What is going on with this site? I’m having to sign in every time I come onto Gatherings, what a pain!
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Yes!!! Me too. It really is a pain. I expect this is in preparation for the changes we've been told are coming.
Katina
I thought it was a problem with MY computer!!
I agree that it is annoying.
Lets all hope they read this and realise there is a "problem", hopefully they'll get it back the way it was soon. Are we just spoiled here or is this the "norm" online these days? I know it must be difficult to keep us safe from all the viruses and such so whatever they need to and can do, I'm sure they will do their best!
Hmmmmm - I don't have to. I thought it was my computer that remembered the passwords. I did have to sign in once last week, but had had a problem with Firefox just before.
Yahoo! I didn't have to sign in this time. I updated my Windows Live so maybe that was the problem? Guess I'll find out soon if it was at my end. Mary
I have found that requirement to re-sign in happens every month around the first and it is not just once, but several then it's OK again. If I haven't visited in a while then It makes me sign in again too. It is annoying and I am thankful I registered with an easy to type password.
In a previous post I stated this is the easiest forum I peruse. What is with the "sign in" every time I want to read posts? Does Threads keep a running tally of all participants? Will someone answer to us.
I'm having to sign in about once a day and yes it is a pain because I even have the remember me box checked. I don't understand the need to sign in AT ALL! What a pain, it isn't like we are discussing how to make terroristic items or the bringing down of the government. We are talking sewing! How to make a better seam, unless you all are talking in some kind of code that I haven't caught onto yet!
All the sewing sites that not only make you sign in, but then if you forget your password and ask for it to be sent to and they don't gets really annoying. I've run into this on other sites.
KISS=Keep It Simple Sweety!
Gail,
you had to go and mention the "t" word! now they will be all over us (just kidding) Yeah, we're going to turn our sewing machines into 'weapons of mass destruction' (we'll destroy all the fabric).I may just have to give up my addiction to this site. I thought it was a real problem when they wanted us to register with our email address (I use a fake one) - I don't give out my email addy unless absolutly necessary.
Judy
This has been happening to me also, even though I've been a member for years. My guess is that it's not a new policy but rathera glitch and that we should be contacting the webmaster.Edited to add that I just did this, using the "ask a question" feature that I found by hunting around:http://customerservice.taunton.com/taunton/_cs/QuestionAsk.aspx?sSessionID=72194198232ULWQLZKSKQOSTJWLNLBHHHGOLCOVBIt's more cumbersome than it ought to be, in that you have to fill out several pages of info, but at least it's possible. If enough of us do it, they might even respond.
Edited 9/24/2009 11:38 am by woodruff
I'm glad I'm not the only one with this sign-in problem. It will probably get fixed quicker. I even had to change my password to get in. Now thats a problem!
Earlier today I sent Taunton a message about this problem, and amazingly enough, they got right back to me! Here is the info I received, which I thought other members might find useful:
"Thank you for contacting Taunton Press Customer Service. I apologize for any inconvenience you've encountered trying access our website and/or forum. This login problem is one that we are aware of; we are in the process of moving our websites their contents to a new server and one of the unfortunate 'side effects' is that our users are temporarily required to login each session. We are hoping that this project will be completed soon the 'remember me' feature on our login will be working again."
Thanks for the update on the problem. Cathy
I have always had to sign in. Guess it is just my computer and the way it is set up. Just thougth it was normal.
Heather in Calgary
Thanks so much for researching this and letting us know what it going on. I am so happy to hear that it isn't something I need to "adjust" at my end! Mary
I just noticed that if I access the site on Internet Explorer it asks me to sign in but if I use Firefox it doesn't.
Interesting.
interesting. I just heard a few people say they got rid of explorer and switched to firefox. I have explorer
I've got both (for different sites.)
One great thing about Firefox is if you don't use Roboform or something like that it will remember all of your sign-ins.
This sign-in is starting to become an irritant!!! This used to be an important part of my web-viewing, but recently this site is the last one I read.
Complain on the 'contact us' page. It's the only way to let them know.
Yes, agreed. The last couple of days it tells me my password is invalid.
Katina
This sign-on problem happened on The Fine Cooking forum (Cook's Talk) more than a month ago. It lasted until just recently. I would imagine it is going to be several weeks before the problem is resolved here.
Now the problem is getting so bad that I have had to change my password - again - Life is complicated enough without having to remember the latest password for "Threads' sigh!
It should not be necessary to change your password. That is ridiculous. E-mail them using the 'contact us' feature.I often wonder why Threads has such a problem with this kind of thing. patternreview.com (the brainchild of a computer person) cleans up difficulties on their site within a day or two. In fact, no site I use regularly has EVER been so slow at changing a server or whatever Threads claims to be doing for lo, weeks on end now.It is precisely this clumsiness and lack of concern for subscribers that discourages me from buying the new DVD with all the issues of the magazine. What guarantee do I have that for $160 I'd be getting competently digitalized information that was actually readable or searchable?
You make a very good point - I'll wait and see what others have to say about it first.
Katina
Me too! Aaaaargh....
I run both safari and firefox. A few minutes ago, I accessed the site without a signin using safari. Just for the heck of it, I backed out and tried it with firefox--and had to sign in there.I suspect it depends more on what the webmaster has been doing at any given time than on what browser we are using.
All,
Okay, a voice from what may be the "lone techie" amongst our happy group. On a basic level: authentication is a good thing. At a time when identity theft is running rampant, it's crucial to have sound practices for user authentication. And for those of us desperate to control spam on our email accounts, this is another reason for to embrace authentication.
From WHATIS.com View Image - Authentication is the process of determining whether someone or something is, in fact, who or what it is declared to be. In private and public computer networks (including the Internet), authentication is commonly done through the use of logon user is authentic. Each user registers initially (or is registered by someone else), using an assigned or self-declared password. On each subsequent use, the user must know and use the previously declared password.
It's sort of like presenting a driver's license or a membership ID. I'd much rather them authenticate-- particularly when their server is having "issues"-- than to open the site wide for convenience and compromise the minimal safety measures imposed by the authentication process. In my view it's a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things. (Granted it can be a challenge when I can't remember anything, let alone my password and username).
Also, this time they are acknowledging it may be related to work on the server. It can also be related to maintenance on YOUR computer. If you have any routines where your cookies are purged, you will have to log in (thus creating a new cookie).
What I WOULD prefer they do is cross authenticate me on the Taunton's site/Gatherings site. So I can move back and forth with ease. Maybe this will come with the changes they are rolling out.
Good points. And since you are a techie, can you tell me why, if I don't log out, do I have to log back on repeatedly during the same day? It didn't used to be that way. Maybe there is an auto log-out after a certain amount of time? (No, that can't be because I didn't have to log on this time and I haven't been here for about 11 hours.)
Anyway, thanks for your thoughts.
I'm not sure since I don't know how Taunton has configured their systems. HOWEVER, many systems log you off due to inactivity for a couple of reasons (depending on how they are configured).... this is fairly standard and considered good resource management:
...... if you're logged in and not doing anything you may be churning limited resources that could be used for others trying to get on so the system may be used by others in which case it may be configured to log you out so it can let others gain access. This is particularly true if the site has experienced a significant increase in users and they are trying to manage resources.
...... if your session is during a time when their network needs to reset-- i.e. due to maintenance windows or to fix a problem, it may log out all active sessions and allow you to log back in once the issue is resolved. This may be an instant cycle or it may take a couple of hours if they are having to reconfigure the system.
Some systems are also configured to log you out after a set period of in activity as a safety precaution. For instance if you use your computer in the office, at home with kids or at a public WiFi spot and walk away from the computer, it helps prevent others from making mischief disguised as you (for instances: coworkers, children, precocious felines or others from walking by your unattended computer) and posting under your profile.
Hope this helps. The editorial staff may weigh in with specifics to Taunton's systems. These are just general ideas off the top of my head. I have no clue how their system operates.
Edited 10/24/2009 9:34 pm ET by CHL
Thank you for taking all this trouble for us. In my case, I'm asked to log in each time I access the site, and a row of asterisks appears once I enter my email address. When I click 'log in" I'm told the password is invalid. I then enter the password again - the same one - and it accepts me. It's a real pain!
Katina
I quite understand the need for security. But why do I have to key in BOTH my email address and my password (that I had to change because of this increased security) everytime that I try to log-in? This computer of mine is trained to automatically complete my email address after I have keyed in the first letter or two and I find it an awful bore to have to complete it every time now.Also, is it my imagination, or is there less activity on this forum since this additional security was introduced? personally I have not bothered continuing with trying to access the site when faced with this double whammy if I only have a few minutes to spare. I wonder do others have the same reaction too!
I definitely visit less often.
As I mentioned before, I have never had to sign with password each time - I use Firefox. I just signed in and noticed a box under the sign in section that said to check, if you want Threads to remember you and sign you in each time ..... and the box fills in automatically. I wonder if those of you who have to sign each time have not checked that box?
I've kept that box checked, and entering the site moments apart with firefox and then with safari, I've had to sign in even so. Very occasionally, the site has let me in without a sign-in at all (I've been a member for ages), but that is completely unpredictable.
Very aggravating. I do not check this forum as often as my others. And..... I assume this is the reason there is not the "spirited" discussions as were previously posted.
I have the same experience as Sancin.
Not your imagination at all. I'm staying away as it's really a nuisance to go through all that palaver repeatedly.
Katina
Its a shame really as I always enjoyed the lively discussions on this forum!
You're not the lone techie--I'm not that techie, but since I log into and out of multiple layers of security all day long--it didn't really bother me that much. I always log in and out of Gatherings with every visit. My home computer (Firefox) remembers my password, but my work one (Explorer) needs me to start to type in my email and then the password comes up. And since I can pull up any one of dozens of servers when I log on at work, there's no guarantee I don't have to type everything in.
Jane
Cook's Talk has the same problem. I don't even try to remember my password as it will need to be done anyway. It is really frustrating to have it automatically filled in and then not be accepted.
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