Topic Starter Appearing As Last Poster

[foxesdancingonsnow]

There is an issue some users are experiencing in which the person who started a topic looks like the last person to post in it, even though they are not.  I have not experienced it myself, and not all users are experiencing it.  However, users have taken screenshots which definitely show this issue.  I haven't the faintest idea how to troubleshoot it.  Does anyone have any suggestions?

[live627]

cache? dunno....

[Shambles]

I'm not sure if this is the same in SMF v2.1 (the board you've posted in) but in SMF v2.0.11 there's an option within the "Look and Layout" part of each members profile to set the display.

"Show most recent posts at the top."

Maybe this accounts for it?

[Illori]

are you using SMF 2.1?

[Kindred]

ok... the usual...

smf version?
mods installed?
URL that illustrates the issue? or at least a screen shot

[foxesdancingonsnow]

I have suggested cache clearing, but it seems to have not made any difference.

I will suggest the "show most recent posts at top" thing, but that seems an odd fix.  The most recent poster should be showing as the most recent poster regardless of which order users display topics.  At least that is intuitively what my brain tells me it should be like...
EDIT:  I investigated this.  I do not have this box checked.  I looked at the settings of a user who I know is experiencing this issue, and she does not have the box checked either.  Therefore, I doubt this is the problem.

We're using SMF 2.0.11 (Sorry for the wrong forum...I assumed that since it's a new installation of SMF, that we had the latest version and that the highest number forum here was applicable, and I neglected to verify/check )

Installed Mods -->  they have been experiencing this problem from the very beginning before we installed any other than the default ones that you switch on and off that look like power buttons in the admin control panel.  However, I suppose I can provide a list if that's really necessary.

See the attached images.  The user lllb is the most recent poster (see screenshot of the actual last post).  However, for some users, when they view the list of topics, over on the right where it should say that lllb is the latest poster, it shows the topic starter, toomanycurls, as the latest poster.  Note the identical time stamps for the actual last post and where it shows the last poster from the forum list of topics.

As noted previously, not all users are experiencing this (for example, I am not), but several are.  So far I have not found any topics that really help (but I don't really know what to search either), and since our board is close to being set up and ready to go live, I am increasingly interested in fixing this if possible, as I assume regular users will have the same complaints as our moderators have had.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

they have been experiencing this problem from the very beginning before we installed any other than the default ones that you switch on and off that look like power buttons in the admin control panel

There are no default mods.

I can provide a list if that's really necessary.

Yes, it is.

[foxesdancingonsnow]

There are core features.  Karma, calendar, etc.  I'm still new and was not aware these aren't considered mods, so apologies for the incorrect terminology.  We are using all of these default features except paid subscriptions.  The additional packages/mods/features we have added from the "customize-->modifications" area of this website are shown in the attached image.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Are you certain problem occurred before any of these mods were installed?  Do you see the incorrect member name when logged in your own account?

[foxesdancingonsnow]

I've done some closer questioning of the users experiencing this issue, thinking perhaps it was browser or device related, and this is what we have found.  It only affects non-admin accounts.  To verify this, I created a new test account.  It saw the topic creator as the last poster.  I bumped it to admin and it saw the last poster as the last poster.  I bumped it back down to a member, and it was back to seeing the topic creator as the last poster.

I am baffled about what permission set would be causing this.  Any ideas?

[Kindred]

What theme are you using ?

Give us a URL?

[foxesdancingonsnow]

I haven't noticed a difference when using a different theme (including Curve).  There are multiple ones you can choose from.  The default is Astonished (http://custom.simplemachines.org/themes/index.php?lemma=2498) for desktop users and Mobile 2.0 (http://custom.simplemachines.org/themes/index.php?lemma=1998) for mobile users.  We've also got Dilber Multicolor (mostly for desktop users) and Exodus (mostly for mobile users) as additional options.  Then of course Curve is available to pick as well by selecting the "SMF Default Theme" option from the theme picker dropdown.

The URL is hungerzzone.com [nofollow] right now, but we are initiating a domain name change tonight/tomorrow to hpfanfictalk.com [nofollow] in preparation for opening the site to general users.

[Kindred]

it appears correctly for me, as a guest...

http://hpfanfictalk.com//index.php?board=50.0

however, you have misentered the site url and included a / at the end (do not do that, it results in the double // that you see above)

[foxesdancingonsnow]

Thanks for pointing that out.  That happened when our host switched over the domain for us.  We're opening a ticket about it so that should be fixed.

Hm, it does turn out that guests see the last poster correctly, as do admins.  However, other users still do not.  I can provide login info for a test account (I am reluctant to post that publicly) if that may help?

[Kindred]

You don't need a ticket..  just fix the forum/site Url setting in the SMF admin or in settings.php

Since it appears differently based on member group, it would seem to be some sort of permissions issue. Since there is nothing, in the core product that would cause this, the issue MUST be related to a mod or theme

[Sir Osis of Liver]

PM test account login info, will have a look.

[foxesdancingonsnow]

@Kindred Thanks for the admin panel tip. 

@Sir Osis of Liver I have sent the PM.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

I'm not seeing the problem.  Everything looks correct both as guest and logged in.  Which topic looks wrong to you?

[foxesdancingonsnow]

I am seeing it in any topic that has multiple replies.  I just now tried with the very same account I send you the details for.  Please see the attached screenshots.  Note that the first screenshot, in guest view, everything looks as it should.  Then when logged in as a member, the topic starter appears as the last poster.  If you click into the topic, you can see who should be appearing as the last poster.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Ok, see it now.  It's not happening on board index, just on message index.  Also happens in default Curve.  Which mods are you running?