Netscape problems

January 12, 2002 7:03 AM

Disappearing comments in Netscape 4.78: when I post a comment to MeFi, it doesn't appear until I force the page to reload. When I post a comment to MeTa, it disappears completely! Obviously, I'm posting this with a different browser.
posted by MrBaliHai to Bugs at 7:03 AM (11 comments total)

Yeah, I know I'll get flack for using Nyetscrape 4.78, but I have valid reasons (work-related) for not upgrading to 6.x or switching to a different browser product entirely. I also tried deleting my cookies. Btw, this started about a week ago.
posted by MrBaliHai at 7:05 AM on January 12, 2002

You need to change your browser setting for caching. The reason you're not seeing it is that your browser is loading from its cache. That is a local issue and not related to MeFi.
posted by Steven Den Beste at 9:11 AM on January 12, 2002

Actually, I'm not so sure it is, SDB. It just recently started happening to me, too. Well, I think I can post to MeTa (we'll see), but comments on MeFi don't show up until reload. I haven't changed my browser or its settings, but this just started happening.

I use K-Meleon.
posted by whatnotever at 9:33 AM on January 12, 2002

SDB: that was one of my first thoughts, but I hadn't changed my browser refresh settings since long before this started happening.
posted by MrBaliHai at 9:38 AM on January 12, 2002

Happens to me on IE6 too, though not always.
posted by Zootoon at 10:10 AM on January 12, 2002

I'm guessing this is a side-effect of the Google-repelling Last-Modified: header behavior.

I have on occasion seen the same behavior in K-Meleon, although more as an artifact of the Last-Modified: header's effect on the Squid caching proxy I hide behind.
Most browsers can be set to request the full page "Every time", rather than making If-Modified-Since: or HEAD requests. Netscape 4 numbers among them. Fiddle with your cache behavior a little.
posted by majick at 10:50 AM on January 12, 2002

I expect no pity for my browser of choice (4.7x), but it just started happening for me last week too.
posted by thirteen at 12:26 PM on January 12, 2002

Fiddle with your cache behavior a little.

None of the cache settings have any effect, unfortunately.
posted by MrBaliHai at 2:07 PM on January 12, 2002

None of the cache settings have any effect, unfortunately.

Argh, it sounds like you've been bit by the cache metadata bug. The next thing to try would be to find the directory which contains the cache itself, and delete everything in it. Pressing the "clear cache" button doesn't fix this.
posted by majick at 9:46 PM on January 12, 2002

majick: you were right, deleting all the cache files on disk fixed the problem. Thanks!
posted by MrBaliHai at 5:41 AM on January 13, 2002

Hurrah! Congratulations, then.
posted by majick at 8:49 AM on January 13, 2002