Users unable to access forum?

[Ruddy Kitty]

I've had many of my users (over 3,500 now) complain that they are unable to access the forum. Either they time out trying to access it, can't log in because the forum says their password is wrong/to check their cookie settings, or they have to use a proxy server to even get to the site.

What I want to know is why this is happening and how can I possibly fix these problems?

[Ricky.]

Proxy server to get to site ? Looks like server / host has connectivity issue, are you facing same problem yourself. You should first make sure that your host is in good shape then investigate further !

[Ruddy Kitty]

See that's the thing. I'm not having any connection issues aside from occasional lagging. My server just upgraded me to 24 CPUs and to a way faster server because I've complained so much about connectivity issues and slowness. What else can I possibly do? Other than find a new host?

[Illori]

which version of smf are you running?

[ziycon]

Whos your host?

[Ruddy Kitty]

2.0 and http://www.micfo.com

But what I don't understand that can't be with the host is that I have a user who can't log in because it says his password is either incorrect or it tells him: "You were unable to login. Please check your cookie settings."

What do I do? I've had the server upgraded, I've optimized the database, I've deleted hundreds of people that were signed up with 0 posts... I feel so lost.

[ziycon]

Get the user to clear their browser cache and then clear the file cache for SMF by going to Administration Center » Forum Maintenance » Routine, then scroll down and run 'Empty the file cache', if that doesn't work, reset the users password and then get them to try login again.

[kat]

If all that fails, try going to Admin>Server settings and renaming the cookie.

Be aware that doing that will probably log everyone out and they'll have to log back in.

[Ruddy Kitty]

It worked, he was able to log in, but only through using a proxy.

Why can't people access the forum? It's a server problem right? What can I ask them to fix/look at to help solve this?

[Ricky.]

Well, I had link of a online tool which used to check your server connectivity from numerous location of the world, can't seems to find it now, so I suggest something similar to check your server connectivity from various parts of world !

[Ruddy Kitty]

lol, and how would I do that exactly?

[Ruddy Kitty]

Giving this a bump...

I might just have to change servers. Is Go Daddy any good? I thought I saw some threads before where people had problems with GD with transferring their forums or something.

[Illori]

no they are one of the worst you can pick.

[Ricky.]

Ok.. for you I have found that tool..

This one is a great tool :..
http://host-tracker.com/

[kat]

You could ask the people who can't get to your site to simply ping the site, or try a tracert.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ping

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traceroute

That does what Ricky's tool does, really.

[Ricky.]

Well, the tool I shared, test your server from around 50 location around the globe and that too instantly !!

[kat]

Yeah, I know. I've added it to my arsenal.

[Ricky.]

Yeah, I know. I've added it to my arsenal.

Oh yaa.. fully loaded.. but looks likey Ruddy Kitty is not sure how to use it !

[Ruddy Kitty]

Ahhh why am I just now receiving an email about the replies to this! *kicks email*

Anyway, I used the site and it came back with 56 responses all saying OK. But this can't be true... some users can only access the site through a proxy, or only through their cell phones. Why is this? What can I possibly do to fix this for my users? The only thing I know of right now is to find a different host, but that's very hard especially since my forum contains adult NC-17 content.

If ANYONE has any suggestions for reliable hosts that allow adult content, please ;_; have mercy and let me know!!!

[kat]

I understand that servage allow such stuff.

Paul, a member here, used them and they seemed OK.

Dunno how reliable they are, but I never heard him complain about them.

[Ruddy Kitty]

I bookmarked it :3 thank you!

How would I go about transferring hosts though? Would they do it, or would I have to do it manually... and how long would it take? How do I make sure everything transfers safely to a new host for not only the web space but the domain name as well?

[^SITS^]

It makes no sense that your users are only able to access through a proxy unless your host is blocking them.  It's not much trouble transferring hosts.  Our website just recently did it with no hickups.  Your new host may transfer your files for you, or you can easily do it.

[Ruddy Kitty]

It makes no sense that your users are only able to access through a proxy unless your host is blocking them.

Hmm... How would I be able to check such a thing? o.o

[Illori]

you cant but your host might be willing to give you a list of ips banned by the server.

[Ruddy Kitty]

you cant but your host might be willing to give you a list of ips banned by the server.

Awesome, I'll send them a message right now.

I'm not sure exactly how to word this so I'll ask here... I want to ask my host how much information in mb/gb is transferred while people are trying to load the forum. Like, sometimes it takes a long time to load the forum, and not because it is down but maybe too many people are accessing it at once? Sometimes it times out while trying to load or if it does load it is after a good 2-3+minutes of letting it sit.

[Angelina Belle]

Why not try one question at a time.

Give them a list of IPs from which users cannot log in.
Ask them if these IPs are blocked.

Lags, though, -- that does not sound like blocking.  Record the times when the problems happen.  Find out if the host can tell you what is going on at your server during that time.  Is the server overloaded.  Are the gateways busy?  That sort of thing.