Forum Access with Safari Browser -- Suggested Fix

[Kyle Schultz]

For the past several days, I’ve been unable to open the Forum or Daily Bulletin tabs on my computer or phone via my home wi-fi connection. Can do so if I disable the wi-fi on my phone and access via a cellular connection. I’ve tried cycling my modem off and on with no benefit. Any suggestions?

 

[6ShotsOr5?]

Your internet bandwidth may be hurting due to online shoppers plus everyone being home from school so the game players are online in full force during hours when they usually aren’t online. It probably won’t help but you could try powering down your entire computer, router etc., and I mean unplug it for 14-20 seconds. Good luck.

 

[Kyle Schultz]

Working now. I have no idea what's going on.

 

[Mulligan]

Working now. I have no idea what's going on.

I had the same issue on my iPad and home computer. I cleared the cache and all is good now.

CW

 

[shoot4fun]

For the past several days, I’ve been unable to open the Forum or Daily Bulletin tabs on my computer or phone via my home wi-fi connection. Can do so if I disable the wi-fi on my phone and access via a cellular connection. I’ve tried cycling my modem off and on with no benefit. Any suggestions?

Clear your history and/or cache.
Since the last big move I have had issues with the forum on wi-fi, cell of direct internet connection. It is not slow, as in too much online traffic, but there are days when Safari does not allow me to log on due to what it calls a security error. I figured out how to get around it finally but it is somewhat of a PITA.
Also, I do not get email notice of a PM any longer. Been down this road before and have always been told it's my problem but I see many others having that issue as well. I have just quit trying to let admins know there may be an issue.
Any way, good luck getting it resolved.

 

[Kyle Schultz]

Now it’s not working again.

Error message is “Safari could not open the page because the server stopped responding.”

 

[Mulligan]

Google Chrome is your friend.

 

[Forum Boss]

Kyle informed us the issue was, apparently, caused by tracker-blockers in Safari. You can adjust your settings. We do use Google Analytics as do the vast a majority of websites.

 

[338 dude]

Mine is working fine

 

[Mark W]

I was frequently having this same problem before the recent forum upgrades. I could connect fine through cellular, but not through my home WiFi. It hasn’t happened since the upgrade.

 

[ormandj]

I’ve been having the same problem. I have multiple providers at home and when I switch to a different provider, the site works fine with the same browser. It’s not a client side issue, the site is failing to respond.

It will fail even using curl or wget. It would appear to be routing or network filtering related; somewhere upstream. I’m happy to provide diagnostics to help.

@Forum Boss

 

[Forum Boss]

Ormandj -- What you are describing we have seen in the Pacific Northwest. It was a breakdown/stagnation of the signal path BEFORE is reached Sucuri, our firewall system. The error was caused by problems at GTT.net BEFORE it reached Sucuri and before the signal even got to our server. Not much we can do to fix that. As I have explained, it is like we have an open door at our store, but the road to the parking lot is obstructed.

Again, for the 50th time folks, please 1) try another browser; 2) Go to your browser settings, typically "privacy and security". Look at the clearance options. You need to clear:

A. Cache (all time)
B. History (all time)
C. Site Downloads
D. Site Cookies

You may also have to set your browser security setting to allow the site to set cookies. Unfortunately, the browser folks are evolving site security stuff almost on a weekly basis and there is no information provided to site owners. Firefox, for example, regularly makes changes that screw up site formats and we just have to guess the reasons why.

 

[Dub]

I have no issues on Safari

 

[ormandj]

Ormandj -- What you are describing we have seen in the Pacific Northwest. It was a breakdown/stagnation of the signal path BEFORE is reached Sucuri, our firewall system. The error was caused by problems at GTT.net BEFORE it reached Sucuri and before the signal even got to our server. Not much we can do to fix that. As I have explained, it is like we have an open door at our store, but the road to the parking lot is obstructed.

Again, for the 50th time folks, please 1) try another browser; 2) Go to your browser settings, typically "privacy and security". Look at the clearance options. You need to clear:

A. Cache (all time)
B. History (all time)
C. Site Downloads
D. Site Cookies

You may also have to set your browser security setting to allow the site to set cookies. Unfortunately, the browser folks are evolving site security stuff almost on a weekly basis and there is no information provided to site owners. Firefox, for example, regularly makes changes that screw up site formats and we just have to guess the reasons why.

I am not trying to be antagonistic, but providing your provider the data about impacted clients can allow them to work with the backbone providers (l3/cogent/etc) to fix this. Right now it’s impacting at least some Spectrum users. I’ve already submitted it to spectrum but my suggestion was merely to provide it to your upstream providers to investigate.

Again, using any browser to include CLI with no cookie or cache storage whatsoever does not resolve this particular issue, it requires switching providers. Many people do not have this option, so it is in the best interest to get whatever upstream problem exists (routing/backbone or firewall) resolved, which requires working with both endpoint providers.

I’ve already engaged Spectrum’s network engineering team but it would be optimal if you had your upstream look into it, which is why I offered to provide whatever diagnostic data was necessary up to and including routing information, packet captures, etc, since I have removed the possibility of a client side configuration or browser issue. It is likely impacting a larger number of people if it is routing or firewall related, and only the service providers can influence remediation of that on the larger internet backbone.

Gauging impact will be hard since anyone impacted like me will not be able to post unless they have multiple provider options.

[Edit: It also appears to be impacting some AT&T users, if they switch to backup cellular it works fine.]

 

[Forum Boss]

Quote: "I have multiple providers at home and when I switch to a different provider, the site works fine with the same browser. It’s not a client side issue, the site is failing to respond."

Perhaps I don't understand, but this appears that the issue is NOT our server, but the ability of some of your providers to reach our server -- isn't that "client side" by definition? This is what we saw before with members whose internet path took them to GTT.net before they even reached Sucuri our firewall. Please do a Traceroute for various providers and let us know what you find out. Are you using a VPN?

 

[ormandj]

Quote: "I have multiple providers at home and when I switch to a different provider, the site works fine with the same browser. It’s not a client side issue, the site is failing to respond."

Perhaps I don't understand, but this appears that the issue is NOT our server, but the ability of some of your providers to reach our server -- isn't that "client side" by definition? This is what we saw before with members whose internet path took them to GTT.net before they even reached Sucuri our firewall. Please do a Traceroute for various providers and let us know what you find out. Are you using a VPN?

It means there's an issue between my edge and your server's edge. Your hosting provider needs to investigate and resolve the issue, as it's likely a routing or peering problem that is impacting other users of their network. This is not a client issue, this is a backbone/provider issue, and only the service providers can work with the network engineering teams of the backbone service providers to resolve it. I've already escalated it with Spectrum (Time Warner of old) but your provider should be running with this to correct it, as it impacts their paying users.

 

[Texas10]

I had this same problem for years, the weekend would come and my internet service would go down. Monday morning, everything fine again. Holiday weekends, no service from Sat morning to Tues morning. If I logged on early Sat, I'd have connection. But if i logged off and tried to log on later, no dice.

Many complaints and service calls to T.W. Cable made little difference. New cables, connections, outlets in the house, nothing helped.

Then one service tech let slip the real reason for my connectivity issues. Being on the edge of town my neighborhood was at the end of a trunk line. We were the last in line to get service. This is why Wall Street firms have offices as close to the Stock Exchange as possible, to be first in line when making trades.

Ironically the neighborhood two streets over got fiber optic installed free, while we continued to suck hind T***.
I cancelled my cable subscription, got ATT internet, and saved $150 a month in the process. Then I put a broadcast antenna in the attic to pick up local stations and a Roku on my TV for streaming. Never again will I pay for cable.

 

[Dub]

No issues here