Site issues!

[sKePTiKal]

I couldn't log in at all yesterday. Tried Chrome & Firefox on my ipad. Didn't attempt from the PC laptop, which only runs Firefox now.

Oh, tried Safari too - the browsers all seem to be requiring SSL certificates from websites and won't display pages without them. Sigh... the certificate is what makes a webpage https:// instead of http://.

There is a light gray "Advanced" link, on the error page - which displays additional security info. At the very bottom, is a link "Proceed to unsafe site"... clicked that and finally got Doc G's homepage header to come up. Then I clicked "Forum Messages" and had to log in here again, with username & password.

Posting this for Doc G's webmaster and you all, if you're having trouble too.

[Hopalong]

Me too. Finally took to an incognito window, retyped voicelessness.com without the usual full-length message board address I'd bookmarked, and made it through to Dr. G's new home page, which has a link at the top to "Message Board."

I think it'd have helped if the webmaster had let us know beforehand that there'd be some site changes. I recall VESMB used to have an https address (meaning a security certificate). I'd be curious to know whether it will again?

Yikes, such an awful feeling when the Board briefly disappeared!

xo
Hops

[Hopalong]

I would like clarification about whether privacy and security have changed.
I'm kind of a Luddite and feel uncomfortable around a red-font NOT SECURE message.

Hops

[sKePTiKal]

The only security that would be affected by SSL, is if you're actually signing in every time and passing along financial info to the site - if you were actually buying something from the forum itself. Doesn't include links to amazon for Doc G's book... because your info is being input/accepted at amazon.com.

SSL does nothing to protect privacy here; as I understand it, guests can navigate to the forum and read all they want. But the browsers - chrome, etc - just aren't smart enough to know this isn't an ecommerce site... and so are attempting to warn people off... FOR THEIR OWN SAFETY.

Sigh.

I'm pretty tired of that kind of crap. I don't need something to tell me 4chan or 8chan is Dark Web "badness" (I don't go there, as it is.) And I don't believe this whole site has been spoofed. It's just a matter of renewing the SSL certificate... so the browsers play nice.

It's more a matter that all the major browser decided at the very same time, to not recognize plain vanilla http:// sites and are now requiring https://. There was probably some tiny little blurb published in some techie magazine and on some arcane part of the web that announced this... but of course, none of us pay any attention to that stuff. But I have seen this kind of thing happen before.

NOT TO WORRY. It's a back-end server detail. We're not being hacked.

[Dr. Richard Grossman]

Hi Amber and Hops,

Sorry—this was my fault.  After 20 years, I had to move my site, including the message board, to another hosting site and was told that it would not cause any problems or interruptions.  So, I didn’t warn anyone.  That has been the furthest thing from the case!  There have been many issues and many things had to be changed.  The current new address of the message board is forum.voicelessness.com.  I will let you know if this changes.  My new home page can be found at https://voicelessness.com.   (It is no longer www.voicelessness.com, and the message board is no longer www.voicelessness.com/disc3)  The message board can also be accessed from the home page.

Again, I’m sorry.  I am ignorant when it comes to the small details of web hosting!

Richard

[Hopalong]

No apology needed, Doc G!
But I will say that for me, typing in just 'www.voicelessness.com' does get me your new home page.

I am your comrade in confusion,
Hops

[Hopalong]

Oh wait. Just realized the URL has (since this morning, I think) been updated to https://voicelessness.com. Got it.

They've probably done an automatic redirect to the URL, said Hops as though she actually knows what she's talking about....

Hops

[sKePTiKal]

AH, thanks Dr. G! That's even simpler to understand & "remedy". Just need to update the bookmark. Now: who can get in touch with Lighter and let her know?

[Bettyanne]

Thank you Dr. G......I finally was able to get back on....Bettyanne

[lighter]

I figured the site was getting some work done.  Glad to see it back up, Doc!

Lighter

[Hopalong]

And, we're baaaaaaaaaaaack!

In case anybody wonders if I'm very dependent on the Board as a personal security blanket,
YES I AM! I noticed I feel verrrrry anxious when we "go dark."

Hello, y'all. I'm so happy to be typing here again.

Big love,
Hops

[lighter]

(((Hops)))

[Hopalong]

All good.
Gotta check my dependency, eh?

Hugs all,
Hops

[lighter]

I can't access board on my computer.  Only phone.  Anyone having trouble?
Lighter

[sKePTiKal]

Check the URL Lighter, on the computer. I'm in on the ipad, so that's mobile tech too.

WHEW... I can stop obsessively checking to see if we're back up now! LOL... I was just as bad as Hops. If anyone is comfortable sharing email addresses, in a PM, at least we can all keep in touch when these things happen -- it could even be a local internet outage between you and Boston that could cause not being able to log in, or a hundred other things.

More later; we've got 6 inches of snow and now the dreaded "wintry mix" before freezing rain is expected to coat everything in 1/4 inch of ice. I'm migrating out to the studio, where Hol is working on a magical, mystical lab coat for her sweetie... "embellishment" is an understatement... and I'm making some more permanent steps to finally "moving in".