Forum showing on local system but not on live site

[ajac63]

if I publish my site pages to my local disk (so offline...) the embedded forum shows as normal, but when I published the site for the first time yesterday to the Internet, the forum was not showing.
So, do I have to change the CNAME record in the DNS settings, or is there something else I need to change?

[GregChapman]

It could be that your embedding code is not correct.
In another topic you posted this:

<script type="text/javascript"> nabble_width = "1470px"; nabble_scroll_top = true; nabble_ignore_title = true; </script>talk-IT forum
<script src="http://talk-it.549.s1.nabble.com/embed/f1"></script>

but that lacks the necessary:

<a id="nabblelink" href="http://yourdomain.com">talk-IT forum</a>

The CNAME does need to be changed if you have also implemented https://

[ajac63]

Many thanks for helping...  Right, so I don't then need to change the CNAME-record for the forum to show, only if I want to enable https://.  Thanks for saying.

The embedding code I have for all pages is now slightly different as follows:

<script type="text/javascript"> nabble_width = "1470px"; nabble_scroll_top = true; nabble_ignore_title = true; /script> <a id="nabblelink" href="http://talk-it-forum.549.s1.nabble.com/">talk-IT forum</a <script src="http://talk-it-forum.549.s1.nabble.com/embed/f1"></script>
So do I just add the a id="nabblelink" href="http://yourdomain.com">talk-IT forum</a at the end?  

[ajac63]

Right, I edited or amended the embedding code as you suggest.

Problem is just as before though.  The forum shows on my local disk but not on the live site.  So what do I do now?  Why is this so difficult?

[GregChapman]

That code is missing things too! You've munged together two separate pieces of code.

First you need the embedding code:

<a>id="nabblelink" href="http://talk-it-forum.549.s1.nabble.com/">talk-IT forum</a>
<script src="http://talk-it-forum.549.s1.nabble.com/embed/f1"></script>

Then immediately before it in the page where the forum is to appear you need the customisation code:

<script type="text/javascript">
    nabble_width = "1470px";
    nabble_scroll_top = true;
    nabble_ignore_title = true;
</script>

However, I am surprised by the first item you have there. By default your Nabble forum will fill the width available, typically the width of the window or screen, and that depends on the size of screen and width of window your visitor is using when visiting your site.

In a text heavy site many will reduce the size of any window to around 900px to keep lines to text to around 10-12 words to make it easy to read. Forcing a forum width of 1470px will cause the forum to overflow in a most irregular way, particularly on phones and tablets.

Normally, the width setting would only be used in non-embedded forums and is much less useful these days when browsing on phones is more common.

[ajac63]

Sorry I don't understand.  I did already post-up the customisation code with the embedding code in a previous post in this thread, so why do you say code is missing?

The reason for the two codes munged together, was simply to make posting easier.  On the actual pages the customisation code and embedding code appears as you have shown it.

Also, I did explain that the forum shows as normal in  the offline version (published to local disk...), so why does it not show on  the live site?

As to the width of 1470px, I chose this to make the forum as full-width as possible, but I can of course reduce this to say 900px.  
---
Ok, so what do I do now?

[ajac63]

Right, I tried again with the width reduced to 900px instead of 1470px, but the forum is still not loading on the live site, only on the local system/disk.  
Incidentally, a link to the forum does appear on the live site that would take you to the forum if clicked on, so: talk-it-forum.549.s1.nabble.com

So maybe there's some setting that the hosting service is using or deploying that prevents the forum from showing?

[GregChapman]

ajac63 wrote

Sorry I don't understand.  I did already post-up the customisation code with the embedding code in a previous post in this thread, so why do you say code is missing?

Apologies! I was replying hurriedly on my phone and my previous post was meant to be a reply to the post that included this:

<script type="text/javascript"> nabble_width = "1470px"; nabble_scroll_top = true; nabble_ignore_title = true; /script> <a id="nabblelink" href="http://talk-it-forum.549.s1.nabble.com/">talk-IT forum</a <script src="http://talk-it-forum.549.s1.nabble.com/embed/f1"></script>

However, I didn't read the code properly and, in effect, told you to do what you thought you had already done.

What I missed was your "beginner's error". We all do it from time to time, as is evidenced by my own beginner's error of failing to read your code properly.

The problem is that in the code above there is an incomplete closing tag. The code is:

<a id="nabblelink" href="http://talk-it-forum.549.s1.nabble.com/">talk-IT forum</a

not

<a id="nabblelink" href="http://talk-it-forum.549.s1.nabble.com/">talk-IT forum</a>

As to the width of 1470px, I chose this to make the forum as full-width as possible, but I can of course reduce this to say 900px.

My mistake again! I really shouldn't have made such a suggestion without solving your initial problem first and without knowing much more about the page where your forum is embedded.

It does so depend on where your forum is embedded and whether it has features such as a side-bar that runs past the embedded forum and whether that displays below or above the main content on a mobile device and whether the code for your page includes a line such as

<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">

However, I can say if your intention was to make it "as full width as possible" it would be a mistake to include that code. The default for any block of code in HTML is to fill the full width available. If you have a page of text and shrink the width of a window you will see how the text will automatically wrap at the new window width. Images and video behave a little differently. By setting a width you say saying do not allow your content to fill a wider window.

In general I would say ignore the setting. It's somewhat old school from the days before mobile devices and touch screens were the norm and the trend was for ever larger screens.

Your reason for adding the code sounds as if you are only considering how you look at your site on your device and not how others might view your site who may have bigger or smaller screens.

[GregChapman]

Also just occurred to me that, once uploaded, you may only see a link to your forum and not the embedded forum you expect.

That will happen if the site you are embedding your forum in is delivered via https://

To correct that you need to jump through the hoops outlined at:
https://support.nabble.com/Forum-is-not-embedding-on-Weebly-td7613364.html#a7613397

[ajac63]

Thanks again for helping.  I must have neglected to include the closing '>' tag when I posted it up, on the actual pages that tag is showing however.
Anyway, you're saying I should leave out the 'nabble_width = "1470px";' setting completely? Just making sure.

[ajac63]

GregChapman wrote

Also just occurred to me that, once uploaded, you may only see a link to your forum and not the embedded forum you expect.

That will happen if the site you are embedding your forum in is delivered via https://

To correct that you need to jump through the hoops outlined at:
https://support.nabble.com/Forum-is-not-embedding-on-Weebly-td7613364.html#a7613397

Yes, this is exactly what's happening.  So I disabled 'force https' in cPanel as a temporary measure (obviously I will need https eventually else visitors will think the site is not secure), but the forum was still not showing, just the link.

By the way, I've noticed that Nabble generates http addresses for its embeddable forums and not https one's.  If they were https one's, then wouldn't the forum show as normal instead of just a link?

[GregChapman]

ajac63 wrote

Yes, this is exactly what's happening.  So I disabled 'force https' in cPanel as a temporary measure (obviously I will need https eventually else visitors will think the site is not secure), but the forum was still not showing, just the link.

Just taken a quick look at cPanel support forum and it may be that there could be a delay for that change to take effect. Certainly, I've just turned it off for my main domain and it still got my site delivered with https://

By the way, I've noticed that Nabble generates http addresses for its embeddable forums and not https one's.  If they were https one's, then wouldn't the forum show as normal instead of just a link?

As I understand it (but I could be wrong in some technical way!) there's a good reason for that.

https is designed to prove that the page visited is delivered from a server certified to be controlled by the owner of the domain. But if you have part of the page delivered from a different server that can no longer be guaranteed. The entire page has to be delivered from a single domain. Hence the need for you to get your forum on Nabble's servers to appear to be being delivered from a server controlled by your domain.

That's why for embedded forums there's no point in Nabble delivering nabble.com via https. (though I must admit these days it would help those who don't embed their forums.)

[ajac63]

Great, so disabling 'force https' worked for you?  This enabled the forum to be displayed?  For me this didn't happen, so I reverted the setting back to enable force https.

Sorry, I meant 'force https redirect'.

Not too sure what to do now.  

Incidentally, under 'Redirect Users' I have, Redirect options are available only when the forum is embedded, so this tells me that my forum is definitely not embedded yet.

[ajac63]

I've also looked at the link you kindly gave and am just checking that I've understood what it is I'm supposed to do.

I will temporarily have to turn SSL off.  Where in cPanel do I do this?

I have to go to Options > Application > and then Change domain name, but that first I must follow the steps below?  Or is it the other way round?

The steps you gave:

1. Go to your Domain provider (Registrar) and create a CNAME record for a sub-domain.
Under cPanel software the option where you find it is called the "Zone Editor" and the form that you see has two fields "Name", where I would have entered "forum.seahawk17.org.uk" and CNAME where I would have entered "s1.nabble.com".
2. Enter your subdomain.
3. Wait for a confirmation email from Nabble.

I don't have a sub-domain at the moment, so must I create one?  Currently I only have the main domain name.

[ajac63]

GregChapman wrote

... That's why for embedded forums there's no point in Nabble delivering nabble.com via https. (though I must admit these days it would help those who don't embed their forums.)

I don't understand this, it could be just me...  Surely if the embedding code began with https instead of http, then this would solve the problem.  I mean, Nabble is 'billed' as an embeddable forum, but as it is, it is not embeddable unless one goes through those 'hoops' you mention.

[GregChapman]

ajac63 wrote

Great, so disabling 'force https' worked for you?  This enabled the forum to be displayed?  For me this didn't happen, so I reverted the setting back to enable force https.

No it did not work for me. At least, not immediately and I didn't keep it turned off for 24 hours or more, which I suspect may be necessary for it to take effect as I suspect that may be related to propagating across the network, but this is a little beyond my area of expertise.

Incidentally, under 'Redirect Users' I have, Redirect options are available only when the forum is embedded, so this tells me that my forum is definitely not embedded yet.

That's entirely to be expected.

If your forum is not embedded then the entire page is being hosted by Nabble and you won't want the forum redirected to anywhere else to stay on the forum.

If your forum is embedded and you follow a link within the forum then the page will be served from Nabble and you will leave your site. Assuming that you don't want your visitor to jump out of your site then you need the redirect to take them back to the page where the forum is embedded.

If your forum is not embedded but you want to to appear to be served from your domain then, rather than "Redirect to" you use the screen at:
Options > Application > Change Domain Name

[GregChapman]

ajac63 wrote

I've also looked at the link you kindly gave and am just checking that I've understood what it is I'm supposed to do.

Lets tackle things one at a time! cPanel has updated things since I first did this stuff. It now has "Force HTTPS Redirect" turned on by default. When I first was doing this that was not the case. I believe that turning that off may take at least 24hrs to take effect (but I have never had to do it so lack the experience to say that with 100% certainty).

I will temporarily have to turn SSL off.  Where in cPanel do I do this?

Go to the Domains section and open the Domains page (sub heading "List Domains") Just below the Search box you'll see a check box and drop-down option list. Check the box and select the "Disable Force HTTPS Redirect" option. (on wider screens you see a big blue switch by your domain name that you can use instead.)

I suggest you do that and then wait 24 hrs to see if it has the effect I'm expecting and that is that the embedded forum shows in full and not just as a link. If that doesn't work, I'll have to think again.

All the stuff below assumes you have a working embedded forum, so don't bother with it untill yours is working.

I have to go to Options > Application > and then Change domain name, but that first I must follow the steps below?  Or is it the other way round?

The steps you gave:

1. Go to your Domain provider (Registrar) and create a CNAME record for a sub-domain.
Under cPanel software the option where you find it is called the "Zone Editor" and the form that you see has two fields "Name", where I would have entered "forum.seahawk17.org.uk" and CNAME where I would have entered "s1.nabble.com".
2. Enter your subdomain.
3. Wait for a confirmation email from Nabble.

I don't have a sub-domain at the moment, so must I create one?  Currently I only have the main domain name.

Yes, you will need a sub-domain for your forum.  As I said in my previous post, you need to make it appear that your page and the embedded forum are both being served through the same server, the one that the SSL certificate applies to and makes "https" work. I can't be you main domain as that serves the rest of your site. That's why it has to be a sub-domain.

[GregChapman]

ajac63 wrote

GregChapman wrote

... That's why for embedded forums there's no point in Nabble delivering nabble.com via https. (though I must admit these days it would help those who don't embed their forums.)

I don't understand this, it could be just me...  Surely if the embedding code began with https instead of http, then this would solve the problem.  I mean, Nabble is 'billed' as an embeddable forum, but as it is, it is not embeddable unless one goes through those 'hoops' you mention.

When you request a page be delivered via "https" you are asking the server to check the SSL certificate to confirm the entire content is coming from the server it purports to be coming from and hasn't been hijacked by someone. With a page with an embedded forum, it will choke when it attempts to deliver the bit being served from Nabble as it doesn't come from the original server. It defeats the objective if all a highjacker has to do is certify his stuff has come from his server. (Incidentally, when I wrote my notes on all this Nabble was not being served via https - that only started recently).

That's why the entire page needs to be delivered from your domain or a sub-domain of yours.

[ajac63]

GregChapman wrote

ajac63 wrote

Great, so disabling 'force https' worked for you?  This enabled the forum to be displayed?  For me this didn't happen, so I reverted the setting back to enable force https.

No it did not work for me. At least, not immediately and I didn't keep it turned off for 24 hours or more, which I suspect may be necessary for it to take effect as I suspect that may be related to propagating across the network, but this is a little beyond my area of expertise.

So it didn't work immediately, but did it work eventually?

Incidentally, under 'Redirect Users' I have, Redirect options are available only when the forum is embedded, so this tells me that my forum is definitely not embedded yet.

That's entirely to be expected.

If your forum is not embedded then the entire page is being hosted by Nabble and you won't want the forum redirected to anywhere else to stay on the forum.

Ok, I understand this bit I think.

If your forum is embedded and you follow a link within the forum then the page will be served from Nabble and you will leave your site. Assuming that you don't want your visitor to jump out of your site then you need the redirect to take them back to the page where the forum is embedded.

I understand this bit as well, so thank you.

If your forum is not embedded but you want to to appear to be served from your domain then, rather than "Redirect to" you use the screen at:
Options > Application > Change Domain Name

I will want my forum to be embedded, so this won't apply, but thanks again for clarifying.

[ajac63]

GregChapman wrote

ajac63 wrote

I've also looked at the link you kindly gave and am just checking that I've understood what it is I'm supposed to do.

Lets tackle things one at a time! cPanel has updated things since I first did this stuff. It now has "Force HTTPS Redirect" turned on by default. When I first was doing this that was not the case. I believe that turning that off may take at least 24hrs to take effect (but I have never had to do it so lack the experience to say that with 100% certainty).

I will temporarily have to turn SSL off.  Where in cPanel do I do this?

Go to the Domains section and open the Domains page (sub heading "List Domains") Just below the Search box you'll see a check box and drop-down option list. Check the box and select the "Disable Force HTTPS Redirect" option. (on wider screens you see a big blue switch by your domain name that you can use instead.)

I suggest you do that and then wait 24 hrs to see if it has the effect I'm expecting and that is that the embedded forum shows in full and not just as a link. If that doesn't work, I'll have to think again.

All the stuff below assumes you have a working embedded forum, so don't bother with it untill yours is working.

I have to go to Options > Application > and then Change domain name, but that first I must follow the steps below?  Or is it the other way round?

The steps you gave:

1. Go to your Domain provider (Registrar) and create a CNAME record for a sub-domain.
Under cPanel software the option where you find it is called the "Zone Editor" and the form that you see has two fields "Name", where I would have entered "forum.seahawk17.org.uk" and CNAME where I would have entered "s1.nabble.com".
2. Enter your subdomain.
3. Wait for a confirmation email from Nabble.

I don't have a sub-domain at the moment, so must I create one?  Currently I only have the main domain name.

Yes, you will need a sub-domain for your forum.  As I said in my previous post, you need to make it appear that your page and the embedded forum are both being served through the same server, the one that the SSL certificate applies to and makes "https" work. I can't be you main domain as that serves the rest of your site. That's why it has to be a sub-domain.

Thanks again for helping.  So, as a temporary measure I should first disable SSL and wait until the forum is embedded (?), and only then do the steps for creating a sub-domain?

You say it can't be my main domain, as that will serve the rest of my site/pages.  The thing is that I intend to have the forum embedded/showing in all pages, which is how it is currently (for the offline version anyway).