Discussion Forum: Thread 226786

 Author: tEoS View Messages Posted By tEoS
 Posted: Oct 13, 2017 17:18
 Subject: Fix BL login & links
 Viewed: 132 times
 Topic: Suggestions
 Status:Discarded
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tEoS (5297)

Location:  USA, Michigan
Member Since Contact Type Status
Dec 24, 2002 Contact Member Seller
No Longer RegisteredNo Longer Registered
Store Closed Store: The Elements Of Surprise
No Longer Registered
1) Please fix the BL login. Multiple times pretty much every day BL tells me
that my auto-fill password and id are in error.

Sometimes I can switch to a new tab or close the browser and start it again.
Other times, I have to clear my cookies (it took 2 tries of clearing cookies
just now). When I clear my cookies for BL, I also lose all my other site prefilled
info.

None of the above is acceptable for a modern website.

2) Links: why on earth do the upper links (community, my store, my bl, etc) work
when clicked on, but do not when you right-click for a new tab? (Google Chrome)
Please fix this too.
 Author: mfav View Messages Posted By mfav
 Posted: Oct 13, 2017 21:12
 Subject: Re: Fix BL login & links
 Viewed: 70 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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mfav (174)

Location:  USA, Vermont
Member Since Contact Type Status
Aug 4, 2010 Contact Member Buyer
Buying Privileges - OK
I'm going to stick my nose in here where it may or may not be appreciated
in an attempt to explain how some of this stuff works. I hope the following is
helpful in your understanding. It's probably not going to quell your frustration.

In Suggestions, tEoS writes:
  1) Please fix the BL login. Multiple times pretty much every day BL tells me
that my auto-fill password and id are in error.

This is likely not a server side issue and is a client side issue. It's quite
possible that Chrome has stored more than one set of credentials for bricklink
and when it goes to retrieve the credentials it finds the "first set" in the
list and uses those. The first set may be outdated or attached to a different
version of the site (a bit more explanation on that later). I'd look for
wherever Chrome is storing the user/password combos, find all the bricklink related
entries and purge them. Then log in to bricklink fresh from the www.bricklink.com
home page and save the credentials when Chrome asks for them anew.

On the Mac you can find the credentials in the Keychain utility. I don't
know where they are on Windows. I'd start by googling "where are the passwords
stored in Chrome" and try to sort it out from there.

  Sometimes I can switch to a new tab or close the browser and start it again.
Other times, I have to clear my cookies (it took 2 tries of clearing cookies
just now). When I clear my cookies for BL, I also lose all my other site prefilled
info.

It's highly unlikely that password and user info are stored in cookies. Unless
the programmers are patently stupid, which I think they are not. The cookies
would more likely contain some info like "login=true" and a session value that
ties you to your account for the duration of your visit. Cookies probably store
site option/preference info like showing 100 items on a store page instead of
the default 25. So, yes, flushing the cookies just loses your site preferences
and won't do anything about the login credentials.

  2) Links: why on earth do the upper links (community, my store, my bl, etc) work
when clicked on, but do not when you right-click for a new tab? (Google Chrome)

To oversimplify what's actually going on here is this: Those top nav items
are not links. They are "rollover detectors" tied to a script. When your cursor
hovers over one of these areas, it triggers the script which then shows the dropdown
box containing links to pages. As the top nav items are not links, the browser
can't give you the right-click options to open the link in a new window because
the items aren't links. The items in the drop-downs are links, but the top-navs
aren't. Clicking the top nav activates something in the script which then
takes you to a page.

The right-click menu is handled by the browser, which is programmed to show you
one set of options depending on whatever the browser detects below the cursor.
If you are positioned over a link, then you get one set of options. If you are
positioned over an image you get a different set of options. If your are positioned
over "nothing" you get a different set of options and so on.


   Please fix this too.

Chances are that these things aren't "fixable" in the sense you'd like
to see them fixed. Those top nav items can be either a script/trigger OR a link,
but not both simultaneously.

Now, back to the login thing.

If you are observant, you'll notice that what appears to be one web site
actually operates under different "vanity" domains. The main site is www.bricklink.com,
then there's studio.bricklink.com, and I think there's also images.bricklink.com
and a few others. There have been demo versions and such which for a while operate
under demo.bricklink.com...or something...then when they're done with the
demo stage, what had been "demo" becomes "www". There's obviously some pokery-jiggery
going on under the hood to allow you to log into www.bricklink.com and maintain
that login even though you actually fly in and out of these other (studio, image,
demo, etc.) sites. So it's possible that somewhere along the line you logged
into something other than www.bricklink.com and saved the password combo there,
then the site structure changes, then subsequent logins will fail for any number
of reasons. A login should make you valid for www OR studio OR something else.
That a single login makes you valid for www AND studio AND something else requires
additional consideration on the programming side of things. Depending on which
page you use to log in, and given the complexities of the site, it's certainly
possible for something to go awry in programming, the saved info, the URL, a
single page's login box, or who knows what...or any combination of those
things...and give you a login fail. These variables may account for your "sometimes"
being able to log in and "sometimes" not.

The login fail message can also be ambiguous or unhelpful, reporting only "bricklink"
and not offering a clue as to www or whatever, if that is a part of the issue.
Which it might or might not be.

I'd sincerely hope that your login issue is simply fixed by purging any info
that is stored locally and replacing it.
 Author: tEoS View Messages Posted By tEoS
 Posted: Oct 14, 2017 10:20
 Subject: Re: Fix BL login & links
 Viewed: 49 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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tEoS (5297)

Location:  USA, Michigan
Member Since Contact Type Status
Dec 24, 2002 Contact Member Seller
No Longer RegisteredNo Longer Registered
Store Closed Store: The Elements Of Surprise
No Longer Registered
Thank you for the info.

Something weird about the below subject. The rollover icons themselves can be
clicked on like a regular link in addition to the rolled over options.

  To oversimplify what's actually going on here is this: Those top nav items
are not links. They are "rollover detectors" tied to a script. When your cursor
hovers over one of these areas, it triggers the script which then shows the dropdown
box containing links to pages. As the top nav items are not links, the browser
can't give you the right-click options to open the link in a new window because
the items aren't links. The items in the drop-downs are links, but the top-navs
aren't. Clicking the top nav activates something in the script which then
takes you to a page.
 Author: SylvainLS View Messages Posted By SylvainLS
 Posted: Oct 14, 2017 12:24
 Subject: Re: Fix BL login & links
 Viewed: 30 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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SylvainLS (46)

Location:  France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Member Since Contact Type Status
Apr 25, 2014 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: BuyerOnly
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In Suggestions, tEoS writes:
  Thank you for the info.

Something weird about the below subject. The rollover icons themselves can be
clicked on like a regular link in addition to the rolled over options.

They act as buttons too.
Principle is the same: a script manages actions, be it “hover” or “click.”
You hover, the action is a rollover menu.
You click, the action is to open the page (“replace the current page,” not “follow/open
this link”).

As it’s not a link, it can’t be let to the user to configure how it will behave.
(Well, technically, it could be a setting somewhere but then that would make
a lot of confusing settings.)
 Author: randyf View Messages Posted By randyf
 Posted: Oct 14, 2017 13:07
 Subject: Re: Fix BL login & links
 Viewed: 38 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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randyf (442)

Location:  USA, Ohio
Member Since Contact Type Status
Sep 16, 2009 Member Does Not Allow Contact Seller
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Store Closed Store: The Bricking Spectre
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In Suggestions, SylvainLS writes:
  In Suggestions, tEoS writes:
  Thank you for the info.

Something weird about the below subject. The rollover icons themselves can be
clicked on like a regular link in addition to the rolled over options.

They act as buttons too.
Principle is the same: a script manages actions, be it “hover” or “click.”
You hover, the action is a rollover menu.
You click, the action is to open the page (“replace the current page,” not “follow/open
this link”).

As it’s not a link, it can’t be let to the user to configure how it will behave.
(Well, technically, it could be a setting somewhere but then that would make
a lot of confusing settings.)

Why couldn't you add an 'a' element wrapper around the 'img'
element inside the 'button' element to bring in the functionality of
the 'a' element?

Randy
 Author: SylvainLS View Messages Posted By SylvainLS
 Posted: Oct 14, 2017 14:19
 Subject: Re: Fix BL login & links
 Viewed: 35 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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SylvainLS (46)

Location:  France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Member Since Contact Type Status
Apr 25, 2014 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: BuyerOnly
BrickLink Discussions Moderator (?)
In Suggestions, randyf writes:
  […]
  They act as buttons too.

Shamelessly, I hadn’t looked at the code: It appears it’s actually a button.

  […]
Why couldn't you add an 'a' element wrapper around the 'img'
element inside the 'button' element to bring in the functionality of
the 'a' element?

I’m not a professional web developper, I don’t know all the little quirks of
every browser and its brother, but I guess it would be a mess (as usual): The
button would get the click, so the 'a' element wouldn’t know about it.
Or it would. Or both would. Or none….

But, definitely, there should be a way to make it work.
 Author: mfav View Messages Posted By mfav
 Posted: Oct 14, 2017 17:50
 Subject: Re: Fix BL login & links
 Viewed: 34 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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mfav (174)

Location:  USA, Vermont
Member Since Contact Type Status
Aug 4, 2010 Contact Member Buyer
Buying Privileges - OK
  Why couldn't you add an 'a' element wrapper around the 'img'
element inside the 'button' element to bring in the functionality of
the 'a' element?

Part 1.
You would have either an A element or a BUTTON element.
You can wrap an A around an IMG.
You can set the BUTTON type to be an image.
You can't put an A within a BUTTON.
If you could, would a click activate the A or the BUTTON?

Part 2.
The programmer needs the "tap" to raise the floater menu on tablets and phones
because there's no "hover" state. No cursor to register coordinates.
If you tapped or clicked a straight html BUTTON or A, you'd go to the target,
not raise a floater.
 Author: mfav View Messages Posted By mfav
 Posted: Oct 14, 2017 17:26
 Subject: Re: Fix BL login & links
 Viewed: 33 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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mfav (174)

Location:  USA, Vermont
Member Since Contact Type Status
Aug 4, 2010 Contact Member Buyer
Buying Privileges - OK
In Suggestions, tEoS writes:
  Thank you for the info.

Something weird about the below subject. The rollover icons themselves can be
clicked on like a regular link in addition to the rolled over options.

Right. Understand there's a script involved. The script can contain a lot
of different things and behave at the whim of the programmer. Rolling over does
A. Mouse down does B. Mouse up does C. And so on. Users don't tend to think
about how the mouse behaves...it's "point and click". It's actually moving
on x-y axis...which allows for rollover detection, mouse button down...at which
point it can be held down AND moved, and mouse button up. So there's at least
four things right there, and separate functions with the page can be attached
to each movement with the mouse.

And any mouse action on a script could conceivably also call a second script
where the mouse actions behave differently.

If you have a tablet or smartphone, play with those upper nav elements. You'll
notice:
1. a tap brings up the float menu.
2. a second tap dismisses the float menu.
3. as there is no cursor, there can be no "hover" state, so rollovers don't
exist.
4. in no instance will a tap take you to a different page.
 Author: Admin_Jaclyn View Messages Posted By Admin_Jaclyn
 Posted: Oct 13, 2017 21:44
 Subject: Re: Fix BL login & links
 Viewed: 105 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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Admin_Jaclyn (27)

Location:  USA, California
Member Since Contact Type Status
Sep 3, 2014 Contact Member Buyer
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Hi tEoS,

I'm sorry to hear that you are having trouble logging in. If you're using
a password manager, the issue is likely related to the program containing multiple
login details for BrickLink. Most password managers will save login information
for exact URLs -- since you can log in from different areas of the site,
an outdated password may have been auto-filled without your knowledge.

Examples of different URLs you can use to log in to BrickLink:
https://www.bricklink.com/v2/main.page
https://www.bricklink.com/v2/login.page?
https://www.bricklink.com/regLogin.asp

If you check your password manager, you may be able to locate the old passwords
which were likely saved to specific BrickLink URLs in the past. We recently migrated
the site to HTTPS/SSL, so please be sure to also delete any BrickLink passwords
which are tied to the older URLs that start with "http" (e.g. http://www.bricklink.com/regLogin.asp).
Once the old passwords are deleted, the issue should be resolved once you log
in with your current password.

If this does not resolve the issue, please delete all saved BrickLink passwords
from your password manager. Next, complete a password reset request. The next
time you log in, be sure to select the option to remember your new password when
prompted.

I hope this helps!

Also, please add a separate suggestion for the navigation links if you wouldn't
mind.

Thanks and have a great weekend!

--Jaclyn
BrickLink Customer Support


In Suggestions, tEoS writes:
  1) Please fix the BL login. Multiple times pretty much every day BL tells me
that my auto-fill password and id are in error.

Sometimes I can switch to a new tab or close the browser and start it again.
Other times, I have to clear my cookies (it took 2 tries of clearing cookies
just now). When I clear my cookies for BL, I also lose all my other site prefilled
info.

None of the above is acceptable for a modern website.

2) Links: why on earth do the upper links (community, my store, my bl, etc) work
when clicked on, but do not when you right-click for a new tab? (Google Chrome)
Please fix this too.