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Site stuff

Mumsnet website access

27 replies

Grommit · 22/02/2004 19:34

Help - I can access Mumsnet through my company dial in access but when I try to go in through NTL Broadband I get the "the page cannot be displayed.." error. This has only started happening in the past few weeks - I would access fine before then. Any ideas?? Thanks

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JanHR · 22/02/2004 19:35

Grommitt, look on the Site Stuff boards. A few peop;e have had problems recently and som solutions have been posted there.

spacemonkey · 22/02/2004 19:59

Grommit, am on ntl BB and get the same problem. You need to change your proxy server settings in order to get onto mumsnet. To do this, in Internet Explorer go to Tools > Internet Options > Connections > LAN Settings

There's a proxy server checkbox - make a note of anything that's in there before making any changes (it will normally be blank by default) - then put "inktomi2-lee.server.ntl.com" in the proxy server address box and "8080" in the port no box. Then OK it.

You should now be able to get onto mumsnet. This should not affect your ability to browse any other site at all. If you experience any problems with it, simply go back in and switch the proxy settings checkbox off again.

HTH

spacemonkey · 22/02/2004 20:07

there's a really good site called nthellworld which has lots of info for ntl users

Grommit · 22/02/2004 20:08

Spacemonkey - thanks you are a star - got in!!

OP posts:

spacemonkey · 22/02/2004 20:08

damn, looks like ntl have taken it down! It used to have loads of great tech info and workarounds for ntl customers GRRR!

spacemonkey · 22/02/2004 20:09

hurrah! It's got to be a problem with the mumsnet ISP because loads of people on all sorts of different ISPs are having the same trouble. I think tech's looking into it

tech · 22/02/2004 20:55

Hello all,

We are looking into this as a number of people seem to be having problems.

Having said that, if you are on NTL broadband and setting a proxy server fixes the problem, then it's likely there is a problem with NTL broadband rather than us - specifially with the "transparent caches". Many of the broadband services use these. It's a bit techno and boring, but if you send a request for a webpage, your ISP checks its cache first to see if it has a copy. Broadband ISPs do this to try limit the amount of traffic going out of their networks - for very good reasons. However, if there is a problem with the cache, it can look like the remote site is down even if it isn't. By setting the proxy in IE, you are effectivey telling your browser to use another cache - which may be working when the usual or default one isn't.

Anyway, as I said we are looking at this. I'll let you know when we know any more. In the meantime, if anyone gets this problem, it would be useful if you could copy the error page you get into an email and send it to [email protected] along with the name of the ISP you use.

Thanks,
Tech

spacemonkey · 22/02/2004 20:58

Agree, ntl is particularly crap at times. Just seems that so many people are getting the same problem. And Microsoft's extremely informative "Page Cannot Be Displayed" error message doesn't really tell you anything!

tigermoth · 23/02/2004 07:46

So it wasn't just me them? I was on the internet between 8.00 am and 10.00 am, browsed over 30 sites, kept trying mumsnet but couldn't get on. Tried a few times in the evening too but no luck.

Tech I emailed the team yesterday. I have been having this problem for weeks.

I am with ntl, but not broadband. I will print off this thread and try spacemonkey's useful suggestion if it happens again.

Tech, I do hope you can sort something out.

fio2 · 23/02/2004 07:53

i couldnt access this morning, i'm with ntl too

suedonim · 23/02/2004 16:36

I couldn't access it this am, either - a Gateway Timeout, it said, though I don't know what that is. I'm with Freeserve.

fio2 · 23/02/2004 21:19

i havent been able to get in hardly at all today

lou33 · 23/02/2004 21:22

I'm with bt. Thought it was less bawdy Fio, should've realised you weren't around.

fio2 · 23/02/2004 21:37

what does bawdy mean lou?

Furball · 23/02/2004 21:58

And me - AGAIN!!

tech · 23/02/2004 22:21

Hello all,

Sorry you've been having problems. We are taking a number of steps to address this:

Upgrading the server, adding an extra processor and memory.

Changing the "search" bit of talk to use a search engine rather than a database.

We are also looking at whether there have been any specific routing issues from particular ISPs over the last week or so which could have been affecting things.

Please bear with us through these changes. We expect to have the updated search facility available this coming weekend, and the server upgrade should happen within the next couple of weeks.

Best,
Tech

lou33 · 23/02/2004 22:43

Well, it has your name next to it in the dictionary Fio!

tigermoth · 23/02/2004 22:53

Looking forward to the changes, and I hope the new search devices help. As it is, I can only access a proportion of old threads via search, despite going through the process many different ways.

Hope all this is not too time consuming for you tech.

Just for your info if it helps, the site was very slow 10 minutes ago, though it's fine again for me now.

tech · 24/02/2004 00:33

Hello Tigermoth,
Yes we've been archiving the old threads quite aggressively recently as you've noticed. The last three months are still there. We'll restore them all when we put thew new search facility in.

We've been doing some extra logging over the last few days and have zeroed in on a few bottlenecks which we'll address. Hopefully things should be faster soon....

robinw · 24/02/2004 06:37

message withdrawn

handlemecarefully · 24/02/2004 08:02

I couldn't access the site yesterday during the day either. Couldn't tell you my ISP, as I was trying to access it from work (where I don't usually get a problem)

fio2 · 24/02/2004 08:15

well I have looked bawdy lou, no wonder I didnt know such a word

I got thrown out of mumsnet last night aswell after I managed to access it. I couldnt post and then it cut off saying cannot contact server/page cant be displayed etc. I was able to access other sites though. Hope it sorts itself out soon

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spacemonkey · 24/02/2004 11:04

Just had to switch OFF my proxy settings in order to get onto mumsnet - I think ntl are just FLAKY!

tallulah · 24/02/2004 19:21

So pleased that other people are having problems- thought it was just me & tesco!!!

Couldn't get in at all 3 days last week & from Sunday this week.

Today it's running really fast

tigermoth · 28/02/2004 20:25

tech, just seen your answer. Thanks. Glad all the old threads will be' searchable' again when you have the new search engine installed.

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