Server problems?

[SOE]

Hi everybody,

I've had frequent trouble these last days on FIBS. The game might run well for a while, then all of a sudden nothing works anymore. The entire connection is completely frozen. The only fix is to log out + in again. I usually have to do that a couple of times per match, annoying my opponent.
All the while, my internet connection works absolutely seemlessly otherwise. Therefore I suspect it to be a server problem.
Does anyone else encounter anything similar?
Otherwise I wouldn't know what to do. I'm using CocoaFibs and so far I'm uneasy switching to JavaFibs.

Thanks for any answers,

Martin

[adrian]

Usually, as the last few similar issues showed from 2003 onwards, there was either a ISP, DNS or a route problem between fibs and the rest of the world. Not the server itself. Not to mention the countless client or ISP problems on the complainers side.

[stog]

also remember Fibs Status top left menu of fibsboard front page!
http://www.soul-trade.com/status/

[webrunner]

I feel that Fibsboard is very slow today

[diane]

This is a recognised issue - and there are moves towards resolving it.  It is commonly called lag, and will be worse around 12:00  UTC for a couple of hours - because of something else going on at the same time.

It really helps to be watching the server stream at this [or any] time - because then you will know what happened [and this is one of those cases where javafibs excels, as it is pretty much the best client to see this].  You will see strange responses from fibs...like ** Unknown command: 'oll', or in extreme cases, no response at all, because the command was lost altogether.

[to see this server output in javafibs - on the menu, command, toggle, sent commands' - and have the tab to 'system']

Logging out and in is an inelegant way to solve the problem, since the game will reload at the point before you sent the command that didn't arrive...  

A better way is to watch the server output and be aware of the commands for the things your client does.  So, if you rolled, and nothing happens - switch to command and send the command again 'roll', it almost always works the second time.

If you moved, and the move didn't get to fibs - the easiest action is to use 'undo' on the client and redo the move - the client sends it again, and it usually works.

The more slightly more complicated possibility is that you became a zombie      In this case, something your client should have said to fibs, or vice versa, gets lost [the coders will die when they read that  ] , and you lose connection to fibs, but you don't know it.  Your opponent won't realise either, and often they think you have dropped because you don't move for ages.  My simple test for this is to kibitz something a couple of times - if it doesn't get there, I log out and in.

These little workarounds will get you through until a more technical solution is implemented.

[SOE]

Thanks 4 the info, Diane,
now at least I have a name for the disease = Zombie! What you describe thereunder, exactly describes what I'm currently experiencing. Undo, Refresh, Kibitz, all completely useless in those cases.
When you say "complicated", do you mean that it's hard to tell (speculate) about what's causing it?
Greetings,
Martin

[ah_clem]

Does anybody know of a client that will auto log matches and will keep a usable log file across logins?

I've been using 3dfibs, but whenever the server (or the internet connection) acts up, I can't analyze the match from the resulting .mat log.  Are there clients that do this? Or is there a way to salvage a .mat file with a dropped connection?

Reconnecting  and Resuming is no big deal.  Losing the match info is.

TIA.

[diane]

When you say "complicated", do you mean that it's hard to tell (speculate) about what's causing it?

No, it is caused by a communication loss between fibs and your client, because of lag. It is more complicated in that you dont know it has happened, and the only fix is to log out and in - even though it appears you are logged in, and when you log in, you will receive a warning that you are already logged in!!

[diane]

Does anybody know of a client that will auto log matches and will keep a usable log file across logins?

I've been using 3dfibs, but whenever the server (or the internet connection) acts up, I can't analyze the match from the resulting .mat log.  Are there clients that do this? Or is there a way to salvage a .mat file with a dropped connection?

The problem for the client keeping a match file across logins isn't a big deal in theory.  Javafibs certainly does it.  The problem is, that the same problem that caused the loss of connection also causes a command sent from fibs to not arrive at your client.  So, for example, one of your opponents rolls or moves will be missing.  This throws the whole file into confusion, because it has the wrong moves against the wrong players, and the moves you make don't make sense against where the file thinks the checkers are!!

You can, however, open the match file with a text editor - such as notebook or word pad and fix the problem manually.

If you lost connection and know the match file wont be correct, the best time to do it is right away.  In javafibs, you can scroll back and forwards through the game you just played, move by move (you lose this if you go onto a new match).  If you open the match file in a window and scroll through the match on your interface at the same time, comparing the moves, it is usually fairly easy to  spot where the missing data is and manually enter it.  Then save the file and analyse it as normal.

I am not sure if you have the feature to scroll back through a match in 3D though, [another reason javafibs is a better client  ]  But if you do  the repair quickly, you may be able to recall where it went wrong.

It is a bit complicated to do it this way though, and I tend to only make this effort if the match was special in some way - for instance a league match.

[Ashi]

This is a recognised issue - and there are moves towards resolving it.

This server problem is very annoying for me.
What are the moves towards resolving it ?
And most important: when this problem will be solved already ?

Thanks,

Ashi.

[diane]

No idea, sorry - I am not involved directly.  I am assuming progress will be slow 

About the only thing I can suggest is avoiding the server around the time when it is worst.

[ah_clem]

You can, however, open the match file with a text editor - such as notebook or word pad and fix the problem manually.

If you lost connection and know the match file wont be correct, the best time to do it is right away.  In javafibs, you can scroll back and forwards through the game you just played, move by move (you lose this if you go onto a new match).  If you open the match file in a window and scroll through the match on your interface at the same time, comparing the moves, it is usually fairly easy to  spot where the missing data is and manually enter it.  Then save the file and analyse it as normal.

I am not sure if you have the feature to scroll back through a match in 3D though, [another reason javafibs is a better client  ]  But if you do  the repair quickly, you may be able to recall where it went wrong.

It is a bit complicated to do it this way though, and I tend to only make this effort if the match was special in some way - for instance a league match.

Thanks for the tip.  I downloaded JavaFibs to check this idea out, and saw that the running list of moves is the same thing as I currently have in 3DFibs.  So rather than learning a new client (I was able to play more or less immediately, but spent several hours trying to configure it the way I wanted it without success)  I tried your suggestion and was able to restore a match file today.

In this case, the .mat file had my move listed twice.  Removing the extraneous entry corrected the file.  Hopefully, most problems will be that simple.

One question:  When Fibs times out, the 3DFib's running list of moves goes blank.  I try to make a copy of it when I notice the server is unresponsive, before it times out. Does JavaFibs preserve it?  That feature might be worth the switch...

Thanks again.

[diane]

Does JavaFibs preserve it?  That feature might be worth the switch...

I am glad you were able to restore a file - and like you, hope the rest are as straightforward!

Yes, Javafibs does preserve the file - and it works, provided - and it is a big proviso...lag doesn't cause you to miss a move. 

Sometimes, during the time you are logged out, your opponent will roll, make his play, send it to fibs and it is recorded.  Then when you resume the match, his move is missing and that messes up the whole file.

Like I say, if you have javafibs, you can then scroll back through the match on screen, work out what he rolled and moved from where his checkers 'jumped', put that move in and straighten out the rest of the file.  I don't think you can scroll back through a finished match that way in 3D.