How do I post in the Classifieds section?

[vbgregg]

Type of Help Needed: How Do I

Where: Classifieds

I logged in (though it's been a few years). I clicked on the Classifieds tab, but there was a message to please login. I was already logged in. And I could not see a way to post a new ad. I'm not even trying to sell anything. I just want to give away some 18v batteries and a charger. How do I post an ad to give these away? Thanks,

Gregg

[ehpoole]

Gregg,

If you were asked to login upon clicking the "Classifieds" tab, then you almost certainly were not already logged in.

Please try again and let us know how it goes, and if asked to login, just go ahead and login to proceed.

As for creating a new Ad, once you have switched to the "Classifieds" tab, you will notice a list of submenu options on the second row of our top menu bar titled "Post Classified", which will be the next item you click on.

[vbgregg]

Hi,

I was definitely logged in. But just to make sure, I logged out, clicked on the Classifieds tab, and was asked to login. I logged in again and I did not see a submenu option for "Post Classified". Which menu item is this a submenu of? The second row was titles "What's new?" and it said I had to register or log in to post. So I again clicked on that link and it said I was already registered and logged in. I'm sure I must be doing something wrong, but I am definitely logged in. It says "Welcome vbgregg" at the top of the page and it says I'm already registered and logged in when I click on the link to login to post. What else can I do?

Gregg

[ehpoole]

Have you, by chance, disabled cookies?

That is the only thing that I can think of that would result in you being logged out just as quickly as you have logged in.

To work properly, this site *requires* cookies, Java, and JavaScript support. Some other areas are enhanced if you have Adobe Flash installed (and are disabled/unavailable if the plugin is not installed), however it is generally optional.

If you have customized your web browser so that any of the required features are missing, then many aspects of this site are not going to work properly (and there is little that we can do about that). So take a few minutes to check your web browser's configuration settings.

I show you as using Safari, which I am unfortunately not familiar with. So, I can not talk you through it's configuration screens but generally there are options available within the configuration screens to turn many of the above requirements on/off and/or otherwise restrict them -- you will want to ensure that the required features are all enabled.

[ehpoole]

From some experimentation,

Another possible culprit may be if you have installed any sort of privacy/anti-tracking extension or application.

In my experimentation vBulletin was largely working with cookies disabled (though this will break many areas of this site) so long as the URL's Query String was passed in full. However, if there is any sort of anti-tracking extension installed then it may be stripping the session value from the Query String, and with both cookies and the Query String's session value expunged, you will exhibit precisely the behavior you are reporting.

This means that you will want to check to see what sorts of Extensions/Add-ons/Plug-ins (whatever your web browsers terminology of choice may be) to see if any of them are contributing to the issue. Most web browsers allow you to easily turn installed Extensions on and off with relative ease, so try disabling all suspect Extensions and try again (after verifying Cookies, Java and JavaScript are all enabled).

[randwool]

Gregg,

You may have to sign in and out a few times to remove the (Inactive) beside the "User" label before being able to post in the classified.

[ehpoole]

Gregg,

You may have to sign in and out a few times to remove the (Inactive) beside the "User" label before being able to post in the classified.

Actually, the "User (Inactive)" status is based upon his Visitation Frequency of 0.00 over the past 6-months. A user can only rack up one "visit-day" per day, regardless of how many times they may login/logoff.

However, his "User (Inactive)" status is not the cause of his login issues, there is something else going on that remains to be identified.

[vbgregg]

I am now trying another browser (Firefox) and having the same problem. I am logged in (and it says "logout" at the top of the screen, which would not appear if I'm not logged in. Also, the screen said "Thanks for logging in" after I successfully logged in.). But when I go to the Classifieds section, there is a message at the top (Under "What's New?") that says "Please login or Register to be able to Post and Bid in our Classifieds", so it seems to think I am not registered or logged in. Yet I am logged in and registered, as you can probably verify from your end.

Both browsers have Java and JavaScript enabled. I turned off the "block cookies" preference. But I do not have Flash installed. I still can't see any button to post a new item for sale. I can see other items for sale. How do I post a new item?

Thanks,

Gregg

[ehpoole]

Gregg,

There is something very peculiar going on with respect to your computer. As I suggested earlier, I am most suspicious that there is some sort of privacy-guard or anonymizing application altering the normal behavior of both web browsers. Unfortunately, such can only be inferred from various behaviors since I have no direct knowledge of your computer's configuration (or even your Internet Service Provider -- however, I've never known Road Runner to employ such behavior).

I have checked all of your NCWW configuration settings and none of them should be contributing towards your issue -- in fact I can confirm that a Windows PC can successfully access the Classified's area with all the same settings and permissions.

At this point you should try the following possible solutions:

• Power cycle all of your PC(s) and all network gear; e.g. cable/DSL router/modem, hardware firewalls or routers, wireless access points, network switches, etc. Power them off, or unplug them, for 30-60 seconds, then power them back on and allow them a few minutes to restart and reconnect. This is to rule out the possibility that a network device is crashing and corrupting some of the traffic flowing through it.
• Ensure that you are not using the web browser's built-in Privacy Mode (which goes by various names like InPrivate, Incognito, Private Browsing, etc., depending upon the web browser) since this mode handles cookies in potentially undefined ways. Some web browsers can be configured to automatically start up in this mode, so take care to ensure that you are not running in this mode -- at least not while trying to diagnose the cause of this issue.
• Verify that cookies and JavaScript are enabled and working properly and that no custom rules have been defined for "ncwoodworker.net" that would override such settings. Many web browsers allow customizing such settings on a per-domain/site basis, so do not assume that the global settings automatically apply since a custom per-site setting could be overriding the global default setting. Some web browsers visually indicate when cookies are blocked, while others do so with no fanfare.
• Try accessing your NCWW account from an entirely different PC (e.g. friend's, neighbor's, or even your work place) -- ensuring that they also do not have cookies set to be blocked. Diagnostically, this is the most important next step. If you have another PC then it is a good candidate to try, but if it too fails then the next step should be trying a radically different PC -- such as someone else's as they are unlikely to have the same configuration and installed software as your own PCs.
• When logging in, remember to check the "Remember Me" checkbox (just below the login area), which makes your cookies more durable. You can also be logged out after fairly brief periods when this option is not enabled.

I hope one or more of the above help you overcome your issue. If not, then we will need to wait until Steve is available since he does have a Mac as well. I can only confirm that a Windows PC has no issues with your account setup and permissions and that there is nothing with respect to the NCWW server that would be preventing you from accessing the Classifieds area.

[SteveColes]

I can recreate you problem. But I'm not sure when I can look at the details. Probably tomorrow. Sorry for delay.

[ehpoole]

I think I've finally figured out the cause of all the confusion these past few days that I've spent banging my head against the proverbial wall.

From the original and followup descriptions I have been under the impression that the following screen is what was being reported:

View image in gallery

At the time the above screenshot was created, I was, in fact, already logged into NCWW. (however, cookies were disabled)

Which is issued whenever the site's security token and/or cookie is lost, expired, or corrupted upon switching to the Classifieds (it will also happen when switching to the Gallery without cookies). It did not help at all that we have WWW logs that very much support this impression due to the formatting of the URL that was being issued to the server by the member's web browser(s) (the URL strongly suggested that cookies were disabled and that the session key was getting compromised).

However, I now suspect that the original poster was really referring to the much less alarming text message displayed on the context-sensitive portion of the top menu bar. This message is displayed in lieu of the "Post Classified" and management menu options whenever a user lacks the proper permissions to Post a Classified.

I missed this because the original description, as *I* had interpreted it , seemed to imply to me that the user was getting logged out upon clicking the "Classifieds" button -- as opposed to a simple message in place of a missing "Post Classified" submenu item. I mention this only to explain where the confusion was coming from. Oh well, hindsight is always 20/20 when debugging!

For my part in the confusion, please accept my apology. At least now you'll be able to get a more straightforward answer and my bruises (head banging) can finally begin to heal... You all come up with some of the best puzzles some weeks (this issue and the What's New bug)!

Steve will have to decide whether or not Inactive Users are meant to have Classified Posting privileges or not as our Policy seems a little unclear (at least to me) with respect to returning Inactive Users.

[SteveColes]

As I said I can recreate the problem easily when logged as vbgregg. This has nothing to do with being a user(inactive), at least not on purpose. I am in the middle of attempting to track this issue right now. As soon as I have an update, I will post it.

[SteveColes]

What a mess Ok Ethan has it right in his last post. The message being displayed is indirectly being caused by the fact Users(inactive) is marked as not having posting new ads privlages. BUT, from a purely bug fixing standpoint., The message is wrong and is in fact wrong anytime it shows up, except in one case. That is a bug and must be fixed at a rather high priority. But it is a less than trival fix, not difficiult but long and tedious.

As Ethan has mention, for you and others, the real issue is one of policy. Should Users who have not been active in the last six months be allowed to post items in the classifieds? To be honest, I'm not sure. But one of the things that the BOD wants to do is simplify things and not have rules that limit all our members because of situations that only truly are issues 1% of the time. We are reviewing these policies, as a general task which probably will not be finished for a few months.

However, I am going change this one NOW.

Gregg thank you for your patience. You should now be able access the classifieds as either a buyer or a seller.

[vbgregg]

Hi Steve (and Ethan),

Thanks for your assistance with this. I did not intend to stay inactive for so long, but my job got in the way!

Gregg

[SteveColes]

Hi Steve (and Ethan),

..... but my job got in the way!

Gregg

Retire and then the honey do's get in the way.