Comment button not working

BeachBill · March 22, 2009

In trying to add a comment to this image
http://gallery.primarycolors.com/gallery/7516901_aYCSn#485411302_ssZaG

The comment button is not working for me--it does nothing. If I click the add comment button multiple times, I see the following flashing really quickly in the status bar in Firefox:

Connecting to static.ak.connect.facebook.com

Andy · March 22, 2009

I was able to leave a comment

http://gallery.primarycolors.com/gallery/7516901_aYCSn#485411302_ssZaG

can you clear cache, close reopen and try?
what about a 2nd browser?

BeachBill · March 22, 2009

Thanks Andy, I see your comment.

Here is what I tried today, using a few different browsers (all on Windows XP).

Safari, version 3.2.1 (525.27.1)
Empty cache, shut down and restart Safari, click on Add Comment button--nothing happens

Firefox, vesion 3.0.7
Cleared private data, including cache. Shut down and restart Firefox, click on Add Comment button--see the "connecting to static.ak.connect.facebook.com" flash in the status bar.

Internet Explorer, version 6.0.2900.2180
Delete all temporary Internet files. Shut down and start IE, click on Add Comment button--I see the button text moving up and down, but nothing else happens. Looking in the status bar, I "Error on page". Double click on the status bar and the following displays:

I went through the process a second time in IE and the "error on page" does not show up until I click on the "Add Comment" button.

When I view the source of the page, line 361 is as follows:

FB.init("7528d1bb7f7a685bc080054d9bc154d2", "/services/fbconnect/xd_receiver.htm");

I also noticed that line 359 references the "static.ak.connect.facebook.com" that I was seeing in Firefox:

YAHOO.util.Get.script('http://static.ak.connect.facebook.com/js/api_lib/v0.4/FeatureLoader.js.php', {

I'm not sure what this logic is doing and I haven't modified my customizations in a long time.

Andy · March 22, 2009

Might be a bug with Facebook connect and custom domains. You have a forced custom domain javascript so I can't show you on http://primarycolors.smugmug.com that it works fine.

Checking into it.

BeachBill · March 22, 2009

Andy wrote:

Might be a bug with Facebook connect and custom domains. You have a forced custom domain javascript so I can't show you on http://primarycolors.smugmug.com that it works fine.

Checking into it.

I disabled the JS that forces my custom domain, then cleared the cache and tried again. Same issue with Firefox. (I didn't try the other browsers)

I just randomly tried a few other smugmug sites. On sites with no custom domain when I press the Add Comment button I see "Transferring data from static.ak.connect.facebook.com" in the status bar, which never goes away so I can't enter a comment.

On other sites with a custom domain (for example your moonriver site) I see the same exact thing as on my site. "Connecting... " quickly flashes in the status bar then nothing happens.

I'm not sure why it's trying to access the facebook.com site, but right now it's making it impossible for me to leave any comments on any smugmug site.

Andy · March 22, 2009

BeachBill wrote:

I'm not sure why it's trying to access the facebook.com site, but right now it's making it impossible for me to leave any comments on any smugmug site.

We added facebook connect a few weeks ago:
http://blogs.smugmug.com/release-notes/2009/02/28/improvements-and-bug-fixes-february-26-2009/

It's working for us.

But the custom - domain stuff is broken on this. We'll fix that.

BeachBill · March 23, 2009

Andy wrote:

We added facebook connect a few weeks ago:
http://blogs.smugmug.com/release-notes/2009/02/28/improvements-and-bug-fixes-february-26-2009/

I see the following in the above blog entry:

"We fixed some bugs with leaving comments through Facebook connect and made it a lot faster in the process."

I'm not sure what this Facebook connect is for, however It looks like you've got one more thing to check for. I would suggest checking to see if the Facebook connection is successful. If it is NOT successful, just fall through and display the comment box. Right now (based on what I'm seeing--I haven't looked at your code), if the Facebook connection is not successful it prevents the comment box from displaying.

Below is a detailed explanation of what I've found.....

Thanks to the help of some friends and my employer, I have narrowed the issue down. It is ISP specific.

Using the exact same computer with the three browsers I outlined above connected to my work's Internet connection, the comment box works perfectly fine. Without changing any settings or clearing any caches I can switch the same computer between my work's Internet connection and my home Internet connection and the problem only happens on my home connection. I'm using a DSL line from my local telephone company, Embarq (formerly known as Sprint).

I wonder if this static.ak.connect.facebook.com thing has a block list where they block certain ISPs from connecting to it.

If I try viewing http://static.ak.connect.facebook.com/js/api_lib/v0.4/FeatureLoader.js.php in my web browser, it comes up fine from work but from home I get a connection refused error.

This explains the javascript error I see in Internet Explorer on my home conenction. Firefox and Safari do some error trapping and do not attempt the FB.init when they cannot connect to static.ak.connect.facebook.com. IE on the other hand just continues on and tries the FB.init which results in an error.

I wonder how many other people are having problems with the comment system due to static.ak.connect.facebook.com not connecting. It's not really evident what is happening and regular Internet users viewing pictures won't know to come here are report it.

scotticus · March 23, 2009

Hey BeachBill. I'm sorry to hear you're having problems with the comment stuff. I'm going to do my best to get it fixed up for you... I had a quick question for you if you have a second: I see you say that Firefox and Safari do some error trapping, does that mean that the FaceBook Connect doesn't work in those browsers on your home computer, or do you simply not get the error you get in IE? I'm trying to figure out if it is an IE6 issue only.

Thanks!
Scott.

BeachBill wrote:

I see the following in the above blog entry:

"We fixed some bugs with leaving comments through Facebook connect and made it a lot faster in the process."

I'm not sure what this Facebook connect is for, however It looks like you've got one more thing to check for. I would suggest checking to see if the Facebook connection is successful. If it is NOT successful, just fall through and display the comment box. Right now (based on what I'm seeing--I haven't looked at your code), if the Facebook connection is not successful it prevents the comment box from displaying.

Below is a detailed explanation of what I've found.....

Thanks to the help of some friends and my employer, I have narrowed the issue down. It is ISP specific.

Using the exact same computer with the three browsers I outlined above connected to my work's Internet connection, the comment box works perfectly fine. Without changing any settings or clearing any caches I can switch the same computer between my work's Internet connection and my home Internet connection and the problem only happens on my home connection. I'm using a DSL line from my local telephone company, Embarq (formerly known as Sprint).

I wonder if this static.ak.connect.facebook.com thing has a block list where they block certain ISPs from connecting to it.

If I try viewing http://static.ak.connect.facebook.com/js/api_lib/v0.4/FeatureLoader.js.php in my web browser, it comes up fine from work but from home I get a connection refused error.

This explains the javascript error I see in Internet Explorer on my home conenction. Firefox and Safari do some error trapping and do not attempt the FB.init when they cannot connect to static.ak.connect.facebook.com. IE on the other hand just continues on and tries the FB.init which results in an error.

I wonder how many other people are having problems with the comment system due to static.ak.connect.facebook.com not connecting. It's not really evident what is happening and regular Internet users viewing pictures won't know to come here are report it.

BeachBill · March 23, 2009

scotticus wrote:

Hey BeachBill. I'm sorry to hear you're having problems with the comment stuff. I'm going to do my best to get it fixed up for you... I had a quick question for you if you have a second: I see you say that Firefox and Safari do some error trapping, does that mean that the FaceBook Connect doesn't work in those browsers on your home computer, or do you simply not get the error you get in IE? I'm trying to figure out if it is an IE6 issue only.

Neither Safari nor Firefox display any error messages like IE6 does. They both just give the appearance that nothing has happened when you press the Add Comment button.

I think the ultimate solution is to come up with some javascript that can bypass the facebook connect stuff if a facebook connection isn't successful and just fall straight through to the normal, old, tried and true comment logic so users can still leave comments.

Right now if a facebook connection isn't successful, the normal non-facebook commenting is broken.

Comment button not working

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