Having to re-log back on?

Blackink · #1 (**permalink**) 01-30-2013, 6:49 PM

Is there a time out when logged into the forums?
It seems I find that when I am logged on, and I get busy responding to a post, when I hit the submit button, I get a message saying that I'm not logged in.
This doesn't happen often but enough to tick me off at times.
Now granted, sometimes my post might take 5-10 minutes to type up but it seems odd that if I just click out of the forum window WITHOUT logging off and then come back to the forums at a much later time.....low & behold..... I'm still logged in.
What's up with that?

kayi4cle · #2 (**permalink**) 01-30-2013, 7:20 PM

I don't know how long before it times out, but this has happened to me in the past. It all vanished and I had to start from scratch! I've learned to do the short answers live, and I compose the more thought-out ones on Word first and copy and paste. Or, I copy my response just before I submit it, just in case. Hope this helps. . .

WayneH · #3 (**permalink**) 01-30-2013, 11:36 PM

The board is configured to expire your session after thirty minutes. So if it sees no requests from you to access anything it starts a countdown.

Blackink · #4 (**permalink**) 01-31-2013, 8:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WayneH

The board is configured to expire your session after thirty minutes. So if it sees no requests from you to access anything it starts a countdown.

So I'll make this quick

I'd swear that at times I may be typing in a reply for 10-15 minutes tops and when I hit the submit button...BANG, I'm logged off.
Then there seems like times I'll be typing for what seems like over 30 minutes and submit the reply without an incident! Go figure!

Quote:

I don't know how long before it times out, but this has happened to me in the past. It all vanished and I had to start from scratch! I've learned to do the short answers live, and I compose the more thought-out ones on Word first and copy and paste. Or, I copy my response just before I submit it, just in case. Hope this helps. . .

To kayi4cle: I'll keep that in mind in the future, thanks.

loumaag · #5 (**permalink**) 01-31-2013, 9:15 AM

Please note the session timer does not log you out. The log out is local to your machine configuration.

I never have to log in unless Lindsay has done something to the site or I have reset all my settings on my end. Every day, I just come here and when I get here, I am already logged in. There are instances when I have to reenter my password (these are all dealing with moderation duties) but that can happen while I am actively on the site and is not what you are experiencing.

Blackink · #6 (**permalink**) 01-31-2013, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loumaag

Please note the session timer does not log you out. The log out is local to your machine configuration.

When you say machine configuration, are you talking about my computer is set up to log me out of this forum after a certain amount of time??

I went in to my User Control Panel here on this forum and didn't find anything there that specifically sets a timer for these forums.

Chauffeur6 · #7 (**permalink**) 01-31-2013, 10:58 AM

It's known as "persistent login" and it's controlled by a cookie in your browser. When you log into the forum, make sure to check the "Remember Me?" box so that it keeps you logged in. Now obviously if you are logging in from a public or shared computer, remember to log out when you're done.

loumaag · #8 (**permalink**) 01-31-2013, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackink

When you say machine configuration, are you talking about my computer is set up to log me out of this forum after a certain amount of time??

I went in to my User Control Panel here on this forum and didn't find anything there that specifically sets a timer for these forums.

Yes, your specific setup on your operating system/browser at your end. It has nothing to do with the site or your specific user configuration here on the site. That specific setting probably does not affect just this site but may well be the same on any site or at least any site that uses VBulletin.

Blackink · #9 (**permalink**) 01-31-2013, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chauffeur6

It's known as "persistent login" and it's controlled by a cookie in your browser. When you log into the forum, make sure to check the "Remember Me?" box so that it keeps you logged in. Now obviously if you are logging in from a public or shared computer, remember to log out when you're done.

OK Chauffeur, I have the Remember Me checked now.

Thank You

Chauffeur6 · #10 (**permalink**) 01-31-2013, 11:30 AM

You're welcome.

FYI, even though you should remain logged in once that cookie is set by checking that box, if you are inactive on the site for the duration of the "active" period Wayne mentioned, unread threads will be automatically marked as being read. So, if you log in, read a few of the threads that are flagged as having new posts, then take a long time replying to a post, any threads that you didn't yet read would most likely be marked as being read.

My suggestion is that if you're going to take a while writing a post, click the Preview Post or Go Advanced button at the bottom of the post (next to the Post or Submit button) so it resets the timer. Or, if you're using a browser that supports tabs, you can open the forum in another tab and simply refresh that every once in a while.

Ed_Seedhouse · #11 (**permalink**) 01-31-2013, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loumaag

Yes, your specific setup on your operating system/browser at your end. It has nothing to do with the site or your specific user configuration here on the site. That specific setting probably does not affect just this site but may well be the same on any site or at least any site that uses VBulletin.

It really has little if anything to do with operating systems and machines. It has a bit to do with browsers, but not much. The Web was designed from the ground up to be machine and O/S neutral, and that is pretty well true to this day. Firefox on a Windows machine works pretty well just like Firefox on a Linux system, and Safari works the same way (to the user) from a Macintosh or a Windows system. There are some differences between browsers, but for this kind of thing they are actually all the same.

The Worldwide Web and the HTTP protocol which runs it were designed originally to be "stateless", which means essentially that the server does not remember the client between transactions. And this turned out to be a problem when things like discussion forums came on line that wanted to remember individual clients between transactions.

This was solved in a couple of ways, actually, but the most widespread solution was the "cookie". I am told that it was actually a relative by marriage of mine who came up with the idea, but I don't know if that is actually true or just a family myth.

At any rate if your browser supports cookies (and ALL of them do) you can stay logged in as long as you want unless you have disabled them. On the software that runs RR this is done by ticking the "remember me" box when you sign on. A cookie will then be set on your local browser that allows the server to remember you are "logged on" as long as the cookie is set. You can delete the cookie yourself in most browsers and in general a cookie generally only works for one browser. Well, some browsers will see other browser's cookies, such as the many derivatives of Firefox and Netscape (remember Netscape?) which all use the same cookie location on disk. But a cookie set in Firefox will not be seen by Safari.

Cookies are now universal in all web browsers so really it has nothing to do with operating systems or machine types.

By default this particular discussion forum software is set to "time out" (and delete the cookie it sets when you log on) after a defined time. And it allows you to get over this by ticking the "Remember me" checkbox so the cookie won't expire even after you log off.

If you clear your cookies in your browser your session will "expire" and you'll have to log on again next time you visit the site.

Blackink · #12 (**permalink**) 01-31-2013, 1:21 PM

Ed, thanks for that informative explanation.
And yes, I do remember Netscape as I used it all the time.

lep · #13 (**permalink**) 01-31-2013, 1:41 PM

Yes and I remember some years my first tour of CERN hosted for me by the CERN amatuer radio club. CERN is of course the atomic research facility in Geneve, Switzerland where the web was invented. Sad to say, not an American invention at all.

Ed_Seedhouse · #14 (**permalink**) 01-31-2013, 3:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lep

Yes and I remember some years my first tour of CERN hosted for me by the CERN amatuer radio club. CERN is of course the atomic research facility in Geneve, Switzerland where the web was invented. Sad to say, not an American invention at all.

But did you meet Tim Berners-Lee?

Neither did I.

Ed_Seedhouse · #15 (**permalink**) 01-31-2013, 3:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackink

Ed, thanks for that informative explanation.
And yes, I do remember Netscape as I used it all the time.

To expand on "cookies" a bit, all are really is, files (probably text files though I haven't checked that out). They contain several fields of data, one of which is the originating URI (web address) and domain. By convention browsers that support cookies will only send the information in them back to this original address, to make them secure.

In the exchanges of information (messages) between server and client, the server can request the information in the cookie and if the request is properly formatted and comes from the domain specified in the cookie, then your browser will send it back. This allows the server to know the "state" of your session.

One of the fields is an expiry time/date. Your browser keeps track of this and once that time is passed the cookie is "deleted". I think there is a limit of the expiry time to something like a year or so after the cookie is created, but I might be wrong about that.