No counter digits or stats for 10+ days! :-(

[dfnet]

For the past 10 days our site's StatCounter has been displaying no digits, our current stats report shows no visitor data logged since October 30, and I have not received an e-mailed Stats Report since Sun, 26 Oct 2003. I have searched my in-box for notices regarding any planned outage and an estimated date for restoring service, but am unable to find any such notice.

Will it be necessary for us to find an alternative counter service? Do you plan to disclose the cause for this long interruption by sending a broadcast e-mail to current users, or are we to assume that the system will be down indefinitely? If and when services are restored, will your system retroactively enter the correct data where the stats reports currently show only zeroes for traffic?

When I went online to <statcounter.com/support/>, the only announcement I could find was dated October 31, stating "We are fixing up a number of issues for the new StatCounter system.... If you don't have an urgent problem, please try to give us a few days." I don't want to appear ungrateful, but a 10-day outage without the courtesy of advance notification does seem a bit out-of-the-ordinary. :cry:

[graham35]

Dfnet, I would assume the problem must be your end as I have not had any outages on my 2 sites that I have noticed, I get hits every day and plenty of other information from the menu. I have only just changed the code on one site but the other is still running on the orginal code with out any problems.
I think the email service has been closed down for the moment.
The webmaster is very busy at the moment but I am sure he will reply very soon, as they are providing an excellent service here.
Regards
Graham

[oldzbutgoodies]

Same here i did not miss a beat and i did not change the code immediately..
why not change the code & see???
there is a CONTACT link on homepage
I just love all the new FREE FEATURES and the old ones too..the flags are fabulous.

what a wonderful site and free too they have worked so hard for us
thanks statcounter!!

[dfnet]

To: graham35 (and) oldzbutgoodies -

Hi, guys! I appreciate your posting replies to my "complaint".

Both of you mentioned "changing your code". It's funny, but I never received ANY e-mail broadcast from StatCounter indicating there was a need to change my code, or that things could break if I didn't.

Forgive me for asking it this way, but do you mean to say that users were just expected to notice a problem develop and then ferret out the solution on their own? IMHO, it seems that a little advance notice might have been in order. After 4.5 months of working fine, it JUST STOPPED one day -- unannounced!

This is what I said in my submission to the support contact form earlier today:

"I have been using the exact same tracking code, originally provided by StatCounter, since June 18, 2003. The code is identical on every page of the site, as I am using an SSI document to serve it to the pages. It reads as follows:

http://www.statcounter.com/counter.php?usr=dfnet&java=0

The code worked perfectly well until October 30, 2003, when suddenly the counter went blank. My online stats also reported visitor traffic every day between June 18 and October 30.

However, from October 31 onward, all stats report -0- visitors. Fortunately, my site's host provides a traffic log -- so I know that the site has received 61,855 unique visitors between Oct. 31 and Nov. 10. They are apparently not being logged by StatCounter, though.

Why did your tracking code, which I've used succesfully for 4.5 months, suddenly and mysteriously quit working? Any insights you can provide will be appreciated immensely."

I note that the StatCounter home page contains a headline which proclaims "Reliable Service". Now, I recognize that this may be an ambitious undertaking, and I do not wish to belittle the herculean task or the significant resources required to fulfill such a promise. It's just that I was somewhat taken aback to discover the problem by accident, without any advance warning. I'm also dismayed at the message it sends to my site's visitors. (Another post which I read today echoes similar sentiments, though it refers to the reactions of a web designer's clients.)

So -- last week, I decided to visit the StatCounter site for an explanation. I read all the forum posts going back to before the "incident". (Apparently, I must have missed the ones saying that I needed to change my code.) Based on what I read, though, I figured that things would be back to normal "in a few days" -- as the webmaster's posts seemed to imply. Thus, I figured I'd wait and see -- hoping that the counter would re-appear and that the stats would be restored. However, after 10 consecutive days of outage, it seemed prudent to inquire further -- which is why I'm posting here today.

What's different about the code, compared to the one above? Also, will I be obliged to manually adjust the traffic figures to reflect the actual count as reported by my site's host? What do you think is the likelihood of another unannounced, prolonged outage? Is there perhaps a better way to keep users "in the loop"?

Thanks again for your input! 8)

[oldzbutgoodies]

Same here i did not miss a beat and i did not change the code immediately..
what i meant was I DID NOT CHANGE ANY CODE RIGHT AWAY & ALL MY STATS WERE FINE BEFORE AND AFTER...

if you read many of the posts here or would have contacted statcounter CONTACT US LINK or read THE HOME PAGE AT ALL during that time,You would know there was not AN OUTAGE OR INCIDENT No way..

there WAS A HUGE UPGRADE..why not go make a project for page,get the new code(i did not HAVE TO GET NEW CODE MY STATS WORKED FINE WITH THE OLD CODE AND THE SAME ONCE I DID THE NEW CODE)

then you can see the wonderful upgrade they have done here..

i suggest you contact customer service as apparently something in going on here for you that did not affect us..

my point is..THERE WAS NO "INCIDENT" OR "OUTAGE" problem..there was a HUGE MASSIVE UPGRADE TO THE SYSTEM


It was stated here repeatedly that anyone THAT WAS SIGNED UP FOR CHAT HERE would recieve an email when the upgrade was complete and we did recieve that email.
good luck
stat counter is a wonderful free service,,and i suggest in appreciation for all the time you have enjoyed this service at no charge you take the time to contact them directly.

You were only using part of the old StatCounter code - that's why it isn't working for you now. And it is against the terms and conditions to change the code.

Anyway - delete the old code and insert a fresh new clean unaltered copy.

[dfnet]

Thank you kindly, oldzbutgoodies, for your response and keen analysis! :-) Your point of view is well-taken, in that you did not perceive any downtime with the "old code" -- thus recent changes constituted an "upgrade" from your point of view. From my perspective, however, 10 days of no counter and no stats constituted an "outage". It's all relative, and to some extent a matter of semantics. Sometimes, upgrades can cause outages -- as this one clearly did for my site's counter.

To prove my point, I tried the "old" noscript code for YOUR user name, as follows:

http://www.statcounter.com/counter.php?usr=oldzbutgoodies&java=0

Likewise, since graham35 reported no issues or downtime, I tried that one also, as follows:

http://www.statcounter.com/counter.php?usr=graham35&java=0

What I discovered was that, similar to my own experience, neither of the above two "old codes" work anymore. They produce nothing but a blank page, instead of the graphical counter digits they once did (prior to Oct. 31).

In investigating these anomalies, I concluded that the "outage" only applied to those users who employed the old noscript code, and NOT to those users employing the dual JavaScripts.

I see from looking at your own home page, that you are using the dual JavaScripts. Thus, the "outage" never seemed to apply to you -- as long as the old scripts worked O.K. and your browser's JavaScript functionality was turned on.

At this point, it seems reasonable that you might ask WHY I should choose to use the noscript code instead of the scripts. There are a couple of reasons:

(1.) The primary reason is that it was the easiest way to control the HEIGHT and WIDTH parameters of the counter digits on my web page. If the dimensions are not exact, the entire table lay-out where they appear would break! O.K., so you want to know why I designed a table with such stringent specifications? It was designed when I was using another counter provider (for 4+ years), whose code permitted specifying image dimensions.

The table was composed as a complete graphic design in ImageReady and then exported to HTML; thus, placing a larger-than-specified image in the counter's table cell would make the rest of the table "explode". Since your own site does not employ such stringent design methods, it is possible that you may not have run into such design considerations before.

Note: It IS possible to customize the dual JavaScripts to accomplish the same trick, but then the customized scripts would have to be loaded from MY server instead of StatCounter's (see #2).

(2.) Since I don't need the other stats which the scripts provide, it's pointless to add the additional document weight (i.e.: number of characters) of the scripts to my pages. I try to keep the total page weights (and thus both the graphics as well as code) as lean as possible, since every little bit affects page download time.

A NetMechanic (http://www.netmechanic.com/toolbox/html-code.htm) analysis of your own home page reveals that such considerations are not as important to you, as demonstated by the sheer mass of graphics, text, and coding errors found there (71 images plus text, for a total file download of 428,294 bytes; 18 separate server connections; a page download nearly 13 times longer than the average recommended; plus 131 HTML coding errors).

In conclusion, your other point is also well-taken, with respect to contacting StatCounter directly. In fact, I did do that around the same time as my forum post, and on the second try elicited the exact instructions I needed to correct the "outage".

Nevertheless, the forum offers a venue in which to "vent" one's frustrations at something which is broken, and to share experiences for the benefit of a larger community -- neither of which the support tickets can provide. By airing issues in public, the forum encourages debate and serves to enlighten users about potential issues. It also informs StatCounter's webmaster of user concerns and feature requests. :idea:

[dfnet]

Thanks for the "heads-up", webmaster! :)

I just returned to read the latest Terms & Conditions, and see the paragraph to which you were referring. However, I have three points (or queries) to offer:

(1.) I certainly respect the higher purpose of the prohibition against modifying code, as it is intended to protect the system against misuse. However, adding HEIGHT and WIDTH values to an image tag only influences the client-side display of the image, and does not affect instructions sent to the StatCounter server. Besides, from the W3C's perspective (as well as every design and coding tutorial I've ever seen), adding HEIGHT and WIDTH values to an image tag is essential to proper coding. If you run a page diagnostic at NetMechanic (http://www.netmechanic.com/toolbox/html-code.htm), the omission of these values from IMG tags will always be reported as coding errors.

Since both the JavaScript and the "noscript" code from StatCounter omit height and width values, it is reasonable to assume that you're leaving it to the individual users to specify them, according to their design needs.

(2.) Your current "noscript" link includes a value of <target="_blank">, which opens the StatCounter home page in a new browser window. It is the simplest way to do so, although the size of this new window will be the same as the last new window to be opened; in some cases, it could be the size of a "pop-up" left by another site, or some other small window.

We customarily use a JavaScript tag, such as <A HREF="#" onClick="MM_openBrWindow('http://www.statcounter.com/','statcounter','scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes,widt h=720,height=540')">, to control the exact dimensions of the new window. Same purpose, different execution. Again, it only affects the client-side display -- not the instructions sent to the server. I can't imagine you would consider this to be a violation of your Terms, either.

(3.) Finally, when I first downloaded the StatCounter code earlier this year, your site said that I could use either the complete dual JavaScripts, or just the "noscript" portion -- if I didn't need the added stats which the scripts provide. For the reasons stipulated in my earlier post (above), I chose to use only the "noscript" tags. I believe that this use is consistent with the spirit of your Terms (http://www.statcounter.com/terms.html), even though it is not detailed in paragraph #4.

I welcome your input on my interpretations. It is important for other viewers of this forum to realize that the Terms & Conditions have a very distinct and sound purpose, that being to protect the resources for the benefit of the entire user community, although reasonable deviations which do not violate the spirit of the Terms or damage the system may be tolerated on a case-by-case basis.

What are your thoughts?

P.S.: As you suggested, I have downloaded the new code and am waiting to install it on my site. However, I first need to reset the counter to reflect traffic which StatCounter hasn't logged for the past 11 days. Since I couldn't find the page or link for resetting the counter, I've posted a HELP request in the appropriate forum, and am awaiting a reply. 8)

[jason]

Yes you are cooler and smarter than everyone else. I'm sure you are better looking and better in bed too. I notice your website is not referenced. For god's sake, get a life.

[espana]

Hi,
What are you talking about dude (Jason)?
There's nothing wrong with discussing policies and making things clear.

Mike

[jepgre]

No stats for the last 16 days :cry:

jepgre insert a fresh new clean unaltered copy of the code.

[fred]

jepgre insert a fresh new clean unaltered copy of the code.


I am experiencing the same sort of problem too.

I cannot just insert a new copy of the statcounter code when it's offered in the "Generate New Code" window which doesn't appear work on my browser because the "Generate Code Window" page is blank, I have to obtain the code by viewing the source and extracting it that way instead.
In view of my method of code extraction I think the code is most likely to be corrupted because the graphical counter doesn't work in either the old or new code on my site.

I have not received a "Weekly Stats Report report since 19th Oct '03" although my site statistics appear to still work.

Is it possible to offer an alternative more foolproof way of obtaining or viewing the code other than your "Generate Code Window" as I cannot extract it properly without having to "view source"?.

http://www.stephen.hull.btinternet.co.uk/


Any help gratefully received.

Steve.

weekly stats haven't been developed for the new system yet. that's why you haven't received your reports. we haven't sent them. but they are top of our todo list.

... when you click generate code it should refresh the page. Then you just take it from the text box.

[fred]

weekly stats haven't been developed for the new system yet. that's why you haven't received your reports. we haven't sent them. but they are top of our todo list.

... when you click generate code it should refresh the page. Then you just take it from the text box.

Thank you for the reply, it has explained why at least I've not received any reports.

But the problem I have is when I do click generate code because it is not shown in the text box even after a refresh, The code has never been shown in the text window on my browser, Hence the request for an alternative method of extracting the code other than from obtaining it from view source.

Perhaps someone would be kind enough to e-mail me my StatCounter code seeing as I can't see it in your box which just happens to be totally blank in my chosen browser.

In the meantime I still have "Code corrupted, Insert fresh copy" displayed on my website instead of a graphical number counter.

Help gratefully received.

Steve.

http://www.stephen.hull.btinternet.co.uk/

what browser are you using?

[fred]

what browser are you using?

My operating system is RISC OS and at the moment I am using two browsers, Unfortunately neither one displays the code in your window.

1/ Oregano
2/ Browse

Help gratefully received thank you,


Steve.

http://www.stephen.hull.btinternet.co.uk/

Are you able to see the textbox there at all?

We'll add a feature in the future, with an extra button beside generate code, and put in "email code". But we don't ahve time right now.

if you could post a screen shot that would help as well.

[fred]

if you could post a screen shot that would help as well.

I have provided a link below pointing to screen grabs of the two browsers and a view source image taken from your website source code which shows my statcounter code but I've no idea if it is in fact correct or not.

As you will see there is no sign of any code and I have clicked on the W3C Compliant tick box and clicked on Generate new Code.

Your replies are most welcome. :p

Steve.

http://www.stephen.hull.btinternet.co.uk/example/

that code looks fine at

http://www.stephen.hull.btinternet.co.uk/example/source.png

we've changed the page giving out the code again.

is there any difference in your browsers now?

[fred]

that code looks fine at

http://www.stephen.hull.btinternet.co.uk/example/source.png

we've changed the page giving out the code again.

is there any difference in your browsers now?

Excellent!

I don't know how you've done it but yes the code is now viewable in my browser.
There were a few differences in the code.
I have inserted this new code on my website and I now have a working visible graphical counter.

Thank you very much for your time and help, it is appreciated.

Regards.

Steve

Glad it's working for you. We're going to keep developing the system until it's working for all webmasters and website owners.

[fred]

Glad it's working for you. We're going to keep developing the system until it's working for all webmasters and website owners.

It's all still working :wink:

Great work and many thanks again,

Regards,

Steve.