Curiosity of Forum Not Coming Up

[Josette]

I had my computer "in the shop" for a week.  I went to the library to keep up with e-mail and regular things like this.  The first day, I think I was at what I'll call Branch 1 - I got to the forum, remembered my password, and all was well.

The next several times I was at Branch 2 - I'd get to the page that says "Dark Shadows Forums is back online."  I'd click the link to the forum and it was blank - the url was up in the address block, but I could get nothing but a white page.

The final time I was at Branch 1, tried again, and the forum came up.  It doesn't make any sense that it wouldn't appear at the other one.

[patrickm]

For what it's worth, the Orange County public library system blocks the Dark Shadows forum. Their anti virus software program  has flagged the site as being dangerous ( I forget the exact language but sent MB a PM about it when it first started a couple years ago and it is still blocked). All that will come up is what you get - the page saying Forums is back and the next page comes up blank. So I am guessing when you took your puter in the shop, a similar anti virus program was installed that is blocking the site.

[Bob_the_Bartender]

Patrickm,

The Dark Shadows Forums is also blocked by my library for that same reason.  DSF first got blocked about two years ago.  Before that, I could always log onto this site without any problem at the library. 

I'm glad that I can log on to the DSF from home okay.

Bob

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Yes, there definitely seems to be issues at some libraries. Quite obviously the forum isn't dangerous. But a possibility that it's being flagged as such because there are some security measures that are written up in one of the forum's scripts and they're encoded so that if people see them, they can't bypass them. When certain antivirus programs come across them, they have no idea what the code does because apparently not even an antivirus program can understand the way the codes are encoded so it flags those codes as potentially malicious even though they're far from it. And the really funny thing is that it was actually Microsoft itself that developed the encoding back in the early days of this forum, so Windows antivirus programs apparently aren't capable of recognizing that something has been encoded with something that Microsoft itself developed. But then, why should that surprise us? 

[patrickm]

The funny thing is the adjacent Seminole county library system uses similar software but it works there. They just don't have a reciprocal agreement with Orange and it costs $1/hour for non county residents.

The library also uses an aggressive site blocker to prevent "inappropriate content" ...lol. I thought that was the reason at first and tried to convince the head it person there was no nudity or adult content. She seemed satisfied but the opening page commentary about the site being back up and not surprised about what you might find seemed to convince her the site did have problems and she wouldn't override the software warnings. Nothing more I could do.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Apparently some people just don't get that joke!    But then, if they weren't around for the Which Witch sWitch Weeks, or the Nude Weekend, or The Zen and the Art of Macrame sex site, I suppose they wouldn't. Those are the things referred to when it says "don't be surprised about what you might find." 

Those were the good ole days on the forum! I only wish I had the free time to do something similar nowadays...

[Josette]

Patrick, it's not my computer - that comes here just fine!

Even if that's the explanation for the library, these are 2 branches of the same system.  They have what they call eiNetwork and the catalog is on it, etc.  I'm sure it's one system for all of the branches, so I don't see how it would work at one and not the other.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I  know nothing about eiNetwork. But from what little I could discern on Google, it seems to be something that maintains the catalogs that libraries offer and it allows people to withdraw books, DVDs, cds, ebooks, etc. with virtual library cards. That way you can get access to what the catalogs contain ever if the actual physical library building stocking what you want isn't even anywhere in your actual area of the country. I see where ieNetwork operates on the Internet - but unless I'm wrong, I don't see where it controls anything having to do with the general Internet, meaning anything that doesn't have to do with the catalogs of material the libraries are offering. So I don't think ieNetworks would have anything to do with allowing or restricting access to sites on the Internet. At least nothing like that came up in what I just read about ieNetworks...

[Josette]

Well, even if eiNetwork is just for the catalog, I'm sure all the branches must be connected on one network.  I supposed it's possible that each one has it's own connection.  I'll have to ask some day.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

They may also have their own antivirus set ups. But if they all share the same antivirus set up on the network, then it makes absolutely no sense why one library on the network would allow access to the forum and another wouldn't. But then, we've often joked that the forum is haunted, so maybe that is actually the explanation. 

[dom]

Maybe it's because The Forums are not secured?

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I don't really think so. The vast majority of sites we visit aren't secure because there's no need for them to be. Sites where visitors share private info like social security numbers, bank account numbers, and credit card numbers need to be secure - but the forum doesn't deal with any of that sort of info...

[patrickm]

I think you are right MB..the library catalog is unrelated to denied access to the forum. Our library has a lotta stuff put on. A software program for internet reservations, a software program for printing, anti virus program and program for blocking inappropriate sites. That's not even counting the other stuff like word/excel and a couple different internet browsers plus other things I never looked at. In josettes library case, it may depend on where the server is. Our library's server is at the downtown location and all the branches tie into it. When the main server goes down, all the branches go down - which does happen. Perhaps each of her branches has it's own server. I guess it depends how large her library system is. It just seems kooky that the poor DS forum gets blocked in places and so much other stuff goes thru.

[Uncle Roger]

I remember being in Disney World a few years ago and they offered free internet in the Innoventions pavilion at Epcot. I thought that would be a great place to check into the forum and a few other things. But I was blocked from the forum by a Disney filter regarding possible offensive content. I doubt that they reviewed specific sites but I guess certain words or pictures would trigger the block.

[Josette]

I got a new monitor today.  Since this forum has been so dark for me and the view was so much better at the library (a main reason for deciding to get it), I thought we should try this to see how it looked in the new monitor.  It wouldn't come up for him.  There was a message that the forum doesn't work in frames.  There was a link to open in a new window, but that didn't work either.

Meanwhile, if you'll recall, at one point I commented on how much lighter the forum seemed, but then it still remained dark afterwards.  WHAT A DIFFERENCE now!!!!