Computer-y things...

[byslantedlight]

So... is anyone else's lj doing odd things when they post, or is it just me? It's nothing dire, but it's bugging me - when I get so that the posting window has to scroll down, if I go up to change anything somewhere else the whole thing sort of jumps, and the cursor is flicked down to the end of the page so that I have to find my place again, and... just argh! Is that lj, or is it my lappie, for some reason? Although I think it happened on Work Computer too, which would suggest lj...

Comments

[snailbones.livejournal.com]

Not just you - something's not right, but I'm not sure what - it's sort of jumping around when I try to post comments, and entries seem to be there, then not, then back again - I thought I just needed stronger medication *g*

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Oh, I don't have entries going missing or anything (though a comment did, the other day)... That's something, then! Hopefully whatever they're going to do on Friday night (well, Saturday morning... *g*) will fix it...

[greengerbil.livejournal.com]

I haven't picked up on the problem you've desribed, but then, I don't post that often.

but - one thing I have noticed is that I'm having to click twice to open my Friends page or the comments thread or... well, any new page on LJ. It's getting bloody annoying, too. One click - wait - nothing - 'oh bugger, I've got to click it again' - click - open. It is a pain!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've had that thing with the double-clicking, just in the last few days. I'm assuming that's to do with the ad-link thing that everyone's complaining about - this is the first manifestation of it I've seen though, so they must have changed the code for it or something just recently...

[mab-browne.livejournal.com]

It *may* be related to the extra scripts that LJ has on the page because of various link affiliate things they're doing.

http://community.livejournal.com/no_lj_ads/88131.html

Don't ask me about the technical aspects of this. I don't get them. *g*

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I wondered about that, cos at about the same time I've found I'm having to click twice to get into links on lj, which is also very annoying - but I'm assuming there'll be enough complaints about that that it'll be fixed... Whatever they were doing with the ad-link things before, this is only in the last few days for me...

Hmmn - I suppose if they're adding extra code to things, then perhaps it could make the posting box jump around as it's trying to see where it needs to fit it in... Hmmn... It's affecting usability quite badly though, so they do need to fix it... That said, I've not noticed it this morning, but then it was worse on my home computer and I've not had that on, yet, so...

[jack-regan.livejournal.com]

It's their new script crap. I posted the sort of work around. Once they close that off I'm not sure what to tell you.

The drag is because it's redirecting every link through a 3rd party to see if its something they can add their affiliate id onto to snag cash.

So of course now this third party has a library of every link on lj.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Ah, okay, found what I think is the workaround thing on your lj -is that the one where you're supposed to put this code
set opt_exclude_stats 1
in you Admin Console? which she links to here?

Trouble is, non-computer-y types like me have no idea what any of that means?! Does that link go to my admin console, when I'm signed in, or is that just to show you what it looks like? And what if I somehow muck it up (admittedly, looks hard to do *g*) and screw up my whole lj - knowing nowt about it is a major problem, then... If I'm seeing the problem then I think it's safe to say the Outrage will be bad enough that they'll need to fix the glitches - but will what they do then affect what I've done? See, that's the trouble with being a non-tech-y...

Presumably it's causing the jumping-down as it tries to fit in extra code somewhere along the way...?

[jack-regan.livejournal.com]

The jumping and delay is from the traffic being routed to the 3rd party. Yes when you click the link you are actually sent somewhere else. Then the 3rd party has to assess whether the link can have the new code attached, adds it or not, then sends you to where you thought you were going in the first place.

The console thing is ljs console (which they keep mightily hidden) but when you are logged in it's for your account. You can't screw up anything unless you randomly start tying stuff in, and then most like it will return a fail condition, meaning nothing has changed.

There's still some debate as to whether this fix applies only to the browser you've done it in though.

And there has been outrage on this twice, yet they continue to do it.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Ah, but I'm not clicking any links - unless you mean the "Post" link... I'm talking about when I'm actually writing a post, I'm literally moving the cursor around the posting window to edit bits and pieces, and the lines are jumping around then. So it's not to do with any visible links - it's not me using links...

Maybe we're talking about different things?

And yeah, but there's outrage and then there's actual usability issues... to be honest the most minor things are so You-Bad-Lj-ed over these days that if I was lj I'd ignore most whinging too... But when it's difficult to use lj in ways that are visible to all of us idiots rather than just the techno-people, then those things will have to be fixed. It might not fix the underlying issue of sending the advert info etc, but the actual clicking and screen-jumping are a different... angle, if you like...

[jack-regan.livejournal.com]

It's the same thing, think about how many times the database is getting hit.

Or think about it like this, you know when you have too many application open on your computer and everything starts slowing down because there isn't enough capacity to do all of it at once? That's whats beginning to happen. There's the ads that you may or may not be blocking. The blocking takes a hitch. because the ads still load, the browser just stops them from showing. Then there's the flash that loads in the ads that you have to stop etc. Then there's the link finagling that no one's even really sure precisely what's happening, and then there's the who knows what hasn't been caught yet doing it's thing. All of this leads to performance drops.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

But all that is stuff that would be happening whenever I have lj open at all, is what you're saying, because it's all going on in the background. But something new has caused these two very specific things to happen, that didn't before even when the adlink thing was on. All I'm doing is moving around the posting window - so is it when I click the cursor to put it in a particular place that's causing something to happen, or...?

[jack-regan.livejournal.com]

It's all related. All this is going on in the background for how many thousands of users for how many thousands of links and ads, all the time. And the numbers of ads grows, as does the amount of flash in them, which drains resource, even if you don't see them.

And if this particular thing just cropped up, it probably means they've plopped in something else no one has found yet that is interfering with posting functionality.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Oh, I wouldn't be at all surprised if it's all related, I just want to know the specifics rather than the eternal Lj-Is-Evil Waah... There are definitely aspects of lj that I'm not keen on, and this adlink thing is one of them - but I guess I'm cynical enough to think that almost everyone, and especially people who've gone financial with something that started out freely and gorgeously, are at least a bit evil. They've been sucked by money to start with - of course they're gonna keep trying to get away with stuff. Look at zine publishers who include the cost of their con attendance in zine prices... (*g*)

Thing is, people get away with it as long as it doesn't affect the way most people are using something - that's why I think this latest issue will be taken care of somehow - cos if I've noticed it, then the odds are most other people have too...

What bugs me is that the specifics that are really an issue will be clouded over by the Lj-Is-Evil issues, which are more... philosophical in nature... Okay, evil, evil, evil, but unless the people shouting this are screening all their food and other consumables for evil, then... we all pick our battles, I guess...

[jack-regan.livejournal.com]

whuh?

This has nothing to do with "evil", it has to do with practices affecting user performance and associated user info security risks.

I'm not sure how much more specific I can get as I do not know their inner setup or pay attention much to what they do now.

But expect continued performance hits as more is added on their end.

[siskiou.livejournal.com]

I've noticed little things here and there, but what bugs me the most is that LJ no longer "remembers" me.
Every time I have to restart firefox, the login page comes up with the "remember me" no longer selected.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Oh that's weird... my home computer still remembers me without any problems - but I'm on IE there... Though come to think of it, I'm pretty sure I still have that option here on Firefox too, cos I glanced at it just yesterday and thought no... Innit funny how people see different things, on what I always assume are uniform programmes...