Support Forum

Hello All, 

I would like to share my experience installing the latest version. I had faced the problem with earlier release too, however, I did not want to hit panic button since it was still under testing and nothing was seriously wrong. The most interesting aspect is that in the process I happen to learn something. That is even in the world of standardisation, there is no conformity. There so many parallel standards running and it is hard for an ordinary person to decide/judge which one is right. 

The Story

I have a cPanel based hosting account. I run my own virtual server too, which gives me a bit more control over all the various sites that I host for me and my friends. 

It is a very standard issue cPanel installation and nothing 'custom' made or anything strange. My Hosting provider is an intelligent and very knowledge person and he has tuned the services very well. 

So I follow the instructions, carefully install the plugin and when I trying to explore the plugin to configure it, it said there is a newer version of theme for plugin available that I need update. I tried. Using Wordpress update, using FTP upload method, you name it, all possible legit ways that one could replace those files, I tried. Nope it won't. It was so baffling to find that the folder sp-resources could not be touched at all. You could not change permission, you could delete files, overwrite files or in any way remove them or replace them. It was just not possible. 

On investigating, I found that the entire folder was owned by 'nobody'. That was interesting. Only one folder that sp-resources and all the content under it was owned by 'nobody'. 

I searched and read a lot and saw people swearing by something called suPHP handler for Apache. First I found found out what was it. Then I requested my hosting provider to install it for me and then play around  to see what difference it makes. 

Meanwhile using SSH I deleted the file(s)/folder(s) and re-installed Simple Press Forum successfully. This is now under suPHP. Guess what? No more 'nobody' problem. I was excited. That didn't last too long. I realised that now the forum layout on the front end had gone bonkers. It looked like as if someone forgot to provide the CSS file or the CSS was broken. Nothing was in place. It more or less a clutter of formatted text lined up without layout. Argh!! Why can't things get simpler for me. 

So in the end, after long discussion with my hosting provider, we came to conclusion that I will keep the new compiled kernel of Apache and PHP handler. However I will not use it. I use the more trusted and secure DSO handler. In case if that 'nobody' comes back, I can always SSH connect and fix it. On returning to my previous settings, Forum layout looked just fine. 

End

The moral of the story, you never know what is really standard. One may have learned to 'Google' the question however the answer may not be most appropriate. It is always good to discuss with friends, fellow users and form your own opinion based on your needs. This of course needs time. So patience is the key. Rushing things never help.