Forum software upgrade bug reports and change requests

[nisiprius]

The forum software has been updated to phpBB 3.3.11 (we skipped version 3.3.10). This update fixes the Safari bug described in Probably a macOS Safari 16.4 bug: empty blue space in posting window - Bogleheads.org..

As noted in another thread, confirming the fix. Using macOS "Sonoma" 14.1 and Safari 17.1, the bug existed earlier today and is gone after the update.

[LadyGeek]

I merged sport's bug report into the ongoing discussion.

(It's fixed, thanks.)

[yankees60]

Yes, also working for me on a desktop computer, Windows 10.

Thanks for fixing it so quickly!

[LadyGeek]

Not related to the forum software, but I posted a site maintenance notice for the wiki today (December 21, 2023).

The wiki software has been successfully upgraded to version 1.39.6. The gory details are posted in the private wiki editor's forum.

[kevinf]

I had been using the forum with the 'Wiki' and 'non-US investing' subforums minimized so that the 'US Investors' and 'Community' subforums were the only two that were expanded. When I checked the main forums page today and I can no longer collapse sub-forums even though I'm logged in. Was this an intentional change?

Edit: and now it's working again

[LadyGeek]

^^^ Mea culpa. You beat me to making a post about that.

Since it's the weekend, I thought this was a good time to do some maintenance.

I just updated the forum software extension which does exactly that - collapse the subforums on the Board index page. It took me less than 1 minute for the update and it didn't impact anything which needed the site to be offline.

Sorry about that. Next time, I'll give advance notice - even if it's something quick.

[LadyGeek]

The forum header has been updated to reflect the five-year anniversary of Jack Bogle's passing.

Tributes to Jack Bogle is now a sticky at the top of all forums.

The home page has a link to that thread.

[GuyInFL]

I've accidentally made a duplicate post a couple of times. Maybe teat for that and ask user to confirm if post is a duplicate or just have a pop up after you click submit, stating the comment was posted.

[LadyGeek]

Thanks for the suggestion. We only use software modifications that (1) have been approved by the software developers and (2) approved by the site owners.

Sorry, but I don't see anything that would do what you've requested.

[LadyGeek]

^^^ Mea culpa. You beat me to making a post about that.

Since it's the weekend, I thought this was a good time to do some maintenance.

I just updated the forum software extension which does exactly that - collapse the subforums on the Board index page. It took me less than 1 minute for the update and it didn't impact anything which needed the site to be offline.

Sorry about that. Next time, I'll give advance notice - even if it's something quick.

I just updated the forum software which displays the Forum policies. There is no change to the policy, just the underlying software. This is routine maintenance and took less than a minute. As promised, I displayed a site notice and removed it when I was done.

[LadyGeek]

Not related to the forum software, but I posted a site maintenance notice for the wiki today (March 28, 2024).

The wiki software has been successfully upgraded to version 1.39.7. I also posted the update in the private wiki editor's forum. This is both a maintenance and security update. Security updates are tested, then installed on the server as soon as possible.

=====================================
For the software crowd:

The wiki does indeed use the same software as Wikipedia. The release notes showing what was changed: Release notes/1.39

Those interested in a technical deep-dive can see the MediaWiki source code here. From README.MD:

MediaWiki is a free and open-source wiki software package written in PHP. It serves as the platform for Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects, used by hundreds of millions of people each month. MediaWiki is localised in over 350 languages and its reliability and robust feature set have earned it a large and vibrant community of third-party users and developers.

[LadyGeek]

May 8 is Jack Bogle's birthday. I have updated the forum's header to "In memory of Jack Bogle, born May 8, 1929".

[LadyGeek]

The forum's header has been changed back to "Investing Advice Inspired by Jack Bogle". We'll do this again next year.

[sycamore]

The forum's header has been changed back to "Investing Advice Inspired by Jack Bogle". We'll do this again next year.

Thanks for making those updates. Glad to see the reminder of John Bogle's efforts to help investors do better.

[LadyGeek]

The move to the new server was successful.

Update: See this post by site owner and server admin mingstar: Site Migration - 2024-06-15

[WoodSpinner]

The move to the new server was successful.

Update: See this post by site owner and server admin mingstar: Site Migration - 2024-06-15

Congrats and thanks for the hard work that went into making this successful!

[LadyGeek]

You're welcome.

Important - Members are notifying me that there's a gap from May 31 to June 14 when searching posts. Nothing is wrong. It's simply that the forum's built-in search engine needs to catch up.

mingstar and I tested the new server with a forum database from May 31. After the move, the search engine simply needs some time to get caught up. I expect everything to get caught up tomorrow.

The built-in search engine is used for not only searching posts, but Your posts.

Also note that New posts only goes back to June 15.

[fmhealth]

How do I start a new topic thread? Thanks so much.

fmhealth

[Elric]

How do I start a new topic thread? Thanks so much.

fmhealth

Log in. Then go to index.php and select the appropriate forum. Then press the "New Topic" button.

[LadyGeek]

Not related to the forum software, but I posted a site maintenance notice for the wiki today (July 3, 2024).

The wiki software has been successfully upgraded to version 1.39.8. I also posted the update in the private wiki editor's forum. This is a maintenance update.

=====================================
For the software crowd:

The release notes showing what was changed: RELEASE-NOTES-1.39

The wiki does indeed use the same software as Wikipedia. Those interested in a technical deep-dive can see the MediaWiki source code here. From README.MD:

MediaWiki is a free and open-source wiki software package written in PHP. It serves as the platform for Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects, used by hundreds of millions of people each month. MediaWiki is localised in over 350 languages and its reliability and robust feature set have earned it a large and vibrant community of third-party users and developers.

[LadyGeek]

The forum software has been successfully updated to phpBB 3.3.12.

[Shackleton]

Since the upgrade, it appears that the author/Original Poster name is no longer shown in a red bold font when they reply on their thread. I really liked that. Hopefully it will get turned back on.

[talzara]

Since the upgrade, it appears that the author/Original Poster name is no longer shown in a red bold font when they reply on their thread. I really liked that. Hopefully it will get turned back on.

It's not just the boldface or the color. The words "Topic Author" don't appear under the OP's username anymore.

[Shackleton]

Since the upgrade, it appears that the author/Original Poster name is no longer shown in a red bold font when they reply on their thread. I really liked that. Hopefully it will get turned back on.

It's not just the boldface or the color. The words "Topic Author" don't appear under the OP's username anymore.

I couldn’t remember exactly what there was on this forum to indicate the topic author, so yes, you are correct. Anyway, I really liked being able to identify when the topic author replies on their thread.

[LadyGeek]

Sorry about that. My fault. I missed that when I was testing the software. It's fixed.

[talzara]

Sorry about that. My fault. I missed that when I was testing the software. It's fixed.

Thanks!

[Shackleton]

Sorry about that. My fault. I missed that when I was testing the software. It's fixed.

You’re the best!

[LadyGeek]

The forum software update has changed the behavior of New posts. See: New Posts functionality is behaving differently

[KlangFool]

Hi,
Search by "Your Posts" in quick link have stop working.

KlangFool

[tibbitts]

Hi,
Search by "Your Posts" in quick link have stop working.

KlangFool

Specifically: Sorry, search could not be performed. More information about this failure has been logged in the error log.

[hornet96]

Hi,
Search by "Your Posts" in quick link have stop working.

KlangFool

Specifically: Sorry, search could not be performed. More information about this failure has been logged in the error log.

I'm getting the same error message, also when going to my user control panel and trying to find my posts via the "show your posts" link.

[BogleTaxPro]

Hi,
Search by "Your Posts" in quick link have stop working.

KlangFool

Specifically: Sorry, search could not be performed. More information about this failure has been logged in the error log.

I'm getting the same error message, also when going to my user control panel and trying to find my posts via the "show your posts" link.

I'm getting the same error message, no matter what kind of search I do. It's all broken?

[LadyGeek]

It's fixed. See: Re: "Your Posts" Link Does Not Work, Aug 2 2024

[KlangFool]

It's fixed. See: Re: "Your Posts" Link Does Not Work, Aug 2 2024

Ladygeek,

The problem is back this morning.

KlangFool

[LadyGeek]

Thanks! I fixed it again and will let mingstar (site owner and server admin) know.

[KlangFool]

Thanks! I fixed it again and will let mingstar (site owner and server admin) know.

Thanks. It is fixed now.

KlangFool

[sycamore]

Thanks! I fixed it again and will let mingstar (site owner and server admin) know.

LadyGeek,

The "Your Posts" malfunction is back. I'm seeing the "Sorry, search could not be performed. More information about this failure has been logged in the error log." message.

[clip651]

Thanks! I fixed it again and will let mingstar (site owner and server admin) know.

LadyGeek,

The "Your Posts" malfunction is back. I'm seeing the "Sorry, search could not be performed. More information about this failure has been logged in the error log." message.

I'm seeing this as well.

[LadyGeek]

Thanks, it's fixed - again. I'll work with mingstar (site owner and server admin) to figure this out.

[LadyGeek]

Not related to the forum software, but I posted a site maintenance notice for the wiki today (September 30, 2024).

The wiki software has been successfully upgraded to version 1.39.9. I also posted the update in the private wiki editor's forum. This is both a security and maintenance update which is done as soon as possible.

=====================================
For the software crowd:

The release notes showing what was changed: RELEASE-NOTES-1.39

The wiki does indeed use the same software as Wikipedia. Those interested in a technical deep-dive can see the MediaWiki source code here. From README.MD:

MediaWiki is a free and open-source wiki software package written in PHP. It serves as the platform for Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects, used by hundreds of millions of people each month. MediaWiki is localised in over 350 languages and its reliability and robust feature set have earned it a large and vibrant community of third-party users and developers.

[LadyGeek]

Not related to the forum software, but I posted a site maintenance notice for the wiki today (October 1, 2024).

Just after I updated the wiki to version 1.39.9, version 1.39.10 was released. The security update in 1.39.9 was done incorrectly. This was rapidly fixed with new release 1.39.10.

When a security update is done incorrectly, it is fixed as soon as possible. Otherwise, bad guys could take advantage of this. That's why I decided to update the wiki during our "peak" traffic time - when the market is open. Otherwise, I would wait until we're not so busy.

The wiki software has been successfully upgraded to version 1.39.10. I also posted the update in the private wiki editor's forum.

=====================================
For the software crowd:

The release notes showing what was changed: RELEASE-NOTES-1.39

The wiki does indeed use the same software as Wikipedia. Those interested in a technical deep-dive can see the MediaWiki source code here. From README.MD:

MediaWiki is a free and open-source wiki software package written in PHP. It serves as the platform for Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects, used by hundreds of millions of people each month. MediaWiki is localised in over 350 languages and its reliability and robust feature set have earned it a large and vibrant community of third-party users and developers.

[LadyGeek]

We have made two changes to help with long posts. See: Changes to help cut down excessive quotations

- If you click the "Reply with Quote" button on a post that contains multiple levels of nested quotes, only the most recent two levels will be copied to your new post. (Previously, we've allowed you to copy up to 5 levels of nested quotes.)

- Scroll bars have been added to long posts. The scroll bars work for desktop users.

Mobile devices will show the scroll bars, but they won't do anything. Instead, tap on the quote and scroll the quote itself.

[rob]

I have to say the recent change to long quotes makes this site FAR LESS usable.... The scrolling flips to the quote as it goes underneath and stops scrolling the main conversation. While I may be in the minority - it's a TERRIBLE UI change IMO.

Edit: Don't let the cursor focus automatically swap to the quote on entry but insist on a click event in the quote to flip focus. The trend of flipping focus as the site like is a huge UI issue.

[FactualFran]

I have to say the recent change to long quotes makes this site FAR LESS usable.... The scrolling flips to the quote as it goes underneath and stops scrolling the main conversation. While I may be in the minority - it's a TERRIBLE UI change IMO.

Edit: Don't let the cursor focus automatically swap to the quote on entry but insist on a click event in the quote to flip focus. The trend of flipping focus as the site like is a huge UI issue.

That behavior controlled by the browser. If the focus is on a scrollable area within a scrollable window (or tab), scrolling actions are to the scrollable area rather than the window. The action done to change where the focus is can be a configuration option of the browser. A common option is having to press the mouse (or other device) button to change where the focus is to the current location of the mouse pointer. Another option is to automatically change the focus to the current location of the mouse pointer.

[Alex Frakt]

I have to say the recent change to long quotes makes this site FAR LESS usable.... The scrolling flips to the quote as it goes underneath and stops scrolling the main conversation. While I may be in the minority - it's a TERRIBLE UI change IMO.

What browser/OS are you using? I have not experienced this myself. On a touch screen, I just avoid the yellow boxes when putting my finger on the screen to initiate a scroll. When using a mouse scroll wheel it ignores the boxes unless I click in it. The other ways I can think of to scroll (clicking and dragging in the browser scroll bar or using page up, page down, or arrow keys) aren't affected by the scrollable text box.

Even if it does scroll the entire box as you go over it, it would take exactly as much time to scroll as the full quote text in its non-scrollable box.

Anyway you can turn this feature off if you want (and are logged in). Go to User Control Panel - Edit Display Option (or just click the link) and set the option "Would you like quoted posts to be compressed with a scroll bar?" to "No".

Edit: I think I understand. If I'm using the scroll wheel and stop scrolling and the pointer is inside a scrollable quote box, when I start scrolling again it will scroll the quote before continuing to scroll the rest of the page. That seems like a good thing to me since I don't have to click to read the contents of a scrollable quote box and I can avoid it entirely by either stopping my scroll over blue text or keeping the pointer to the side of the text area.

Don't let the cursor focus automatically swap to the quote on entry but insist on a click event in the quote to flip focus. The trend of flipping focus as the site like is a huge UI issue.

This is going to be something related to the specific setup of your browser. phpBB doesn't set a focus on topic pages.

[Hot Sauce]

Recently, I’ve started to experience a change in which quoted posts in yellow boxes now require scrolling. Anyone else? It is a real pain, makes it far less usable. Why oh why was this done? Everything was fine beforehand; this was definitely a change for the worse.

[clip651]

Recently, I’ve started to experience a change in which quoted posts in yellow boxes now require scrolling. Anyone else? It is a real pain, makes it far less usable. Why oh why was this done? Everything was fine beforehand; this was definitely a change for the worse.

This thread explains the change:

viewtopic.php?t=440729

You can go into your settings and change it so that the quotes are not in scroll boxes if you like (see above thread for details).

[Alex Frakt]

Recently, I’ve started to experience a change in which quoted posts in yellow boxes now require scrolling. Anyone else? It is a real pain, makes it far less usable. Why oh why was this done? Everything was fine beforehand; this was definitely a change for the worse.

Why is it worse? It's either less scrolling if you don't stop the pointer in a scrollable box or literally the same amount of scrolling if you do. Remember that if the box wasn't there, you'd be scrolling across the full length of the quote.

[random_walker_77]

Recently, I’ve started to experience a change in which quoted posts in yellow boxes now require scrolling. Anyone else? It is a real pain, makes it far less usable. Why oh why was this done? Everything was fine beforehand; this was definitely a change for the worse.

Why is it worse? It's either less scrolling if you don't stop the pointer in a scrollable box or literally the same amount of scrolling if you do. Remember that if the box wasn't there, you'd be scrolling across the full length of the quote.

Thanks for putting in this change. I think it's an improvement. Even better would be if that scroll box could default to be fully scrolled to the bottom (since most of the time, the last bit of the quote has the most pertinent context)

[Hot Sauce]

Recently, I’ve started to experience a change in which quoted posts in yellow boxes now require scrolling. Anyone else? It is a real pain, makes it far less usable. Why oh why was this done? Everything was fine beforehand; this was definitely a change for the worse.

Why is it worse? It's either less scrolling if you don't stop the pointer in a scrollable box or literally the same amount of scrolling if you do. Remember that if the box wasn't there, you'd be scrolling across the full length of the quote.

It's worse because instead of being able to simply put my finger on the 'down arrow'' to scroll down as I read, now I have to do 7 steps: (1) stop on every post with a quote, (2) grab my mouse and mouse over to the separate scroll bar within the quote box, (3) click on it, (4) mouse it down slowly to read (doesn't help that it's so tiny), and (5) then when done mouse back over to the other scroll bar, (6) click on it, and (7) move slowly to the next post down, repeat. In summary, it takes 10 minutes to read what used to take 1 minute, and it requires tons of mouse movements and clicks. It's going to give some folks carpal tunnel syndrome.