Developing OTFA

Meaning that a possible explanation for the AJAX-associated bug we’re dealing with is that the PHP installation we are using is a hardened, anti-virus/anti-spam/anti-trojan, version, and this then means it doesn’t like parsing, or reading, the snippets of code that are inserted in the text sent to the database when tags are used from the rich text editor or for the insertion of media. At least that is the theory — so we have a diagnosis, but as to a treatment. Well, there is a workaround which pertained to the old version of the software, but whether it will work with this is another question. We can but try. If the update to this post includes boldened sentences, it has worked!

Update: Thursday 13.13pm

No bold I am afraid. A new strategy has suggested itself. The idea is to upload all the WPMU files to a fresh directory and then configure it to take over the database of the original base set. If this works we should bypass the problems, unless of course the problem is manifest in the database or at server level. This will take sometime, and should not affect service.

Update: Saturday 10.30am

After reinstalling the MU, testing on rss.fyneside.com and in both cases repeating the fault, which was effectively that the inclusion of any tags, including bullets or bold or strikethroughs et al. meant the post did not save or update and that the user was transferred to the home page, I compared the php configurations on my two servers, fyneside and arbu. The latter showed that it did not have ‘hardened php’. Given that the single blog installation at rss.fyneside.com was also displaying the fault I realised I had confirmation of what I suspected on Thursday: the fault lay outwith WordPress. So with the help of a friendly-neighbourhood sysadmin we got rid of the offending extension and found that all problems were solved. Well, most of them.

I think the thing it has taught me is to test with as many parameters as possible before looking to change things. Test to destruction I think is the phrase. There is no doubt this has been a very frustrating process however, several good things have come out of it. Not only have we several new blogs launched this week (Classical, Angling, Golf & Yakking) but the interface has been refined (a refinement which will continue) and we now have our very own favicon (the red box logo just to the left of the web address showing in the address box above this page).

I hope this almost-break in service has not dampened your enthusiasm for the For Argyll websites, because we are now set to go from strength to strength!

I’ve just posted this on ARBU if you want more detail!