Update About Site Updates

The place to report bugs and post "test" comments

3D rendering artificial intelligence AI research of robot and cyborg development for future of people living. Digital data mining and machine learning technology design for computer brain.

Hey all, as you may remember, last year, we transitioned how we hosted OTB. As part of that work, we shifted from a managed hosting environment to a dedicated server. I also took over handling a lot of the backend implementation. Unfortunately, my skills at doing that were a bit dusty and limited. That’s led to a bunch of challenges–especially as I began to pull on some of the loose threads of the Wordress sweater that is OTB.

The good news is that we’ve managed to actually clean up a bunch of vestigial dead weight on the backend of the site. The bad news is that, as you’ve encountered on a number of occasions, when I put the disassembled site back together, I sometimes discovered that something I removed might not have been as vestigial as I thought it was.

Yesterday, I implemented a number of suggested “security fixes” intended to make our WordPress installation less hackable. Apparently one of them is creating an issue with our comment counts. There may also be some additional fall out.

Here’s my ask–if things are not looking right, can you comment about it here (and only here). That’s going to make it easier for me to track issues. And when you share, if you can let me know what browser and platform (desktop/tablet/mobile) you are on.

Thanks!

FILED UNDER: Site Update,
Matt Bernius
About Matt Bernius
Matt Bernius is a design researcher working to create more equitable government systems and experiences. Matt's most recent work has been in the civic tech space, working as a researcher and design strategist at Code for America and Measures for Justice. Prior to that he worked at Effective, a UX agency, and also taught at the Rochester Institute of Technology and Cornell. Matt has an MA from the University of Chicago.

Comments

  1. JohnSF says:

    test

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    0
  2. CSK says:

    Testing with Chrome. All seems well, so far. Thanks, Matt, for all your work on the site.

    ReplyReply
  3. Bill Jempty says:

    Testing with Firefox. I’ve got a lovely bunch of coconuts standing in a row…..

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  4. Kylopod says:

    Just FYI, Wed Forum still shows just 39 comments from my iPhone, and I saw at least one “Wow there are so few comments today!”

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  5. restless says:

    @Kylopod:

    Yes, while the Wednesday forum seems to be up-to-date with 128 comments on the front page and 128 on the forum page (I hope :), none of the other threads from yesterday show all the comments that the front page says they have.

    Today’s comments are new to me, so I’ll wait a bit and see if the comment count gets out of sync. There are currently four here on the updates thread, and 16 on the open form.

    Note that the comment count being out of sync means that literally there are fewer posts on the page, not just that the comment count doesn’t match.

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  6. Kathy says:

    On all of yesterday’s blog posts, I see the number of comments but can only view a few of them. I didn’t count them, but they top out around 15:00 in the time stamp.

    If I post a comment, then I can see them all. I just don’t want to post wildly to read the comments.

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  7. Matt Bernius says:

    Question for @Kathy and others who have to post to see all the comments, what browser and device are you using?

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  8. JohnSF says:

    @Matt Bernius:
    Happening to me.
    I’m using Chrome on a Win11 laptop.

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  9. Kathy says:

    On desktop PC Chrome. On the android phone Edge. refreshing the page doesn’t help. I also just tried Edge on the desktop, and the problem stays the same.

    The funny thing is that around 5 pm CST yesterday I could see all comments, then by around 6 most of them disappeared.

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  10. CSK says:

    I tried to post a comment on the Open Forum at 10:19 and couldn’t. I got the message that the site wasn’t working.

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  11. Scott says:

    I haven’t had any issues this morning at all. Chrome with Windows 11 laptop. May not matter but I use a VPN.

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  12. inhumans99 says:

    I am posting from an Android phone (Pixel 7 Pro), things look good on my end.

    I also post from my desktop computer, a Mac Mini, but I use Chrome as my primary browser.

    Sometimes I need to refresh for actual up to date number of comments on a post to show up, but wonky number of actual # of comments under a post whenever I hit this site does not really bother me.

    I love all that James, Steven, and you have done to keep this great site running.

    Much appreciated!!

    ReplyReply
  13. Barry says:

    Test comment – Firefox from Windows 11 PC.

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  14. restless says:

    MacBook Pro, iPhone and iPad Air, all up to date with their respective OSes.

    As I mentioned yesterday, each device (and each browser), wasn’t updating comments, though the comment count on the front page was increasing.

    Yesterday evening the open forum started working; I could see the few comments posted after my last, and the comment count matched. Only that one thread, though; the others needed to be bumped to load the newer comments.

    This morning’s threads have reverted to last week’s behavior; I can see new comments (both threads, both iPhone and iPad), but the comment count on the front page is lower than that of the thread page. I’ll take it 🙂

    Thank you, Matt, for all your effort keeping OTB going!

    ReplyReply
  15. Jax says:

    Everything seems to be fine for me this morning on today’s posts. Opera on Windows 11 laptop.

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  16. Michael Reynolds says:

    So weird, but sometimes when I click on Outsidethebeltway I somehow end up on this obscure site called PornHub. I don’t know if any of you know that site, but the content is quite different from OTB.

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  17. just nutha says:

    @Matt Bernius: I was using a Fire 10 tablet when I posted to recover comments from yesterday’s posts. The resident browser on that system is called “silk.”

    You now have 100% of the information my mad teck skilz can provide about my situation. I wish I understood more, but I don’t.

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  18. Neil Hudelson says:

    @Matt Bernius:

    I experienced the commenting-to-see-comments issue both on Firefox and on Brave, which is based on Chrome.

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  19. Mister Bluster says:

    @Michael Reynolds:..PH

    There is a site for Christian men that will only say P-word that is supposed to cure Christian men of the need for poontang or something like that.
    Not like I will be signing up anytime soon.

    ReplyReply
  20. Rob1 says:

    @Matt Bernius:

    Here’s my ask–if things are not looking right, can you comment about it here (and only here).

    Does this mean specifically this post/thread or will a dedicated thread be posted periodically going forward?

    ReplyReply
  21. Gustopher says:

    The timestamps have been back for a bit. I recall James had reasons for having them removed.

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  22. Matt Bernius says:

    @Rob1:
    James and I are talking about a redesign of our template and this might end up being a pinned post on it somewhere.

    I think keeping this accessible probably makes sense.

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  23. Andy says:

    I haven’t been on much, but the most I’ve noticed is occasional comment counts being off on the home page, and occasional long times (up to a minute) for a comment to post after hitting the button.

    Everything on this post looks fine as of now.

    I primarily use firefox on PC and iOS, but with a lot of addons.

    ReplyReply
  24. Matt Bernius says:

    @Andy:
    Ooh, good to know about the lag on posting a comment. That’s strange.

    ReplyReply
  25. Andy says:

    @Matt Bernius:

    It isn’t happening today – it was whenever I
    last commented – a few days ago I think.

    ReplyReply
  26. Mister Bluster says:

    @Matt Bernius:..lag

    The comment posting lag time has been intermittent over the last week or so. Most times that there was a delay in posting the edit timer would appear at 18:59 so I’m guessing the delay was about a minute.
    Today it seems that posts appear as soon as I hit the POST COMMENT key.
    This post is composed on my MacBook Air macOS Sierra 10.12.6 Chrome browser.

    ETA: This posted slicker than shit through a goose.
    (Blame Animal House for my offensive images.)

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  27. CSK says:

    Posting a comment isn’t a problem, but the actual comment count is still off on the home page. That’s with Chrome on a laptop.

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  28. Kathy says:

    I can see now the comments that disappeared yesterday. Chrome on a Win11 PC.

    Many thanks to all who replied on yesterday’s open thread on how to delete a comment. I’ll try them next time I do a double post.

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  29. Mimai says:

    @Matt Bernius:

    It amazes me that you all maintain this site, at this pace, for “free.” Thank you!

    Also, while I’m here, let me say that I’ve long pined for pinned posts that segregate certain topics/discussions (eg, “Toad Touching”) from the other posts/discussions of the day. Imagine.

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  30. Mister Bluster says:

    Here’s my ask–if things are not looking right, can you comment about it here (and only here).

    Looks like the comment counter on the cover page of the Friday May 9, 2025 OTB is not keeping up with actual comments posted in several threads.
    Pentagon Purge…
    Cover page: No Comments
    Actual thread: 8 Comments

    Pirro…
    Cover: 9 Comments
    Thread: 13

    Clowns…
    Cover: 8
    Thread: 12

    Photo…
    Cover: 3
    Thread: 3

    Forum…
    Cover: 33
    Thread: 41

    MacBook Air
    macOS Sierra
    Version 10.12.6

    Chrome browser.

    ReplyReply

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