Housekeeping

tahanson43206 · 2024-03-24 13:04:08

For SpaceNut and kbd512 ...

I think I found one of the problems that kbd512 has been working on:
At the beginning of common.php
Next event is start a transaction
if exists include cache_config.php

Fatal error: Array and string offset access syntax with curly braces is no longer supported in /var/www/html/FluxBB/include/cache.php on line 153

I've been stepping through the code while trying to run index.php ... I've confirmed that the database connection is correct, and am about half way through common.php when the error above appeared.

I sent the report to kbd512 via email.

(th)

SpaceNut · 2024-03-24 19:58:15

Sounds like the session id and cookies that are used to see that you are logged in for the assigned rights of the user.

Today was a nice sort of sunny day to recharge the solar lights that I have. We have power back on at 5:30pm just in time to have a home cooked meal. Have collected all of the flashlights and put away all of the extra batteries until the next time.

We may be getting more snow in a few days as the storm front moves across the country.

tahanson43206 · 2024-03-25 06:16:57

For SpaceNut re #3377

Congratulations on surviving another of winter's blasts !!!

Nice to see the value of your investment in solar equipment!

On the ** other ** hand, I'm glad to see the utility power back on!

***
Regarding cookies and other values ... I am getting quite the education about FluxBB, as I step through the code. It turned out that despite his best efforts, kbd512 missed one of the pesky curly braces that were installed in the code many years ago. They have been replaced by PHP developers, for reasons that kbd512 explained last night in the Google Meeting.

I'll extend the offer again, now that you have power back .... You are welcome to download the software and the database from Dropbox, where you have an account shared with newmarsmember and kbd512. The database is there in two forms: The original CSV version is there, and I do not recommend it. It turns out that the MySQL utility program to create tables from CSV input is not reliable for large tables. The newer backup is in mysqldump format. It is a backup of the database after I spent many hours working with ChatGPT4 to write Python programs to clean up the mess made by the CSV utility.

The forum software will not run, because there is at least one curly brace still present, and it causes the PHP processor to halt, and the default setting for error reporting shows nothing (ie, a blank browser window). However, you can study the code as I've been doing, and gain a basic understanding of what is going on.

You'll need to install MySQL, PHP and Apache2, and I am happy to provide suggestions to help with that.

(th)

Calliban · 2024-03-25 10:40:47

Server error when attempting to post on this thread:
https://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=3501

At 16:38GMT.

JoshNH4H · 2024-03-26 08:10:17

Tried to create a topic in Life Support about lunar cement. Got the following error:

_____

Internal Server Error
The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.

Please contact the server administrator at webmaster@newmars.com to inform them of the time this error occurred, and the actions you performed just before this error.

More information about this error may be available in the server error log.

_____

Also tried posting as a reply on a related topic. No luck. I've posted in Planetary Transportation and it worked fine. Also tried to post "test post" and it worked fine.

For now, I put it on my blog: https://gammafactor.wordpress.com/2024/ … -concrete/

JoshNH4H · 2024-03-26 08:11:19

I tried to copy the post text into the above post and it seems like it's something about the post itself that the forum doesn't like. Pretty strange since it was all ASCII

tahanson43206 · 2024-03-26 08:24:23

For JoshNH4H ... It is ** good ** to have you back on the scene as a member!

Thanks for reporting on your experience with the Apache ISE ... You have probably not read any of the numerous posts about this problem, so to summarize, I suspect an issue relating to the feature of FluxBB 1.5.11 that provides the fast lookup for search. I am encountering the internals of FluxBB PHP files while attempting to assist kbd512 as he converts/upgrades the software to run with modern PHP.

I'm hoping that one outcome of the ongoing work is progress in understanding the AISE problem.

Because you were an admin in the past, it is within the realm of possibility for you to take part in the ongoing upgrade effort. On the other hand, you are probably busy with your career, so may not have time. I'm tossing out the offer just in case.

Something else occurred to me .... I wonder if you tried the create the new topic with that long post.

Please just create the topic with the normal announcement of a new topic and what it is intended to cover.

I try to follow up with a post for an index, but you can do that as well if you would like to manage the index to interesting posts.

In any case, once you have the new topic set up, I'd be willing to go through the labor intensive process to find the string that is causing the AISE.

*** I liked your Wordpress article ***

(th)

JoshNH4H · 2024-03-26 11:51:12

Hey th,

Good to see you all again.

Unfortunately I don't have the time (or the skills really) to help out with forum maintenance.

I did try creating a new thread with no success. Maybe I'll try again in a few days

JoshNH4H · 2024-03-26 12:05:23

While I'm here: Why are there so many sticky topics?

Oldfart1939 · 2024-03-26 12:31:43

Regarding "sticky topics," I suggest we do a little housekeeping and reduce the numbers about 90%. Jes sayin'.

tahanson43206 · 2024-03-26 15:31:33

For SpaceNut .... you are an Admin who's been creating Sticky topics .... I'm pretty sure I haven't created any.

Can't speak for kbd512 or RobertDyck ...

How about un-sticking all of them and then re-sticking the ones you think need that feature.

(th)

Oldfart1939 · 2024-03-26 15:41:36

I'd be OK with un-sticky-ing all of them, other than those needed for stating rules for posters.

SpaceNut · 2024-03-26 17:39:03

Sticky is the only method to keep topics from being buried as no one searches and create topic with key words rather than finding topics that fit the topic.

Of course, there is no way to join similar topics, and many get split due to be so far off topic.

Such as a discussion on oil but in this case it's about the level or amounts that man has to be gotten from the earth and for one to make use of. It covers the broad means of flow rate and how old these reserves are.

tahanson43206 · 2024-03-28 11:11:15

For SpaceNut .....

This post is about an idea for a local (NewMars) dictionary....

Void has used a term "heliostat" in some of his posts. I have no idea what this might be except I can guess that it has something to do with the Sun.

We are in the process of approaching closer and closer to being able to add new features to the FluxBB 1.5.11 software we've been using, thanks to the efforts of Executive Director James Burk back when he was webmaster.

It seems to me that we might be able to set up a new forum for Dictionary, wherein the definitions are created by the members.

That would enable members who would like to use the terms in new ways to be able to show other members, and forum readers in general, what the term is supposed to mean.

I bring this up in the contest of the existing "words" table, which is used to provide the fast search capability we enjoy in this forum.

We might be able to take advantage of the existing "words" table to isolate a search to the Dictionary forum, so that only the desired definition shows up, instead of all the posts where the term is used.

We might be able to accomplish this without adding any new PHP code to the forum.

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2024-03-28 12:44:52

For SpaceNut .... the Azure test account seems to be ready for testing the full forum software when kbd512 has it ready.

In the mean time, with a little help from ChatGPT4 (who caught an error in a string I'd created) we now have listtopic.php running.

You can enter any topic ID (that exists in the database) and the script will return the numbers of posts associated with the topic.

Please keep in mind that the database was captured some time ago, so it only has 20 years of data or so, and not the latest posts.

(th)

SpaceNut · 2024-03-28 18:59:51

Heliostat is what solar concentrating is by reflection.
https://solar-energy.technology/solar-t … /heliostat
The word table was for another reason I believe from back before 2005 but it's a left over and not truly needed.

tahanson43206 · 2024-03-28 19:18:00

For SpaceNut re #3391

First, thanks for showing me the list of files in the forums folder on the Apache VM! I have been trying to get the system installed and working so didn't worry about security. Now that you have shown you have access to the application directory, it might be time to lock it down. I don't know how to do that. It is obviously time to learn. Do you have any idea how to prevent someone from doing what you did?

Related question: Can you do the same thing on the production installation at Dreamhost? I'll bet you can't but don't actually know.

***
Second, thanks for explaining what a heliostat is ... that's not what I was after ... What I'm thinking about is creating a local dictionary capability for our members. We can already run the search for "heliostat" and FluxBB will find every occurrence of the word in the titles, in the messages or both.

That is not what I want to be able to provide for our members.

I'd like to be able to create a way to find ** just ** the definition that a member has placed in the forum dictionary location.

***
Third ... have you played with the listtopic script at all? It stops at ID=4110, but there are 8290 records in the table of topics, and the current topic number is over 10000. I'm wondering if there is a way to find the ID's that are present without dumping the entire table.

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2024-03-29 06:31:13

For SpaceNut re Knowedge web site

Dr. Lewis Dartnell's web site has accumulated over 19000 spammer accounts. Dr. Dartnell has not admitted any new members since Terraformer joined several years ago, and invited me to visit newmars.com/forums.

Today a hacker managed to hack into the system and give himself the privilege of writing posts. That is amazing, but the software on the site is from 2012, so I would imagine there may be vulnerabilities and obviously someone solved the puzzle.

Terraformer .... if you still have contact with Dr. Dartnell, please let him know I sent him a private message. He may not be checking his email for the site.

I hope he keeps it going, but he might decide to close the site.

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2024-03-29 06:32:37

For SpaceNut ... I tried entering index.html into the NewMars site and got a 404 error.

Do you know what I need to do to replicate that behavior on the little Apache test site?

(th)

SpaceNut · 2024-03-29 16:25:31

fluxbb commands have embedded in the php a means to display or create a page view of the data. Even the trial page link with the forum command when I add the /index.html does the basic same thing.
Take a look in the Grubhub files and you will see the embedded html...

tahanson43206 · 2024-03-29 17:39:51

For SpaceNut re Azure test system...

Thanks for your interest in this project!

If you want to test the little listtopic script, I ran a MySQL script to find gaps where topics are missing.

I'll print the bottom of the list below. The entire list contains 613 rows. If you want the entire list I can put it on Dropbox.

The items below are gaps, so you can find the topics at numbers NOT in the list:

| 9813 | 9813 |
| 9852 | 9852 |
| 9933 | 9933 |
| 9954 | 9955 |
| 9965 | 9965 |
| 9995 | 9995 |
| 10027 | 10027 |
| 10123 | 10124 |
| 10284 | 10284 |
| 10328 | 10328 |
| 10371 | 10372 |
| 10376 | 10376 |
| 10404 | 10404 |
| 10596 | 10596 |
+---------------+-------------+
613 rows in set (27.38 sec)
mysql>

(th)

SpaceNut · 2024-03-30 12:46:09

Are these the same locations that we have identified and posted within this topic?
If so, we have had a good test.

tahanson43206 · 2024-03-30 12:53:20

For SpaceNut re #3397

Thanks for your interest in the test environment for the new forum software.

You have the ability to test for your self. That is possible using the information I provided, and the listtopic link in a post a few posts earlier.

The key is to note that the list I posted showing gaps is showing locations were ID's are NOT present.

You can enter any number between the gaps, and you should be able to pull up a display of posts that go with the topic.

Please let me know how the testing goes for you. You can compare the results to the live database. The topic ID's and the Post ID's should match.

I have not had time to perform these tests, so hope you can find the time for them.

***
We are waiting for kbd512 to complete his work on the update of the forum software. This is Easter weekend, so a major part of the US population will be occupied with activities around the occasion.

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2024-03-30 20:25:18

For SpaceNut re Pothole scan...

We crossed over 221000 yesterday, so I ran a pothole scan today.

The Internet appears to have been smooth as glass for the eight hour run ... I found a Green Screen waiting for me.

I'll report the count of potholes after a bit of time to examine the run log.

9 potholes showed up ... not too bad for 1000 posts...

ID: 220131
ID: 220151
ID: 220162
ID: 220163
ID: 220326
ID: 220849
ID: 220851
ID: 220856
ID: 220857

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2024-03-31 06:52:00

For SpaceNut re forum changes after new software is running....

We have been limited in the number of membership categories. That is why we have members who are not spammers are listed as banned. We now will soon have the opportunity to add a new category of "Inactive" to the membership, so folks who return after an absence do not find themselves banned. We did that because (at the time) we did not know how to add categories of membership.

All the testID's can be set to a new category of "Available"

Those changes should help to make the forum look a bit more friendly.

I am looking forward to seeing how all the changes we've discussed look when implemented in the test environment.

We are waiting now for kbd512 to finish the changes to allow FluxBB to run in the current PHP and MySQL environment.

Please check the recent changes to Apache index.html in the Azure test site and let me know if you want to see additional changes.

(th)

New Mars Forums

Announcement

#3376 2024-03-24 13:04:08

Re: Housekeeping

#3377 2024-03-24 19:58:15

Re: Housekeeping

#3378 2024-03-25 06:16:57

Re: Housekeeping

#3379 2024-03-25 10:40:47

Re: Housekeeping

#3380 2024-03-26 08:10:17

Re: Housekeeping

#3381 2024-03-26 08:11:19

Re: Housekeeping

#3382 2024-03-26 08:24:23

Re: Housekeeping

#3383 2024-03-26 11:51:12

Re: Housekeeping

#3384 2024-03-26 12:05:23

Re: Housekeeping

#3385 2024-03-26 12:31:43

Re: Housekeeping

#3386 2024-03-26 15:31:33

Re: Housekeeping

#3387 2024-03-26 15:41:36

Re: Housekeeping

#3388 2024-03-26 17:39:03

Re: Housekeeping

#3389 2024-03-28 11:11:15

Re: Housekeeping

#3390 2024-03-28 12:44:52

Re: Housekeeping

#3391 2024-03-28 18:59:51

Re: Housekeeping

#3392 2024-03-28 19:18:00

Re: Housekeeping

#3393 2024-03-29 06:31:13

Re: Housekeeping

#3394 2024-03-29 06:32:37

Re: Housekeeping

#3395 2024-03-29 16:25:31

Re: Housekeeping

#3396 2024-03-29 17:39:51

Re: Housekeeping

#3397 2024-03-30 12:46:09

Re: Housekeeping

#3398 2024-03-30 12:53:20

Re: Housekeeping

#3399 2024-03-30 20:25:18

Re: Housekeeping

#3400 2024-03-31 06:52:00

Re: Housekeeping

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