Is there a glitch in the ATS matrix...?

I just spent a fair time compiling a reply to a post (kept on getting interrupted) and on clicking "post", was told I had taken too long, and lost all I had written.

Has this time limit always been here, I have no recollection of falling foul of it previously and sure I have taken longer replying to other posts than I did in this particular case?

Edit:

Changed heading title from "Is there time limit on compiling replies to posts?"
as it seems to be a bigger problem than I first thought.

[edit on 7-11-2009 by Koka]

I am not aware of any time limit for posting. I have kept my post window open for several hours only to have it completed sometimes the next day and never had an issue.

Unless the thread was closed or moved to RATS without a membership.

Were you editing your post? There is a time frame on that.

~Keeper

reply to post by tothetenthpower

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I was replying via the "quote" button.

I'm sure I've taken a lot longer compiling posts than I was in this case.

A touch annoying to say the least, given the time I had spent compiling it.

reply to post by Koka

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I agree, very strange.

My suggestion would be to write all your replies and threads in a word pad document and then reply using the reply box, so even if you loose your reply you'll stave have a copy of it.

~Keeper

Ok, something strange is going on, I just tried to reply and on clicking post the screen refreshed and went back to a blank reply dialog box.....which is similar to what happened before only without the "You took too long" statement.........

My reply was going to be:

I normally use notepad if the reply is going to be long, failing that I normally copy the entire reply into the clipboard just in case something goes awry, which is what I'm going to do this time.

Edit: I'm wondering if this has anything to do with me using the 3.6 Beta of Firefox, although that surely wouldn't explain the "You took too long" statement still. I have noticed a real time spell checker seems to be working as I post my replies, which is incredibly handy, not sure if it's a Firefox addition or a ATS function, I digress, but it may be relevant.

[edit on 7-11-2009 by Koka]

OK, just tried to edit and got a message saying:

"Sorry you are not allowed to view this forum"

So have gone back to my ATS, brought this post back up and this time have been able to reply.......

Are the mods messing with the matrix....

[edit on 7-11-2009 by Koka]

I had a similar problem to this, where every thread I tried to post on, just gave me a 404 message, or something similar.
I think it was due to damage done by a virus I'd picked up somewhere.
I did a re-install of XP, and everything worked fine again.
So maybe you have a virus or spyware problem?

Always copy long posts into your clipboard first before you hit reply, that'll solve that problem

reply to post by Illegal Alien

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No, this isn't the same and I haven't had a virus in many years, my machine is well protected.

Love the signature Illegal Alien

That is indeed a way around the problem but does not solve it.

I have had issues previously but those were to do with poor connection issues and timing out, but this is returning spurious messages which appear to be something to do with the ATS posting system.

Trust me I will be copying to the clipboard, but if this an issue that affects more than just me the mighty SO and his army of dwarf minions may have don their capes and unsheath their shiney keyboard's of justice, or at least look in to it.

reply to post by Koka

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If you submit and then you get a message saying that you can't post there, it very well could be that the thread was moved to RATS for one reason or another. If you post and then it goes back to the thread, without your post in the thread, it could be something with your browser. It used to happen to me with my browser when I would be typing a reply on a Wordpress blog. I'd right a nice, long reply, post it, and it would be gone!

reply to post by Koka

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Any time you're typing anything into any web form, always type it separately first into a text editor, then copy and paste it in. Doing so will save you much frustration.



True, but which is more important to you: changing the way web and web broswers work, along with scripts on millions of websites, or simply not having your work vanish? If you lose connection at a bad moment, you'll lose your text. If you accidentally press the wrong key (refresh hotkey, tab then backspace, etc.) you'll lose your text. If you're using windows hotmail and press escape while typing, you'll lose your text. If the ATS website thinks you take too long you'll lose your text.

It happens all the time, all over the place, and for any of several reasons. Some of them are good reasons. Some of them are stupid. Either way...

...copy and paste your text.

[edit on 7-11-2009 by LordBucket]

reply to post by octotom

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Well it's definitely not in RATS as it's occurring in this very thread.

I would be more inclined to point toward it being a browser issue if I hadn't got the message regarding it taking too long to compile.

The message was embedded in the web page as if it were a standard message you might get from ATS but it's not something I have experienced before.

reply to post by LordBucket

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Thanks for the reply Lordbucket but I think I've covered that in my numerous responses above.

I have never heard of a post timing out before. To my knowledge (unless it's a brand spanking new feature), ATS does not have an automatic time out feature like other forums [thank goodness].

Can you send me a link to the thread you were trying to reply to?



That could possibly mean the thread you were trying to post to was moved to RATS, Trash, or a hidden staff forum while you were in the process of replying or the thread was closed. It happens sometimes.

Please paste the link to the thread here and I can check it out.

Edit to add: Ok, I see you have explained it was not a RATS issue. But see if you can find the link the thread you were trying to reply to that inspired this thread from you. I can look into it to see what's going on.

Also, WHO gave you the 'time out' message? Was it an ATS announcement on our forum or something with your browser?

[edit on 11/7/2009 by AshleyD]

reply to post by AshleyD

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The thread was this one:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Although, I don't think it's thread specific, I could be wrong though.

After clicking on the "post" button, the page refreshed to an ATS formatted page, similar to the reply page, only there was no dialog box, sorry I didn't take a screen grab, but my immediate assumption was that a time limit function had been put into place due to the message and page being formatted in the ATS format. So I'm inclined to believe that it was within ATS as opposed to my browser, having said that, I have recently started to use the 3.6 beta version of Firefox, and haven't had any other issues, so far.

Edit: I'm going to try and invoke the problem by leaving the reply dialog open for half an hour, I'll post a screen grab it it reoccurs.

[edit on 7-11-2009 by Koka]

reply to post by Koka

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OK, that sounds good. Let's try to replicate the circumstances to see if it happens again.

Also, by any chance can you send me a link to the thread where it said you were not permitted to view the thread? Or if you cannot find the link, can you try to remember the thread?

That's easy, it happened on this thread, and that was definitely an ATS message.

[edit on 7-11-2009 by Koka]

reply to post by Koka

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Then my suspicions are confirmed:

I'm totally useless and can't help at all.

I'm guessing it was a temporary glitch or perhaps an issue with your browser. Hopefully better minds than mine can pitch in to help.

The only time I've ever seen a thread unable to be viewed is if it was moved to a forum members cannot access. Of if you can view a thread but not post, that generally means it is a specialized forum you have get access granted to participate (like the Bully Pulpit or Debate forum). But I've never heard of a post timing out.

Will be keeping up with your thread in case someone can figure it out.

reply to post by Koka

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This is a test.

Okay, tried to edit this post and got this:



Obviously it is intermittent, as I would not have been able to post the image.

If the other problem occurs regarding the timing out I will take a screen grab of that as well.

[edit on 7-11-2009 by Koka]