Users Online/Info Centre query

[SnoozyBoozy]

Forum URL: www.edlivewire.proboards57.com



Hi there, I help run the above forum and have noticed a problem with the users online list.

I've done a tonne of research into this before bringing this here.

OK.

Your own name appears at the beginning of the list when you are logged in.

Then the following users are listed as follows; Activity. The name immediately after your own is the person with the most recent activity etc etc. (I do hope i'm explaining this ok, lol)

Simply pressing F5, or reading something, any form of activity will get a persons name back to the 'top' of the list so to speak.

OK.. If nothing is pressed by a person, they gradually go down the list, right? After X minutes of inactivity, the user - despite still being signed in - will 'fall off' of the list.

This is apparent because we have a saybox at the bottom of our forum. A forum user can only see or post in the saybox if they are logged into the forum as it is hidden by guests.

Members have been asking each other, "how can you see or post in this saybox if you're not logged in?" Always to be answered with "I am logged in"... And they are, they've just dropped off the list due to this forum inactivity after just a few minutes.

This makes it very difficult to have a conversation with anyone in the Saybox due to not knowing who is online and who isn't.

I do not want to make the saybox a members zone in itself as I believe our forum members would possibly not bother with it so much, they're already logging into the forum and the saybox is hidden from guests.

This problem has been tested and is definately something that every forum member suffers. (I had a large group of them running rings and jumping through hoops lol - you press this, you stay there and press nothing, now everyone do this then press that etc etc etc).

OK. I do apologise for the long winded explanation, I'd rather give you all too much info rather than not enough!

Right. Is this a global feature, or is this a problem unique to our forum?

Can this be fixed in ANY way?

Users, by default, are logged in for 6 hours unless they manually log out.

I beg you guys to sort this out, as we really need to know who is actually online, active or not.

Thank you in advance for ANY help whatsoever on this.

Angie x

[libson]

i dont really know what you mean lol, but your name when you log in automatically goes to the top of the users online box, thats normal.
and when you say

Users, by default, are logged in for 6 hours unless the manually log out.

you can change that from when you log in, theres a drop down box with different log in lengths.
Other than that i dont know your question lol

[bobdat]

Well, unless there is a code to fix it, I guess the only way to fix it is to tell members to routinely press F5

[SnoozyBoozy]

libson said:

i dont really know what you mean lol, but your name when you log in automatically goes to the top of the users online box, thats normal.
and when you say

Users, by default, are logged in for 6 hours unless the manually log out.

you can change that from when you log in, theres a drop down box with different log in lengths.
Other than that i dont know your question lol

I know that... that's not what i'm saying, completely irrelevant.. but thanks for trying.

Logged in but not actually pressing anything will show that user as being 'offline'... even though they are not.

Look, if i log in... my name is at the beginning of the list. It stays there until I log out.

Other users online will see me in that list.

If I press nothing at all, don't do a damn thing, my name moves down the list. After a few minutes, my name BUT ONLY FOR OTHER PEOPLE, NOT ME, moves off the list altogether and other users think i'm offline.

with me??

[bobdat]

I think that is to counteract when members don't physically log out, they simply press the cross, and leave. If you close your window, then open it again to the same site, you are logged in. So when people just hit the cross, they would appear online even when they are not.

[SnoozyBoozy]

no no no.... it's after only a few minutes!!!!

and they're pressing nothing at all!!!!!!!!!!


argh!

[SnoozyBoozy]

williamp said:

Well, unless there is a code to fix it, I guess the only way to fix it is to tell members to routinely press F5

thanks, what a total pain though... perhaps i'll bung this on socal too... see if they can come up with a code...

xx

[bobdat]

No, what I meant was, members that do nothing at all, end up with the same effect as those who just close the window. So members that are online seem offline because they are not detected to be doing anything, rather than their IP or whatever is viewing the site. On Invision it says 'Members that have been active in the last 5 minutes' rather than 'members online.'

[SnoozyBoozy]

williamp said:

No, what I meant was, members that do nothing at all, end up with the same effect as those who just close the window. So members that are online seem offline because they are not detected to be doing anything, rather than their IP or whatever is viewing the site. On Invision it says 'Members that have been active in the last 5 minutes' rather than 'members online.'

ahhh... what a total pain though... It really is driving us all barmy...

Just a few minutes, and then no one knows who's online and who isn't!! This really needs sorting out.

[bobdat]

Well, as I said, unless there is a code, just keep pressing F5. Also, even if you do get a code, you might find that people names are up for all 6 hours, regardless of whether they are online or not.

[libson]

what do you want done?
i get that your saying that if the members to do anything, and become inactive, there username will budge down the list of members online.

[SnoozyBoozy]

I want to know how to get the Users online list to display as users online until such time as they are ACTUALLY not online anymore!

[bobdat]

I would have to say that, seeing as it does not actually count who is viewing, it would be very difficult. It olny counts who has been active in the past few minutes.

[SnoozyBoozy]

williamp said:

I would have to say that, seeing as it does not actually count who is viewing, it would be very difficult. It olny counts who has been active in the past few minutes.

that..... SUCKS!





There must be a way of telling it somewhere to change the inactivity period from 5 minutes to something a bit more realistic?!

[bobdat]

I would have thought that there would be... just ask for a code maybe.