I have recently began running into an issue whenever I attempt to either reply to a comment or start a new thread: I click “submit”, the little progress bar begins to fill up, and then I am taken back to the post-message screen, except that the screen is blank.  This seems to happen nearly ever time I try to post anything.  There is a fairly easy work-around: if I use the “back arrow” on the browser I am taken back to the screen with the body of the post intact. I can then select all of the text, click copy, click submit again, be taken back to the blank screen, “paste” the body of the post, re-type the subject heading (if it’s a new post), and click submit. (Wait, did I say the workaround was easy?  Well, it’s easier than recreating the post in all of its muddle-headed and uninformed glory).

For some reason, it always successfully posts the message to the forum when I go through that process, but never seems to work without going through that process.  I have taken to always “copying” the text before posting a message as doing so saves me a few steps when using the workaround. 

I’m not sure if this is relevant or not, but my posts are almost always made via iPhone (4S).  But I have been using the iPhone ever since I began posting on this forum and only began running into this issue recently.  Does anybody have any ideas as to what’s going on or how I can avoid this (aside from using the workaround previously mentioned)?

It occurred to me that this issue may be the result of a subtle attempt, either by Dave Wilton (as administrator) or the universe at large, to gently dissuade me from posting any further silliness on the forum, in the hopes that I will eventually take the hint and revert back to “read only” mode.  (But I don’t really think that’s what’s going on, as, for one thing, that seems like a lot of work to go through for such a relatively ineffective solution.)

When exactly did the problem start? Was it within the last four days or has it been happening longer? (I’ve been making some changes in an attempt to control spam. I don’t think these are to blame, but if it’s been longer than four days those changes can be ruled out as a cause.)

It sounds like the problem is with the ISP or the iPhone itself. This doesn’t sound like any behavior of the Expression Engine software that powers the site. The giveaway seems to be the progress bar, which Expression Engine won’t generate. It sounds like something iOS generates when it has a connection problem.

Does the problem occur when you connect with a regular computer and not the iPhone?

If the problem keeps happening, email me the IP address(es) of the iPhone and any other machines you are connecting from. I know the IP address you established your account with, but that’s not necessarily the address you use to connect.

Also, does the problem only occur when connecting via the phone network, or does it also occur when your iPhone is connected to a wi-fi network?

I just checked and I’m having the same problem, intermittently, on my iPhone. But it doesn’t happen often enough for me to figure out a pattern. The only time it happened with me I was connected via wi-fi, but it’s happening too sporadically to say anything for sure. It doesn’t seem to be happening with my iPad, but again it’s too intermittent to draw firm conclusions. It really looks like an iOS problem, maybe unique to the newer iPhones.

I don’t remember precisely when it started happening, but I have a sense that it either started happening or became more common shortly after I installed an upgrade to the iPhone’s OS (but I don’t entirely trust my memory about that).  It has happened both when I’m connected via wifi and when I’m connected via the cellular network (AT&T).  I haven’t run into it when I use my kindle fire to post, but, then, when it comes to posting, I use the iPhone far more often than I use the kindle.

For whatever reason, the last four posts or so I have attempted have worked (without a workaround).