Reply to posts "Error Message"
I am able to start a new topic but I cannot reply to topics already in discussion. I get this Error Message: Unable to receive your submission at this time. Can anyone explain this? Thanks!
15 Answers
OK, since I've been promoted to second software guy here, I will reply to your difficult questions, as you seem genuinely interested.
Let me see if I understood you correctly. The error message is being generated by the server at this site. It apparently has something to do with loading pages that contain data pulled from a database.
Assuming the message is not misleading. All I can say for sure is that it does come from the server.
I would argue that browsers do know something about databases because they support the applications and languages that provide the data to the page.
Nope, and that is the beauty of it. A browser is like a TV screen, it displays whatever it receives from the server and is completely unaware of how it was created.
If Java or Javascript isn't supported by the browser then you're not going to see the page displayed correctly that was filled in with data by a Java application/language.
Let's get one thing straight: despite the similarity in their names, Javascript has absolutely nothing to do with Java. Javascript is a programming language used to run short functions on the browser (which can be turned off by the user, creating major headaches for web developers). Java is a generic programming language like Fortran or Basic, but it is not supported by any browser except through a plug-in (a plug-in is essentially a piece of software that does something the browser does not know how to do)
Seeing that Shift+F5 (command in this server's software) solves the problem the actual error has to do with loading the page in the specific browser for display. Hitting Shift+F5 reloads the page in the browser.
Everytime you browse to a page, or when you press F5, it is reloaded. What is not reloaded are the files that are associated with it. For instance, take a look at this file:
http://my.spanishdict.com/images/members/avatars/uploads/avatar_14913.jpg
That is your avatar, which shows up in this page and many others. Now when the browser reloads a page containing your avatar, it doesn't reload your avatar, it retrieves it from the cache in your hard drive (a cache is a temporary data repository used to speed up performance). If browsers had to reload every single file attached to a page, performance would suffer, so they cache everything that is not supposed to change between one request and another. Items on the cache eventually "expire" and get reloaded, but that is managed by the browser.
Aside from pictures, everything that is not in the main page (mostly the text and ads you see on screen) is stored in the cache. Often this includes information that is necessary to access data on the server. If for some reason this information gets out-of-sync with the page, you may get all sorts of funny errors.
Pressing Shift+F5 tells the browser: reload not only the main page, but all files contained in it.
And from your remarks about having the problem in Explorer and mine about having the problem in Google, I assume that the server is just having problems loading pages in browsers and sometimes it's Google and sometimes it's Internet Explorer, explaining why you can switch from one to the other and provide a workaround.
The reason switching browsers works around the problem is simply because every browser has its own cache, and a browser you haven't used recently is more likely not to have files from spanishdict.com cached, or they may have expired and will be reloaded without you having to press Shift+F5.
That's actually how I discovered the problem. I couldn't get into the forum using IE, and after a while it occurred to me that the server couldn't be down that long. So I switched to Safari and voilà, everything worked fine. I knew that instant that it had to be a matter of some bad data stored in IE's cache.
If the server were having difficulty loading pages into all browsers then switching browsers wouldn't have any effect which it clearly does.
Technically speaking, servers doesn't "load" pages on browsers, they simply receive requests, try to process them, and send the result back. As in "show me the first page of thread number 9417", which causes the server to load the data for thread 9417 from its database, wrap the text with the page formatting, include menus and adds, and send the whole thing back to the browser.
Requests to post data are more tricky, because the server needs to know who you are, whether you are allowed to post, things like that. These are the bits of information that, I'm guessing, are cached on your local drive and are somehow getting out-of-sync sometimes. When that happens, the server receives invalid data, doesn't know what to with it, and simply gives up your request and replies with an error message instead.
Of couse, no one really cares as long as there is a workaround. I'm just thinking about the next bug down the road.
Actually, the web developers at spanishdict.com should care, as it is clearly a problem on the server side. As far as I can tell, the program on the server is allowing the browser to cache information that should not be cached.
All that said, it's a really difficult job to create a website that works flawlessly in any version of any browser in any operating system.
So there you go. I hope you're not sorry you asked 
HI Marianne, for some days I have been getting a database error message,,using chrome, I had to change to explorer to avoid the error. Have you tried another browser until this gets fixed?
ditto on the error with Chrome, and I still can't log in with Firefox.
I'm down to one browser, I'm getting nervous.
As far as Marianne's error it's just the server saying that it is busy at the moment (probably lost performing some endless loop). I'd just wait a few minutes for the server to recover or free up some resources and try again.
So there you go. I hope you're not sorry you asked
I'm not at all sorry that I asked. Thank you for the detailed explanation. I think you answered my question about a similar problem. For weeks I haven't been able to log in to this site using Mozilla Firefox. I just received a notice to upgrade the browser to a new version. After I did I was able to log in here successfully.
Now I realize that it was probably because the old cache was cleared or irreleveant files were deleted with the upgrade.
The next time that the problem arises I'll know to try clearing the cache, remove SpanishDict.com cookies, etc. and let them be rebuilt.
Thank you again.
I regularly clear my cache on Firefox, go to tools - clear private data and then select what you want to clear.
Heitor, it is final now: You are software guy number two! 
Oh, we might put your post on the "problems with logging in", hmmm, I will see to that.
Gracias Heitor
So there you go. I hope you're not sorry you asked
I'm not at all sorry that I asked. Thank you for the detailed explanation. I think you answered my question about a similar problem. For weeks I haven't been able to log in to this site using Mozilla Firefox. I just received a notice to upgrade the browser to a new version. After I did I was able to log in here successfully.
Now I realize that it was probably because the old cache was cleared or irreleveant files were deleted with the upgrade.
The next time that the problem arises I'll know to try clearing the cache, remove SpanishDict.com cookies, etc. and let them be rebuilt.
Thank you again.
Of couse, no one really cares as long as there is a workaround. I'm just thinking about the next bug down the road.
Venga, no seas pesimista, que ya no habrá más bugs de esos
Shift+F5 is not a Windows command, it's just that developers tend to follow the conventions set by Microsoft.
I think F5 simply reloads the page but not what is included with it (pictures, javascript and css files, etc.), whereas Shift+F5 reloads everything.
Let me see if I understood you correctly. The error message is being generated by the server at this site. It apparently has something to do with loading pages that contain data pulled from a database. I would argue that browsers do know something about databases because they support the applications and languages that provide the data to the page. If Java or Javascript isn't supported by the browser then you're not going to see the page displayed correctly that was filled in with data by a Java application/language. Seeing that Shift+F5 (command in this server's software) solves the problem the actual error has to do with loading the page in the specific browser for display. Hitting Shift+F5 reloads the page in the browser. And from your remarks about having the problem in Explorer and mine about having the problem in Google, I assume that the server is just having problems loading pages in browsers and sometimes it's Google and sometimes it's Internet Explorer, explaining why you can switch from one to the other and provide a workaround. If the server were having difficulty loading pages into all browsers then switching browsers wouldn't have any effect which it clearly does.
Of couse, no one really cares as long as there is a workaround. I'm just thinking about the next bug down the road.
Thanks everyone! I pushed shift + F5 before writing this message and it seemed to work (I'm using Internet Explorer and Windows Vista).
yupeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Heitor I name you the second software guy on this forum 
Thanks everyone! I pushed shift + F5 before writing this message and it seemed to work (I'm using Internet Explorer and Windows Vista).
That seems to work for Google also, so I assume that the Shift+F5 is a Window's command (OS). What exactly does it do to the cache? Empty it , overwrite it?
Shift+F5 is not a Windows command, it's just that developers tend to follow the conventions set by Microsoft.
I think F5 simply reloads the page but not what is included with it (pictures, javascript and css files, etc.), whereas Shift+F5 reloads everything.
I knew as soon as I read your message that you must be correct as that would mean the the error message was totally misleading which is a hallmark of MS Windows.
Everybody loves to bash Windows, but the error message is actually coming from the server. Browsers know nothing about databases.
HI Marianne, for some days I have been getting a database error message,,using chrome, I had to change to explorer to avoid the error. Have you tried another browser until this gets fixed?
The database error has to do with the browser cache. I keep getting it in Internet Explorer on Vista. Whenever it happens, pressing Shift+F5 solves the problem.
That seems to work for Google also, so I assume that the Shift+F5 is a Window's command (OS). What exactly does it do to the cache? Empty it , overwrite it?
I knew as soon as I read your message that you must be correct as that would mean the the error message was totally misleading which is a hallmark of MS Windows. I wonder if any Mac users have been experiencing any of these problems'
The database error has to do with the browser cache. I keep getting it in Internet Explorer on Vista. Whenever it happens, pressing Shift+F5 solves the problem.
REally''? 
Can't be that easy.....I changed from browser to browser to go round the problem. 
Para los que tienen este error en español, pulsar:
Mayúsculas+F5
Heitor dice que funciona. Quentin, dinos algo , anda.....
HI Marianne, for some days I have been getting a database error message,,using chrome, I had to change to explorer to avoid the error. Have you tried another browser until this gets fixed?
The database error has to do with the browser cache. I keep getting it in Internet Explorer on Vista. Whenever it happens, pressing Shift+F5 solves the problem.
Quentin, I am not getting the error message on Chrome any more. Have a look if things work for you too. ( I got that on "vocabulary" and on smilies, for some reason)
I have never been able to log in with firefox since the new site is up. 
HI Marianne, for some days I have been getting a database error message,,using chrome, I had to change to explorer to avoid the error. Have you tried another browser until this gets fixed'
