Login question

[jossuk]

Every few days I am now required to log in with password when responding to a thread, in spite of having checked the automatic login box repeatedly. This seems to be a recent software behavior; can anyone suggest a reason?

[Choralia]

I guess it might be something related to the temporary use of the URL forums.imslp.eu while imslpforums.org was unavailable a couple of days ago. Did you reset your URL to imslpforums.org?

Max

[jossuk]

I never used the temporary URL, and I believe the behavior started before the temporary URL switch. It happened again yesterday, so I'll keep track of the time interval between occurrences.

[jossuk]

OK, I've just tested the reply function, and once again I've had to resubmit username / password in order to proceed. That would be 3-4 days since the last time, and in spite of each time selecting the automatic log-in box. It's hard to believe that this can be only my issue. Any ideas?

[Choralia]

No one else has recently reported the same problem. Logs show that on August 8th you changed your user password, which is an operation seldom performed by users, so I wonder if there is a relationship with that. I changed my password today as an attempt to reproduce your problem, however the problem did not show up, except when I connected from another computer for the first time after the password change (which is normal, as the old cookies stored on the computer and used for automatic login are invalidated when a password change or a new manual login are performed).

I can just suggest to keep an eye on the cookies on your computer pursuant to the imslpforums.org domain and whose name ends in _u, _k, and _sid. Their value should be constant (unless a new manual login is made), and they should not disappear (expiration date should be one year after the last access). If you note something strange with them, this may help to identify the cause.

Max

[jossuk]

Max: I appreciate your suggestions, and will attempt to monitor appropriately. (I should mention that I had changed the password precisely because the software seemed to be rejecting the former password.)

[jossuk]

The oddness continues: earlier today I replied, without login necessity, to a discussion thread. Now, same day (U. S. EDT) I am required to log in. Meanwhile, today I can still reply to a Forum thread without having to log in.

[Choralia]

I guess that for some reasons your login cookies do not always reach the server, so sometimes they work and sometimes they don't.

I've activated an extremely detailed log of all transactions. Please drop a line here next time you experience a strange behavior, so that I can inspect whether your login cookies were correctly received or not.

Max

[jossuk]

Will do so, and thanks.

[jossuk]

OK, that didn't take long. I just tried the Discussion forum, which is still asking for login and rejecting the password (the one I received and have been using - when prompted - since the time a previous PW was rejected). However, I can still get reply function today (no PW requested) for Forum threads.
As an experiment I switched from Google Chrome to Safari (which I don't normally use for IMSLP). Safari asked for and accepted the password for Forum items, but rejected it for Discussion items. Same schizophrenic behavior for Safari, it seems, as for Google.

[Choralia]

I just tried the Discussion forum, which is still asking for login and rejecting the password (the one I received and have been using - when prompted - since the time a previous PW was rejected). However, I can still get reply function today (no PW requested) for Forum threads.

This is not clear to me. Could you please provide details? I tried to match your description with the contents of the server logs, and there is something strange. For example, the logs do not show any login attempts originated from your IP address using Chrome, while two login attempts are recorded using Safari, and I guess that this is not much consistent with your description.

Max

[jossuk]

With both Chrome and Safari (which latter browser I am using as a control), my login is recognized for the forums, but is now rejected for the Discussions. (I've just gone through the process of testing again.) I received my replacement PW on 8/8; my latest (successful) reply on a Discussion thread was 9/2. If no login attempts are showing for Chrome, I have no idea why.
I can try logging out of the Forums (and hope that I am not denied re-entry) and see what happens.

Or, if this is easier for all concerned, I can apply for yet another password...if that works...

[Choralia]

If "Discussions" refers to the so-called "discussion pages" or "talk pages" on the IMSLP wiki, I probably misunderstood the issue since the very beginning. The IMSLP wiki website and these forums are completely independent and, especially, they make use of independent login systems. This is a security measure, to prevent that a problem on the wiki login prevents access to the forums also, or vice versa. So, if you changed your password here on these forums, the new password will not work on the wiki unless you change and set the same password there, too.

Are you experiencing any problems specifically related to the login to these forums?

Max

[jossuk]

Max - I was beginning to wonder the same thing: whether the two functions required separate passwords, whereas I had been assuming that one PW logged in everywhere. I just tested the Discussion wiki and entered the "old" (original) PW there, and it worked—problem apparently solved. Your latest post was very helpful, and I commend you for your patience throughout.

[Choralia]

I had been assuming that one PW logged in everywhere

Single sign-on systems are becoming increasingly popular, and they could be implemented here, too. However, a problem on the single sign-on system would impair access to both the wiki and the forums, and this would be very bad, as having communication channels available is even more important in presence of a problem. So, for the moment there are no plans for adopting a single sign-on system here.

I regret it took some time for me to realize that I misunderstood the problem. I'm getting old...

Max