some emoticons missing

Philatarium
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some emoticons missing Apr 9, 2015 1:14:43 GMT -5

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Post by Philatarium on Apr 9, 2015 1:14:43 GMT -5

I asked about this in the Shoutbox, and it seemed like I was the only one there who had this problem, so I thought I should pose the question to the larger group, and seek some ideas for a solution.

Starting 2-3 days ago, I stopped seeing some of the board's emoticons. Not a huge deal, but an annoying reminder that it's something that now needs to be fixed.

Here's what it looks like on my screen:

That's from the pull-down menu in the compose box, but if any of the missing icons (and it's not just those you see here) appear in someone's post, then I see that same little missing image symbol and the emoticon file name in their post as well.

I will add that it only affects the additional emoticons that Stamp Bears has added. The default ones that are supplied by ProBoards are fine, both here and on another ProBoards board I'm on.

I've reloaded Chrome, rebooted the computer, etc.

- Is anybody else having this problem?
- Does anybody have a suggestion how to fix it?

Last Edit: Apr 9, 2015 1:16:21 GMT -5 by Philatarium

khj
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some emoticons missing Apr 9, 2015 1:24:12 GMT -5 Philatarium likes this

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Post by khj on Apr 9, 2015 1:24:12 GMT -5

I had this happen to me on SB using FF for a day or so -- I think sometime last year. I never figured out exactly what caused it, nor why it went away.

Are you using the default forum theme in your profile? I remember using other themes caused me all sorts of problems. It may be that other themes are no longer available.

Also, check to make sure your smiles default is enabled.

I guess I should play around with some settings first, rather than making it harder to find the needle by throwing more hay on the haystack.

Worst case, you may have to clear your cookies (or at least the ones associated with ProBoards). Also check to make sure you haven't accidentally blocked certain images domains with any ad-blockers or filters.

Last Edit: Apr 9, 2015 1:24:41 GMT -5 by khj

khj
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some emoticons missing Apr 9, 2015 1:32:45 GMT -5 Philatarium likes this

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Post by khj on Apr 9, 2015 1:32:45 GMT -5

When I disabled my smiles, they appeared OK in the drop-down. But when I looked at the shoutbox, they had been converted to text names. Re-toggled back to "enable smiles", and they went back to smileys.

Maybe try toggling your smiles in your profile and see each time how that affects your drop-down and shoutbox.

khj
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some emoticons missing Apr 9, 2015 1:38:09 GMT -5 Philatarium likes this

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Post by khj on Apr 9, 2015 1:38:09 GMT -5

Philatarium, I've checked some of the elements. It looks like the smileys you are missing are being provided by sherv.net. The smileys you have are being provided by other domains.

Your computer/browser/ISP seems to be blocking images from that domain?

Last Edit: Apr 9, 2015 1:38:29 GMT -5 by khj

khj
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some emoticons missing Apr 9, 2015 9:00:54 GMT -5 Philatarium likes this

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Post by khj on Apr 9, 2015 9:00:54 GMT -5

Philatarium, something weird this morning. This morning one of my smileys (blowing the trumpet, located near the very bottom) also did not load and was only displaying the text. I also could not get it to load until I copied the trumpet smiley URL into a new tab and manually loaded it. Now it shows up fine. I think it is the only smiley on the list from smiley- lol

.com.

k

Philatarium
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some emoticons missing Apr 9, 2015 9:53:07 GMT -5 via mobile

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Post by Philatarium on Apr 9, 2015 9:53:07 GMT -5

khj, thank you for your outstanding investigative work in deconstructing the problem!! This gives me several approaches to pursue that I would not have thought of on my own.

I'm checking in from my phone this morning, but once I get to my computer later on today, I'll let you know what I've learned.

I really appreciate this!

rayb
Super Stamp Bear

Posts: 949

some emoticons missing Apr 10, 2015 2:50:40 GMT -5

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Post by rayb on Apr 10, 2015 2:50:40 GMT -5

I have experienced the same phenomenon. I refuse to say that I have had the same problem, since I can see no useful way in which it could be described as a problem, so much as a blessing. This seems to be happening only to the oversized extremely irritating ones. I thought the point of smilies was that they should be a subtle addition to normal punctuation, providing some of the nuances of humour, sarcasm, regret or anger which in other forms of human contact would be provided by vocal intonation or facial expression. This can be done very easily with half a dozen smilies each the size of a capital O and does not require a herd of cartoon elephants jumping up and down and screaming 'Congratulations' through megaphones.

kacyds Administrator Stamp Bears Supporter Did you hear the joke about the unstamped letter? You wouldn't get it. Posts: 16,130 Location (Country): United States	some emoticons missing Apr 10, 2015 13:12:07 GMT -5 Philatarium likes this Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by kacyds on Apr 10, 2015 13:12:07 GMT -5 Seems like all the emoticons are working on my end.... smiley-taunt014 I am about as happy as an cartoon elephant jumping up and down and screaming 'Congratulations' through a megaphone.

Philatarium
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some emoticons missing Apr 10, 2015 15:20:44 GMT -5

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Post by Philatarium on Apr 10, 2015 15:20:44 GMT -5

I've determined that the problem is with sherv.net on the computer I use most often. It's being blocked by something on my computer. It even shows the top level domain as a 404 error (not found). It's not a problem on my phone, or on another computer, so it's not being blocked by my ISP. And it's blocked on both browsers, so it's not a cookie -- it's something somewhere in a virus- or spam-catching program.

The odd thing is, I haven't changed any of the settings of those programs recently. Definitely not around the time that the images stopped showing up.

- - - - -

One additional question for someone who might know: is there a way to find if sherv.net has been blacklisted by any of the common monitoring sites? I've tried Googling it myself, and I do see some people commenting that it's a somewhat questionable site, although most site-evaluation apps seem to identify it as "safe".

khj
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some emoticons missing Apr 10, 2015 16:20:53 GMT -5 Philatarium likes this

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Post by khj on Apr 10, 2015 16:20:53 GMT -5

Do you have OpenDNS. OpenDNS will block sherv.net. According to the comments on the net, getting the smileys off sherv.net is not a problem -- but accessing/downloading other stuff does introduce "stuff" onto your computer. Maybe one of the internet security programs you have has suddenly started using the OpenDNS blocklist?

khj
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some emoticons missing Apr 10, 2015 16:23:57 GMT -5 Philatarium likes this

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Post by khj on Apr 10, 2015 16:23:57 GMT -5

Some info you might find useful from the OpenDNS forum:

A new feature called Secure DNS is bundled with Avast! 2015 and is automatically enabled by default. Secure DNS is a feature that aims to secure DNS on the computer by running it through Avast's known DNS servers. This prevents OpenDNS from working. To allow OpenDNS to work, disable Secure DNS in the Avast! settings under Active Protection (see image below).

It looks like if you are using Avast, you will either be using OpenDNS or Secure DNS, depending on which version of Avast.

Philatarium
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some emoticons missing Apr 10, 2015 19:20:03 GMT -5

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Post by Philatarium on Apr 10, 2015 19:20:03 GMT -5

Thanks for this great additional research, khj!

Although the virus definitions are always current, I'm using a 2014.9.0.nnnn version of Avast. I'm usually reluctant to upgrade it (it wants to all the time with those "toaster" popups), because each subsequent version gets more nagging, annoying and obtrusive.

So, if I'm reading this right, I am currently under OpenDNS? And OpenDNS will block sherv.net? So I should go on and upgrade to the most current Avast version and see if that takes care of the problem?

No rush to reply, as getting those emoticons back could not possibly be more enjoyable than this:

Last Edit: Apr 10, 2015 21:12:24 GMT -5 by Philatarium

khj
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some emoticons missing Apr 10, 2015 23:10:34 GMT -5 Philatarium likes this

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Post by khj on Apr 10, 2015 23:10:34 GMT -5

That's a tech question you will need to ask Avast. The easy way to find out is to temporarily start up your computer with Avast disabled and see if the emoticons show up. Then you'll know whether or not it was Avast.

If it is Avast, turn it back on (of course) and then check with Avast on how to determine if you are using OpenDNS or Secure DNS (or ask them how to override a block).

some emoticons missing

Post by Philatarium on Apr 9, 2015 1:14:43 GMT -5

Post by khj on Apr 9, 2015 1:24:12 GMT -5

Post by khj on Apr 9, 2015 1:32:45 GMT -5

Post by khj on Apr 9, 2015 1:38:09 GMT -5

Post by khj on Apr 9, 2015 9:00:54 GMT -5

Post by Philatarium on Apr 9, 2015 9:53:07 GMT -5

Post by rayb on Apr 10, 2015 2:50:40 GMT -5

Post by kacyds on Apr 10, 2015 13:12:07 GMT -5

Post by Philatarium on Apr 10, 2015 15:20:44 GMT -5

Post by khj on Apr 10, 2015 16:20:53 GMT -5

Post by khj on Apr 10, 2015 16:23:57 GMT -5

Post by Philatarium on Apr 10, 2015 19:20:03 GMT -5

Post by khj on Apr 10, 2015 23:10:34 GMT -5

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