C9 Request... | The Coffeehouse

Harlequin
http://twitter.com/TrueHarlequin

Remove the AJAX from the site....it doesn't work.

Just lost a post I posted...went into the ether. And as I was writing this post for the first time I accidentelly clicked Cancel. With AJAX, no history...can't go back. Typing lost.

Postback....nothing wrong with it.

PaoloM
Hypermediocrity

++

spivonious

In reply to PaoloM

#Oct 16th @ 9:43 AM

+1000000000

figuerres
???

In general I have to say that from what i have seen is that when it works it's great. when it fails it sux big time.

i have seen problems on not just the MSFT versions but others also.

there is a web mail system i use that very often does an html "pop up" that just hangs.... i have to close and re-open the browser.

i have not tested with different browsers so it's possible the common thread is IE ?

so ither IE does a poor job with ajax or there are fundamental problems with realizing the concept of ajax today.

my future outlook is that web sites i will build will only use ajax in very carefully selected places.

for more involved UI and page logic i will see if silverlight is a "better ajax".

exoteric
I : Next<I>

Install a keylogger on your machine Wink

vesuvius
Das Glasperlenspiel

In reply to figuerres

#Oct 16th @ 9:51 AM

There are times when the site works like a charm, and it is an absolute joy to use. When things go bad however it is incredibly frustrating.

I would say that loss of a post in an AJAX postback is a pretty serious thing. If the powers that be could return all the lost posts, there is no telling just how many more posts we would have.

Most people just give up once a post is lost, and post in a few days or weeks time. I can however count on one hand the times I have had phpBB failures when posting, that endears me to the technology as it just works. Most of the "most used" applications out there are used so because they are highly reliable and efficient, however bad they may look.

Harlequin
http://twitter.com/TrueHarlequin

In reply to vesuvius

#Oct 16th @ 10:14 AM

I just think this is beyond what AJAX is for. I think it's for loading up a page initially, then using AJAX to do stuff in the background, like populating dropdowns, clicking next on a datagrid and repopulating on the fly with the next page. AJAX is for bringing in data...not for things like forum posting.

Ray7

Agreed. Being flash is one thing, being flash and a bit crap is just dumb.

I still think the old version of this site was ten times better.

Ray7

Agreed. Being flash is one thing, being flash and a bit crap is just dumb.

I still think the old version of this site was ten times better.

Harlequin
http://twitter.com/TrueHarlequin

In reply to Ray7

#Oct 16th @ 12:24 PM

An AJAX-bug double post?

figuerres
???

In reply to Harlequin

#Oct 16th @ 10:46 AM

well what is a forum post if it's not data? - ajax aside it's data, forum,blog, tweet, email, html, xml etc.... they are all just data to some part of the ecosystem.

so if ajax if "for data" then it's valid to use it for a forum or a blog etc...

it's the stability and the predictablility and reliability that are at issue here right?

if we had the three "bility's" Smiley then we would be happy regardless of having ajax or thor or php or whatever you care to call it.

dahat

This is why I do most of my post typing in Word... partially because my spelling is so horrible, but also just in case the forum (not just C9) fails me.

exoteric
I : Next<I>

In reply to figuerres

#Oct 16th @ 12:43 PM

Agreed. AJAX is not the problem. It's the backend that the AJAX calls into as well as the lack of a fail-safe system where if something does happen, all text you wrote is stored locally in a cache and you're able to recover it - including all versions of it (every change, every keystroke).

Bas
It finds lightbulbs.

I actually like the fact that all this stuff is done with AJAX. Being able to post and page through comments while watching an embedded video is awesome. The problem is just that it fails too often, not that AJAX shouldn't be used.

Ray7

In reply to Harlequin

#Oct 16th @ 12:29 PM

Yes, it was.

Point proven.

Harlequin
http://twitter.com/TrueHarlequin

In reply to Ray7

#Oct 17th @ 1:16 AM

Actually get this in Facebook a lot too like this:

Transport error (#12031) while retrieving data from endpoint `/ajax/inline_comments_get.php?use_primer=1&check_hash=fa35beb94ec2d0b7&get_all=1&item_id=1416965873&target_fbid=159650072412&

target_owner=505696679&type_id=22&source=1': Unknown HTTP error #12031

I think the problem with Ajax is nobody is handling it properly on the front-end of things. The error message above wasa little message window, which does no good for the everage Joe. You and I understand what this is, but the everage person wants to know why they click View All Comments in a facebook page and it does nothing.

CannotResolveSymbol
{insert caption here}

In reply to Harlequin

#Oct 18th @ 3:29 PM

Yeah, Ajax sites should typically be putting errors inline with the text, preferably along with a "retry" link to attempt to repeat the operation. You shouldn't disrupt your user's train of thought with a modal dialog-- it's bad enough that your website isn't working; hijacking their browser just reduces the odds that they'll ever come back to your site.

Likewise, debugging data (like backtraces) should never be exposed to the user by default. If you want this data to be available for the user to provide to support personnel or site developers, it should be through a popup or expandable link inside the page content.

In short: don't be lazy and take the easy way out (e.g. alert(exception.backtrace) or whatever). Put thought into your site's user experience and make sure it downgrades nicely in the event that an AJAX call fails.

Duanerrr

I have yet to have a problem beyong bad connection issuees...

Minh
WOOH! WOOH!

Oooohhh... you're going to get a tongue lashing for NOT posting this in the "feedback" forum