SC4 Devotion: Official Advice and Site Information Thread

[yzbk1 6]

On 3/19/2021 at 5:49 AM, Tarkus said:

That's really strange, because there is very clearly a YZBK account (all capital letters, without the "1" at the end) in the database, which is activated.  Try giving it another go.  If it's still not working, what I can do is blank out the email address on it, which would allow you to reuse it for another account.

-Tarkus

Could you do that for me please

[Tarkus 6,932]

8 hours ago, yzbk1 said:

Could you do that for me please

Done.

-Tarkus

[yzbk1 6]

On 3/26/2021 at 7:04 AM, Tarkus said:

Done.

-Tarkus

thanks king

[Tarkus 6,932]

Just a heads up, we've been experiencing abnormally high CPU loads over at SC4D, which have been rendering the site difficult, if not impossible to access over at least the past 12 hours or so.  I've (at least temporarily) put our host's free CloudFlare service in place as a safeguard, though the site's not particularly configured for it, and it may remain screwy for awhile longer as a result.  The screwiness will be most prevalent on the forums.

-Tarkus

[GCalegaro 18]

I'm replying to this thread to keep updated. 

[AsimPika3172 1,145]

Yesterday SC4 Devotion website was shutdown while LEX look OK. Today, was OK except loading was slower....

[Wiimeiser 445]

I'm just getting 503 errors. Something seems to be dragging the site to the grave...

[Propfam 2,294]

Hope that SC4Devotion can quickly scale up like those startup websites. You know, Uber, GrubHub, etc.

[Tarkus 6,932]

After throwing some heavy-duty anti-DDoS stuff from CloudFlare onto the site, and still having the CPU load pegged at almost 80 times normal, I was able to determine something haywire was going wrong with the site itself.  Need to give a shoutout to my fellow NAMite @redfox85 for pointing me in the right direction--it turned out that there had been a bunch of random PHP processes that had been running rampant.  Given that our host's mySQL server was up and down a whole bunch on Friday, and we started having the CPU load issues on Saturday, I'm wondering if there's a connection there. 

In any case, I've finally been able to kill those (upgraded our PHP in the process), and it seems the site has stabilized (and is a lot faster than even before the issues).

Thank you all for your patience and support--and especially to @Cyclone Boom and @CorinaMarie for their help in getting the word out.

-Tarkus

[Propfam 2,294]

2 minutes ago, Tarkus said:

random PHP processes that had been running rampant

Why have to be like that? Maybe SMF is updating itself? Or, maybe SMF is doing some cleanups?

[AsimPika3172 1,145]

LEX and forum is now OK!!!!! 🎉🎉🎉

[Tarkus 6,932]

BTW, if there's anyone out there who has been trying unsuccessfully to reset their password on their LEX account--after being tipped off by some users who were quite helpful in providing some information about the issues they encountered, I've fixed up the broken reset links, and the functionality should at last be working properly again.  I'd recommend giving it another go now. 

Also, make sure that you check your Spam/Junk Mail folder if you haven't received an account activation or password reset email--there's a pretty high probability it got shuffled over there.

If you still have issues, the best ways to get things resolved are to either:

(a) post on this thread or the LEX support thread at SC4D

(b) send me a PM either here, at SC4D, or Reddit

(c) send me a DM on the SC4D Discord server. 

Please provide your LEX username in your support request, so I can locate your account (and if your doing the PM or DM route, the email address you used to register the account is also useful information, in case you've forgotten your account name, or I can't find it).  Usually, worst case scenario, you'll get a response, if not a resolution, within 48 hours, and often quite sooner.  The "email the webmaster" option basically just dumps things into a spam-filled box, and is not a reliable way to get help with your LEX account--I've been going through and trying to remove all those links, and instead linking to the much more reliable options via the forums and Discord.

-Tarkus

[tonyfv 23]

I was unable to log in to the LEX. When I tried to register it said my email or username was already in. So instead I reset the password and it still says the same thing. Thanks for your patience.

Same username as on here. I did receive and respond to the activation email.

[Tarkus 6,932]

@tonyfv, I've just sent you a PM with details.

-Tarkus

[TheMurderousCricket 5,061]

Hello @Tarkus, I think I will need your help.

I tried to reset my password but the reset mail is not arriving. The SC4D username is TMC.

Thank you in advance. 

[Tarkus 6,932]

Just dropped you a PM.

-Tarkus

[ArnoldSchwarzenegger 24]

Hello @Tarkus

I seem to have a problem with the account I made at the SC4Devotion Lot Exchange. After a LONG time, I accessed the account hoping to delete it, but couldn't find any options under the Profile tab. I've tried to create an SC4Devotion account to get some support, but I can't seem to get past the registration page. I'm really unfamiliar with the site, since I've only used occasionally to download some lots, a long time ago. Do you guys know anything about this?

Thanks!

[Tarkus 6,932]

@ArnoldSchwarzenegger, I did an initial search based on the information you've given in your post, but was not able to find any accounts off that.  If you drop me a PM with the username and/or email associated with the account, I should be able to find it, and if you'd still like to delete it, I can take care of that for you. 

-Tarkus

[ArnoldSchwarzenegger 24]

On 23/07/2021 at 4:50 AM, Tarkus said:

@ArnoldSchwarzenegger, I did an initial search based on the information you've given in your post, but was not able to find any accounts off that.  If you drop me a PM with the username and/or email associated with the account, I should be able to find it, and if you'd still like to delete it, I can take care of that for you. 

-Tarkus

Just did. Thank you so much!

[Tarkus 6,932]

Also, just a heads up to anyone who has attempted to register on the forums and run into a brick wall when trying to do so--there was indeed an issue with the registration system after an attempt at beefing up our anti-spambot mechanisms.  That's been fixed now, so if you try again, you should be able to register now.  Thanks for your patience!

-Tarkus

[Busta -CASE- 140]

Hello, fellow players, I thought this was the right place to discuss this, I've been trying to use the LEX for the past three days but the site seems to be down rn. Any thoughts or ideas about this, like when is it going to be available or how can we help to bring it back? Thanks in advance.

[SIM-ple Jack 17,445]

4 minutes ago, b9117w said:

Hello, fellow players, I thought this was the right place to discuss this, I've been trying to use the LEX for the past three days but the site seems to be down rn. Any thoughts or ideas about this, like when is it going to be available or how can we help to bring it back? Thanks in advance.

I just used it. You signed in? Ad-blockers on?

[Busta -CASE- 140]

31 minutes ago, SIM-ple Jack said:

I just used it. You signed in? Ad-blockers on?

I use Edge, could it be that? Do I have to use Chrome or Firefox? I don't have ad-blockers, but I have Kaspersky protection for browsers.

Edit: nope, i downloaded Chrome and still can't get access, maybe I have to check my Firewall or a-v  

  Edited December 2, 2021 by b9117w  
updated issue

[twalsh102 1,601]

Just to ask some obvious questions:

Were you able to previously access the LEX using Edge?

Is the problem the web page won't open, or you're not being allowed to sign in?

[Tyberius06 12,209]

9 hours ago, b9117w said:

I use Edge, could it be that? Do I have to use Chrome or Firefox? I don't have ad-blockers, but I have Kaspersky protection for browsers.

Edit: nope, i downloaded Chrome and still can't get access, maybe I have to check my Firewall or a-v  

I managed to open it with Edge, so I don't think the issue is with the Edge. I suspect rather the Kaspersky protection went haywire for some reason and started blocking the access to the LEX. Try to switch it of temporary and check if you can access the site while kaspersky is offline. By the way if you are using WIN10, it has its own pretty good protection system (for free), so generally you wouldn't need any 3rd party software for that.

[Busta -CASE- 140]

3 hours ago, Tyberius06 said:

I suspect rather the Kaspersky protection went haywire for some reason. Try to switch it of temporary and check if you can access the site while kaspersky is offline.

Tried, failed. Deactivated kaspersky, no go. Deactivated firewall, no go. Added sc4devotion to trusted sites, no go. Restarted pc, no go. Erase all data from Edge, cookies, cache, etc, no go. Don't get it. Was I banned? lol 

This is what I get: sorry it's in spanish, it says "Well, can't get access to this page

www.sc4devotion.com took too long to respond

Try to:

Checking the connection (not the problem, obviously)

Checking the proxy and the firewall (firewall done, proxy I haven't touch)

Run Windows Network Diagnostics (done, it says that the network is ready but the problem comes from the site)

 

[Busta -CASE- 140]

3 hours ago, twalsh102 said:

Just to ask some obvious questions:

Were you able to previously access the LEX using Edge?

Is the problem the web page won't open, or you're not being allowed to sign in?

Yes, I started using Edge like one month ago. Im on Edge right now. I downloaded a lot of dependencies; my account is old, always signed in with the auto filler, user & pass, but I remember the pass and the mail. I even downloaded BATs from japanese sites. I don't know what could be the problem. Btw, Im not able to access the LEX nor the forums...

[Tyberius06 12,209]

4 hours ago, b9117w said:

Tried, failed. Deactivated kaspersky, no go. Deactivated firewall, no go. Added sc4devotion to trusted sites, no go. Restarted pc, no go. Erase all data from Edge, cookies, cache, etc, no go. Don't get it. Was I banned? lol 

This is what I get: sorry it's in spanish, it says "Well, can't get access to this page

www.sc4devotion.com took too long to respond

Try to:

Checking the connection (not the problem, obviously)

Checking the proxy and the firewall (firewall done, proxy I haven't touch)

Run Windows Network Diagnostics (done, it says that the network is ready but the problem comes from the site)

 

Hm... I see. Since the site is working for most of us, the only thing what's left, what I can think of is, that for some reason your internet provider is blocking the access to the site. 

I don't know if you have a smart phone and the data provider for your mobile network is different than your general internet provider. That would worth a try. 

The other thing you can try is VPN. 

[rsc204 21,836]

So given you've tried a couple browsers, although bear in mind with the exceptions of Firefox & Safari, every other browser tends to be made using the Chromium base code, your best bet is to try another device at this point. There is a chance that some setting, whether through security software or something is effectively blocking access to the site on your machine, but it's unlikely such settings would propagate to say a Phone or Tablet device.

If the problem is the same using another device too, then the next thing to look at is your Router, because it too can block access to certain sites.

If you are quite sure that it's not the devices or your router blocking things, then the next place to consider is your ISP. Frankly I don't think it should be highly likely your ISP would block SC4D of all places, although mistakes do happen so it's not impossible. It might be worth an e-mail to their support just to ask if there is any reason why you wouldn't be able to access that site. But honestly, unless something very unusual has gone wrong, odds are this is a problem with device/router configuration of some kind.

[Busta -CASE- 140]

5 hours ago, rsc204 said:

your best bet is to try another device at this point. 

If the problem is the same using another device too, then the next thing to look at is your Router.

Yep, must be the ISP, they once blocked me from accessing facebook lol. I just tried in my phone, no go; says: "sc4devotion took too long to respond". So I'll get in contact with my ISP. Thanks all for your support  if that doesn't work, I'll let you know although I figure that would be very odd. 

Edit: I called my ISP and they couldn't figure it out for the moment, still pending lol. BUT! I installed a VPN in my phone and I got access to sc4dev forums in 2 seconds with an IP from US West. Is my country not available for sc4devotion? :'( i'm from El Salvador...

  Edited December 3, 2021 by b9117w  
update on issue