Technology... my ---- !!

[Torchiarolan]

Hi all and sundry.
Can anyone please tell me why it is that roughly 5 times out of 6 when I put in my username and password, to access the forums, I get "Thank you for logging in Torchiarolan" followed by the usual "click here if you are not automatically re-directed message"
Then, instead of "logging me in", - it brings up a screen that tells me I am "not logged in" and invites me to do so, telling me what I cant do if I dont "log in" and possible reasons why i couldnt log in ( none of which are that me details are incorrect) This could repeat itself anything from 2 or 3 "log in" attempts up to anywhere near 15 or 16 !! before a) ir either does "log me in" or b) I get P'eed off and try later.
Even if I am in the midst of reading posts, when I click on the next page it might suddenly tell me I am not logged in any more.
For example in the circulo or playpen, I could just now read the posts up to page 8 but when I click on page 9 it wont open it but tells me to "log-in"
This seems to be a recurring problem, and even if I was paranoid, I dont think that I could have earned enough animosity yet for the Admin to have started playing games with me yet ( joking !! )... my computer is virus free and only a year old, so can only assume it is something with the sites software... yes..yes... it must be the "clock syndrome" I have read so much about that is timing me out !! Any more likely sensible suggestions or explanations would be appreciated.
Oh yes, sometimes when I go to post... guess what...it wont let me do that either ( as I am not "logged in " even though I have to be "logged in" to actually be in the playpen for example)
Now what i do is "copy" my post so that if this happens, it is not lost, but when I do get in I just "paste" it and try again.... please any religious types - dont tell me that God is an estate agent in Italy who is punishing me !!
Thanks and Ciao

[janie]

Hi Torchiarolan.

It could be something to do with the 'remember me' option when you log in. If you check this box when logging in, you should stay logged in until you log out.

If you don't check the box then you will automatically be logged out after a few minutes. I don't know whether this will make any difference to the number of times you try logging in before your user name/password is accpeted though.

[Relaxed]

It might be something to do with the dreaded cookies, and these might be affected by a particular security setting in your browser. Usually, if I get logged out while composing a message, at least the site has the good grace not to lose it all!

[ronald]

janie and Relaxed are right - might be worth checking your own security settings on your browser. The whole idea of the software logging you out is to prevent other people using your account when you are not at your computer. However, if you are the only user of the computer then that is hardly the risk so click on "Remember me" next to the Pass and Login at the top and you should be ok.

[Carole B]

When I last needed to log in (some time ago) I 'ticked' the Remember Me box and now I never log out. When I've finished 'playing' I just return to the forum index and then click on the next site/procedure that I want to visit. Italy Mag is saved as a Bookmark in my 'Forums File' and when I want to play I just click on that and I'm already 'Logged In'.... If you are ever Banned from any site though that ban does cancel your automatic 'log in'. Happened to me once - after just 2 posts I was chucked out as 'Persona non grata' - so if that happens to us here then I presume the same cancellation system would apply.

[Torchiarolan]

Originally Posted by ronald

janie and Relaxed are right - might be worth checking your own security settings on your browser. The whole idea of the software logging you out is to prevent other people using your account when you are not at your computer. However, if you are the only user of the computer then that is hardly the risk so click on "Remember me" next to the Pass and Login at the top and you should be ok.

Thanks for the replies guys, but it can take me many attempts just to "log-in" originally, sometimes when I try, I dont click "remember me" and just for variety sometimes I do... but it still usually just states "Thanks for logging in Torchiarola etc " and then redirects me to the log in page where I have to put my passowrd username etc in again... then it just loops to page above.
can do this many times before success is achieved.
As Carole mentioned, sometimes ( like now) I click on the link in the email notification and get straight in logged in already.
In the circolo ! was able before bed last night to open pages 1-8 inclusive, and page 10, every time clicked on page 9 it told me to log-in instead.
Other times everything is fine, i am shuffling through the forum, go to click "reply" and it tells me to "log in"... if I click the "back button, I am back in the forum and sometimes can keep reading the pages, on other occasions I would need to "log in" again.
You can basically say I am only one who uses the computer, OH justs reads my emails, and browses the web and forums without posting, so she has no settings or passwords on this one ... she has her own yahoo email but prefers to just use mine ... I dont think she would even remember her own email address at this stage, and when it comes to techie stuff and she freely admits that she sits further from the blackboard than I do.
Will have a rummage through my browser and see can I glimse a gremlin in there, and thanks for the replies once again.
Ciao

[Relaxed]

Also check your options on this site. Some time ago I had an insurmountable problem with long threads, which I liked to see in threaded view. If you have that set up, try changing it and see if it works better.

[ronald]

Hi,

do you know what browser are you using. At times Explorer (which is the default browser) can have funny settings. I would suggest a browser called Firefox (its free just Google it, download and install). Websites will load faster and you should have fewer problems - also its settings are easier to understand.

Anyway - let me know how it goes as it is always interesting to keep track of how the forums behave on different people's computers.

[Torchiarolan]

Originally Posted by ronald

Hi,

do you know what browser are you using. At times Explorer (which is the default browser) can have funny settings. I would suggest a browser called Firefox (its free just Google it, download and install). Websites will load faster and you should have fewer problems - also its settings are easier to understand.

Anyway - let me know how it goes as it is always interesting to keep track of how the forums behave on different people's computers.

OK,
Have taken the advice and downloaded Firefox and set it as default...worked fine this time, but will post again in a couple days to tell if it is a permanent improvement in browsing.
I went this route because I don't really want to play with the Options too much because with my techie knowledge I might cause more issues than I solve.
Thanks again to all.

[Torchiarolan]

OK, thanks Ronald.
said I would wait a couple of days to see how it went, but after taking your advice and downloading Firefox, and then setting it as default instead of Windows Explorer, I have not had a problem since, and it logs me in automatically if I click the link in the email advised of a new posting.
So cheers for eliminating the frustration of using and posting on IMF.
Ciao