea. Just put flea market back to what it was, pango manjo, no improvement. Oh well, guess I'll wait a few months for the next improvement.
 
In the past three hours things have gotten worse. I attempted to log on with my lap top. A. Fill in the login name and password, click or don't click the remember me box. B. Press log in. C. The screen changes to the -Thank you for logging in Mika page. D. Then I am taken to the forum but I am no longer logged in.

Tapatalk on my iPad is the only way I can login. It is great for reading but with a touchpad keyboard it is crap to participate with. Mods you can red flag and delete this post for using "crap". Just telling you the truth about how I feel about this right now.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Surely NOT to come down on the MODS as they are doing everything that they can......I truly believe this........They didn't make the decision to have this this way nor did they implement it. The guys that are responsible seem to be ducking their heads all the way to the bank.............From what I understand in talking with the PREZ, it was a heavy load that they carried to the bank........OH WELL

Now, as for today....
When they changed this the other day, yes I had to log in on this unit, my desktop in my office upstairs in the loft and then on the lap top that I use when watching TV.........Both are XP with Mozzilla......No problems, it, the software, remembered me on the main page and here on the forum......This morning it was still the same...........
NOW.......this evening, had to re-log in on my desktop and it remembered me on the home page but not here on the forum. The laptop is a totally different and lousy story.........It remembers me from this afternoon and morning on the home page; but on the forum, it didn't remember me from earlier today and then...........it tells me when I log in, yes I begin to enter my name and it fills it in for me and the same for the password but then I click to log in....I get the message of thanks for signing in and then goes to the forum without me being logged in........again and again.........

Now here on my desktop, it logged me in just fine, though I did have to log in again..............I can't imagine Billy Bob the new member or good old worn out Larry Lardbutt, the 3 year member who signed up for the fancy dancy lottery actually enjoying this and will easily look for someplace else to spend their time

God bless..........Dennis
 
Hi Kevin and all, there has been a lot of catching up being done in the last year and a half. It's kind of a lot to really go through- as far as your questions. We are now running updated VB software packages and like you, I frequent other forums, and I like to look at the technical aspects of those forums as well. Many of the forums are still running software that is way behind- from the Can-Am forum-
Powered by vBulletin? Version 3.8.7
Copyright ?2000 - 2014, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.

The MOA is here-
Powered by vBulletin? Version 4.2.2
Copyright ? 2014 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.

I would guess these "tried and true", "trouble-free" forums will have some pain when they go into "catch-up" mode. The MOA forum was well behind and had some customizations that made going to a newer version of VB sorta difficult. Add in some of the other problems including a site that has a Home Page with "features" and a link to the forum and we have what it takes to be here today.
Anyway to to yours and other login problems, we need to have everyone with the problems do the basics- clean history,cache, cookies and any retained browser login/password helpers out of their computers
All this "retained information" is the pathway association that lets your device hook-up with the forum. And in case anyone is wondering, I had to do some messing around to get logged in as well.
Off this months best of forum there is a link to a thread in the clubhouse that unfortunately not a lot read but gave some great insight especially for Apple. I am going to post some more tips shortly. Here is the link to the thread-
http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?74775-Login-discussion-thread
Remember computers only know the commands, they don't work under their own intuition. If there is an old "cookie" giving an old command, things don't work so well.
Gary

No problems with staying logged in, until today. Have cleared cookies, cleared history, cleared cache, turned off password manager. Enter user and pw, check "remember box", log in. Close browser, re-open browser, no longer logged in. Total pain in the butt. Don't care if the board runs on version 0.9 or version 9000. The old version worked, the new one has no apparent improvement and does not work. Here's an idea: let the software clear the cookie, it created the cookie in the first place!
 
No problems with staying logged in, until today. Have cleared cookies, cleared history, cleared cache, turned off password manager. Enter user and pw, check "remember box", log in. Close browser, re-open browser, no longer logged in. Total pain in the butt. Don't care if the board runs on version 0.9 or version 9000. The old version worked, the new one has no apparent improvement and does not work. Here's an idea: let the software clear the cookie, it created the cookie in the first place!

+1, Gunny! Here's the Bottom Line: The old version worked, the new one has no apparent improvement and does not work. BRING BACK THE OLD VERSION! JSNS!
 
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