Login problems

June 11, 2007 12:57 AM

When I tried to login to AskMe from University today, I was logged in as normal and pushed to the Metafilter front page. Whenever I tried to get back to AskMe I would be logged out again. Was this a short term bug or an anti-University design feature? Can we be directed to the page we are trying to login from?
posted by vizsla to feature requests at 12:57 AM (10 comments total)

When I log in from uni, someone else appears to be logged in, but only on AskMe.

Craaaaazy!

I was going to be wacky and post a thread about it but apparently it has happened before, so isn't that a flaw in the system? I didn't try but didn't that mean I could have posted as him/her? My GOD, the power, the POWER!

I am drunk off the POWAH!
posted by liquorice at 1:09 AM on June 11, 2007

Caching? Try holding CTRL and hitting refresh/F5 (or something equivalent on MacOS) -- maybe you're getting a slightly old version of the AskMe front page.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 1:16 AM on June 11, 2007

This occasionally happens to me too behind a corporate firewall. Its fairly obvious to me since I have the white background as my setting and when this happens I get the Green screen. I'm guessing the proxy server is sending you a cached copy that somebody else requested.

If so, you wont be able to do anything as the other person. And a refresh will take care of the problem usually.
posted by vacapinta at 1:47 AM on June 11, 2007

metafilter can't bake a decent cookie.
posted by quonsar at 4:01 AM on June 11, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

When you are behind a transparent caching proxy, sometimes you will see pages as other users behind the proxy see them, i.e. including their customizations. The HTTP headers are supposed to prevent this, but it happens. You aren't actually logged in as them, and you wouldn't be able to post as them, it's just that your corporate/campus caching proxy is being stupid and giving both of you the same copy of the page instead of requesting a different one for both of you.

As to the login problem, that's probably unrelated. Just clear cookies from *.metafilter.com and try again.
posted by Rhomboid at 4:33 AM on June 11, 2007

mathowie is an autodidact, who built anti-university filters into MeFi to eschew the foolish brain-trust that hold a vice-grip on the futures of young adults.
posted by potch at 10:29 AM on June 11, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

OT to vizsla: Disappointed that your profile lacks all clues. Our Vizsla was one of the few dogs that would talk. Are you Hungarian? Do you have short rust-colored hair? Or are you the happy owner of an excellent dog?
posted by Cranberry at 1:05 PM on June 11, 2007

I had the exact same thing happen to me, but only once, at an internet cafe in London. I was going to report it as a bug but I was on vacation and only had a few minutes left on my card.

Yes, I'm selfish with my time.
posted by dhammond at 2:00 PM on June 11, 2007

Metafilter: I baked you a cookie, but I eated it.
posted by BrotherCaine at 11:38 PM on June 11, 2007

Cranberry: "OT to vizsla: Disappointed that your profile lacks all clues. Our Vizsla was one of the few dogs that would talk. Are you Hungarian? Do you have short rust-colored hair? Or are you the happy owner of an excellent dog?"

Sorry I've been Universitying. Im the owner of the most fantastically loving, human-like breed of dog in the world of course!
posted by vizsla at 12:47 AM on June 13, 2007