there's nothing Paizo can analyze, since they can't recreate the problemThe IT department can log in from their smartphones or home computers to see what the outside world sees.
If they see what I see, they won't see a problem. So there won't be anything to analyze or fix.
And that's the point I'm trying to make: Paizo can't recreate the path between someone's starting point and the Paizo servers. There are a lot of hardware and software interfaces in that path that they can't access, even for diagnostic purposes.
It's not as if using their personal devices for work will actually give them any insight if there isn't a problem along that particular path.
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They absolutely should be able to recreate the issue.
They need to log in emulating a user that is currently experiencing the issue. Alternatively, they could create a new user mirroring the settings of someone with the problem. Either of those things should be pretty simple for IT guys.
When I had the issue, it was consistent across different devices, browsers, OS’s, networks, and even connecting to different ISPs. This really feels like a configuration issue on the Paizo side, affecting users that meet whatever criteria causes the issue, and not affecting users that don’t.
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They absolutely should be able to recreate the issue.
They need to log in emulating a user that is currently experiencing the issue. Alternatively, they could create a new user mirroring the settings of someone with the problem. Either of those things should be pretty simple for IT guys.
*laughs hysterically*
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*laughs hysterically*They absolutely should be able to recreate the issue.
They need to log in emulating a user that is currently experiencing the issue. Alternatively, they could create a new user mirroring the settings of someone with the problem. Either of those things should be pretty simple for IT guys.
ROTFLMAO !!!!!!!!
(from a 35 year veteran in the IT field!)
They absolutely should be able to recreate the issue.
They need to log in emulating a user that is currently experiencing the issue. Alternatively, they could create a new user mirroring the settings of someone with the problem. Either of those things should be pretty simple for IT guys.
One reason that people using the same browser I am using to reach Paizo servers might be having problems is that they might have one setting on that browser set differently than I do. They may be disallowing or blocking, with a single check mark, something that I don't have checked.
How is Paizo supposed to know their browser settings so they can "emulate" the user?
And it might be that they're using some other software or add on that is misconfigured and causing them to have problems when I don't.
How is Paizo supposed to know what antivirus software (and all the settings) and add-ons (and all the settings) that each person who is having problems is using.
How is Paizo supposed to know what software and add ons everyone is using (and which options and settings they have switched on and off?)
When I had the issue, it was consistent across different devices, browsers, OS’s, networks, and even connecting to different ISPs. This really feels like a configuration issue on the Paizo side, affecting users that meet whatever criteria causes the issue, and not affecting users that don’t.
If it's a configuration issue, why isn't it affecting everyone using those browsers and OSs? Why is my identical browser and OS allowing me to log in without having any problems when other people, using the same version of Firefox and Win10 repeatedly have problems?
If it were a configuration issue, everyone using that browser/OS combination would be having identical problems. [And there would be a lot more people expressing their ire here in the forums about a common combo not working].
In my case, default settings in Chrome on multiple Samsung devices, and two different internet providers all give the error in question. If stock settings on a device default major browser are throwing up errors, then something needs looking into.
Interestingly, the Paizo site using the latest version of Firefox on the exact same devices works fine, but I get the same error in Firefox with Win7 OS on my PC as I do in Chrome on my mobile devices.
I'm not sure if any of that is useful for Paizo's hopeful investigation of the issue, but maybe the data points will help.
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Some in this thread have suggested that Paizo can’t reproduce this. You don’t know if that is true or not because (to my knowledge) no one from Paizo has stated that.
Some have also suggested that this is somehow not an important issue for Paizo to understand because not everyone is effected. Flawed logic when it comes to supporting a website. It’s possible that those effected are doing something odd with their browser settings (or there is some other user specific explanation regarding firewalls, etc.). However, if the % of people in this thread having problems are even remotely representative of the % of accrual site visitors, then Paizo has a serious problem on their hands. Doesn’t matter it it’s because I turned on some add blocker (for example) or if it’s a flaw in the latest upgrade of the JavaScript framework they are using. Paizo still needs to understand it.
I find it interesting that users on different platforms and browsers are experiencing this issue and that for everyone it started about a month ago.
For me personally, it’s not a serious problem because all three of the browsers on my PC work. For me, it’s iOS running Safari on my iPhone.
My ONLY concern is new customers effected might get frustrated and give up. I want Paizo to succeed. I am puzzled Paizo hasn’t responded to this issue yet.
I never open the main page anymore, so it's immaterial to me but not to new arrivals.
I don't open the main page anymore either only because of this issue. I even had to do a fresh Windows 10 install on my computer for unrelated reasons, and the problem is back.
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I nice troubleshooting guide that might Paizo web dev to check out is:
https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/hosting/technical-matters/http-error-500 -internal-server-error/
Given the symptoms, it is most likely a problem on Paizo’s end, as others have suggested. But without their help, I can’t confirm.
I'm still not having that problem. The Paizo servers are working just fine for me, and I don't get any error messages. Whatever settings they're using are working precisely as they are supposed to for me.
It's not something that affects everyone trying to reach their servers. I can use Firefox, Chrome, and Edge without any difficulty.
So, if the problem is on Paizo's end, it's not going to be simple for them to diagnose. On that link, all of the suggestions are for the IT people when the server is returning a 500 error to everyone who tries to access the site.
That's not what is happening in this case.
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I'm still not having that problem. The Paizo servers are working just fine for me, and I don't get any error messages. Whatever settings they're using are working precisely as they are supposed to for me.
It's not something that affects everyone trying to reach their servers. I can use Firefox, Chrome, and Edge without any difficulty.
So, if the problem is on Paizo's end, it's not going to be simple for them to diagnose. On that link, all of the suggestions are for the IT people when the server is returning a 500 error to everyone who tries to access the site.
That's not what is happening in this case.
Not sure I agree with your last two sentences. 500 is a general catch all error. It’s possible for different users in different platforms to follow different page paths and get different results. For me, I don’t see this issue on my Win 10 PC, using Chrome, Edge, and IE. I only see it on my iPhone using Safari. So far with the posts in this thread, there doesn’t seem to be a common, predictable combination to reproduce.
The likely way this gets solved is if the site dev works with someone who is experiencing the problem, looking at server logs right after a user failure. This is not a guarantee to explain the problem but it’s a start. I don’t see any investigation that us users of the site can do on our own.
Edit: to clarify, he error is 100% reproducible just by visiting Paizo.com. What’s not clear is what combination of things is necessary to reproduce.
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Works for me on Chrome, doesn't work on Firefox when I'm logged in. It does work when I am logged out. Just cleared my cache and cookies as well, no change. Edit: Scratch that, my SO had logged into it on Chrome. It's localized to my account and not hers.
Great find! Tomorrow I’ll try an experiment on my PC about this.
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*laughs hysterically*They absolutely should be able to recreate the issue.
They need to log in emulating a user that is currently experiencing the issue. Alternatively, they could create a new user mirroring the settings of someone with the problem. Either of those things should be pretty simple for IT guys.ROTFLMAO !!!!!!!!
(from a 35 year veteran in the IT field!)
Yeah- I’m also an IT veteran too, so not really sure what’s funny about troubleshooting 101.
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They absolutely should be able to recreate the issue.
They need to log in emulating a user that is currently experiencing the issue. Alternatively, they could create a new user mirroring the settings of someone with the problem. Either of those things should be pretty simple for IT guys.One reason that people using the same browser I am using to reach Paizo servers might be having problems is that they might have one setting on that browser set differently than I do. They may be disallowing or blocking, with a single check mark, something that I don't have checked.
How is Paizo supposed to know their browser settings so they can "emulate" the user?
And it might be that they're using some other software or add on that is misconfigured and causing them to have problems when I don't.
How is Paizo supposed to know what antivirus software (and all the settings) and add-ons (and all the settings) that each person who is having problems is using.
How is Paizo supposed to know what software and add ons everyone is using (and which options and settings they have switched on and off?)
When I had the issue, it was consistent across different devices, browsers, OS’s, networks, and even connecting to different ISPs. This really feels like a configuration issue on the Paizo side, affecting users that meet whatever criteria causes the issue, and not affecting users that don’t.If it's a configuration issue, why isn't it affecting everyone using those browsers and OSs? Why is my identical browser and OS allowing me to log in without having any problems when other people, using the same version of Firefox and Win10 repeatedly have problems?
If it were a configuration issue, everyone using that browser/OS combination would be having identical problems. [And there would be a lot more people expressing their ire here in the forums about a common combo not working].
I didn’t say browser settings. I was referring to server-side user account settings, which are totally under Paizo’s control.
Client-side settings (AV, add-ons, installed software etc... are clearly not a factor since the issue is consistent across different devices, browsers, OS’s, networks, and even connecting to different ISPs.
The reason different users have different results/experiences is due to server-side differences in their user account configurations.
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You assume Paizo's setup has the capability for them to clone user settings to a new account. I do not hold that to be true.
That may be the case, I don’t really know. Worst case they could copy settings manually. I mean - what’s the alternative? Leave it broken forever? Maybe Ignore and hope it goes away? Not being flip- it fixed itself for me seemingly spontaneously, so who knows...
You would think that even if there is no in-house expertise, they would have some kind of vendor support available to assist them.
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Hello, I'm just hopping on to say I see this thread and will make sure the tech team has seen it on Monday. I don't *think* anyone from the staff has responded here yet. Sorry from the frustration. Happy New Year.
Thanks Aaron, much appreciated.
I'm seeing the issue on Chrome while logged in. Everything else works, the front page gets me sad ysoki.
Customer Service & Community Manager
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Hi folks, I just wanted to pop in and say, the tech team is very much aware of the error 500 issue, but my understanding is that what causes it is not the same for each person that experiences it. For me, as soon as I navigate away from the front page, I no longer have any issues, but that trick doesn't work for everyone.
Glad to see confirmation that Paizo is looking at it. I can confirm that moving away from the main page is a workaround for me as well. I no longer have the Paizo homepage bookmarked, but the blog page instead.
This issue also affects the FAQ/errata page and the playtest page for me.
Official Tech Team Response
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Hey all - we over in tech understand (and share) all of your frustration and we appreciate your patience as we continue to seek out the root cause of this problem.
While we can't disclose a lot of the technical details, we can outline what we have been doing so far. We have been reading and collating information from all the correspondence we've received regarding this issue - thank you all for contacting us. We currently have 2-3 working theories about what might be causing the issue, but haven't been able to successfully confirm any of them so far. We've followed up on at least several dozen leads, but none have yet panned out. The general pattern is that we observe certain trends that suggest potential culprits, but then follow-up analysis of logs, configurations, and so forth turn up nothing amiss.
Right now, we're working with several people who can reproduce this issue, to generate incidents in a controlled fashion and be able to perform follow-up diagnostics on both the client and servers in a secure manner. Hopefully being able to see both sides of the issue simultaneously will help us zero in on the root cause.
Going forward, please continue to inform us when you run into this issue via the email address linked in the 500 error page (webmaster@paizo.com). Even if we aren't able to respond, we do still read those emails to gather data points. Again, we apologize for the frustrating experience, and appreciate your ongoing patience as we continue to work on the issue.
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Going forward, please continue to inform us when you run into this issue
Hi and thanks for responding. I just want to ask one small thing for the inevitable post-mortem that will happen after this is resolved: please look into what happened to email that went to customer.service@paizo.com. I know that I've been sending periodic emails to that address since Dec 13 about this issue (including screenshots, partial workarounds, etc.) and if those were not making it to the technical folks, that's a real problem that is perhaps more worrisome than the technical issue itself.
I do this sort of thing for a living, so I know that now is not the time to be asking anyone to look into that, and I also know that I'll likely never hear back about it. I just want to make sure that it's something people in the company are aware of.
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Hello Ajs,
Any emails that come to CS about technical issues we pass along to the tech team (the inbox mentioned in the post you quoted). When we find emails that are outside our wheelhouse we pass them on to the appropriate people.
Hey, mine's working to! :)
Browser: Firefox 82.0.2 (64-bit)
OS: Windows 10 Pro
The Rest of the Quoted Text:ISP: Suddenlink
Location: West Virginia, USAThere's my info, if that helps. I'd have been more specific as to which update of Windows 10, but I'm not sure where to look to get that information anymore.
As long as I still can navigate the site to browse the forums and the store and my account, cart, order history, etc., I'm doing fine. Back in the day the main page actually had some links on it that meant something (including the store blog and some sidebars) but now it's basically a bunch of poster ads anyway, so I guess it not displaying doesn't matter that much to existing customers. It's probably really off-putting to potential new customers though.
It's also worth noting that it was working fine for me within the last week, so it hasn't been an ongoing issue for me until the last few days. It seems I only recently became part of the affected group.
Mine is also working again today. I guess Paizo's tech team tracked it down.
Sometime between 2pm yesterday and just now, things have changed for me as well. I can access the blog and the playtest materials now, which I couldn't do yesterday.
oh.... working for me now too.
Same here! Thanks Paizo. :)
Yep, it suddenly started working again for me as well. Nice!