How To Avoid Being Logged Out

[Admin]

By design, and for your security, the forum software will log you out after 25 minutes of inactivity. A few users have reported being logged out sooner than that.

To avoid being logged out automatically by the Forum:

1. Check the Remember Me? box when you sign in.
2. Go to your Settings and set the time zone to your correct location.
3. Make sure that cookies are enabled in your browser.

If you are on shared or otherwise public device, it is inadvisable to use the Remember Me feature as others will have access to your account unless you remember to explicitly log out. Click your username at the top of the page and click Log Out from the drop down menu.

[regeron]

The forum has logged me out while I have been typing a reply to a thread. I hadn't left the computer, and I had been continuously typing, yet, when I went to press "save", I got the request to refresh. This happens almost all the time. Now, before hitting the Save button, I automatically highlight everything that I typed, then copy it to my clipboard, because I can assume I will have to sign back in again, then paste the comments back into the reply box. At least now, I dont end up retyping the whole thing anymore.

[ShadyJoe]

regeron, I can't really help other than to suggest that you double check that you followed the procedures in the original post, though I suspect you already tried this. I get on this site and post with Internet Explorer 8 and with Safari on my Iphone and never had any problems, and I used Internet Explorer 7 until recently.

[regeron]

Thanks. I checked my time zone settings to find I was somewhere where I wasn't. LOL But now I am where I am, so we will see how that goes.

[soubasse32]

Gee, I just had this happen to me - I composed a response to a thread and was then promptly logged out upon hitting the 'submit' button (losing my response in the process).

When I logged in (immediately prior to posting my reply) I did not click on "remember me".

I hope a way can be found which would allow us to keep from being logged off without having to click "remember me" - sometimes I want to click that, other times I don't... depending on where I am and which computer I'm using.

[Admin]

When you click the Log Out link Remember Me forgets you.

[soubasse32]

OK, sounds good. I'll just have to try to remember to be remembered.

[myorgan]

Exactly what does the "Remember Me" feature do? Set a persistent cookie, ping on a timer, or something else?

[bucketlistorgangrinder]

still struggling here but grimly determined to make it work

[PeteKnobloch]

From what I have observed it just keeps me logged in when I go to the Organ Forum site. I haven't entered my password for about 3 months and I look at this site daily. Just never hit the LOG OUT button or clear your cookies. When the remember me is checked, it saves a cookie on your computer which identifies your login name and logs you in automaticly the next time you go to the site.

I'm surprised that there is a log off timer at all. Maybe it should be changed to 3 hours.

[Admin]

Clearing up a couple questions:

The forum has logged me out while I have been typing a reply to a thread. I hadn't left the computer, and I had been continuously typing, yet, when I went to press "save", I got the request to refresh.

The website doesn't know when you're typing on the computer. It only can tell that you are connected when you communicate with it by either requesting a page by clicking on a link, or submitting information to it with a Save button. If you fail to do either of those things for around 15 minutes, it will think you disconnected and you'll be logged out automatically unless you've clicked the Remember Me? box when you signed in.

Exactly what does the "Remember Me" feature do? Set a persistent cookie, ping on a timer, or something else?

It sets an encrypted cookie with your credentials so that the website can automatically log you in behind the scenes. When you deliberately log out through the Log Out link, the cookie is destroyed.

I'm surprised that there is a log off timer at all. Maybe it should be changed to 3 hours.

A server can allocate only a finite number of connections, so relying on users to log out is not a practical option. In most cases, on a site like this, it's a pretty safe bet that if you haven't clicked on a page for 15 minutes, you're no longer actively using the site.


In general this site operates no differently regarding log in status than any other site, be it a forum, a merchant site, or banking site that requires user credentials for access.