Long messages and being logged off

[phil]

When you write a long posting for the forum, sometimes when you come to submit it the forum has logged you off. I am looking into extending the time where you stay logged in.

The default is to log members out after a few minutes of apparent inactivity to protect the forum from hackers and to stop people logging in pemanently which uses up server resources if everyone does it. The system does not know when we are typing a long message, because that is happening just on our desktop. It only knows we're there when we browse to a page or click a link, like a menu item or the 'submit' button.

I'll look into the security risks attendant to extending the time people can stay logged on and report back here. A couple of work-arounds meantime:

• when you submit your message and it asks you to log in again, if you log in in the box that appears in the middle of the page (rather than top right of the page), the system normally accepts the message.
• another way to ensure staying logged in is to open another window or tab also set to the cleanforum site. When you have finished your long missive in one browser window, before submitting it, go to the other window and click a link. If you are no longer logged in, log in again there. When you return to your long message window, you should be able to submit the message okay.
• when writing your message, get into the habit of using Ctrl+A then Ctrl+C (Cmd+A, Cmd+C on a Mac, is it?) every once in a while to Select All then Copy. This puts your text into the clipboard and lets you paste it elsewhere (e.g. Notepad).
• if you know it will be a long message beforehand, consider writing it in a basic text editor (e.g. Notepad) and pasting it into a new post for formatting and submitting. Note that you can't paste HTML into a message.

Phil

[Corrie van Wijk]

A simple way to avoid being logged off is to hit the 'Preview Post' every few (how many Phil?) minutes.

[phil]

I have set the inactivity timer to 60 minutes, which should help those who get logged out while writing long posts and who forget to let the software know you're still on line (Corrie's tip above is a good one).

The software regards writing a post as being 'inactive' because IT doesn't have anything to do and assumes you've gone away.

Phil