# Time limits for logins?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-limits-for-logins/98693
**Category:** About This Message Board
**Created:** [March 17, 2002, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-limits-for-logins/98693 "2002-03-17T03:45:36Z")
**Posts on this page:** 15
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)
#### Post date: [March 17, 2002, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-limits-for-logins/98693/1 "2002-03-17T03:45:36Z")
I logged in earlier today, made a couple of posts, and then lurked for a while. Then I tried to post to a thread in GQ and got the “You Are Not Authorized…” message.
After fighting down the “I’ve been banned _already_” panic, I skipped back to the forum list and realized that I had been logged out for some reason. Is there a time limit for logins on the board?
Also, when I logged in again (about 5:00pm 3/16, US Eastern) this forum wasn’t visible, or I would have posted this question then.
The board appeared to be very busy at the time, could that be it?
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### Author:  [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)
#### Post date: [March 17, 2002, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-limits-for-logins/98693/2 "2002-03-17T19:57:25Z")
Firstly, when you go to “user cp -\> Edit Options”, are these two values set to yes? (user cp is a button at the top of the forum list.)
[ol]
[li]Automatically login when you return to the site? (uses cookies)[/li][li]Browse board with cookies?[/li][/ol]
Secondly, there is a timeout for cookies, I will have to go look up the value. After what time interval do you get logged off?
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### Author:  [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)
#### Post date: [March 17, 2002, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-limits-for-logins/98693/3 "2002-03-17T20:29:28Z")
I sometimes get logged out before I even finish typing the post I logged in to post! I have to copy the text, go back several screens re-log in and paste the text in then submit it. I’ll go to user CP and mess about with it.
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### Author:  [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2002, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-limits-for-logins/98693/4 "2002-03-18T03:32:19Z")
You guys are the best. I thought somebody would get to this on Monday or later.
**Arnold Winkelried** - Yep. Both options checked “yes.” That’s how I logged in today, and all the threads and fora I’d visited were listed in that “already looked at it” color (I don’t know the technical term). And I double checked when I read your post.
I suppose it’s possible that I accidentaly clicked a “logout” link somewhere, but I don’t see how I could. I purposely logged out on my second session last night and I had to hunt for one.
Could server demand (SDMB, or more likely ISP) cause the problem that **voguevixen** and I are having?
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### Author:  [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2002, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-limits-for-logins/98693/5 "2002-03-18T04:47:18Z")
It could be because of the board being busy, but I kind of doubt it, with my limited knowledge of how the time limit would be implemented. I’m still investigating. In the meantime, maybe you could give me this information: after what time interval do you get logged off?
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### Author:  [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2002, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-limits-for-logins/98693/6 "2002-03-18T05:45:20Z")
I’m really sorry. You asked me that the first time you posted to this.
It happens right around two hours. I used the plural because it happened again today. Where’s the “sad” smilie?
Maybe it’s just me. Don’t run yourself ragged trying to track it down. I can handle it.
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### Author:  [@Nightsong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightsong)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2002, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-limits-for-logins/98693/7 "2002-03-18T16:45:03Z")
It seems to happen to me also, again right around that 2 hour mark: I’ll set up an experiment at home tomorrow and see if I can gather a bit more data on this for troubleshooting purposes. [sub](Yes, I’m trying to avoid doing my homework. But it’s for a good cause!)[/sub]
* * *
\<\< Coffee: you can sleep when you’re dead! \>\>
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### Author:  [@Fatwater\_Fewl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fatwater_Fewl)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2002, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-limits-for-logins/98693/8 "2002-03-18T19:05:14Z")
The timeout for me is happening within a half hour. ?
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### Author:  [@Fatwater\_Fewl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fatwater_Fewl)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2002, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-limits-for-logins/98693/9 "2002-03-18T19:44:05Z")
Yep, half hour. Had to log in to post this.
John
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### Author:  [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2002, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-limits-for-logins/98693/10 "2002-03-18T21:01:55Z")
Odd. I haven’t posted since yesterday at least, but I didn’t have to sign in to post this. I have had to log in a few times to make posts since the board’s been back, but not every time, I believe.
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### Author:  [@Tenebras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenebras)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2002, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-limits-for-logins/98693/11 "2002-03-18T21:41:54Z")
Ok, so it happens to me after about 30 seconds. A day in the life of Tenebras trying to post:
I hit the reply to thread button, I sit and wait. It tells me to log in. I log in. I sit and wait. Half the time, during this waiting period, the board forgets what I wanted to do, and it tells me that I’m lost, and to hit some button to try to get found. This only ever sets me up for some more waiting. So I use the happy back button. I go back, having logged in and hit the reply button again and sometimes I’m still logged in and, after sitting and waiting, I go and type my reply, other times I have to log in again. This entails more waiting.
Let’s assume I get to the reply window. So now I type my reply, but only very rarely do I do this in time not to become magically logged out. So I copy my post (in case it gets lost in the following), hit reply, get told that I’m not logged in, log in, get lost, go back to the reply window, hit reply again and hope that during the waiting I haven’t become un-logged in.
This whole process sometimes takes as long as 10 minutes. For a single post. Longer if I preview instead of taking it on faith. Last night was good, my waits were only 20 seconds, but I had to go through that entire process every time I posted.
I’m browsing the board with cookies, but not using the log me in automatically feature, because I browse from the lab, and it seems a little silly to have anybody who looks at the straight dope be logged in as me.
I generally browse using Explorer I don’t know what, but I think the newest version when I’m on a Windows machine, or Netscape 4.78 for Linux, when I’m on a Linux machine, as I am now. These machines are not slow by any stretch, and they have good connections to everywhere except the straight dope bulletin board, which crawls somewhat slower than a one legged infant. But I’m not bitter.
Also, I had none of these problems before the crash, then the board ran somewhat slow, but reasonably. Now the waits are becoming somewhat interminable, and it is not a happy experience. Thank you.
Tenebras
Side note, I have become logged out again, whilst I try to post this. This is because the universe has a sense of humor.
Second side note, the message
> [@](#):
>
> Bulletin Message
> No thread specified. If you followed a valid link, please notify the webmaster
Consider yourself notified, I guess.
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### Author:  [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2002, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-limits-for-logins/98693/12 "2002-03-18T22:24:11Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Tenebras \*
> … not using the log me in automatically feature, because I browse from the lab, and it seems a little silly to have anybody who looks at the straight dope be logged in as me.
Perhaps your problems could be resolved by turning on that feature (**Automatically login when you return to the site? (uses cookies)**). What I do is use that feature but remember to go to the main screen and log out when I am done visiting the boards. Then the next person to come along would have to login again.
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### Author:  [@Tenebras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenebras)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2002, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-limits-for-logins/98693/13 "2002-03-18T22:55:35Z")
Thanks, I’ll try that. I didn’t know that I could log out without it dragging me back in.
Tenebras
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2002, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-limits-for-logins/98693/14 "2002-03-19T01:37:42Z")
If you’re worried about others ending up on your login, another option, in Netscape at least, is to set up multiple profiles in the browser. When you start up Netscape, it’ll then ask you which profile you want to use, and each will then have different default mail settings, bookmarks, cookies, histories, etc. If you don’t have any profiles set up yet, then to get the first one, you need to go to Start, Programs, Netscape, Utilities, User Profile Manager. I believe that any old data will be put into a profile called “default”. I believe that it was **DrMatrix** and **Cajun Man** who first posted this suggestion on the board, but I’m too lazy to search up the specific thread.
I don’t know whether IE has a similar feature.
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### Author:  [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2002, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-limits-for-logins/98693/15 "2002-03-20T19:01:05Z")
I have the same problems as Tenebras, and it’s darn annoying. This is the only board where I’ve ever had that problem. I have the same issues on IE, Netscape 6.2 and Opera 6.01. AHHHH…and in IE, it sometimes logs me out immediately after logging in.