Error Trying to Report Error

So I guess I now have 2 issues to report. I'll report them in reverse order:

1st error: I was trying to use the Contact Us link to report an error. When I clicked Send after typing up my message, I got a cryptic error message about a SQL Syntax error. See attachment. Of course, I was not actually typing SQL commands.

2nd error: I was trying to use the Contact Us link to report a problem on the page that shows thread I've started. The function which usually allows me to limit my threads list to just those from a specified forum would not work. When I would choose a forum and click Submit, it would just go back to the default Show All Forums without performing the requested task. Just fyi, out of curiosity I then tried the page for threads I'm Watching, which has a similar function. That page worked fine, allowing me to choose to see only threads from a specified forum.

I just tested the contact us link and it worked without a hitch. I will have them take a look at your "favorite forums" issue.

Terry,

Did you see the screen shot I attached above showing the error message I got when I tried to use the Contact Us link to report the problem? The only reason I came to this forum to report the problems is that the Contact Us link failed. I was able to type my message in on the page, but when I tried to send it, I got that error message. I did use single quotes in my message (on Contact Us page). I'm wondering if that may have somehow caused the SQL error msg. I saw something elsewhere where you had mentioned a glitch of some kind with the single quote.

The other problem occurred on the page for threads I STARTED not my "favorite forums". I've attached a screen shot showing the page in question. See the selection box that says "Show All Forums". When I try to change that to choose a specific forum, it doesn't work. I just tried it again, and I still get the same problem. It just keeps going back to "Show All Forums".

That happens ALOT and not just to her or in the "contact us" page. I've noticed things are different in many areas. Here's my screenshot too. -
Will

Thanks, Will,

Your screenshot looks very much like mine. I definitely see a pattern here.

I'm seeing a number of strange anomalies across the site today. Looks like maybe someone checked in changes/upgrades that have had unanticipated consequences across the site.

A short while ago I found that the daily poll is not registering votes. Then while typing a post a few minutes ago, I noticed that when I clicked "Preview" the system actually inserted control codes into what I had typed - NOT into the preview pane but into the box where I had typed my post. It changed all of the single quotes into control codes of some kind. The resultant post was not adversely effected, but the behavior was certainly a bit strange. At the very least it could make it difficult to do further editing of the altered text. I kept a screenshot if anyone wants to see it.

Come to think of it, I haven't even been getting an edit box.....

We are working on the single quote marks (they've been working on the problem most of the day.) We *think* we've got the majority of the problem resolved, although you may still encounter some oddities here and there. Please try the contact us link again and see if your report goes through (I tested it earlier and it worked fine.)

Terry,

I haven't had time to retry the Contact Us link again yet, but I will do so and will let you know the result. As a developer, I can tell you that just because a problem doesn't show up every time, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. There is most definitely a problem with that link though, or, at least, there was one yesterday. Not only did it fail for Will and for me, but someone on a thread (where I was lurking) just posted a message describing the very same problem, same results when trying to use the Contact Us link - and that was in a thread in the Australian Forum. I just ran across that post by sheer accident. And who knows how many other people have also experienced the same problem - after all, once they go through the process of typing up a message on the Contact Us page once and having it blown away, many people probably won't bother to try again.

I think I mentioned this before, but I used the single quote several times in the message I typed on the Contact Us page and am wondering if that may have had something to do with the error I got. I'm going to try to send some Test messages via the Contact Us link now to see what happens.

Terry,

I tried the Contact Us link twice just a few minutes ago. I labelled both messages TESTing and typed a lot of B.S. (so hopefully you guys won't try to read them as real messages). I tried to use as much of the same punctuation and such as I could recall from the message that failed yesterday. Anyhow, both messages went through fine. Just fyi, I sent one as a General Comment and the other as a Bug Report, the latter because that's how I sent the message yesterday that failed.

SUCCESS! Ehm, I mean failure! I managed to get that sneaky error to reoccur.

The message that failed the other day had a single quote in the title (Can't Use Feature To Limit My Thread List By Forum). That is what caused it to fail. I've retested it twice now using that same title, and it failed both times. As I mentioned earlier, 'Preview' is inserting control codes into the text, essentially replacing all single quotes with a control code. I'm guessing that is something the developers did to fix or circumvent the problem with single quotes. However, that fix does not extend to titles, and therein lies the problem.

I repeated the test several times using the same title, and it failed every time. (screen shots available upon request). I then tested it using a different title with a different contraction, and that also failed. In every case it failed when there was a single quote in the title. After that, I read (but did not test) Will's screenshot. His earlier message apparently also failed due to a single quote (the word I've), although that error was apparently in the body of the message. I think they have circumvented that type of error now by inserting the control codes into the text. They just need to do something now to fix or trap for single quotes in titles.

You can send my testing/debug fee to my Paypal account. ;-)

Perfect - thank you so much for the report! (I'll see about the PayPal thing :-)

You are very welcome. Happy to help.

And you are very welcome too, DOS, I also am happy to help you. : )