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Comment Posting Problems?

Some readers are reporting problems posting comments. There was a problem at TypeKey's end a few days ago that supposedly is fixed. But Mike Ditto will take a look soon, so bear with us.

Also, one reader complained that the gray font used in the text of the comments section isn't dark enough - is anyone else having a problem with that? Any suggestions?

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    Re: Comment Posting Problems? (none / 0) (#1)
    by unbill on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:49 PM EST
    Yes, I think the grey is not dark enough too. But, other than that - super layout.

    Re: Comment Posting Problems? (none / 0) (#2)
    by MikeDitto on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:49 PM EST
    There are some problems at TalkLeft's hosting provider that they are diligently working on that might be affecting comments. It's also affecting mikeditto.com, worldwiderant.com, and others. It appears that some perl module was released that was corrupted, and any server that uses cpanel has been affected, so it's a problem across the blogosphere as a great number of hosting providers use cpanel on their servers. More on that here.

    Re: Comment Posting Problems? (none / 0) (#3)
    by MikeDitto on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:49 PM EST
    TypeKey made some changes to the sign-in process, so you may see a dialog asking whether you want your e-mail address passed on to TalkLeft. You should only see this dialog once, and the choice will be saved in your TypeKey cookie. Of course if you have Firefox set to delete cookies after every visit, you'll have to click through that every time. TypeKey will also now keep you signed on for 14 days, but again only if you don't delete the cookie. That should make most people a bit happier, as it used to sign you off after 20 minutes--sort of a ridiculously short period of time.

    Re: Comment Posting Problems? (none / 0) (#4)
    by MikeDitto on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:49 PM EST
    Oh, more on the TypeKey stuff here.

    Re: Comment Posting Problems? (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:49 PM EST
    I use Firefox. My cookies have not been set to delete after every visit. The most recent change is helping, I am not getting the signon screen, but I still see the email message each time I sign in to post. I don't think this is a cookie setting problem with my browser. But it's better and I appreciate any improvement. I don't seem to be getting redirected to the ad screen over and over again. That's a help.

    Re: Comment Posting Problems? (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:49 PM EST
    Spoke too soon. As soon as I posted and hit back to get to the main screen, I got redirected to the ad page.

    Re: Comment Posting Problems? (none / 0) (#7)
    by MikeDitto on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:49 PM EST
    Yeah, I'm getting the e-mail warning each time also. I've sent a message to SixApart to complain about it. I think they may not be doing the cookie properly. You can get it to go away by logging into TypeKey abd checking the option fpr "When you comment on a weblog, send the weblog owner your email address". Sending the e-mail address along is not going to increase your spam--TalkLeft isn't going to sell your e-mail address to the Viagra peddlers. When you say the ad page, do you mean the comment page?

    Re: Comment Posting Problems? (none / 0) (#8)
    by MikeDitto on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:49 PM EST
    Jeez, me not typing so well today.

    Re: Comment Posting Problems? (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:49 PM EST
    yep too gray

    Re: Comment Posting Problems? (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:49 PM EST
    I fixed the color code so that the text of the comments is darker.

    Re: Comment Posting Problems? (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:49 PM EST
    I have gone to Type Key and checked the box to send email, so that irritation should be gone now. You are making progress. Thanks. On the "ad page" redirect, I don't mean the comments page. I get an almost blank page with the following: Classifieds Click Here for Rates If I click here, I get sent to the following url:

    Re: Comment Posting Problems? (none / 0) (#14)
    by Johnny on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:49 PM EST
    Just posted above... How about opening comments in a new window? When I click "post", it posts my comment, but then I am stuck because I cannot go back without re-entering the site... If I hit the back button, it gives me the "postdata" error, whereupon I need to sign in again! Minor beefs I know, Michael will get it straightened out!

    Re: Comment Posting Problems? (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:50 PM EST
    Michael, I just multiple posted to: O'Donnell Says Rove as Leak Source is Confirmed because of this bug. I left a note there about what I saw, but would appreciate it if you would remove the multiple posts. The 'page not found' error message would seem to be the main problem.

    Re: Comment Posting Problems? (none / 0) (#13)
    by Johnny on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:50 PM EST
    Yes I have gotten that CA, I just thought it was an attempt to sell me advertising ;). On Firefox default settings, all should work, correct? The darker text is nice though.

    Re: Comment Posting Problems? (none / 0) (#15)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:50 PM EST
    All you have to do is click in the TalkLeft graphic on the top left to get back to the site. I eliminated popup comments and prefer it this way.

    Re: Comment Posting Problems? (none / 0) (#16)
    by MikeDitto on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:50 PM EST
    Paul & CA: I have seen what you are talking about. It's due to the comment script periodically dying as a result of the problems our hosting provider is having with a recent security patch (I linked to a thread about that above). They are diligently working that out, and hopefully it will be fixed soon. In the mean time, hitting "refresh" sometimes (but not always) brings it back.

    Re: Comment Posting Problems? (none / 0) (#17)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:50 PM EST
    I just got redirected to the ad screen on the initial load of the TL page. Then got sent there again when I hit the comments link to come here and post that. The fact that I can get redirected to the ad screen even before I have signed on to a comment section makes me wonder if the problem is something more than a comment string dying. It's irritating and has reduced my participation on the site over the past few weeks. I appreciate that the suggestions in this thread have reduced the signon presentation. Would be nice to lose the ad screen redirect.

    Re: Comment Posting Problems? (none / 0) (#18)
    by MikeDitto on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:50 PM EST
    CA: We don't have a page that just has ads on it, and we don't do any redirection of any kind. Next time you see the problem, do View->Source and see if you see something that says, "premature end of script headers". That's what I was seeing yesterday, but according to the hosting provider it should be fixed now.