I don't know where any of my mod functions are
Quick! Someone start 10 threads on 9/11!
Site upgrade today -- temporary downtime
Wed, 2012-07-25 23:02
#52
Maysie
Wed, 2012-07-25 23:13
#53
Boom Boom
Thu, 2012-07-26 01:05
#54
Catchfire
@Oldgoat That makes two of us. But I haven't looked at the abuse queue for two years. My banning gun still seems to be in order, and that's all I need. I haven't tested it in the upgrade yet, though..and I'ma gettin' itchy...
@Boom Boom Like I said, most of the upgrade dealt with requests made by editorial staff regarding the front page and the podcast network. It also tried to address some perfomance issues and fix places that were draining too much site resources. We had a few babble requests (including the comment teasers!) and a few other minor things, but only a couple have been implented. Again, I have to stress that site coding and upgrades cost a lot of time and money that rabble.ca simply doesn't have. We're working with what we've got here. I sympathize with some of the complaints here and if it was just babble, I probably wouldn't have changed much since we came online in 2001. But such is not the way of the internet.
I'm compiling a list of comments though, and we'll keep you updated.
Thu, 2012-07-26 12:29
#55
Boom Boom
Thanks for that, CF. Meanwhile, I'm having trouble posting this morning - keep getting this message when the board goes down:
Page Could Not Be Loaded
We're very sorry, but the page could not be loaded properly. This should be fixed very soon, and we apologize for any inconvenience.
Debug Info:Status: 503 Response: Service Unavailable XID: 1047118223
Page Could Not Be Loaded
We're very sorry, but the page could not be loaded properly. This should be fixed very soon, and we apologize for any inconvenience.
Debug Info:Status: 503 Response: Service Unavailable XID: 1047118223
ETA: This post got through, so I guess it's fixed.
Thu, 2012-07-26 12:38
#56
Boom Boom
Heh. Right after I posted this:
"ETA: This post got through, so I guess it's fixed."
the board went down again.
And the HTML bar is gone, can't bold,italitize, or hotlink.
Thu, 2012-07-26 12:54
#57
I'm getting tired of waiting for the "Recent activity on my posts" section to actually work.
Thu, 2012-07-26 12:58
#58
Ditto to Wilf's post - although I don't use that page much, I don't understand why a functioning feature would stop functioning.
Likewise, what's with this "offline" designation below some posters' names? Do we really need to know who is logged in or out at any given time (if in fact that's what it means)?
I want my "mostly harmless" descriptor back, or people will start to talk.
Thu, 2012-07-26 13:53
#59
You're only harmless when you are off-line.
Thu, 2012-07-26 14:14
#60
Thu, 2012-07-26 14:59
#61
I still can't see where to go to see my private messages. What is the word on that?
Thu, 2012-07-26 15:06
#62
Catchfire
Top right hand corner, A24!
You'll notice the offline/online alert is removed. And sadly, our statuses are gone forever, at least their public declaration. They were too much of a drag on site resources, apparently.
Thu, 2012-07-26 17:22
#63
Boom Boom
Right now I still don't see the HTML bar. Just a little while ago the board was down with this message:
Site off-line
rabble.ca is currently under maintenance. We should be back shortly. Thank you for your patience.
I hope everything is back to normal soon.
ps: could we change the "save" button to "post"?
ETA: HTML bar is back!
Thu, 2012-07-26 18:35
#64
Catchfire
The site was offline earlier today due to an anonymous hack attack unrelated to the site upgrade.
BTW the "Recent Activity" section in your "My Account" page lists posts on threads you started. Not all your posts in general. I can see about getting this changed, though.
Thu, 2012-07-26 19:02
#65
You'll notice the offline/online alert is removed.
I still see them - but no big deal.
And I did like the comment teasers. Missed them when they went away with the great babble deluge.
ETA: And I'd like to re-emphasize that the PM alerts are extremely important. Otherwise, you have to waste time checking your message box all the time "just in case". That's a downgrade.
Thu, 2012-07-26 19:51
#66
Boom Boom
ETA: And I'd like to re-emphasize that the PM alerts are extremely important. Otherwise, you have to waste time checking your message box all the time "just in case". That's a downgrade.
Agreed.
ps: could we change the "save" button to "post reply"?
Fri, 2012-07-27 01:31
#67
Catchfire
I also agree that we need a PM alert.
And I've already asked that the "save" be changed to something like "post" or "submit" or whatever.
I don't know why the Online/Offline flag has returned. We'll see to that soon, hopefully.
Fri, 2012-07-27 02:18
#68
the site search engine could use some tweeking. barely works
Sat, 2012-07-28 01:34
#69
Left Turn
The site is slow just for the time being and should pick up shortly. The site relies on a lot of caching, and it needs to catch up after the upgrade. That's why the search function is working right now. But once it caches the archives, the site will speed up and the search function will come back to its former glory.
I think, Left Turn, that's why yoiu keep needing to log-in--the site has been re-loaded a few times which logs you out. Once it settles, you will stay logged in like before.
The only reason I was ever able to stay logged in after leaving the site was because I ckecked off the "keep me logged-in" box on the log-in page. This box has been removed during the "upgrade". Unless it's put back we we can't stop the site from logging us out every time we leave the site. I know of no site that leaves people logged in as the default option when they leave. You know, for security reasons, so people don't unkowingly stay logged in to the site on a public computer such that a stranger can access their account. But on my private computer I don't have this problem, so the "keep me logged in" button is useful for that.
On a broader note about the upgrade. I know that Rabble has made a lot of customizations to the Drupal modules that make up the site. A number of these customizations only happened after the 2008 upgrade to the Drupal software because folks advocated for them. Things like the red thread titles, alternating shades of grey on the TAT ect. When the site was moved to the new versions of the Drupal modules, it looks as though the custmizations had to be redone, and that the tech folks were not instructed to redo the ones that folks had to advocate for the last time. This appears to be why the upgrade looks like a "downgrade" in some respects. Steps need to be taken to ensure this does not happen again in future upgrades.
Sat, 2012-07-28 06:59
#70
BTW the "Recent Activity" section in your "My Account" page lists posts on threads you started. .
That's not the case for me. It shows threads in which I've posted, definitely including ones not opened by me. However, it is frozen at some past point in time,thus making it utterly useless. Hope you succeed in getting it repaired.
ETA: FORGET what I said above. Catchfire's statement is correct, and mine is totally wrong. Not for the first or last time...
Sat, 2012-07-28 10:35
#71
Boom Boom
When will this miserable so-called "upgrade" be finished??? On dialup, the thread pages (including this one) look horribly amateurish, like a five-year-old did the upgrade. And, since the upgrade, for me on dialup, Babble is now slower than ever to load.
Sat, 2012-07-28 10:38
#72
Boom Boom
.......................
Sat, 2012-07-28 10:40
#73
Boom Boom
Almost a week after the upgrade, and here is what the top half of this page (including part of CF's opening post) looks like on dialup:
Search this site:
// -->
Home » Babble » rabble community » rabble reactions
babble is rabble.ca's discussion board but it's much more than that: it's an online community for folks who just won't shut up. It's a place to tell each other — and the world — what's up with our work and campaigns.
Site upgrade today -- temporary downtime
Catchfire Offline Joined: Apr 16 2003 Send PM July 23, 2012 - 2:50pm
Hi everyone!
The site will be given a small upgrade today, which will mean the whole website will be down for a couple of hours. Most of the upgrade is for other parts of the site, but you will notice a few changes on babble and in your user profile. Rebecca and I hope that these will be positive changes, but we'll have to see once the upgrade hits. Mostly, if you're wondering why the site is down, if you read this, you'll know why.
Sat, 2012-07-28 19:23
#74
That's exactly what the main page looks like when I call up Rabble. The font in this thread is wrong too, it's HUGE!
Sat, 2012-07-28 19:43
#75
Boom Boom
On dialup right now, both Rabble and Babble are an awful bloody mess. And the Babble search function still doesn't work well. Everything was fine two days ago (except the search function...) so obviously someone is messing around with this board. Everything was fine until the upgrade, actually. And the HTML formatting bar is gone - again.
Sat, 2012-07-28 22:20
#76
This was very cool - but I didn't know rabble was using "Varnish"?
503 Service Unavailable
Page Could Not Be Loaded
We're very sorry, but the page could not be loaded properly. This should be fixed very soon, and we apologize for any inconvenience.
Debug Info: Status: 503 Response: Service Unavailable XID: 995244430 Varnish
Sun, 2012-07-29 00:37
#77
Boom Boom
I got that a few days ago. What is "Varnish"? A software program? (I use varnish at home in woodwork projects...)
Sun, 2012-07-29 00:55
#78
Boom Boom
Drat. Got this message three times tonight, twice my post did not get through.
Page Could Not Be Loaded
We're very sorry, but the page could not be loaded properly. This should be fixed very soon, and we apologize for any inconvenience.
Debug Info:Status: 503 Response: Service Unavailable XID: 995341856 Varnish
I presume the techies are off for the weekend?
Sun, 2012-07-29 09:16
#79
Ok, this morning I'm getting the unvarnished babble. How about you, Boom Boom?
Sun, 2012-07-29 09:27
#80
[b]Another important bug:[/b]
Besides the "SAVE" silliness which Boom Boom identified and CF acknowledged above when sending a post, please note that the "preview" and "I really mean it this time" buttons have been [b]inverted[/b]. Thus, for years I've been clicking the [b][i]right-hand button[/i][/b] to post - I'd like to continue doing that, otherwise I'll need to use a mirror.
Please invert the two buttons when renaming "Save" to "Post" (or "Submit" or whatever).
Sun, 2012-07-29 10:47
#81
the search function still needs work obviously
Sun, 2012-07-29 10:56
#82
Boom Boom
It's still a mess this morning, Unionist. And I presume it's because I'm on dialup. Rabble and Babble worked relatively fine on dialup before the "upgrade".
I suspect the "upgrade" is simply too much info to be transmitted on dialup (max 48 kbps), can't see any other reason for this.
Sun, 2012-07-29 11:43
#83
I'm seeing what your seeing mate, and I'm not on dial up.:(
Sun, 2012-07-29 11:45
#84
Can we please just go back to the way things were.
Sun, 2012-07-29 12:58
#85
Boom Boom
I assume the techies are off for the weekend, so my guess is we should all wait until at least Monday or Tuesday before anything can be done to fix this mess.
ETA: I wasn't able to post anything for three hours this morning (Sunday) - kept getting that "Varnish" message that the page was down.
Sun, 2012-07-29 20:33
#86
I hope my ordinary page requests don't bring down a server or something. Jeez it's slow. I mean we're talkin' glacial speed here guys. Add some interfaces? Another port or two? Maybe the server needs a grease gun or oil can taking to it, or something. C'mon! WA! WA! 
Sun, 2012-07-29 20:35
#87
Boom Boom
I think the techies are off for the weekend. Give it another day or two.
Mon, 2012-07-30 08:41
#88
It's a fucking mess.
Mon, 2012-07-30 10:05
#89
Boom Boom
Looks better now.
Mon, 2012-07-30 10:15
#90
Boom Boom
Spoke too soon: just got this when I sent that last message, had to try a few more times to get through:
Page Could Not Be Loaded
We're very sorry, but the page could not be loaded properly. This should be fixed very soon, and we apologize for any inconvenience.
Debug Info:Status: 503 Response: Service Unavailable XID: 566891780 Varnish
Mon, 2012-07-30 10:30
#91
Sven
Rather than bring back the "Post" button, as Unionist requested, I think there should be a series of about 25 cryptically-named buttons whose functions change randomly. For example, by pressing the button called "Xy256&n" today, your submission may be posted. But, the next time you push that button, you may get logged out of the system and given a seven-day "vacation" from babble. The only way to be sure of what you will get when you press a particular button at any given time would be to solve a New York Times crossword puzzle, which, when solved, would give you a "key" to the current functions of each of the buttons.
Now that would be a "system improvement" we could all sink our teeth into.
Mon, 2012-07-30 10:53
#92
Boom Boom
I'd like to see more smiley icons, myself. 
ETA: Still slower than normal - I was able to make a cup of coffee (instant) while waiting for that short comment to load.
Mon, 2012-07-30 12:08
#93
Sven
Boom Boom, what does dial-up cost per month for you and have you compared that to satellite Internet? We have a satellite where only dial-up is otherwise available -- it's only about $50 per month and we can download up to 10GB per month (which is a lot if you're not streaming movies) and the speed is phenomenal. We had it installed a couple of months ago and we're very pleased with it.
Mon, 2012-07-30 13:13
#94
Boom Boom
I currently have Telus Globetrotter (48 kbps) which is just $22/month on top on my telephone line which is $35.00/month, total $57.00/month.
Xplornet, our only option, is 50.00/month for the cheapest package, plus 400.00 plus tax for activation, and 75 for the wiring. Total $525.00 plus tax for the first month, minimum three year contract.
If I cancel Globetrotter, I still have to keep my phone line (35.00/month) and cheapest Xplornet is 50.00/month = $85.00/month. But there's that $525.00 + tax for the first month, which is half my monthly income.
The problem with that three-year Xplornet contract is that Telus Globetrotter is going to extend high speed broadband out here sometime - I just don't know when - and it'll be better than Xplornet, and cheaper.
My neighbours have Xplornet and they love it - but they are not living on a small disability pension, as I am.
ETA: I faintly recall that Xplornet was roundly condemned on Babble a few years ago, but I can't remember what the basis of the criticism was. And the 'search function' here isn't working properly so I can't dig it up.
Mon, 2012-07-30 14:45
#95
I think what they have to do is debug one good script for handling our page requests ie. the new babble script. When they get that working jus' fine and dandy, then they will go live with a few more versions of the same script to handle normal user loads. It's been some time since I did anything similar, but I think that's how it goes. And then again I could be entirely out to lunch on current procedures. But we should all keep in mind that typically takes weeks and even months to iron out all the bugs with new software. It really is a lot of work. Have a nice day.
Fidel (the techie from hell)
Mon, 2012-07-30 16:01
#96
ETA: I faintly recall that Xplornet was roundly condemned on Babble a few years ago, but I can't remember what the basis of the criticism was. And the 'search function' here isn't working properly so I can't dig it up.
I searched, and the only posts I found about xplornet were either recent ones by you, or one news item about some kind of venture between Xplornet and Bell Aliant.
Here's how to search using Google:
site:rabble.ca/babble "xplornet"
or for older threads:
site:archive.rabble.ca/babble "xplornet"
Mon, 2012-07-30 16:13
#97
Boom Boom
Well, maybe someone reading this thread can remember the problem with Xplornet. It was afew years ago.
Mon, 2012-07-30 23:44
#98
It's loading pages pretty peppyly for me now, like a peck of pickled peppers parading on my puter screen pronto.
Tue, 2012-07-31 11:41
#99
Was this an upgrade, or a switch in content management systems? I recall that Babble at one time used Ultimate Bulletin Board (I think, anyway), whereas now it seems like it's run from Drupal.
Is there a way to attach files to posts, or is that an impossibility? I can't recall if it was ever possible to attach a photo or not. I though it had been.
Tue, 2012-07-31 12:03
#100
Boom Boom
The HTML formatting bar now only appears when I edit or quote a post.
Do we know when this "upgrade" will be completed???
The threads themselves still look really bad, but the TAT page is okay.
Still not getting PM notifications.
The "search function" is still slow and not working right - CF explained it takes a long time to load the cached information. But it's been a full week since the upgrade started.
Tue, 2012-07-31 12:44
#101
Why couldn't the Babble part of the site been left hell enough alone?