I can't seem to logout of MeFi using the logout button

June 22, 2001 8:50 AM

I can't seem to logout of MeFi using the logout button. The only way seems to be for me to manually delete the cookie. If I don't, then the next time I enter MeFi, or if I refresh the page, I remain logged in.

I am currently using a pretty crappy old shared PC running MSIE 5.01 and Win95. Could this be my problem?
posted by davehat to Bugs at 8:50 AM (14 comments total)

Just to add a little more detail, If I refresh this page:

http://www.metafilter.com/index.cfm?delcookie=yes

It doesn't show me as being logged in.

If I refresh this one:

http://www.metafilter.com/

It does.

I also got this error a couple of times while refreshing the logged out page. It went a little something like this:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Error Occurred While Processing Request
Error Diagnostic Information

An error occurred while evaluating the expression:


weblog.totnewComments NEQ 0



Error near line 362, column 65.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Error resolving parameter WEBLOG.TOTNEWCOMMENTS


The column TOTNEWCOMMENTS is not present in the query named WEBLOG. It is likely that you have misspelled the name of the column.



The error occurred while processing an element with a general identifier of (CFIF), occupying document position (362:38) to (362:71).


Date/Time: 06/22/01 07:35:28
Browser: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.01; Windows 95)
Remote Address: 210.50.68.192
HTTP Referer: http://www.metafilter.com/
Query String: delcookie=yes

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The error suggested I mention it to someone who knows what it was talking about.......!
posted by davehat at 8:58 AM on June 22, 2001

Same thing happens to me.
posted by waxpancake at 9:50 AM on June 22, 2001

Oh, yeah. IE 5.5/Windows 98.
posted by waxpancake at 9:50 AM on June 22, 2001

WHAT!? Why would you ever need to log out?

You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave...
posted by fooljay at 12:37 PM on June 22, 2001

Fooljay: I like your reasoning reflexes!
posted by ParisParamus at 7:36 PM on June 22, 2001

OK, the reason I want to logout, and the reason for this post is that I travel a lot. I have at times used about 10 - 20 different PCs in a month to access MeFi (basically, whenever I get near a computer).

If I logout and get the 'confirmed' logout screen, until now I had assumed that that was the end of it. Now that I am using the same shared PC repeatedly, I have become aware of that this is not always the case.

For this reason, I am concerned, retrospectively, that if anyone were to go to MetaFilter and read the pages on any of the numerous PCs I've used, they would have the ability to post in my name.

This place is (deservedly) getting more and more popular and I'm worried it may occur in the future.

The importance to me is great. Within this community and any other online one, I can, in the initial, only be known by my posts (or not known, since I is still a little bit new). If someone else were to use my login and post something, then I am compromised, no matter what it is that is posted.

So, back to the problem, is it me or MeFi?

Waxpancake also has the problem, so at the moment, I am still worried.
posted by davehat at 10:25 PM on June 22, 2001

Using :
Windows 98 IE 5.5
Windows NT 4.0 IE 5.5
Windows 2K IE 5.5

None of them let me remain logged out.

However the cookies are stored in my profile which is soley available to my workstation signon so other's wouldn't be able to post as me.

If others were to login and use to my workstations with my workstation login they wouild be able to post as me.

But they can't logon as me.
posted by DBAPaul at 11:32 AM on June 23, 2001

You know, Dave, this explains a lot. . .
posted by rodii at 6:11 PM on June 23, 2001

roddi: Ok, kind of set myself up for that one. Every stoopid comment and link is utterly my responsibility......so far.

DBAPaul: I should have been clearer. I am in a hotel, using a computer that they kindly provide for guests. There is a single login to the computer. That means the cookies are stored in a common profile.

Problem remains. I should say, its not really a bother for now, I just delete the cookie after I leave the computer. Its just a piece of mind thing for all the other times I logged in in the far flung backwaters of the world......
posted by davehat at 9:38 PM on June 23, 2001

From what I can tell, logging out merely turns the MeFi login cookie into a session cookie. You have to actually quit the browser for the cookie to go away.
posted by kindall at 10:03 AM on June 24, 2001

kindall,
quiting the browser does no good.
rebooting also does no good. I really don't care but it is curious.
posted by DBAPaul at 11:17 AM on June 24, 2001

Dave--I was kidding. But I kind of like the idea of a composite MeFi personality made up of whatever comments were posted by whoever happened to be using a certain computer.
posted by rodii at 5:22 PM on June 24, 2001

We already have some of those I think.
posted by fooljay at 3:29 PM on June 25, 2001

Fooljay: I know, that's one of the reasons I'm worried. I have to say, one of the first posts I ever read on MeFi was one of those that RightWinger trolled. It was nearly the last time I ever read metafilter till I noticed the outcry he caused among others here.

Anyway, back to my logout travails......

I seem to be able to logout of metafilter perfectly well now.

Unless I login here.

If I login to metatalk, I automatically get logged in to metafilter (but not vice versa as far as I've noticed).

I then can't logout of metatalk, and thus cannot logout of metafilter.

Not that I'm bothered, of course, just thought someone might be interested.
posted by davehat at 2:25 AM on June 26, 2001