Problems with usernames with spaces

[cw5523729]

@sister jenny mentioned this problem in another thread https://forum.literotica.com/threads/error-404this-member-does-not-exist.1645131/

but it looks like ALL users with spaces in the username are broken and returning 404 errors.

I tried a random search of the letter A, and all the users with spaces in the name gave an error when I tried them.

 

[Thesunmaid]

This is also an issue with logging into chat. You cannot log into the chat with a space in your name. If you have a name change done. like Bob Jones32 can be fixed to BobJones32 and it works.

 

[sister jenny]

So is the solution that I change my name?

 

[Z_TheWriter]

Being quite a new user, I'm 95% certain that I was not allowed to put a space in my username. So this might be something the powers that be have realized is a problem.

 

[cw5523729]

So is the solution that I change my name?

Well, yes that'd be one solution but you can't change it yourself, the admin staff would need to do it for you so you'll have to send them a message and then say a little prayer to whatever God you believe in that they actually read it.

I'd like to think that a fuck up of that magnitude will get rectified relatively quickly considering the # of users that must be affected

 

[drusus]

It would be much better to fix the error on the server as changing all the user names with spaces would take forever. Looks like the user name url is being built properly by using percent encoding to represent the space, so the requested url of sister%20jenny in the address bar is correct.

Took a quick dig in the code under the page which shows that it's using application/ld+json for decoding. This might mean it's reading %20 literally and not turning it back into a space on the server side so you get page not found. That's just a guess though, it could be lots of things.

 

[sister jenny]

Thank you

 

[Thesunmaid]

I am sorry I should have included this link. I was a bit distracted the past few days. https://www.literotica.com/faq/membership/account-change-username

you can have them change your name if you are not wanting to go through coding. It might take a little while but...it will fix the issue. I have seen this work with another chatter. As soon as his name was changed he was able to log into chat. I hope either way we get to see you in chat.

 

[Lord_Libido]

Mine has an underscore. It works well for me

 

[IWroteThis]

It would be much better to fix the error on the server as changing all the user names with spaces would take forever.

Actually, I could fix it pretty quickly with a single database query and a notice on the login page saying "All spaces in usernames have been replaced with underscores."

Okay, maybe not a single query, depending on how the database is structured and if the underscore version also exists for any of them. Still, I've done a couple of similar bulk name changes at work, so I could do it in an evening.

 

[Britva415]

Actually, I could fix it pretty quickly with a single database query and a notice on the login page saying "All spaces in usernames have been replaced with underscores."

Okay, maybe not a single query, depending on how the database is structured and if the underscore version also exists for any of them. Still, I've done a couple of similar bulk name changes at work, so I could do it in an evening.

And this would probably be MUCH less effort and risk than a code change to handle the spaces.

On the other hand, it would risk locking some people out of their accounts. The communication to inform them “your username changed” would have to be 100% effective.

 

[IWroteThis]

And this would probably be MUCH less effort and risk than a code change to handle the spaces.

On the other hand, it would risk locking some people out of their accounts. The communication to inform them “your username changed” would have to be 100% effective.

Well, it would be fairly simple to generate an e-mail to all of the accounts that were changed, but putting a note next to the username box in a big, red font should catch most of them.

 

[Thesunmaid]

OK well if you have a space...just ask to change your name to either have an underscore or remove the space...and as for asking people to read an email that is sent out by the site...people barely read the rules so not sure if that would work and as for just changing peoples named...yeah...that would result in a bunch of people locked out and a whole lot of "How very darrrrrrre you! How could you change my name!" complaints because this only affects chat not the forum. Some people only come here for the stories and the forum...some come for the chat...so if you guys want to come into chat...you will have to change the space in your name with either an underscore or get rid of the space...sadly it will not accept any other symbol

 

[drusus]

Actually, I could fix it pretty quickly with a single database query and a notice on the login page saying "All spaces in usernames have been replaced with underscores."

Okay, maybe not a single query, depending on how the database is structured and if the underscore version also exists for any of them. Still, I've done a couple of similar bulk name changes at work, so I could do it in an evening.

It's four databases: stories, forum, chat and authorization, across modern and classic versions. An update would have to hang these databases together and reflect the change in one go when the names are modified. Not the hardest thing to do on a work server when you have control of the data and the users, just a bit of grepping and script for running usermod. Trying to do this on a live system with an open community of around 2.5 million accounts on various devices and operating systems is setting yourself up for a whole world of pain.

 

[drusus]

Some people only come here for the stories and the forum...some come for the chat...so if you guys want to come into chat...you will have to change the space in your name with either an underscore or get rid of the space...sadly it will not accept any other symbol

The chat software itself is fine with spaces in the user names, it's more likely a problem with the log in process.

 

[IWroteThis]

It's four databases: stories, forum, chat and authorization, across modern and classic versions.

No. Maybe three if stories, forums, and chat are fully separated, but authentication will not have it's own database and switching between modern and classic does not switch databases.

An update would have to hang these databases together and reflect the change in one go when the names are modified.

Possibly, but not if your previous statement about database separation is true. If they're truly independent, each can be updated independently. The nice thing about this kind of change is that if the strings are identical before the substitution, they will be identical after the substitution.

Not the hardest thing to do on a work server when you have control of the data and the users, just a bit of grepping and script for running usermod. Trying to do this on a live system with an open community of around 2.5 million accounts on various devices and operating systems is setting yourself up for a whole world of pain.

Yeah, but any change to such a system carries that kind of risk.
Still, you either let the site rot and die, or you make changes along the way.

 

[drusus]

The whole issue here is the server database not changing %20 back to a space on the server side through a URL. Whether that's an easy fix or not, it's a clear and bounded problem. If it's fixed, great, if not, it's affecting a relatively small number of users. I'm sure we all appreciate how frustrating that must be for them but it's not affecting anything else.

Wholesale changes across the entire site would be a huge and difficult operation. The forum alone has posts going back decades and these types of forums should only be modified using SQL. It's not just some big text file, it's a series of interconnected structures that must remain in alignment. Running some character swapping PERL script can easily screw up the whole thing and good luck unpicking that if it goes wrong.

Yeah, but any change to such a system carries that kind of risk.
Still, you either let the site rot and die, or you make changes along the way.

Change does carry risk, which is why no one should go into it thinking a simple character swapping script is a solution for anything. Especially on a site that's as big as this one.

 

[IWroteThis]

The whole issue here is the server database not changing %20 back to a space on the server side through a URL.

Nope, not a database issue. It's an issue with their code or some third party software they use.

Whether that's an easy fix or not, it's a clear and bounded problem. If it's fixed, great, if not, it's affecting a relatively small number of users. I'm sure we all appreciate how frustrating that must be for them but it's not affecting anything else.

Well, the pool of users who would be impacted by removing spaces from usernames is the exact same pool as those who are affected due to having spaces in their username, so I don't see the issue.

Wholesale changes across the entire site would be a huge and difficult operation.

You mean like wading through the code to find all of the spots that don't handle spaces properly, then changing that code that is used by all visitors to the site?

The forum alone has posts going back decades and these types of forums should only be modified using SQL. It's not just some big text file, it's a series of interconnected structures that must remain in alignment. Running some character swapping PERL script can easily screw up the whole thing and good luck unpicking that if it goes wrong.

Wait, do you think that every forum post and story contains the username of the person who posted it in its database record? Sorry, but that would be a horrible database design. No, there will be a USERS table of some sort that contains a record for each user which contains fields for all of their personal data. That includes a unique and unchanging record ID that is used to link records in other tables to a specific user. When a story or forum post is displayed, the username to display is looked up from the USERS table based on the ID attached to the post/story. Changing the username on an account is as simple as updating a single field in a single record in the USERS table.

Change does carry risk, which is why no one should go into it thinking a simple character swapping script is a solution for anything. Especially on a site that's as big as this one.

Once again, removing spaces from a single field in a single table is very likely to be a much simpler solution than debugging who knows how many lines of code.

Also, for the record, I'm a database administrator that has done bulk username changes in multiple production systems as part of my job. Mergers are fun!

 

[drusus]

Yes, it's a problem with the code on the story side. Something isn't parsing out the space character in URLs so that's where to apply the fix. It used to be fine and now it's not so track down what's changed. Debugging code is something programmers do all the time it's likely a point problem and not a big deal. Find the bug and fix it, everyone's happy.

Your solution is to completely rehash the entire site because you have a script that can swap spaces for underscores. Great. There is a users table under this site, along with other tables. The profile stuff is in a different table, as are the user options.

If you do know your way around this stuff then you know what software runs this site and what can be done with it. A quick google on running scripts on the forum tables should tell you it's a really bad idea. On a broader level, if the forum is working, don't fuck with it to fix another problem. Sort out the actual problem instead.

 

[IWroteThis]

Yes, it's a problem with the code on the story side. Something isn't parsing out the space character in URLs so that's where to apply the fix. It used to be fine and now it's not so track down what's changed. Debugging code is something programmers do all the time it's likely a point problem and not a big deal. Find the bug and fix it, everyone's happy.

Your solution is to completely rehash the entire site because you have a script that can swap spaces for underscores. Great. There is a users table under this site, along with other tables. The profile stuff is in a different table, as are the user options.

If you do know your way around this stuff then you know what software runs this site and what can be done with it. A quick google on running scripts on the forum tables should tell you it's a really bad idea. On a broader level, if the forum is working, don't fuck with it to fix another problem. Sort out the actual problem instead.

I suppose that next, you'll tell me that mauve has the most RAM...

I'm glad that you're experience with Google searches makes you more qualified than me, despite me being one of those who provide the content that your Google search returns. I needed the laugh!

 

[drusus]

I'm glad that you're experience with Google searches makes you more qualified than me

You seem a little sensitive.

It's up to @Manu if and how the fix goes. He might address it, or just shrug and leave it to another day. Feel free to send in your script if you think it will help.

 

[IWroteThis]

You seem a little sensitive.

Perhaps. Sadly, you're not the first to try and "correct" me despite not having a clue what you're talking about. After a while, it gets tiresome.

It's up to @Manu if and how the fix goes. He might address it, or just shrug and leave it to another day.

Yep, but that doesn't stop us from talking about it. In fact, my original comment was a response to you doing just that.

Feel free to send in your script if you think it will help.

I guess I expected too much, so let me clarify. Given access to the database, I could write a script to do it. Without knowing the database structure, I could explain how to do it, but I could not produce an actual script.

Also, if you think a professional like myself doing it would be dangerous, imagine turning an amateur loose with a script they don't understand!

 

[drusus]

No one is questioning your ability to write a character swapping script. It's not exactly difficult but you might be great at it, best there ever was. It doesn't change the fact that it doesn't address the actual problem reported and running it could screw up the entire site. The format for the forum database is publicly available, knock yourself out.

 

[Thesunmaid]

The chat software itself is fine with spaces in the user names, it's more likely a problem with the log in process.

View attachment 2580589

I have had 4 chatters with spaces in thier name either put an underscore in thier name or remove the space and they are able to log in...that's my experience and so far its always worked.

Also people here do not react well to change...you should have seen what the reaction people had when they updated the chat. People absolutely lost thier shit. While I wish they would make it work better....people literally take tantrums when things change even if it makes things work.

 

[drusus]

I have had 4 chatters with spaces in thier name either put an underscore in thier name or remove the space and they are able to log in...that's my experience and so far its always worked.

Also people here do not react well to change...you should have seen what the reaction people had when they updated the chat. People absolutely lost thier shit. While I wish they would make it work better....people literally take tantrums when things change even if it makes things work.

I'm sure it's not the chat software itself, so some sort of delimiter thing when parsing the user names. An underscore would fix it in that case but there might be another option. Seems it's not possible to sign up for a new account with a space in the user name so I can't test it any further.

Was that the chat with the pink and blue user names and the dreaded dropped whisper? That software was buggy as hell. There are lots of reasons why that underscore change is a bad idea, and no one needs to deal with a line of irate users who can't log in anymore.