Forum Operations

Log in but then it says I'm a guest?

I'm an MOA and a forum user. The past 2 days to use the forum is getting frustrating.

I log in (I never bother with the remember me or staying logged in). I get the "flash screen" thanking me for logging in and then the forum screen. But it says I'm a guest and have limited options. This goes on over several attempts and I give up. Then suddenly it lets me again.

Lee said:

Didn't help.

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Brother Lee, same here! Damn frustrating!

I have no desire to organize a lynch mob nor do I think one is needed.

I just participated in a test for Ted that appears to have my Chrome problems solved for now. Thank you. I will admit my long term confidence is low given we are 11 days into this if my counting is correct.

Assuming this does resolve; then it is time for the powers to be to debrief those who have worked on this project, identify successes and pit falls, then develop and release a benchmark policy/procedure/guideline, to the forum membership, explaining the baseline for doing upgrades in the future.

Me, Myself, I and The Other Guy Inside the Helmet will be holding an executive meeting with the Right Hip that holds the "the power of the purse". Lacking that or something that meets those kinds of informational needs I can tell you the personal BoD is leaning toward not making the various money and time expenditures to participate. The BMW MOA BoD and Exc Dir can do the opportunity cost benefit analysis for the group.

There is a light at the end of this tunnel. According to the map there are more tunnels ahead. Without knowing how we are going to navigate the road ahead off roading is looking more and more like a viable option.

20774 said:

Is that the .ORG or .COM forum?

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.COM

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/search?searchJSON={%22keywords%22%3A%224.2.2+upgrade+problem%22%2C%22channel%22%3A[%2255%22]%2C%22sort%22%3A{%22relevance%22%3A%22desc%22}%2C%22view%22%3A%22%22%2C%22exclude_type%22%3A[%22vBForum_PrivateMessage%22]}&btnSubmit=&humanverify[input]=&humanverify[hash]=&humanverify[input]=&humanverify[hash]=

As I said it was just a quick review and I was just trying to point out other problems that others were having. Not being a vBulletin admin I really can't speak to which version is the most stable but I do agree that you should never be an early adopter which is the same as a beta tester sometimes unless you want to help debug products. Also most IT pro's will agree it is very important to properly test upgrades in a test environment before roll out to ensure user satisfaction after go live date.

Note: it seems when the link above is saved it inserts a space in "upgrade" which must be removed to work.

It shouldn't have been 11 days, for me it was 2. I know many run multiple browsers, I have DOS
Mika, if you think the help you received would help others- please share. I do understand that in some circumstances this is not possible.
OM

Ted has me fixed up on my work computer. I'll check my home computer tonight. If it works here it should work at home.
Thanks Ted

t2moyer said:

Personally, I don't believe this has been managed improperly given the constraints that we face.

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It is those constraints that I want to have mitigated. You and your team may have done as well as could be expected, but that does not mean it has been done well enough. It comes down to where one sets the standard. In this case the standard has been set by several other forums and we are not meeting that standard. I again want to make it clear that I am not attacking, blaming or disparaging you. You are in the arena, I am a spectator. I'll not criticize you for not slaying the lions fast enough because you've been given only a slingshot to work with. I just want you to be given a bigger weapon.

As of November 18-9th I am no longer "remembered" and have to log in every time. Up to this point there was no problem. Just to let you know.

Fingers Crossed

I think I have the issue identified. If you are not able to login or having difficulty with being remembered, email me and I can reset your password to the forum administratively. This will make your forum password and main site password different, but once you have logged into the forum, I can match the two.

This is a workaround for the moment. The authentication script is not storing the cookies on your local machine depending on how the authentication with the main member database occurs. The solution for the moment is for me to set your password to the forum and then match it in the member database. This is only an issue for some people and browsers depending on their history and cookie handling on their machine.

Bottom line, if you are having difficulty, email me or call me and I can reset your access and likely get you in and remembered.

akbeemer said:

It is those constraints that I want to have mitigated. You and your team may have done as well as could be expected, but that does not mean it has been done well enough. It comes down to where one sets the standard. In this case the standard has been set by several other forums and we are not meeting that standard. I again want to make it clear that I am not attacking, blaming or disparaging you. You are in the arena, I am a spectator. I'll not criticize you for not slaying the lions fast enough because you've been given only a slingshot to work with. I just want you to be given a bigger weapon.

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A bigger weapon is cool, but the standard by which you are measuring is not an applicable standard. Those "other" sites aren't doing what we are doing. Operating the same isn't a reality when you add in all the complexity that goes along with our forum. If you want to talk about a stand alone forum that doesn't authenticate against our members, the story is different.

I can build a separate vB forum with it's own database of users that doesn't interact with the membership database and it can work flawlessly, just like ADVrider or fjrforums. Or, I can use our standard forum product that comes packaged with our membership software, but it isn't as rich as vB. Those things are perfectly capable and manageable to your expectations. Putting the two together is the difficulty and likely uses more of our resources than anyone is willing to give.

I can build a really cool custom chopper. I can build a motorcycle that handles really well. Building really cool custom chopper than handles really well might be impossible. Don't take this as being argumentative, but an affirmation that people are thinking about these issues and trying to come up with solutions that will satisfy all the requirements. I just isn't as easy as it would appear on the surface.

cehlbeck said:

I'm an MOA and a forum user. The past 2 days to use the forum is getting frustrating.

I log in (I never bother with the remember me or staying logged in). I get the "flash screen" thanking me for logging in and then the forum screen. But it says I'm a guest and have limited options. This goes on over several attempts and I give up. Then suddenly it lets me again.

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Chances are if you can get to the place that I have been describing (where the cookie files are) you will see BMWMOA listed at least twice. If you can get those cleared, I think you will be in better shape.
A number of Members haven't changed their bookmarks for the forum which should really be done as well.
OM

t2moyer said:

It just isn't as easy as it would appear on the surface.

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Which is why it needs to be done by professionals who have the training, experience and knowledge to get it done on time and on budget with the least amount of problems.

t2moyer said:

email me and I can reset your password to the forum administratively

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This workaround seems to have solved my problem but only time will tell for sure. Thanks for your efforts Ted.

From all appearances this is a server side problem and no amount of tweaking on the client (user) side will fix it so don't bother clearing anything until Ted does the reset for you and you test it that way.

Here's hoping they get the server side authentication fixed so this workaround does not remain the fix too far in the future.

I also have to log in every time.

Now it won't let me post anything for sale?

Darryl Cainey said:

I also have to log in every time.

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per Ted "If you are having problems logging in, call or email me directly. ted@bmwmoa.org, 205-821-7205. I'll be glad to help you."

I am sorry for the delay in responding. After my last post I shut down and left for a meeting. My portion did not last as long as I expected.

My experience has varied from no problem on any of my platforms to total lock out on some. This variability has lasted to this point. Chrome and Chrome based products have been my major problem. At Ted's request we did a reset of my password at his end. This is the result I emailed to him after.

This was successful with a couple of caveats.

Simple login with the new info did not hold.
I then cleared my Chrome history - including: Browsing data, download data, Cached images, Passwords, autofill, held application data but not content licenses.

Having done this I was able to login. I did not sign out and navigated to other websites using the same tab and was able to return to the forum and was logged in when I came back. After that I went to my homepage and shut Chrome down then did a full system shut down. When I rebooted, fired up Chrome and returned to the forum I was still logged in and able to navigate the site.

Upon my return I fired up my laptop and Chrome. I did not log out when I left. Upon returning I was logged in and appear to be running normally. I checked my iPad. I logged on using Safari and updated the iPad password autofill in that log on. I then checked TapaTalk and was immediately taken to the feed with no additional steps. For now I am good to go on the Apple front. I won't bump into a Chromebook I use at a remote location for at least two weeks. I assume having cleared up the issue with Chrome on my Windows 7 box that will not present a major problem if any. I have not tested Explorer on the Windows 7 box yet.

My silly wild a__ guess is Chrome users could do a complete clear of their history as described above and do the login on their own. If a Chrome user would try and report that would be helpful.

Chrome is my primary browser. I expect to spend the near future dealing with log ins for a variety of feeds and sites I use for my forum posts, work and all the other things this goofy laptop is asked to do. This may be the time to finally fully activate the password wallet I have be procrastinating about. Then again that may have added another level of complexity to the issue.

Hopefully this means others and I are out of this frustrating tunnel. I continue desire some sort of benchmark for expectations as to how upgrades will be handled in the future. The gang inside my helmet gives a quick tip of the helmet to all those who have been working on this. This is the only motorcycle forum I participate in at this time. When it works I have fun doing and sharing what I do around here. I would miss the sharing part, but another upgrade, done with a dubious plan, with this many problems and I will try off roading.

Yum...the cookie is back. My last good cookie for bmwmoa.org was dated 10/11/2014 until I got a new one just a few minutes ago. Seems to work now with IE and Firefox on Windows XP.

/Guenther

Log in

I just clicked on and was logged in just like the good old days. Have done nothing but wait for the problem to be solved. Thanks.

Bob Schrader

squeaky said:

I just clicked on and was logged in just like the good old days. Have done nothing but wait for the problem to be solved. Thanks.

Bob Schrader

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Nice!
OM