Posts/Threads can disappear using Remove inactive user

Sergeant Joined: Sep 24, 2003 Posts: 112

I am currently on PHPNuke 7.4 and running Protector System 1.14.b2.

This bug is not a PS bug but rather a PHPnuke bug or MySQL feature, but can create a major problem when using the PS Remove inactive user funtion. I figured I would post this on here and the PS website.

The bug is that if you remove/delete a member of your website that has posted every post from that member might disappear. Not a big deal right?? Well, not just every post of his or hers disappears but every THREAD that the deleted member posted in!!!

This means that say someone is a very active member of your website, has posted quite a lot, and for some reason quits coming the website for any reason (banned, death, no reason) and hits your Remove inactive member days limit. If that person is deleted than EVERY thread he or she posted in will be gone. This could get pretty ugly as your website gets older as more posts/theads could disappear.

The posts and threads are not actually deleted from your database. Rather they can not show up in the forum. Now I am not that smart when it comes to MySql so I can not exactly explain what is going on here. But I believe that once the member was deleted the logical link to the posts/threads he/she posted in are gone so now they have no way of showing up in the forum.

I tried to test this by creating three test users on my development server but could not recreate the problem. But it does exist since it happened to me yesterday when I deleted a member from my production server and all posts from him and threads he posted in disappeared. I was able to get the posts/threads back by restoring the member in my database.

There has also been some discussion about disappearing posts on NukeCops and member deletion was always the reason why the posts/threads were gone. Restoring the delted member always brought the posts/threads back and worked for me also.

Nuke Cadet Joined: Oct 23, 2004 Posts: 2

I too just had this problem pop-up. Is there any fix except restoring the user? I hope so, or else I just lost a lot of threads Rolling Eyes

Sergeant Joined: Sep 24, 2003 Posts: 112

Restore user is the only way to fix it.

if you do not want that person a a member on your website then chaange the password and blank out the email address of the user.

Support Mod Joined: Jun 11, 2003 Posts: 245

Verry odd? Maby I must look if the forum has changes the code. I did this function for Nuke 6.5. Im gonna see what I can find.

bplinson it would be nice if i can get little help from you.

The thing is that all post that the "removed" user has posted shpuld just be converted to Guest posts... not be removed, So it might be somthing bad/wrong there... thx for the info..

Nuke Cadet Joined: Oct 23, 2004 Posts: 2

Also now that that user is gone along with all my threads I cannot seem to make a new topic in the forum categories/forums that he posted in. when i click submit on the add new post page, it just refreshes the new post page and does nothing. has anyone found anything about this? im running php-nuke 7.0

Nuke Soldier Joined: Feb 18, 2005 Posts: 16

bplinson wrote:

Restore user is the only way to fix it.

if you do not want that person a a member on your website then chaange the password and blank out the email address of the user.

This happened to me this morning and it kind of freaked me out. Happily, I was able to find this thread. To restore the user, I created another user with the same nickname and then edited the database in phpmyadmin so the user ID matched the deleted user's ID. Sorting the user database by user ID revealed where the hole in the DB was. In this case, number 82. Other important fields, like email and password, were filled with useless junk so the old user could not come back and hijack that userID.

All is now well. All threads, as well as order in my little universe, are restored.

I consider this a bug. PHPBB/PHPNuke should generate some kind of placeholder when users are deleted. Losing half my threads is not an option seeing as my group is a repository for community info.

G.

Nuke Cadet Joined: Oct 24, 2005 Posts: 1

Caffeinated wrote:

bplinson wrote:

Restore user is the only way to fix it.

if you do not want that person a a member on your website then chaange the password and blank out the email address of the user.

This happened to me this morning and it kind of freaked me out. Happily, I was able to find this thread. To restore the user, I created another user with the same nickname and then edited the database in phpmyadmin so the user ID matched the deleted user's ID. Sorting the user database by user ID revealed where the hole in the DB was. In this case, number 82. Other important fields, like email and password, were filled with useless junk so the old user could not come back and hijack that userID.

All is now well. All threads, as well as order in my little universe, are restored.

I consider this a bug. PHPBB/PHPNuke should generate some kind of placeholder when users are deleted. Losing half my threads is not an option seeing as my group is a repository for community info.

G.

Caffeinated:

I've been hit with this same problem. I am a true novice with phpmyadmin.
Would you please take time and go through a 1,2,3 step proceedure of restoring a user.

Many Thanks! Ron (lateshow) Shocked

ron@texw,com

Lieutenant Joined: Sep 22, 2005 Posts: 204 Location: NYC

Caffeinated wrote:

This happened to me this morning and it kind of freaked me out. Happily, I was able to find this thread. To restore the user, I created another user with the same nickname and then edited the database in phpmyadmin so the user ID matched the deleted user's ID. Sorting the user database by user ID revealed where the hole in the DB was. In this case, number 82. Other important fields, like email and password, were filled with useless junk so the old user could not come back and hijack that userID.

All is now well. All threads, as well as order in my little universe, are restored.

I consider this a bug. PHPBB/PHPNuke should generate some kind of placeholder when users are deleted. Losing half my threads is not an option seeing as my group is a repository for community info.

G.

Caffeinated!! Thank You!

I had trusted someone enough to give them my passwords so they could upgrade my site for me. This person took it upon himself to delete some of my members that he personally didn't like, without consulting with me and without my permission. He also did some other things to my site, but there is no need to go into them here. Big Lesson learned, Don't ever give anyone your passwords no matter how much you think you can trust them!! I was forced to change all my passwords. Then I saw that it messed up my forums. I lost 60% of the posts. I was trying to recreate them manually whenever I had time.

I just did your 'Fix' and it worked! I have all the original posts back! Wish you had posted this sooner, but I am still glad you posted it now!

Thank You again!!

JoAnne ~

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