# problems accessing the site



## Liz Wolf-Spada (Apr 24, 2008)

For the past few days, when I type in tugbbs.com, it goes to a generic web site, meaning, "I can't find this." Then I see the TUG website there and can access this site. Any idea what is happening?
Thanks,
Liz


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## TUGBrian (Apr 24, 2008)

sounds like perhaps you are typing tugbbs.com into a search engine and getting the results list?


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## Liz Wolf-Spada (Apr 24, 2008)

No, I'm typing it into the address bar, same as I have always done, then I get some wwwz thing. That's all I can remember. It is very odd. (I'm still getting here from the wwwz. page, but I would like to know why I'm having this happen.
Thanks,
Liz
(Provider is Verizon, it happens with either Safari or Firefox browsers)


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## TUGBrian (Apr 24, 2008)

no idea what wwwz is...never seen or heard of that.

does it happen when you type in the full address?

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/  ?


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## gorevs9 (Apr 25, 2008)

I run into a problem periodically.  I'll get the following messages:
_Network Error (tcp_error)
A communication error occurred: "Operation timed out"
The Web Server may be down, too busy, or experiencing other problems preventing it from responding to requests. You may wish to try again at a later time.
_
It might be the server here at work, but it seems TUG is the only site where I consistantly have this problem.  Any thoughts


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## EAM (Apr 25, 2008)

I'm having some strange difficulties accessing this site, too.  On a PC, if I go to www.tug2.net and select the BBS page and new posts, I get only the headline and global announcements.  No list of posts.  But everything works fine on a Mac on the same local network.

I will try rebooting the PC and running  antiviral, antispyware, antiadware scans, etc.


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## Makai Guy (Apr 25, 2008)

Liz Wolf-Spada said:


> No, I'm typing it into the address bar, same as I have always done, then I get some wwwz thing. That's all I can remember. It is very odd. (I'm still getting here from the wwwz. page, but I would like to know why I'm having this happen.
> Thanks,
> Liz
> (Provider is Verizon, it happens with either Safari or Firefox browsers)



My guess is this is something on Verizon.  

The full address for this site is not tugbbs.com, it is *[noparse]http://tugbbs.com[/noparse]* (or *[noparse]http://www.tugbbs.com[/noparse]* - either one will work).  In most browsers, if the incomplete entry you try first isn't found on your provider's DNS (Dynamic Name System) server, the browser retries by adding the http:// to the beginning.  This all happens so quickly that you are unaware of it.   

It may be that Verizon's DNS system is not returning a standard "did not find" error, but instead returns its own search page.  A few other ISPs are starting to do this too - not sure why, but I suspect it's because it allows them somewhere to insert some additional advertising.

Workarounds:
 Enter the full address in the URL bar.


 Save a bookmark/favorite and use that to access the bbs.


 Reconfigure your system to use a DNS system other than Verizon's, such as the free DNS service at OpenDNS.  


 Create a hosts file entry to bypass the DNS system altogether via placing an entry in your _hosts_ file, as follows:
Locate the file on your computer simply named _hosts_ (with no filename extension).  Note that this may be in a hidden directory on your computer, so you may have to search in hidden and system files to find it.  (If you can't find it, see the Wikipedia link at the end of this message.)
Open the _hosts_ file in any plain text editor like Windows Notepad.
If you've never done anything with this file before, it will probably only have one line in it:
127.0.0.1    localhost​although there may be some additional comment lines above it (comment lines begin with # and are ignored).  Directly under the localhost line, add the following in their own separate lines:
69.16.236.4    [noparse]tugbbs.com[/noparse]
69.16.236.4    [noparse]www.tugbbs.com[/noparse]​
Save the file back to its original location.  _IMPORTANT_: If you're using an editor that gives you a choice of formats in which to save, be sure to save as _plain text_.

Now, when you try to go to any address on [noparse]www.tugbbs.com[/noparse], your computer will find the correct IP right there in the hosts file and won't even check with your internet provider's name server.

*Note that, should our IP number ever change again, your hosts file will now be wrong.  Should that ever happen, just delete that line from the file, or update it to the new IP.*

Here's a link to an article about hosts files, including their default locations on various operating systems: 
Hosts file - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## Makai Guy (Apr 25, 2008)

gorevs9 said:


> I run into a problem periodically.  I'll get the following messages:
> _Network Error (tcp_error)
> A communication error occurred: "Operation timed out"
> The Web Server may be down, too busy, or experiencing other problems preventing it from responding to requests. You may wish to try again at a later time.
> ...



Yours is a different problem.  Your DNS lookup is returning the IP correctly, but you're timing out when attempting to connect here.  

This can happen occasionally when our server is extremely busy.  Since going to our new dedicated server that runs nothing but TUG, though, server loads tend to be very low.  Exceptions can occur, however, such as when the board sends out lots of daily digest emails, for instance, but these periods tend to only last for a minute or so.

If this is chronic, it relates to the servers you are routed through between your computer and here.


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## TUGBrian (Apr 25, 2008)

gorevs9 said:


> I run into a problem periodically.  I'll get the following messages:
> _Network Error (tcp_error)
> A communication error occurred: "Operation timed out"
> The Web Server may be down, too busy, or experiencing other problems preventing it from responding to requests. You may wish to try again at a later time.
> ...



i get that once a week or so...quickly hitting refresh loads the page as normal every time.


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## gorevs9 (Apr 25, 2008)

TUG Improvements! said:


> i get that once a week or so...quickly hitting refresh loads the page as normal every time.



I get it once or twice A DAY.  Refresh doesn't seem to help.


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## TUGBrian (Apr 25, 2008)

are you using aol by chance?

i can assure you the board is up and running fine...and the server is not under any load whatsoever given only 300 people or so online.


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## gorevs9 (Apr 25, 2008)

TUG Improvements! said:


> are you using aol by chance?
> 
> i can assure you the board is up and running fine...and the server is not under any load whatsoever given only 300 people or so online.



No, but, it might be on my end.   Sometimes it will happen when I try to reply to a post.
I have pop-ups blocked, but I don't think that is the cause.

I'll have to monitor the situation from my home PC.

Thanks


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## TUGBrian (Apr 25, 2008)

also you can try putting tugbbs.com in your list of "trusted sites" in your browser...it should let it bypass your pop-up stuff and internet protection software.

there are no pop-ups or banner ads on the BBS.


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## Keitht (Apr 25, 2008)

It's a long, long time since I had any problems accessing the site.  The move to the new server definitely improved things for me.


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## Carol C (Apr 30, 2008)

I had trouble yesterday, very sluggish response. My computer ain't the world's fastest, however. Today things are fine, site and all links come up quickly. Thanks, TUG, for a very fine website and bbs!


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