Getting logged off...

[norsea]

Please, please, please increase the time value in the cookies you post for the log out function.

I spent my career in the IT industry and can truthfully say I have never encountered something that logged me off when I was typing a response to a message. Now, having said that I could be wrong about the time out for the duration of a login but I suspect that is why is happening.

Please don't tell me to copy what I am writing so it will not "get lost". I cannot think of a more lame response or I would include it here. And yes, I have heard this before from people who did not have a clue about what they were doing to administer a system. I do NOT think that is the case here. Surely I cannot be the first person to comment about this.

Most annoying. It is also very irritating to have to log back in every time I stop to answer a question someone asks me due to the short value of the login duration. Surely I cannot be the only person to have commented on this.

Personally I cannot see why you would want to set it for so short a period of time. Seems like two hours would be an acceptable value.

Other than this login issue the setup seems quite good and I think that y'all have done a very good job in trying to achieve a functional balance for the participants.

Thanks,

Jim

[Boondocker]

I dont understand, you should be able to remain logged on indeffinately.

[norsea]

It has not worked like that since I have joined.

I have found a few other posts where folks have mentioned the same behavior.

Jim

[Kevbo10]

logged off?

post dropped?

disapears?

usually it's a dial up connection, and the problem is on your end, not the forums end.

i'll move over now,

and

let the thread "puff up".

please expound...

kevbo

[GreatPumpkin]

Originally Posted by norsea

It has not worked like that since I have joined.

I have found a few other posts where folks have mentioned the same behavior.

Jim

Jim - I NEVER log in, it has always worked for me to be logged in indefinitely. I don't remember how to set that up - probably in your User CP - but I'll bet a moderator will pop in and explain it in no time.

oh and welcome to the forums

[InsideOut]

I am not the best person to answer this...but I do know a couple of things we may need to know to help you get this figured out. If I can't help, by your answers to a couple of questions - I can forward this to a more "techie" person if need be.

• When you log on, do you select the "Remember Me" box? If not, do and see if this makes a difference.
• What operating system ar eyou using?
• What browser are you using?
• What, if any, firewalls do you have installed?
• What, if any, virus proctection do you have installed?
• What, if any, spyware programs do you have installed?

If you don't want to post your info here in this thread, feel free to PM your resposes to me.

Shari

[azflycaster]

Originally Posted by Gen Disarray

I dont understand, you should be able to remain logged on indeffinately.

Rodney - Congratulations on your 2000th post!

[TBRich]

Thanks for weighing in, Shari...I am frequenly logged in for hours at a time and have never been timed out...once in a while I lose my connection for one reason or another at my end and once in a great while the site might go down unexpectedly, but as far as I know there is no time limit to being logged in. My guess is that it's the internet connection or user set-up factor that's casuing the problem.

TB

[urbanfood]

i've never been logged out, however i'm sure my wife would wish i had your problem jim.

[vswingfield]

I always am recognized when I log in, and am never logged out. It works at home with OSX or at work with Win XP Pro and doesn’t matter whether I use IE or Firefox or Safari at either location.

[norsea]

Originally Posted by InsideOut

I am not the best person to answer this...but I do know a couple of things we may need to know to help you get this figured out. If I can't help, by your answers to a couple of questions - I can forward this to a more "techie" person if need be.

• When you log on, do you select the "Remember Me" box? If not, do and see if this makes a difference.
• What operating system ar eyou using?
• What browser are you using?
• What, if any, firewalls do you have installed?
• What, if any, virus proctection do you have installed?
• What, if any, spyware programs do you have installed?

If you don't want to post your info here in this thread, feel free to PM your resposes to me.

Shari

Hi,

I mean no offense to anyone on this board. Especially to those who volunteer their time to support it.

But, when I enter my user name and password and am logged in my session will stay logged in only if I am actively changing pages. If I take any significant length on time to respond to a message my login is removed and I must log in all over again.

The same happens if I should go off from the computer for 15 minutes. When I come back and I reload a page to refresh it I must log back in.

Shari, I don't know what your background is but based on your questions, above, I have to ask. For example. all the remember me "bit" does is put a cookie into your browser. Anyone that knows anything about computer security will remove cookies everytime they exit out of their browser. It is just too easy for web sites to get cookies onto your computer; invasive things these can be. And this should have no effect for a session. What it should do is allow you back onto the forum without typing your username and password. Not a very secure way to take care of business.

Also, none of the other questions you ask are germain to this issue. Sorry.

I am still waiting for someone who administers this forum to respond to this or the email I sent them earlier this week.

Given that I have seen other posts on this forum where people are complaining about the exact same things I think it is not out of line to ask for a response.

Thanks to everyone who has responded.

Administrators?

Thanks,

Jim

[Janet H]

Currently, our forum is set to log a member off after 1 hour (in the absence of any activty).

If you are having continued issues, please check your systems cookie handling profile. Sometimes the installation of a new browser or security update will change your settings w/o your knowledge. We use cookies to "remember" you at page changes so cookie exchange with the site must be enabled.

[craftsman]

The only time that I really have to completly log in again is when I clear all cookies. To be logged out while your typing a message sounds like a problem with some setting on your computer.

[Davydd]

When you log in do you click on the "Remember Me" check box? If you do that you should be on indefinitely and should not have to log on each time unless you are having your cookies erased every session you are online.

[norsea]

Originally Posted by Janet

Currently, our forum is set to log a member off after 1 hour (in the absence of any activty).

If you are having continued issues, please check your systems cookie handling profile. Sometimes the installation of a new browser or security update will change your settings w/o your knowledge. We use cookies to "remember" you at page changes so cookie exchange with the site must be enabled.

Janet,

Thank you very much for confirming my hypothesis.

Now I have to ask why so short a time period? One hour is not a very long time. And, in my experience, I am finding that the time is actually fewer minutes than 60. While I have not done an actual recording of the time involved I can do so; I'd rather not though.

But, I will plead for a longer period of time. Logging people off who just sit and do nothing for extreme periods of time makes perfect sense if the system is constrained by the number of people who can be logged in at a given time.

The only time I have seen a period of time as short as 1 hour used for something like this was on a system that was so severely overloaded with no chance of being upgraded/modified for months to come. It was necessary for people to have access to the application to record their work hours in order to get paid; and it really was not necessary to be logged in for a significant amount of time in order to make the necessary entries.

For a system like a forum 1 hour seems to me to be a really short period of time. I find that it is too short for me to be able to use the system effectively, especially when I am working on a response to a post or creating a new post. I have read other forum members complaints about this being a real problem for them as well.

So, how about increasing the time period to something like 4 hours? I think this would give folks who are working with pictures for inclusion in their posts ample opportunity to "ger 'er done" without being forced to create their post in other software and then copy and paste it only to find that the pictures did not come along.

Any rate, you get the idea.

On the other hand, perhaps there is something that I do not know (a very real possiblity) as to the reason for the selection of such a short time period of 1 hour inactivity for the logout. Perhaps the software and/or the system it is running on is not capable of supporting a significant number of users being logged in. If that is the case it seems like it is time to upgreade; especially given that this forum is rapidly becomming THE definitive forum for all things Airstream - wonderful that, really.

Thanks again for responding to my plea and restoring my saniity - it's nice to know that I am not truely "looseing it".

Jim

[HowieE]

Originally Posted by norsea

Janet,
For a system like a forum 1 hour seems to me to be a really short period of time. I find that it is too short for me to be able to use the system effectively, especially when I am working on a response to a post or creating a new post. I have read other forum members complaints about this being a real problem for them as well.
Jim

Jim

Are you joking or do you have some limitation that precludes you from striking a key or using your mouse in less than an hour?

Unless you go to dinner I can't see how you could sit stareing at the screen without activity for an hour.

[millvalleyca]

I'm always logged on.....
I use three different computers at three different locations and I never have to sign in. The top right hand corner always says "Welcome, millvalleyca"

[richinny]

i've been logged on since i joined. i even have not had to log on after eating dinner.

[norsea]

Originally Posted by HowieE

Jim

Are you joking or do you have some limitation that precludes you from striking a key or using your mouse in less than an hour?

Unless you go to dinner I can't see how you could sit stareing at the screen without activity for an hour.

Striking a key has no impact. This is why it is a problem for people who are working on posts that take a long time.

As for the time I spend "stareing at the screen without activity for an hour" I don't find that unusual at all. I can only speak for myself but I tend to multitask and as a result, I do more than stare at the screen when in front of the computer. It's not like I am devoted to this forum when I am logged in. I may be on the phone for several minutes, responding to email or doing a myraid of other things related to the people who come in and ask questions.

I find it a pain to be in the middle of a response or composing a post for this forum only to find that it is gone because I have been automagically logged off.

Increasing the time factor for the automatic logout process is a trivail activity and it will benefit all who use this forum.

For those who use the "Remember Me" process and never delete cookies from their computer and, as a result, do not perceive this problem, that is fine. As for me, after spending my career in the IT industry I prefer more security and NEVER use such features and never keep cookies in my browser between sessions. When my browser closes all cookies are removed.

Any rate, the fix is simple and not something that causes problems to the forum - the fix only helps all who use the forum.

Jim

[SlimJim]

Jim, I'm afraid it must be something in your local setup. I have never been logged out on the two computers I use. I have this forum listed in my favorites and each time I select it, I'm on and I stay on indefinitely.