goalie

I am set for 40 posts/page

Silver Fox

This thread is playing up again: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...013-a-164.html

Dovster

The problem is caused when some posts have been deleted by the mods. The software believes they are still there (although their numbers have been replaced) and thus tells you there is an extra page which does not really exist.

Bobster

I get the phantom page issue with that thread!!

So, OK, all the stuff I said before was wrong, as most people apparently knew, but now I know it too.

lin821

Apparently, I told you (and everybody else) so.

It's not users' local issues, it's the system & something wrong with the indexes being out of sync!

IBxAnders

Still struggling to replicate and resolve this issue. Lin - is this happening still?

The known issue I am looking for is as follows:

- Go into a particular thread
- See pagination links on top (any)
- Click specific page number X
- Page remains on the same page, does not go to page X.
- OR: Browser displays "Too many redirects" error and fails to load anything

lin821

Of course it is still happening. Just read those example threads folks have been providing in thread.

FWIW, you should modify ""specific page number X" to "the last (linkable/generated) page number" because all the previous pages would have been filled when enough posts were made. You won't find the problem in say Page 15 when the thread has moved on to Page 25. There's no point to search for phantom page in Page 16, 17 or even Page 22.

If you take time to look into it, this is one thread mentioned just a few posts above that fits your "criteria:"
Currently, there's exactly 2460 posts:
15 *164= 2460

Meaning Page 164 just got completely filled but there shouldn't be Page 165 w/ pagination of 15.

Yet, Page 165 is present. And there's no Post#2461. As a matter of fact, when Silver Fox reported Phantom Page 165, there were only 2458 posts in said thread. So Page 165 has been sticking around (at least) 3 posts too early. Meaning the post indexes between admin/mod vs regular viewers are at least out of sync by 3 posts for said thread.

I really don't get how and why it is so difficult for admin to "see" the phantom page problem, when the rest of us do "see" it. At least you guys should be able to do the simple math (post * number of page) then realize those phantom pages shouldn't be popping out like bunnies in all those referenced threads here. FT isn't about Easter bunnies after all.

Dovster

Try this: Set your posts per page to 40. Then start a new thread and make 42 posts in it.

Next, acting as a mod, delete two of the posts -- but not the last two. (I do not know if they have to be hard or soft deletions, so you may have to do this twice).

After the posts are deleted, see if your thread now has one page showing, as it should, or two pages.

IBobi

OK:

The problem we can't fix is when the number of posts divided by your particular setting for posts per page is out of synch.

The problem we CAN fix, using a maintenance script, is when you see a "phantom" last page number that either does nothing when you click it, or serves up an error.

If THAT is still happening, please point us to a thread link and Mike will run the script that fixes it.

It may not last forever, or even very long; large threads and threads where posts have been deleted will still throw this error from time to time. But rest assured: you are not missing out on viewing any posts. There are no posts on the phantom page, because the page does not exist. If you ever do find that there are posts on a page number that you can't click to, running the script will fix that error -- at least for a while. Just let us know.

Paul

lin821

Paul, if I may, what's out of sync is NOT the users' setting. Users have nothing to sync with. We can only see and deal with what the system gives us.

We didn't and don't ask you to set our preferred pagination, let it be 15, 20, 40 or 50. We can take care of that ourselves. Whatever pagination users have, it doesn't solve the phantom posts/pages "stored" in your servers/indexes.

For example, I can choose to set my watch 5 minutes ahead from GMT. However, for whatever reason, if the Greenwich clock were off by say 2 minutes and 35 seconds, there's nothing I can do to fix Greenwich clock because it's not my clock that went out of sync.

I am no IT person but I can do math. The little math I've been doing is just to show you the logical and mathematical explanation to the Phantom Page Phenomenon.

The bottom line is when the servers or indexes carry phantom posts (aka phantom posts) that result from admi/mod's action, there's nothing us users can do. In the process of admin/MODs' "handling" certain threads, somehow something goes corrupted w/r/t the post indexes that produces phantom pages for those threads. I have no idea why and how. I don't have the IT background to get to the bottom of it either.

I don't like repeating myself but THAT is still happening.

It happened to this thread of 2460 posts when I checked 9 hours ago. As of now, the same thread is still having Phantom Page 165 when I type up this reply. With a pagination of 15, a thread with 2460 posts shall never have Page 165, no matter how you do your math. Somehow, FT system/server "believes" there are more than 2640 posts in said thread, therefore Page 165 is generated by the system a few posts too early, when all of us regular users can see is nothing beyond Post#2460.

I just hope my layman's words are making sense to you IT people. How to conduct proper IT diagnoses and provide a soution is the job for you paid IT experts.

IBxAnders

No long explanations are needed. I was able to replicate the standard vBulletin pagination issue that Paul is describing when logged out from home.

Issue is as described in the earlier post, no math is required:

- From page 164 click link to go to 165
- URL and thread remain on page 164

We'll resolve this ASAP, unfortunately a problem a bit too common and hard to fix permanently on a large board. Will update this thread with resolution info. Thanks!

* Just to clarify: The issue is that tech had to see the exact thread id where this is happening to not only confirm the issue, but to confirm the fix. Hence the back-and-forth - did not mean to cause frustration or not take the reports seriously.

Anders

jatink129

Thank you. ^

lin821

Hallelujah, replication! Finally!

I didn't mean you IT folks taking the problem lightly. Just like doing research, I totally understand the need to replicate the results/problems.

While waiting for resolution info, if it's not too much to ask, would it be possible to enlighten us non-IT people why and how does the phantom pages happen? What went wrong? Thanks!

IBxAnders

I've implemented 1 of the potential 3 "fixes" at 10:30AM pacific.

If someone could be so gracious as to let me know if the issue is still manifesting for them please?

jatink129

Well, for most threads in which posts have spilled over to fill in the phantom page, we'd have to wait till the next phantom page generates.

But this one still hasn't been fixed-
Boarding Process Changes, Starting Jan. 8-9th, 2013 with a phantom page 165.