Why you get logged out when composing long messages and what to do about it

[Mark]

All,

I've seen multiple people talk about long posts they were composing that they lost when they tried to submit them. Probably, what is happening is that the session (the connection between your computer and the server) is timing out after about 24-25 minutes, which is normal server behavior). So - the solution to make this not happen anymore is to post short posts, or - if you need to post longer posts which require some thought (and that is most welcome) compose them first in a text editor and then copy them into a post via copy/paste functionality. So long as you interact with the server every 10-15 minutes or so (by refreshing a page or submitting a post), you will be fine. It's only when you take a long time between server interactions that there is a problem (I think).

If anyone has had a logout problem which did not involve a long period between page refreshes, please let me know, as my theory about what is causing the problem would then be wrong

Mark

[BrainPain]

Also, by clicking on "Remember Me", you can remain logged in without the auto logout kicking your butt.

Using Remember Me simply puts a cookie in your IE or Firefox cookie folder to keep your session open. If you use Remember Me, all you have to do is click on "Log Out" and the cookie will be automatically deleted.

I entered all of the text for this post and then left it open for 30 minutes to show that it works well with Remember Me checked.

Alternatively, if you don't like using Remember Me, and you hit post and get the logged out screen, hit the "Back" button on the tool bar for your browser. Your post box should reappear and you can do the following.

Click somewhere in your post box.

Hit Alt-A to highlight everything.

Hit Alt-C to copy everything highlighted.

Then click on "reply" again for the thread you are replying in.

Click somewhere in the text box and hit Alt-V. This will paste you previous comments. Now you can hit Submit and be done.

This should work in all browsers. Sometimes though, due to security settings, your text may be gone when you hit the back button. So if you ever think you have had your text box open for a reply for too long, just use the method above to copy the text. Then, if you find you've been logged out and lose your entry, you can simply hit reply again and paste your comments.

[John Rutledge]

deleted .....

Edited October 28, 2009 by John Rutledge

[WinterSky]

All,

I've seen multiple people talk about long posts they were composing that they lost when they tried to submit them. Probably, what is happening is that the session (the connection between your computer and the server) is timing out after about 24-25 minutes, which is normal server behavior). So - the solution to make this not happen anymore is to post short posts, or - if you need to post longer posts which require some thought (and that is most welcome) compose them first in a text editor and then copy them into a post via copy/paste functionality. So long as you interact with the server every 10-15 minutes or so (by refreshing a page or submitting a post), you will be fine. It's only when you take a long time between server interactions that there is a problem (I think).

If anyone has had a logout problem which did not involve a long period between page refreshes, please let me know, as my theory about what is causing the problem would then be wrong

Mark

Hi Dr. Dombeck,

I do not have the problem described above, but for what it's worth I just spent over 45 minutes on a long post entitled "Problems with Dad" and had no problem with losing this post. I did copy it to Word before I previewed it, eventually posting it.

When I logged in, I checked the box "keep me logged in" or whatever it says. I always do that. It is my experience with this software as a member (on this site and several others), that when I click that box I remain logged in. But one does not actually need to remain logged in. One can always log out before they leave if they want.

Just my 2 cents. Have a good day.

[WinterSky]

Hi again, I wanted to clarify that the box actually says "Remember Me?" It is to the right of the userid field.