[smax013]

FWIW, there are some broken links at the bottom of the forums pages.

- Magazine Customer Service
- FAQ

Both result in a 404 error page

- Advertise

This takes you to what looks to be an old MacUser page.

Also, while the login link on the page does actually take you to a page where you can login, you end up on a 404 error page after you login.

In end, not really sure if anyone cares as the forums really seem to have become the red-headed step child for both Macworld and PCWorld. At least here (PCWorld) some people have managed to actually find the forums...IDG might as well have just killed off the Macworld forums as they are essentially all but dead anyway.

[LiveBrianD]

Not to mention that the logon page from the forums gives a plain text error that looks like it's a chunk of code to be displayed.

Is it just me, or has forum traffic decreased a lot lately?

[Flashorn]

No, not allot, Totally. Dead in its tracks.

And yes, the login is screwed up.


FLASHORN.

[A41202813]

I Have Not Seen Any Forums Link At TECHHIVE ( If They Even Exist ), But MACWORLD Has The Same Bottom Link As PCWORLD.

I Am Not Concerned About Dead Links, They Will Be Fixed Eventually - I Am Concerned About Links That Used To Exist Before The Redesign, But Are No Longer With Us No More.

[LiveBrianD]

Flashorn, on 18 November 2012 - 01:57 PM, said:

No, not allot, Totally. Dead in its tracks.

And yes, the login is screwed up.


FLASHORN.

Just copying the same flaws that mostly killed the pcmag forums and resulted in several of us leaving them, eh?

[smax013]

Flashorn, on 18 November 2012 - 01:57 PM, said:

No, not allot, Totally. Dead in its tracks.

And yes, the login is screwed up.


FLASHORN.

Not as bad as the forums on Macworld. Typically, there is one, maybe two posts a day now on the Macworld forums outside of posts that come from "comments" to articles. Here there is still about at least a half dozen or so posts a day outside of the article comments.

And the responses/replies from "staff" on Macworld (staff/editors where always more "present" on the Macworld forums then here...here it was basically just Bill) have pretty much all but disappeared since all the negative feedback in a forum post from one of the staff members asking for feedback.

I have to admit that all signs seem to point to IDG trying to kill the Macworld and PCWorld forums. Hide the link to the forums and make it tough to figure out how to log into the forums all in the hopes of traffic will die enough that they can then "justify" killing the forums completely. I hope that I am wrong, but I have seen nothing that suggests otherwise.

[LiveBrianD]

I just checked pcmag and their forums are looking mostly abandoned. I guess that's what happens when you make it as hard as possible for people to find them. (there's no link whatsoever on the homepage, for instance) Hint to pcworld: that is NOT a good idea...

[LiveBrianD]

Guys, I get the PCW 2012 theme by default when not signed in, and the working logon link isn't visible from there. (the other one, in the forums, has been broken ever since the redesign) At least the PCW 314 theme is still there and working...

[LiveBrianD]

Has anyone else been getting random server 500 errors lately? I'm getting that on the desktop once signed in, but not on the phone. (I never sign out on the phone, but have Chrome clear cookies when closed on the desktop.)

[LiveBrianD]

LiveBrianD, on 28 November 2012 - 05:45 PM, said:

Has anyone else been getting random server 500 errors lately? I'm getting that on the desktop once signed in, but not on the phone. (I never sign out on the phone, but have Chrome clear cookies when closed on the desktop.)

OK, the forum FINALLY decided to let me in...

[LiveBrianD]

Amazing - I'm getting this issue AGAIN! It doesn't matter if I tether through my phone or not (different IPs) or use a different browser. Is it that hard to resist the urge NOT to break something that worked just fine? (Given that Microsoft couldn't though, maybe it's harder to avoid than I thought?)

I will note that this never happens on my phone though, doesn't matter if I use WiFi or the cell connection. Perhaps the site doesn't like desktop browsers in particular?

[LiveBrianD]

Interesting - I don't know if this has anything doing or not, but it seems that if I tether my desktop or laptop to my phone, since I'm coming from a different IP, it sometimes works.

[LiveBrianD]

LiveBrianD, on 02 December 2012 - 05:49 PM, said:

Interesting - I don't know if this has anything doing or not, but it seems that if I tether my desktop or laptop to my phone, since I'm coming from a different IP, it sometimes works.

And yet again, this works... WTF is up with the forums?

[smax013]

It took me several days to get back in to the forums. 500 server errors (in Chrome) and blank pages (in Safari) after logging in. FInally got back in just now.

[A41202813]

In Case Of Need, Keep Installing Mainstream Browsers, Until Log In Is Achieved By One Of Them.

[LiveBrianD]

A41202813, on 04 December 2012 - 11:36 PM, said:

In Case Of Need, Keep Installing Mainstream Browsers, Until Log In Is Achieved By One Of Them.

IDK why that would make a difference - when this happens to me, I can't get any browser to work. (while other devices on the same network mysteriously work just fine)

[smax013]

I had tried clearing my cache and cookies in Chrome and that still did not help. I had given up and went onto another website that I had to log into. When I got done with that website, I decided to go back to the forums...and it worked fine (I was already logged in since I had logged into the PCWorld system and never logged out). So, I have not idea what I "did" to get it to work.

[LiveBrianD]

Just curious - what OS and browsers have you guys had this issue in? For me, Chrome (on Windows 7), I think Firefox (Windows 7), and IE (Windows 7) have all had this issue, and at the same time. (I've tried Chrome on all 3 Windows 7 machines I have - I'd pulled the Pentium 4 box out of the closet for something, and tried to check the forums from that because I happened to have it on, and got the same issue. I'd never even used that machine to check the forums before.) Bizarrely, I've never had this issue on Chrome on Android 4.2. And even when no browser on my desktop (Win7) will let me in, my phone will - and at the same time. WTF? (I haven't tried using another Win7 machine to check it at the same time that happens though.)

Perhaps the fact that I almost never clear cookies and cache on my phone (leaving it logged in all the time) has something doing? (I have Chrome on my Windows machines set to clear cookies when closed.)

This post has been edited by LiveBrianD: 05 December 2012 - 09:58 AM

[A41202813]

XP Here.

CHROME Works.

I Was Decided Not To Upgrade FF From 3628 Ever, But, The Impossibility To Log In To PCW, Made Me Upgrade To The 'Latest And Greatest' ( 1701 Now ) And It Did Work, Also.

So, There Are Certainly Some Variations Among Browsers Or Browser Versions.

Cheers.

---

This post has been edited by A41202813: 05 December 2012 - 11:39 AM

[smax013]

LiveBrianD, on 05 December 2012 - 09:57 AM, said:

Just curious - what OS and browsers have you guys had this issue in? For me, Chrome (on Windows 7), I think Firefox (Windows 7), and IE (Windows 7) have all had this issue, and at the same time. (I've tried Chrome on all 3 Windows 7 machines I have - I'd pulled the Pentium 4 box out of the closet for something, and tried to check the forums from that because I happened to have it on, and got the same issue. I'd never even used that machine to check the forums before.) Bizarrely, I've never had this issue on Chrome on Android 4.2. And even when no browser on my desktop (Win7) will let me in, my phone will - and at the same time. WTF? (I haven't tried using another Win7 machine to check it at the same time that happens though.)

Perhaps the fact that I almost never clear cookies and cache on my phone (leaving it logged in all the time) has something doing? (I have Chrome on my Windows machines set to clear cookies when closed.)

Are you still having the problem?

I PM'd Bill and he said there was a server having a problem, which he removed from service. So, I believe it should be fixed.

I have not tried logging in myself yet to see if I still get the problem.