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General discussion

Can't change "forum display" & some icons missing using FF.

Jun 23, 2008 5:09AM PDT

This is the second day in a row, I opened Firefox to find the forum dislayed as "flat view", when it has always been set to "tree". I'm unable to make the change to either of the other views. Additionally, the icon's indicating a "read" or "unread" thread, are missing. Those two specific icons are also missing from the bottom of the page, under "Forum Legend:". (The only one's missing)

Yesterday, the situation eventually righted itself. Today it has not. Since it's not happening with IE, I'm tending to think it may be browser-related, as opposed to forum-related. Confused

Any thoughts? It would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks..
Carol

Discussion is locked

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Do you use AdBlock?
Jun 23, 2008 6:13AM PDT

(Or a similar ad/image blocking extension?)

I haven't encountered the problem myself and wonder if a new rule may have been pushed out to AdBlock or the like that adversely affects forum browsing.

John

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I have AdBlock
Jun 23, 2008 6:32AM PDT

and I am NOT having any problems. I use the dreaded threaded view.


Rick

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That would be a "Yes"
Jun 23, 2008 6:41AM PDT

I do have it installed. What I'm now wondering is why it "righted" itself yesterday. I just disabled it and it doesn't seem to make a difference. Short of the fact that I now see the ad in the middle of the page. (It's now enabled again)

Thanks, John. I'd like to say I'm going to "play around" with it, but I out of "playing" ideas. Sad Maybe it's the weather?
Carol

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Second thought: Cookies...
Jun 23, 2008 6:55AM PDT

I have a couple AdBlock filter subscriptions and there have been a few times where one or the other erroneously blocked legitimate content (in one case *.com.com/*). Next update cleared it up (though I had already done it manually) so I thought it may have been another recurrence.

My next thought would be cookie woes. Under the Privacy tab you can view and then delete cookies on a site-by-site basis, which should correct it if it's a corrupt cookie issue. (Firefox has done that to me a few times as well.) A few people have also mentioned Cnet having cookie issues recently, so that's not out of the question either.

Good luck.
John

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Re: Second thought: Cookies..
Jun 23, 2008 11:02AM PDT

I gotta tell ya, John. This is all Greek to me! It's really the first time I took a good look at AdBlock Plus. I installed it the first time around, when there was an ad in the middle of the page. I created the .css document, installed AdBlock and never looked back. Shame on me! It's probably the only thing I have installed, which I haven't picked apart and thoroughly looked into.

If legitimate content was erroneously blocked, I wouldn't know how to deal with it. I see so many "com com's", I don't know one from another! That said, this certainly is fascinating stuff. It's opened up a whole new world to me. And I think it's about time I learned about it. The Help File might be good place to start!

No corrupt cookies. It could very well be the former. I'm going to sit with it for awhile. IOW.. read about it. And most likely wait to see if an update corrects it. Unless, it miraculously corrects itself, as it did yesterday.

Thanks for your thoughts. They're always appreciated. And always informative!
Carol

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Any additional thoughts?
Jun 24, 2008 4:55AM PDT

John.. or anyone else..

It dawned on me after I posted, that I had already tried disabling AdBlock. It didn't make a difference. I'd like to think AdBlock was the culprit, but it's not.

Any additional thoughts? It looks as though IE is the "Browser du Jour". The flat view, coupled with a lack of "read" and "unread" icons, isn't sitting well with me. Sad Is it presumptuous of me to think, if it were forum-related, other's would have the same problem?

Carol

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(NT) Tree View BACK :) Icons NOT :(
Jun 24, 2008 5:42AM PDT
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Are you using FF3 or still FF2?
Jun 24, 2008 6:30AM PDT

All I can offer is that when I upgraded to FF3 I had difficulty logging in to CNET. FF would either log me in and let me post, or log me in but still not let me post, and then, even if I could post, it would lose the login if I rebooted the browser.

In the end I had to clean out all cookies, (I decided to do all instead of just trying to identify CNET's), using FF's Tools options and also using CCleaner.

I also changed a setting in Tools, not one I particularly wanted to. Tools > Options > Privacy > Cookies, and tick, "Accept third-party cookies".

I should have tried these two options separately and tested in-between, but didn't. I have yet to turn off the 3rd party cookie option. But that worked for me and I have had no problems since.

Mark

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FF2
Jun 24, 2008 7:29AM PDT

Mark..

I don't know what's going on. I thought I had the "view thing" straightened out. If I close FF, it now reopens again to flat view. In the past I had it set at "tree" and it always opened as such. It's not "sticking". Yesterday I couldn't change it back to tree, but now I can. Not a big thing to change manually, although I'd rather not. What I can't do "manually" ...... is make the "read and unread" icons reappear! They've been AWOL for two days.

I cleared out all the cookies yesterday, in same manner you had. To include using CCleaner. What I didn't do was "accept cookies". I'll give it a try.

Is it possible this could be related to NoScript?

Thanks for your input, Mark.
Carol

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I wouldn't have thought it was Noscript.
Jun 24, 2008 7:42AM PDT

Hi Carol.

But you can test that by disabling the NoScript addon rebooting Firefox and seeing if there is any change.

What about trying something else? If you log out of CNET, close down FF, then run CCleaner again to remove all traces of web history, cookies, internet browsing, then re-open FF and try to log back in to CNET. I hope you remember your password, Happy

If that fails then we may be looking at a corrupted FF Profile.

However, if it is working now as you wish, perhaps see how it goes. One other factor is CNET itself. I think we have all had CNET problems in the past, one way or another. I had to ask Lee about my Offensive Alerts a couple of weeks ago. I stopped receiving them, and Lee found a switch had been turned off in my CNET profile.

Mark

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Not NoScript..
Jun 24, 2008 8:16AM PDT

The heat must be getting to me. I tried disabling that too. Blush

Dems a lot of variables. BUT.. I like variables so I will try the one's I have control of. The "CNET factor" not being one of them. I've been extremely lucky over the years. Maybe my "time and number" has come up?

I'll give your suggestions a try. Of course, I remember my password. It's only 5 letters and it's my dog's name! (ONLY kidding)

Thanks again. I'll let you know if anything helped.
Carol

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One other...
Jun 24, 2008 1:48PM PDT

Go Start->Run and enter firefox.exe -p before pressing Enter. Create a new profile called "test" and load it, then try logging into Cnet again. If it works normally at that point it is indeed something in your Firefox profile causing the problem.

Let us know.
John


P.S. Last year Bob and I were, at random times, prevented from even viewing the forums while logged in due to a forum glitch that randomly chose just two victims. Since then I tend to be a little more welcoming to the idea of the forums being possessed. Happy

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Re: One other..
Jun 24, 2008 4:07PM PDT

'Since then I tend to be a little more welcoming to the idea of the forums being possessed Happy '

It goes against my grain, but I may have to consider embracing the idea and taking it on as my own. A new "test" profile made no difference. Prior to that, I tried Mark's suggestion and removed all traces of web history, cookies and internet browsing. It made no difference.

Just after composing my initial post yesterday and ready to hit "submit" .. the icons came back as well as the tree view. It lasted all of 10 minutes, but they did come back for a short period of time. (FWIW)

Do you know what is responsible for making the last chosen view *stick*? And why are only two icons missing, as opposed to all? Or isn't it an "all or nothing" kind of thing? I may be looking for answers, where there are none.

"Must have been a glitch in the forum" is now taking on a different meaning for me. Perhaps there really is a glitch. If there are no further thoughts on the issue, I may consider prayer as my next course of action. I think I'll let it all be for a while.

Thanks to you and Mark for your help..
Carol

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Account preferences...
Jun 25, 2008 1:21PM PDT

The forum view is stored as an account preference on Cnet's end, then applied whenever you're logged in on any computer. Likewise with the read/unread markers. Since those are the only two disappearing I'm convinced it's an issue with remaining properly logged in, be it with cookies or other. Since it doesn't occur with IE, but does occur even with a dummy Firefox profile, it brings it down to two final choices.
1.) Something has gone awry with Firefox, not just your profile.
2.) Something has gone awry with your Cnet account, which is something I'm no stranger to.

Taking a slight turn from the normal, I'd try clicking here to download a portable (no installation necessary) version of Firefox (3.0). Close all instances of Firefox, and check Task Manager to ensure it's not running. Then launch Portable Firefox, login to Cnet, and see if the problem persists. It's not a sure-fire test, but that should point the finger at which side the problem lies.

John

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Thanks John!
Jun 26, 2008 4:43AM PDT
'...Since those are the only two disappearing I'm convinced it's an issue with remaining properly logged in, be it with cookies or other'

Yesterday (for the first time) I started having problems remaining properly logged in. I deleted all cookies for the third time. The last "go around".. everything came back to normal. To be quite honest, I wanted to wait before "putting it in print". (Something about being jinxed. And something about me thinking it was fixed once before.) I've given it 24 hours and so far, I think all is well.

So once again.. you hit the nail on the head. Your "second thought" was correct. It was .. all about the cookies!

Thanks for "hangin' in there" with me...
Carol
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(NT) No problem. Glad you got it working again.
Jun 26, 2008 4:58AM PDT
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It is so often the little things isn't it.
Jun 26, 2008 5:04AM PDT

Those cookies are little b*^%&~s sometimes! Happy

Mark

(Can I say blighters in these forums? Devil )

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Yes ..So often the little things...
Jun 26, 2008 5:26AM PDT

I take it you meant little b@$^@*&~s and NOT b*^%&~s! Devil

If that be the case.. they sure can be!

Thanks for your help, Mark

(I believe *blighters* is forbidden. But I wouldn't know that for sure. Silly )

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Hmm. Strange....
Jun 27, 2008 2:42AM PDT

This has just happened.

Although I could log in, and delete posts, (I deleted a handful just to make sure, Devil ), I couldn't make any posts myself.

I kept getting a warning to complete the Subject line even though I had. So I would complete the subject line, click Preview, then I would get CNET's Page Not Found.

I've just had to clear out all my cookies, TIF, and everything else to be able to post again.

It seems OK now.

Don't worry about all those posts I deleted, I'm sure the posters will understand, it was in the interest of "me". Happy

Mark

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Did you spell something wrong, again?
Jun 27, 2008 2:59AM PDT

I saw your post on why you became a Moderator!(LOL)

I still get the subjects blank, because Carol broke the forums. They were gone for a while, but now they're back. Strange thing is...

It seems to happen more when I track a post with Carol's posts in it. The Prez stated...


(There's a B.S. club meeting at the end of the month, BTW. Your attendance is required, unless it's repaired prior to that date.)


Rick

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Rick.
Jun 27, 2008 6:12AM PDT

Ahh spelling. It seems as I get older I am reverting to Kindergarten spelling levels. Is that how you spell Kindergarten? Firefox told me that was right, but since we use different terms in the UK I am not sure.

What worries me is that I may soon need larger keys on the keyboard. That's a sure sign I'm going backwards. Happy

Mark

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I had to look
Jun 27, 2008 6:29AM PDT

and find out if Kindergarten was spelled correctly. Low and behold, it is, so you don't have to delete that post. I have a friend at work, that lost some of her eyesight because of diabetes. She still works and uses the magnifying features. If only I'd take the time to reread my posts and check for spelling, I also would be in good shape.

Does this mean, if I spell wrong, I should become a Moderator, so I can delete my own posts and spell everything correctly?

FYI This email message came through with subject blank, again!!