bugs Simtropolis 9.0.x - Bugs & Issues Report Thread

[apeek 191]

Please forgive me if the following topic already exists. In which case please also provide a relevant link.

I wish very much for the ability to search the STEX for terms with fewer than four characters. This ability vanished upon deployment of the new web server software, and I am unable to find a viable workaround despite vigorous searching and experimentation. Countless words are completely ignored including NAM, RRW, MOD, HD, CAM, RUM, BSC, BAT, PEG, PIM, lot, bug etc. AFAICT, such terms are even excluded from searches that also include accepted strings ('HD download' only searches for 'download'). Please advise.

[matias93 7,535]

A viable workaround is to use Google as the search engine. When searching on Google, include this string at the end

site:simtropolis.com

To make it to look only on this site. You can also refine the search detailing the part of the site. For example, for files use:

site:community.simtropolis.com/files/

[apeek 191]

7 hours ago, matias93 said:

A viable workaround is to use Google as the search engine. When searching on Google, include this string at the end

site:simtropolis.com

To make it to look only on this site. You can also refine the search detailing the part of the site. For example, for files use:

site:community.simtropolis.com/files/

Thank you for the prompt reply. I am aware of this method and use it frequently on the LEX. However, one can't limit the data to file type or any other subcategory; nor does it offer effective search filters or image previews -  just the top three among many other shortcomings. I would also like to omit comments from the result set. They should only appear along with the selected record as before. Likewise, I don't need to see row after row of yellow stars without an attached reply.

[Cyclone Boom 16,884]

I completely agree. The site search in its current state is far from acceptable, and has been for too long. This is apparently a limitation of the software and MySQL (database format), not necessarily an issue with indexing or the server environment.

The good news is IPS (the devs) are set to add those much promised search improvements mid-way through the year. The aim here would be to find ways of overcoming the limitations, at least to what is technically feasible. Following this, they intend to integrate support for an external service, such as Elasticsearch. Once implemented, this would be a much more powerful platform, working above & beyond the current limitations.

[apeek 191]

I couldn't be more pleased with the swift and intelligent support on this site from both staff and fellow users. To that effect it would be wrong of me not to credit the developers for a categorically positive user experience. I understand project workflow and ask only that my feedback is heard by the development team.
 

[TakemeThere 5,833]

Small bug in the leaderboard section, the rep counts listed in this category are definitely a little bit off -
https://community.simtropolis.com/leaderboard/?in=downloads-comment_id&time=oldest

[CorinaMarie 29,608]

The counter on the Forums page likes me more than the total I really have.

[CorinaMarie 29,608]

So, @Thin White Duke and I were in chat chatting when we got kicked by the System. Now I get this trying to join:

 

Edit: And now it's ok again.

[Hamish 1,369]

3 hours ago, CorinaMarie said:

So, @Thin White Duke and I were in chat chatting when we got kicked by the System. Now I get this trying to join:

Edit: And now it's ok again.

That happened to me the last time I was in chat too. It might have something to do with losing support for the chat client, but it is probably just a glitch.

[Cyclone Boom 16,884]

On 19/03/2017 at 10:30 PM, Takingyouthere said:

Small bug in the leaderboard section, the rep counts listed in this category are definitely a little bit off -
https://community.simtropolis.com/leaderboard/?in=downloads-comment_id&time=oldest

I've performed an auto-recount for those selected members, which has increased their rep totals to the correct values.

For whatever reason, it turns out their total was much lower than their actual received rep. The Leaderboard must display them properly, since the data is regularly rebuilt on a scheduled basis.

 

On 21/03/2017 at 10:54 PM, CorinaMarie said:

The counter on the Forums page likes me more than the total I really have.

Now you've been registered over a year, looks like this is no longer noticeable. I'm beginning to think there's something awry with those counters...

 

5 hours ago, CorinaMarie said:

So, @Thin White Duke and I were in chat chatting when we got kicked by the System. Now I get this trying to join:

(Error code: 4H269/N)

Anything intermittent usually points to a server issue. And since Chat is an external IPS service, I'd guess it's on their end.

Let us know if it persists any longer, and it can be reported. Even though there's not much longer than 3 weeks remaining, IPS Chat is still a service we're entitled to receive in a functional state until it closes.

 

1 hour ago, Hamish said:

It might have something to do with losing support for the chat client, but it is probably just a glitch.

Not willing to address something as simple as the scrollbar bug (which I found a workaround with minimal effort), it does make you wonder about their focus now on maintenance in general.

I guess it isn't overly surprising with the imminent retirement.

[madhatter106 3,903]

Not really a bug, but did the font suddenly change for the forum messages on the site?
Or did I press a button somewhere on my end and change something?
Or are my eyes going bad?

[Cyclone Boom 16,884]

Nope, you're not seeing things. The font has certainly changed, and I noticed this Monday evening and initially thought my browser was to blame.

As a comparison, here's a quick preview showing your post in both fonts:
 

(Imported into a page I had saved locally from February.)

Unmistakably the font appears the same style but stretched/raised vertically. Not sure of everyone else's opinions on this, but I think it now appears less clear, especially for certain letters. Although visually larger in size, there's less definition and it's not as legible IMO, especially for lengthy paragraphs.

The font used is called Roboto, and is available on Google Fonts listed here. Simtropolis seemingly uses this through reference inside a style sheet (as a web font). The style is 14px regular, which can be recreated using the sample on that listing.

Now interestingly, checking the CSS from my archived page and that which is currently used, there's a small but notable difference:

Old:

url(http://fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v15/CWB0XYA8bzo0kSThX0UTuA.woff2) format('woff2');

New:

url(http://fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v16/CWB0XYA8bzo0kSThX0UTuA.woff2) format('woff2');

 

The old code makes reference to a version 15 of the font, while it now refers to version 16.

Now, it's not clear whether this change occurred this week, or any of the weeks prior. But based on this, there's a strong possibility the font has been automatically 'upgraded' without our approval. There have been no recent theme changes made on-site to my knowledge, in which case this has come completely unexpected.

I'll check with Dirk to see whether reverting is an option. The old version still seems to be online (by visiting that URL), so that may be a possibility.

Or if everyone's happy we can always keep with the new version. Maybe it'll just take some getting used to.

Any thoughts on this?

Maybe another referendum beckons...

[CorinaMarie 29,608]

1 hour ago, Cyclone Boom said:

The old code makes reference to a version 15 of the font, while it now refers to version 16.

Goodness. If it takes 15 or 16 tries to get a font right maybe they should go back to coding school.

 

1 hour ago, Cyclone Boom said:

I'll check with Dirk to see whether reverting is an option. The old version still seems to be online (by visiting that URL), so that may be a possibility.

I'd be concerned that v15 might disappear in the future since they didn't bother to ask if we wanted to change. So, if you hard code a reference to it one day we'll log on and there will be no visible messages cause the font is gone. And we won't be able to read the error message cause it'll be an invisible error saying it cannot post the error which will cause an error that it'll try to post which it can't and so on. This endless loop will draw more and more power until the server overloads. The resulting explosion could destroy life on this planet. Tread carefully if you plan to tempt fate.

 

1 hour ago, Cyclone Boom said:

Or if everyone's happy we can always keep with the new version. Maybe it'll just take some getting used to.

Any thoughts on this?

I like v16 better so I'm happy if we stay with it. I'm used to it already.

 

[madhatter106 3,903]

Change scares me.

[matias93 7,535]

In fact, most of the time I'm on the forum, if through the phone, so I see everything in whichever version of Roboto it uses. So i didn't even note a difference.

Now, if there is the possibility of using another web font, I would recommend my new personal favourite, Asap.

[APSMS 1,892]

I've been using Firefox, and maybe my version has some stuff done to it via addons, but the font that I'm seeing is still the same. It could be that I'm still referencing an old cache settings file (or something like that), because the CSS still points to the new version of the font.

If I open this page in Chrome I can definitely see the difference. Ironically I cannot see a difference on my phone, and I would have noticed given that I can definitely tell the difference on my computer. Neither of the phones I have seem to be using Roboto v16, nor does it seem that the CSS is affecting them.

I thought I was either completely oblivious or going crazy, not seeing any of these font things you were discussing.

EDIT: As a total aside, I notice that my ISP has enabled IPv6; it doesn't seem to be working, but this is the first ISP I've had that has had this functionality in even a rudimentary form! So, hopefully it gets fleshed out in the coming weeks.

  Edited April 20, 2017 by APSMS  

[Odainsaker 2,134]

Who knew such a tiny font change could get us with such surprise?  Actually, I sometimes use letters with macrons or other diacritics in my posts when Romanizing from other languages, and I had noted for some time now that after a long ago change, the "o" in "ō" had a different, taller x-height in pixels than a plain "o" with no macron.  I figured it was some sort of under-the-hood switching of fonts when using such uncommon characters, especially as I was always just inserting them into posts via cut-and-paste from a saved Notepad template of unusual characters rather than inputting any type of specific special character code.  Now I see, at least at my end, that the forum once again displays "o" and "ō" with similar pixel x-heights:  oooōōō.  Bolding them, however, makes them noticeably different in width:  oooōōō.

It's a 1-pixel difference, but there is an entire industry of typography devoted to such differences.  If only that industry could figure out why the music player on my Android phone will show all the kanji, hànzì, and even Hangul I throw at it, but it cannot correctly show bold macron characters and it will absolutely not show the Pīnyīn "Ǒ" (a capital "O" with a caron diacritic).  I have a soundtrack by Vic Chou that depends on this desperate issue of digital typography being immediately resolved at best possible speed lest I be forced to revert back to Wade-Giles Romanization.

 

[CorinaMarie 29,608]

3 hours ago, APSMS said:

I've been using Firefox, and maybe my version has some stuff done to it via addons, but the font that I'm seeing is still the same.

I'm also using FF and mine automatically shows the new font version in these posts. I noticed that my rank (Squadron Leader), number of posts, and my location are still the old version. Note: I saw it that way in the 52.whatever it was before the FF update this morning. And now it's still showing the same for both fonts in 53.0.

 

3 hours ago, APSMS said:

As a total aside, I notice that my ISP has enabled IPv6; it doesn't seem to be working, but this is the first ISP I've had that has had this functionality in even a rudimentary form! So, hopefully it gets fleshed out in the coming weeks.

There's a handy little test you can run to see how IPv6 ready you are.

[Cyclone Boom 16,884]

The puzzling thing about this change is there's no apparent news or anything referring to the release of a version 16. Or if there is, Google's non the wiser. A search for "Roboto v15" brings almost 20,000 hits, while "Roboto v16" less than 100. And guess what's currently top of the list...    (This thread)

There is also very little reference to any of the supposed older versions. For it to accumulate the majority of results, this suggests that v15 has been the stable and most common edition used around the interwebs for quite a while. Interestingly to note that by changing the version number in the URL, it's possible to access all those back to v12. None of the others are still hosted in that form at least.

Checking back through my archives, Roboto was first introduced as our site font in June 2015 (coinciding with the debut of IPS 4.0), and the font remained as v15 until this week. So it seems rather peculiar to go at least 2 years without modification, and then all of a sudden someone force feeds this update without making any of the Five Ws known. An official entity must've authorised the release, though I find it hard to believe we're the only site who's so far experienced and is discussing the change.

With there being a difference on mobile and some text, I believe this is actually an illusion:

On devices with smaller resolutions, the site uses a 13px font as I've formatted this sentence. This is one increment smaller than the default 14px on the main desktop view.

But viewing them side by side, the smaller size does seem quite a lot smaller.

Checking the page styles, the same also applies with text fields including the user titles and location. Since the new font has basically raised the characters (as per my gif preview), it gives the impression of a larger size when the area is in fact identical.

Anyway, if the general consensus is we're satisfied with the new font, I'm more than happy for it to remain.

Should we stick with it, I'm sure it'll quickly become increasingly familiar with those who aren't yet in favour (for one, it's already growing on me).

[nos.17 5,120]

When looking at your profile, didn't there used to be a button allowing us to drag and reposition our cover photo? I could be hallucinating, but I no longer see such an option.
 

[_Michael 2,681]

@nos.17You are correct - this option has now gone for some reason. There isn't even a reposition function when you upload a new image.

I'll probe the rest of the Staff team and get back to you.  

[Cyclone Boom 16,884]

@nos.17

OK, checking the HTML of the dropdown menu, I immediately notice this:

<ul>
	<li class="ipsMenu_item ipsHide" data-role="photoEditOption">
		<a data-action="positionCoverPhoto" href="#">Reposition Photo</a>
	</li>
</ul>

 

Removing the ipsHide in Inspect Element makes the menu item show again (though not functional):

 

We did have a minor site update yesterday which must've unintentionally borked this (as they usually do with something).

Looking into it...

[_Michael 2,681]

@Cyclone Boom @nos.17

This minor site update yesterday does directly mention profile images and though not directly related, I'd say that this security update, highly likely has changed something in this area.

Spoiler

Quote

IPS Community Suite 4.1.19.3

Released 05/03/2017

This is a security release and we recommend all clients upgrade as soon as possible.

---

Key Changes

Fixes a security issue related to importing profile photos from URL.

https://invisionpower.com/release-notes/

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Handyman 765]

Has anybody else noticed that the sign on page is not secured?

[_Michael 2,681]

5 hours ago, Handyman said:

Has anybody else noticed that the sign on page is not secured?

ST is a HTTP site, and thus doesn't need a security certificate (which is what the sign is referring to) - that's only HTTPS sites, like your online banking for instance. That's one of the reasons that we use PayPal for payments, since if we used an on-site method, that would require a HTTPS certificate.

Basically, what I'm saying is this is normal; there's nothing wrong; but ST is safe  

[Cyclone Boom 16,884]

On 03/05/2017 at 7:04 PM, nos.17 said:

When looking at your profile, didn't there used to be a button allowing us to drag and reposition our cover photo? I could be hallucinating, but I no longer see such an option.

This should now be fixed and from a quick test, seems to be working as intended at this end.

Can anyone confirm?

 

8 hours ago, Handyman said:

Has anybody else noticed that the sign on page is not secured?

Yes as @_Michael explained, Simtropolis currently doesn't use HTTPS to serve user logins or any site pages. This means data sent and received is unencrypted and could potentially be intercepted by a third party. Potentially being emphasised here, as what may be possible doesn't always mean it's likely. Given ST doesn't process financial transactions or personal info (apart from logins), and most submitted content is publicly visible, this is in theory less of a concern.

However, that isn't to say SSL won't be implemented here at some stage in the not too distant future. There are advantages of doing so, and many websites are moving towards implementing this layer of security. Soon enough it will become standard or even a prerequisite. Then with technology constantly developing and being refined, something else will come along as the next 'solution', and so on.

Following the trend...

Some browsers including Firefox and Chrome recently introduced warnings shown on login pages which aren't secured (for example). Personally I've disabled this (on FF), as I don't need my browser stating the obvious. The risks are nothing new, and it's more about spreading awareness, and persuading sites to upgrade.

Because who said HTTP was ever secure?  And equally...

Quote

"The only truly secure system is one that is powered off, cast in a block of concrete and sealed in a lead-lined room with armed guards - and even then I have my doubts."
~Eugene H. Spafford

 

[nos.17 5,120]

1 hour ago, Cyclone Boom said:

This should now be fixed and from a quick test, seems to be working as intended at this end.

Can anyone confirm?

 

All is well for me. Many thanks for the intervention! 

[Handyman 765]

I only brought it up because I don't recall getting the warnings previously. I'm not really concerned in this particular situation because of the reasons stated above. However I have been on a mission to get family and friends to pay attention to these warnings. I believe it is a good tool, along with knowledge and common sense and would never suggest that you "turn it off".

[SecretMbr_735754 2,157]

The competition is fierce.  Evidently Simtropolis has been infiltrated and hacked by psychological operatives attempting to dissuade normal human social behaviors in order to determine the popularity of their totalitarian dictators bent on world domination for the sake of enslavement of humanity to an alien civilization.

[CorinaMarie 29,608]

Quote

You are not allowed to give reputation to this user.

I believe I've seen this when the site was lagging. I clicked the Like Button and nothing happened so I clicked again. When the site caught its breath it then saw it as me trying to Like a post twice (rather than registering as Like and Unlike).