Forum Login/PM/Topic Reply Issue

[JoEL]

   The following error or errors occurred while posting this message:
Your session timed out while posting. Please try to re-submit your message.
No subject was filled in.
The message body was left empty.
No recipients specified.

I get this every time I try to PM someone, theres also two other versions, such as when i try to login and reply to another members message, infact it even happened twice when trying to make this topic, really, a pain in the butt. I almost gave up posting this.

[sly 3 4 me]

Sounds like it can't verify your session correctly. I'm betting that the bottom three don't really apply to your situation as you know how to message and post. Have you tried this with any other browsers/which browser are you using? Maybe it's deleting the cookie when you log onto those pages or something..? I've never had that happen on any forum I've been on.

[Lucifer]

This actually happens to me quite often when simply posting. However it fixes itself when I restart my browser (chrome) so it's never bothered me enough to post about it.

[Scotty]

It's your session cookie expiring while you are logged in.  One of two things are causing it.  The first (and most unlikely) is that you are not setting your session to never expire when you log in.  There's a check mark at the bottom of the login screen that says something to effect "remain logged in" followed by a text input that you can specify the amount of minutes you wish to have your session last if you DON'T check the box.  What this may mean is that you are logging in, waiting until right before the session expires, go to post, session expires, hit submit, can't submit because the cookie's expiration has been hit.  To have it happen frequently is unlikely, as that means you would have to have posted numerous times right around the set expiration of your session cookie.  Like I said, unlikely.  The other cause would just be your browser being a douche.  Also unlikely, unless you are using a crappy, unstable browser.  Are you using any sort of open source browser that is a nightly build or anything to that effect?  If it's a nightly development build, those tend to be a little unstable from time to time, due to it being built from source frequently, regardless of stability.  Mistakes are possible.

I'd double check to make sure you are either extending your session expiration at the login screen, or checking the "remain logged in" check box.  If not that, and you aren't using a nightly build, then I honestly have no idea, unless the current version of SMF installed on the web server is...  Nope, that ain't it, it's using v1.1.11 which is their current stable release client.  Like I said, if it isn't either of those, then no clue.  How many others have been having this problem?

EDIT: Upon doing some more research on the issue, it seems a lot of people seem to be tying it to different 3rd party extensions they've installed on their SMF forums, but nothing at all consistent.  If those having problems could do me the favor of going into your cookies on your browser, and search for the two stick-online.com cookies (they will be under stick-online.com if you do a search).  The two cookies will be "PHPSESSID" and "SMFCookie###" (replace the 3 pound signs with numbers).  You should see a date expired amongst other fields.  Do me the favor of destroying both of those cookies, logging back in while checking the box to remain logged in, check the cookies again, and let me know what the cookie's expiration date is.  If you notice the error coming back before that date and time, then it is the browser, if it is just cutting the date short (clicking never expire will put the expiration date sometime in 5 years I believe), then it is a whole different mess that I have no clue what it is.

[JoEL]

Are you using any sort of open source browser that is a nightly build or anything to that effect?

I'm using Google Chrome.

I do have that box ticked to remain logged in at all times...it could be a google chrome problem possibly, as Lucifer said he was having troubles as well.

[Scotty]

I use Chrome on my Ubuntu box back at the house, and haven't had any problems, I'm assuming you are using either v.3 or the newly released v.4?  Check your cookies at the top (it'll be under options from the settings menu, think the middle tab) and look for your stick-online.com PHPSESSID cookie, what's the expiration on that cookie?

[JoEL]

I had to logout close the chrome then re-open it and log back in to post again because i got the same message again...

Created: Saturday, January 30, 2010 1:59:57 PM
Expires: Friday, January 29, 2016 1:59:47 PM

[Scotty]

I had to logout close the chrome then re-open it and log back in to post again because i got the same message again...

Created: Saturday, January 30, 2010 1:59:57 PM
Expires: Friday, January 29, 2016 1:59:47 PM

That's awfully weird.  Are you running v.4 of Google Chrome with any extensions or anything?  I haven't been able to replicate the issue at all on any SMF forum.  It doesn't sound like it's a problem with the forum software, as the forum is properly setting the cookie. 

[JoEL]

I'm running version 4.
Thanks for the help and support, even if we weren't able to resolve the issue.

[Scotty]

Are you able to replicate the issue on another browser, either IE or Firefox?

[JoEL]

I'll give it a go, I will edit with my results.

[Matty_Richo]

I use to have this problem a lot on IE8, I have it occasionally on Chrome so yeah I guess some thing is wrong with Chrome, Either that or this website has a Vendetta against you.