Troubles with posting on site

[bigjonesb]

I'm posting this for Duffy, who has given me permission to do so.

During our chat, Duffy stated that he has been having problems posting to the site in any degree starting a couple of weeks ago, be it starting a topic, replying to a toplc, or just sending a quick message to a fellow member, although occasionally, after several attempts, he's able to post, but often it fails to post. He attempted to post with multiple browser, so I believe it's not a browser issue. Each failed attempt brings up the following error message:

The following error was encountered while trying to retrieve the URL: http://www.bcfurries.com/forum/index.php?action=post2;start=0;board=3

   Connection to www.bcfurries.com failed.

The system returned: (101) Network is unreachable

The remote host or network may be down. Please try the request again.

Your cache administrator is webmaster.

---------
His internet provider: Skysurfer.
The specified address was just a test to get the error message to pop up

[Sasha]

The context "The system returned" leads me to believe a system (or local software) is speaking to bcfurries for him, a proxy, such as Squid comes to mind to cache or route content. It is hard to tell from that where the offending service is that is returning the message.

Has he changed the way he is connecting to the internet? Has he checked for low signal strength or contact his ISP or any leads on the condition of the service in his area (cannot hurt)? Is he running a local proxy to connect to the web (i.e. linux server+Squid)?

His ISP's technical support number: 1(855)SKY-SURF / 1(855)759-7873

[bigjonesb]

Well, I'm not 100% sure about the situation exactly, but he was saying that the issues were isolated to this site. Other sites seemed to be not having any issues, obviously though, we didn't test every single website. Also, if you do have anything else suddenly spring into mind, just post them here, he can read the post, he just can't post back without it being a hassle of some degree.

[Sasha]

What is apparent is that somewhere (his computer or the ISP) cannot connect to this server via a proxy (the error). If he is not connecting through a proxy, and was not instructed to by the ISP in order to be online, then it seems more possible his ISP is having the issue. It may be using the software to limit bandwidth or cache often used resources being a small ISP that it is.

If this specific website were to have that error, then it would not be displayed and you could not get it and see the error you were given.

This website does route its connections through Europe (why?), which may possibly be related in some vague way, for example if a reply is sent too slowly to the server, it may break its connection. Maybe join some far away foreign server and test? ISP call cannot hurt if they can give advice on how they run.

[bigjonesb]

Tiger, I want to thank you for your help, and although I can't officially speak for Duffy, I sure he appreciates the help too. As I'm not familiar with all the jargon that goes along with internet, I can't really say what the issue is. It doesn't me that I've never heard of his provider until now. So any help I could give now would just be throwing darts at a wall, hoping to hit a bull's eye solution

[Sasha]

It is hard to speculate when many issues can lead to the same symptoms, so knowing the jargon is only part of the battle. If you're not in front of the computer you are trying to diagnose, you are very limited  :-3  At least posting general problems online can give leads, if not solutions.

[bigjonesb]

Yeah, without sitting in front of the computer in question, it does have a tendency to compound the situation a little. I'm sure he'll eventually get it working (I hope). I just hate seeing anyone unable to take part in the conversations. That's why I posted it here, not only to see if I could find him some help, but also let the community he isn't ignoring them, he just can't respond easily if at all.

[Sasha]

I am happy to see you can relay his concerns.

In the mean time, any web proxy should be able to make the requests for you.

If you instruct him to go to proxy.org and choose a web proxy, he can enter bcfurries.com then log in through one of the websites. It will perform all external connections for him (in this case for bypassing connection problems, not anonymity) and he should be able to post to this website.

Some proxies are limited and do not allow login cookies or forums, many do and it may take some time to find one that allows you to log in. Popular ones make money by adverts and it would not be lucrative to steal information (such as login) nor would many proxy installations make it easy to do such things (people use default packages you can download for free or purchase). Some of the proxy websites may display inline ads, or ads on the front page of questionable nature, however if that is what it takes to run it, it is a valuable tool in these situations.

Of course accessing a web proxy within a business network or school is frowned upon or filtered. They are not illegal.

[Duffy]

Thanks for th advice tigerkindred, i'll try those things you mentioned, starting with contacting my isp. Although a bit sketchy cuz im in the furry closet and the isp owner is a friend. :P.  Ican obviously post using my phone, so its n ot likely a problem with my b c furries account.

[bigjonesb]

Hey, good to see you found some way to respond if you really wanted to, although I know a cell phone isn't exactly a good option, with data rate not being friendly and all

[Duffy]

testing

[bigjonesb]

Is it safe to assume you tested that from your computer?