Update on bug
 

ZT, one of my users, who got this problem twice tonight, is using a Pentium 4 at 2.6 MHz. Hardly a slow machine.

But, I need to do the changes in those templates, maybe that will have an effect.

I'll keep you posted.

Alright thanks man.

It should help, the browser won't throw a fit now only 1 iframe is been refreshed, so hopefully it will atleast narrow the bug down to fewer users/happening fewer times. :)

- Zero Tolerance

Just finished all the changes, that darn chat_upage got me some funny moments, but all is working OK now.

One question, can you post a link inside a message ? I mean can one post a link and the program to recognize it and post it as a link in the message area?

Currently all links parsed open in new windows, but it would make sense to make sure all vBChat.php links open in the same window, i'll stick that in my next version :)

*Adds to invisible notepad* :p

- Zero Tolerance

What do you have to put in the front, in order for the program to undestand that this is a link? I tried typing the URL, but it didn't understand that. I tried adding the word url in square brackets, nothing.

As for the bug:

It happened again, so it was not the template changes that caused it. Now everything is per your latest release. The user is the same as before, he is using a Pentium 4 at 2.6 and the browser is IE version 6, while he is using Windoze home edition (Whatever that is). XP?

Well if you enable BBCodes, it will parse them. I'll just make an edit to the bbparsecode.php for when parsing emails, if your inside vBChat and the url is for vBChat, it will change the URL outputted.

As for it happening again, darn, but does it happen as occasional as before?

- Zero Tolerance

Hmmm, I'll check the bbcode thing. As for the bug, the guy who had this problem didn't stay long after the last happening, so I can't tell if the occurence frequency is the same or not. However, it is not something we can easily spot. I mean there are at least 10 people in my chat gang, that are using the same setup, IE 6 and P4, but I am not sure if this is a Windows issue. With so many patches and upgrades around, who knows what it can be. One of my users started getting the bug when his IE installed an automatic update a few days ago. Until then, he was working fine. I steered him towards Firefox and he never had a problem again.

Until later partner.

Indeed, this bug is definatly getting right on me nerves, i was thinking perhaps change the 8 second delay refresh rate to 10 seconds, this may help it further. But if i can find alternate ways then that would be the best path to take.

Thanks for all the information on this, its appreciated :)

- Zero Tolerance

The stuttering bug is really driving my users nuts. Wish I could find a common cause or recreate it but i can't. I am using 2.3 and it still happens.

Take a look at your data through phpMyAdmin or otherwise. I think that you might find the dreaded apostrophe just before it happens:

13189 121 Evenin'! 1109729878 0 0
13190 8 I hope I find some bits and pieces at the show. 1109729878 0 0
13191 121 Well, 1109729882 0 0
13192 121 Well, the 1109729883 0 0
13193 121 Here we go AGAIN! 0 0

I have my users clued in about using CONTROL R to refresh.

Even though I had the same problem re-appearing this morning, and again the ' was present, I can't reproduced it on my system. What we know so far, is :

- The users who had the problem DID NOT have slow PCs.
- They both had Windows XP Home Edition
- They both had Internet Explorer, version 6.0
- An apostrophe WAS NOT present in all cases

That's all the help I can offer ZT, I am at a loss too. Somehow I suspect that it is not related to the PC's hardware (Speed), but more to a combination of software, like Windows and IE. Tonight, I might come up with more details, as I plan to question the users who haven't had this problem, about their configuration.

Definitely, it's not happening with Firefox, or IE 5 or Netscape.

Thanks for those points oldengine & sv1cec, whats weird is:

- I don't have a slow pc (unless you call 3.2 GHZ Intel Pentium 4 slow o_o)
- I use Windows XP Home Edition
- I use Internet Explorer 6.0

Perhaps where missing 1 other detail .. i'll keep my eyes open.

- Zero Tolerance

Zero, what about Java/Javascript versions? Can that be a reason? I am not familiar with Java/Javascripts, do you have to download anything in order to have the latest release? Can that be a factor?

Javascript is browser side, it's all built in to the browser (hence why different browsers have troubles with the same js code in different ways)

- Zero Tolerance

I hadn't had this happen to me then last night it did it to me several times. I am on a very fast PC and a very fast connection. I can't seem to point to any one issue, it just "happens" with no rhyme or reason. My members want me to revert to the old version...

Are we sure that a previous version didn't have that issue? Which version was stable?

One more element, the bug happens with other versions of Windoze as well, like 98. The common denominator seems to be Internet Explorer 6.

UPDATE

OK, after hours spend with one of my users, we have found the following:

A user is typing a message and hits Post when at the bottom of the browser it says "Opening page ...." (that is happening when the client is refreshing the page). The user hits Post while at the bottom, it still says "Opening page....". Then he continues to type something WITHOUT CLICKING AGAIN INSIDE THE POST MESSAGE BOX. Whatever he types now, gets send to the server, a few letters at a time. Some letters are even lost. The user can see what he is typing.

The user I was testing with, was on a dial-up connection, so the 8 sec refresh is kind of too much for him, there are greater chances of hitting post during the "Opening page" phase.

IE5 is doing the same thing, only a little differently. If you hit the Post while the browser is in Opening page, and then you continue to type, WITHOUT CLICKING WITH YOUR CURSOR IN THE POST MESSAGE BOX, you can hear the post button being pressed and see it being pressed as you type. The difference is that with IE5, you DO NOT SEE the words you type, while with IE6, the user can see the words he types. Also, with IE5, what you type is not going to the server (hense no words are slit and send as messages), while with IE6 it is send to the server. If you stop typing and click inside the post message box and start typing again, it returns to normal.

To recap:

- The bug starts when the user hits Post (or Enter) when the browser is in the "Opening page...." condition. Whatever he types after that, is spilled out to the server, in random chunks.
- The bug does not occur if the user clicks inside the Post Message box before starting typing again.
- The bug stops if the user clicks inside the Post Message box and continues typing.

There you go folks, I hope this helps. We can now recreate it at wish, at least in my board.

Alright, that's probably why i could never re-create the bug myself .. i'm on a 2mb internet connection.

So here's the plan, while the iframe is refreshing, the post input box will be disabled untill it has reloaded, then it will be enabled. To me that seems like the only valid way of getting around this.

- Zero Tolerance

Zero, I am not sure about it. I mean, for how long will the box be disabled? If it takes as long as the Opening page phase, that can almost disable typing on people with a slower connection. Do you think it will solve the problem, or are we going to create more?

Well it will mean that users will have to wait for the iframe to reload (not so good for users on slow modems), but if you can think of a better method/solution then please let me hear it :)

- Zero Tolerance

Master Coder, you are the expert not me. What I am trying to say, is that now, we know what the problem is, and a way to avoid it: click in the box before you start typing.

Disabling the typing box on slow connections will create more problems than it will solve, because most of the time, the users will not be able to type. That will make the chat unusable for them. Of course, we could run some tests with dial-up users and see, but somehow I think it wouldn't be good.

I would suggest that you print a warning for IE 6 users, explaining what the problem is, and letting them take it into account. It's not a program's bug as it is evident by users of Firefox, Netscape and even IE5, it's an Explorer issue, so they have to learn how to use the program with that browser. What I'll do on my board, tonight, is to put a message which will say to the users how to avoid the problem, and how to stop it if it starts. From then on, they are on their own.

Rgds

Yeah i suppose that is one way, i'm also going to optimize the javascript executed on every page load, which should help browser strain, and possibly reduce the occurance of this "problem" (no longer a bug :p) a little more :)

- Zero Tolerance

Any update on this guy. It's causing lots of problems with my users.

We just ran an evening session without it. But then, I told everyone to make sure their cursor is in the Post Message box when typing.

This thing is still bugging us. I think we can put the ' away and most likely ZT has it pegged to the slower connections.

Read sv1cec's top post in this thread, this is nota bug, but an issue with internet explorer and slower internet connections, so you will have to give this information to your users.

- Zero Tolerance

We NEED a fix for this. My users are about to declare mutiny and want me to go back to the old chat room. This and the fact that usergroup permissions don't work are killing me.

Did older versions of vbchat not have this problem? I wonder what would cause the difference between versions if this is the case?

I just tried experimenting with some of my members, two on fast connections, one on a dial up, and one member on DSL. We tried using varied browsers, logging in and out. The dial up member said that the refresh of 8 seconds was too fast for him, and that he was, using IE6, but it didn't recreate the problem stated above. Go figure!
I upped the refresh to 15 seconds, and they all agreed that it was better.

Just a thought. Could you add a conditional to check for IE6 (and possibly a slow connection?), and if true, disable or up the refresh rate automatically. Then show a manual java refresh button or link for the user with the IE6, and display a instruct message on what to do at the bottom of the screen for said user?

One thing I did was to add a small table at the bottom of the Chat Room with some mini instructions and a tip or two. See attachment. I'm going to edit and add some of the Commands from the Help Page to this table.

John

My cable modem was out last night and I had a taste of dial-up activity. Right off, I got into the situation of the space activating the post message, so I had one word per line. I did a Control-R and it finally settled down.

John, I like your information to user at the bottom of the chat screen (under message box). I do need to change my refresh rate, because I know folks are having an issue with that. I can't find the code string where it changes, and also wouldn't mind putting up something like you have on your screen. I am a 19th C. tinner, not a computer geek, so any help with my php would be most helpful to do this; codes anyone? It's driving us all crazy, too.

Regardless, I would still like to give a thumbs-up for this particular version of the chat program; 3/4 of our members cannot figure out how to post on the forum, but they DO talk in chat!

Pat

Hi Pat, Thanks.

Open the template for chat_main. DON't edit in the Admin Cp, but copy the html code into a good editor and save two copies. One as original (your backup, just in case) and the other as edit (the one you wil actually edit).

First as for the fresh rate. Look for this line (near the top of the file):
and change it to what value you want. Mine as shown is 15000 (15 secs).

As for the info table I added. Near the bottom of the file look for the end form tag, and insert (add-after the tag - </form>) this code:
When done, just delete the code in the style box for chat_main in the Adnin CP, and paste in the new editted code and hit save. Edit the text lines to your needs.

John

Thanks from the computer illiterate!

Got things up and working.

Pat

wirewolf: what files where exactly?

How about you do what I did and you hide the POST button? Worked for me so far....