IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ALL MEMBERS

jackrabbit · Post by **jackrabbit** » Sun Jan 05, 2003 8:00 pm

There is no reason for a separate subdomain. There was before, because the matrix was on a different computer. www.DollForum.com couldn't point to two IP addresses at once, so www.matrix.www.DollForum.com pointed to the other machine.

If everything is all on one server, there is no need for a separate domain. www.DollForum.com can get to everything. If you did have a separate domain for the matrix, it would point to the same ip address.

Only one web server can run on a machine, so the same web server would have to respond to both domains. This is called virtual domains, and not all web servers can handle it. Maybe this is the issue that they are calling "security".

Basically the only reason for keeping the matrix separate from the main forum at all is because the two are controlled by different people. You and Jerry do the main forum, ShortCappy does the matrix.

The simplest approach would be to make the matrix just a directory of the forum, i.e. the url would be "www.DollForum.com/matrix/" and the individual pages would be "www.DollForum.com/matrix/female/h2b6.html" and the like. However, this would mean that you could modify the matrix files and shortcappy could modify the main forum files.

Hence the "~matrix" thing. The "~" mechanism is for different users of an isp, i.e. different customers who have nothing to do with each other. So in this sense, the matrix is like a different customer of the isp. Even though all on the same server, the owners of "~snapontools", "~darcyfabbrica", "~mcdonalds", and "~waltdisney" cannot access each other's files.

Post by **Bill** » Sun Jan 05, 2003 10:27 pm

I understand now. Subdomains have a prefix for different servers and a suffix for the same server.
Is it possible to make the Matrix not internally dependent on this so only the path to index.html has to change but internally it could find the photos without all the paths being changed, some sort of linking that searches for the file in the image directory without having to include the domain in the path. I thought it could done in html programming. I'll have to ask around to find out if clicking on something to open a photo requires the domain to be in the path.

jackrabbit · Post by **jackrabbit** » Mon Jan 06, 2003 4:34 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>
I understand now. Subdomains have a prefix for different servers and a suffix for the same server.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Actually it doesn't have that much to do with domains and subdomains. That just determines how DNS resolves the address. All the browser cares about is that this fully qualified domain name equates to that IP address.

If the url contains a domain, the browser makes a http connection to that ip address. It doesn't matter whether it is [url=http://www.DollForum.com,]www.DollForum.com,[/url] [url=http://www.matrix.www.DollForum.com,]www.matrix.www.DollForum.com,[/url] or www.oracle.com. The browser doesn't care about domain/subdomain relationships.

If the url does not contain a domain, then another connection is made to the same ip address that was used to create the containing page.

It's even simpler than that from the viewpoint of the server. Unless it has to deal with multiple domain names for the same node (virtual domains), it doesn't know or care what its domain name is. It processes connections and packets. The DNS and routing makes the packets arrive to be processed. Packets for a different domain go somewhere else to be processed by another server.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>
Is it possible to make the Matrix not internally dependent on this so only the path to index.html has to change but internally it could find the photos without all the paths being changed,
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sure. In fact, I think it's that way now. See below.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>
some sort of linking that searches for the file in the image directory without having to include the domain in the path. I thought it could done in html programming. I'll have to ask around to find out if clicking on something to open a photo requires the domain to be in the path.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Definitely you don't have to specify a domain for links and images on the same server as the page.

As I said earlier, the matrix urls don't specify a domain, at least the couple I looked at. I definitely saw a url of "/female/B4H4.html", which simply means look in directory "/female" of the same domain as this page for file "B4H4.html"

I think the "/~matrix" part is the problem. Unlike the domain name, that isn't sticky and has to be respecified on every url. Basically, you have to prefix every url with "/~matrix", i.e. replace "/female/B4H4.html" with "/~matrix/female/B4H4.html".

However, once that is done you should be able to move everything to another domain later without having to change it all again, provided the matrix account and directories are copied to the new server.

Again, without the separate access controls for the matrix and the use of "~matrix", this would be trivially easy. If the matrix directories were just replicated on the new server, most of the urls would work without change.

Post by **Bill** » Mon Jan 06, 2003 5:49 am

The Matrix was copied to the new server and the link to it was changed. Something inside the Matrix must be domain dependent or something it is pointing to is missing. We thought moving the whole subdomain to the new server and changing the link to it would be all that was needed.
I was wrong. I don't own it and can't fix it if I have to go inside the subdomain but if the problem is outside the subdomain then I will fix it if I knew what to fix.
Where are the URLs that need fixing? I fixed just the one pointing to the subdomain.

Post by **Bill** » Mon Jan 06, 2003 8:51 am

Jerry made a post to the owners to make the repairs. I sent an email to the address in the Matrix but it was returned.
I'll let it go for now but sometime down the road it will have to be removed if it isn't repaired.
Can a site be written so this type of repair would never be needed? Portable, without internal linking of this type. I know that you said the "/~matrix" was the problem but could have it been written so it wouldn't have been a problem. What if another server used "/_matrix" or "/**matrix" for the subdomain?
I see a need for portability of a site if it can be done.

jackrabbit · Post by **jackrabbit** » Mon Jan 06, 2003 10:02 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>I sent an email to the address in the Matrix but it was returned.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah, I got a bounce too. "mailbox unavailable". I don't know what the deal is. I have sent mail to shortcappy at that address in the past. He posted in the forum a few days ago, so he must be around somewhere.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>
I'll let it go for now but sometime down the road it will have to be removed if it isn't repaired.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well, if it comes to that, give me write access to the matrix pages and I can fix them. The problem is trivial to me.

Or the matrix could be rehosted on the Darcy site.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>
Can a site be written so this type of repair would never be needed? Portable, without internal linking of this type.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sure, especially if the "~" stuff was dropped and the matrix html and jpg files simply resided in directories under the same root as the rest of the doll forum.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>
I know that you said the "/~matrix" was the problem but could have it been written so it wouldn't have been a problem.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'm not sure. It may be possible to make the urls relative to the "~matrix" rather than the domain, but I'm not sure how to do that. I've never really used the "~" mechanism myself. On the Darcy site, everything is in the "/darcy" directory, and simply accessing the domain defaults to that because the web server is set up that way, so most of the time the internal urls are just "filename.html" with no path at all.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>
What if another server used "/_matrix" or "/**matrix" for the subdomain?
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think "~" is a standard for that type of thing.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>
I see a need for portability of a site if it can be done.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's certainly the way web pages should be written.

Phyl_T_Mynd · Post by **Phyl_T_Mynd** » Mon Jan 06, 2003 10:06 am

Maybe the ShortCapster has gone off to Hawaii again... anyway, if all that's required is cleaning up a few 〈a〉 and 〈img〉 tags, then just about anybody could do it in a few minutes. As long as all the HTML and image files were copied from the old server to the new one, should be a piece o' cake. I'd volunteer to do it myself, but I've got too much on my plate as it is...

I still haven't e-mailed Jerry about the new password for the links section. [img]modules/Forums/images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>
I'm not sure. It may be possible to make the urls relative to the "~matrix" rather than the domain, but I'm not sure how to do that.

-- JackRabbit<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's what the < base > tag is for. Used near the top of your HTML document, it identifies the origin for all relative URL's.

<BLOCKQUOTE>code

<pre>< base href="http://www.DollForum.com/~matrix/" > </pre>

jackrabbit · Post by **jackrabbit** » Mon Jan 06, 2003 10:16 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote

As long as all the HTML and image files were copied from the old server to the new one, should be a piece o' cake.

I not sure if they were. Like I said earlier, I couldn't access some of the files even after adjusting the urls to the new format manually. Each of the head/body combinations seems to have its own directory, and I'm not sure those directories are there.

By the way, I found out in a hurry that you can't illustrate html coding in a code section. At least, not since html was enabled in the forum. It processes the stuff instead of displaying it. Oh, I see you noticed that and edited your post. [img]modules/Forums/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] [img]modules/Forums/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

Phyl_T_Mynd · Post by **Phyl_T_Mynd** » Mon Jan 06, 2003 10:22 am

Yeah, me too. Just now! [img]modules/Forums/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

jackrabbit · Post by **jackrabbit** » Mon Jan 06, 2003 10:27 am

What did you do to make it display properly?

Phyl_T_Mynd · Post by **Phyl_T_Mynd** » Mon Jan 06, 2003 10:31 am

Just a space between the angle brackets and the tag! < like this > It works well enough, but I pity the foo' who tries to cut-and-paste! [img]modules/Forums/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

jackrabbit · Post by **jackrabbit** » Mon Jan 06, 2003 7:10 pm

It's definitely the html on the matrix pages themselves that need to be fixed. For instance, "FEMALE.HTML, the female doll matrix, "B7H11.HTML", the body 7, head 11 cell, etc. After poking around in the html, and entering urls manually, I found three different failure modes.

Some urls contain the old domain name of www.matrix.www.DollForum.com. For instance, in "B7H11.HTML" file, the url for the Back button contains: "http://www.matrix.www.DollForum.com/female.html"

This needs to be changed to "/~matrix /female.html"

Some urls contain the directory path. For instance, the head 11/body 7 button in "FEMALE.HTML" contains: "/female/B7H11.html"

This needs to be changed to "/~matrix/female/B7H11.html". When I did this manually, the page came up.

Some directories appear to be missing entirely. Apparently, each head/body combination has its own directory. The code for the picture of Elsbeth has the following: "B7H11_files/Elsbeth_b7h11.html"

I could not call this up with either "www.DollForum.com/B7H11_files/Elsbeth_b7h11.html" or "www.DollForum.com/~matrix/B7H11_files/E ... b7h11.html". So either the directory or the file appears to not be there at all.

Only the person who has write access to the matrix files can fix this stuff. So presumably shortcappy has to do it.

If you want to send me the matrix directories, including all html and image files, I could fix it for you and send it back. Otherwise you need to contact shortcappy. You have been using his new email address, haven't you?

ShortCappy · Post by **ShortCappy** » Wed Jan 08, 2003 6:11 pm

I've already fixed up the problems with the broken links. So now, everything is back to normal, until there's another change for the subdomain's main address...