[Forum] ad_showthread_firstpost_sig not showing consistently (4.0.8)

[PossumX]

I am having troubles with the ad_showthread_firstpost_sig location. I complete the template, and it shows only some of the time in the first post, often in the second post, if the first is "somewhat" short, and other times not at all, if there is only one post in a thread.

I know the templates appear to have challenges, according to a lot of reading here, however, I am curious if anyone else has had an issue with this template location.

When I put the exact same code, with conditionals for non-members only, in the ad_showthread_firstpost_start template, it works every time.

Problem is, I want the ad in the ad_showthread_firstpost_sig template location.

Any thoughts, ideas, or comments from vBulletin are welcome here.

Thanks.

[Steve Machol]

Do you have a link so we can see this problem in action?

[PossumX]

Ask and ye shall receive...

I have reverted the ad_showthread_firstpost_start template and added the Google Adsense code to the ad_showthread_firstpost_sig template.

As stated, I am using a conditional for display control, as follows:

<vb:if condition="is_member_of($bbuserinfo,1,3,4)">
<--Google Adsense Code Here -->
</vb:if>

Here are 3 examples of differing behavior:

Does not display at all:

http://www.nbssportfishing.com/vBforum/f17/stellwagon-monday-15218/

Displays in Second post, not first, but in proper location:

http://www.nbssportfishing.com/vBforum/f86/google-earth-water-blurred-out-15214/

Shows properly:

http://www.nbssportfishing.com/vBforum/f17/public-hearings-ma-fishing-license-15211/

The ad_navbar_below template shows properly in all views, with the same conditional in place.

Please advise, so that I can set back to the ad_showthread_firstpost_start template, for consistent display (albeit, not ideal).

[Steve Machol]

Thanks. I tried to duplicate this problem on my unmodified 4.0.8 test forum and couldn't. The ad displays correctly on every thread I looked at.

To troubleshoot this, first reupload all the original vB non-image files (except install.php). Make sure you upload these in ASCII format and overwrite the ones on the server. Also be sure to upload the admincp files to whichever directory you have set in your config.php file. Then run 'Suspect File Versions' in Diagnostics to make sure you have all the original files for your version and that none show 'File does not contain expected contents':

Admin CP -> Maintenance -> Diagnostics -> Suspect File Versions

[Note: In some cases you may also need to remove any of the listed .xml files in the includes/xml directory.]

Next, disable all products (except vB Blog and vB CMS if you are running the Suite.)

Admin CP -> Plugins & Products -> Manage Products -> Disable

Then manually uncheck all plugins that are not for 'vBulletin Blog' and vBulletin CMS' here:

Admin CP -> Plugins & Products -> Plugin Manager

You must do BOTH of those steps in order to disable all non vBulletin Modifications.

Then if you still have this problem, create a new style and choose no parent style. This will force it to use the default templates. Then add that ad to the ad_showthread_firstpost_sig template for this style. Finally empty your browser cache, close all browser windows then try again. Make sure you change to the new style and view your forums with it.

Do you have the same problem?

[PossumX]

I figured out why this is happening, but it doesn't seem right.

If a user does not have a signature, the ad location template (ad_showthread_firstpost_sig) will not show. I am not sure if this is by design or not.

When I add a signature to the user, and edit the thread to select "show signature", the ad will show properly, however, when I remove the signature, the ad does not show.

Is this by design?

I would think (and I stress, think) that the Ad Location template should parse and display, even if the user does not have a signature defined, as many never create one. In a thread where no one has a signature, the ad will not show in any post.

I confirmed this behavior on my test site, default vBulletin 4.0.8, no plugins installed or templates edited (immensely quicker than debugging the live board with plug-in disabling).

Would you confirm?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
8:38 PM (EST) Update : Installed a quick modification to add a default signature if one does not exist, and this provided further substantiation of the behavior described above (uninstalled immediately after test).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
9:28 PM (EST) Update : There is something else odd as well, validated in vB 4.0.8, no plugins/template edits. This location is supposed to be ad_showthread_firstpost_sig (to me, meaning that it should only show in the first post). However, it will show in the first post, and any subsequent post that the thread starter makes, and a signature exists, thereby repeating the render attempt for every post the thread starter makes in his own thread. Considering, for me, that I also use the ad_navbar_below template with 2 ads, this attempts to present more than 3 ads on a page, if the thread starter makes additional posts and, as I said, has a signature defined. This behavior does NOT hold true for the ad_showthread_firstpost_start template, and it displays only once without additional render attempts for the thread starter (again validated on a default 4.0.8 install).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
So, in the end, I would expect the ad_showthread_firstpost_sig template to parse and display the ad regardless of whether the user has a signature defined or not, AND I would not expect the ad to be repeated for every subsequent post the thread starter makes. Am I on the right thought train here?

[PossumX]

I neglected one additional note. The same behavior holds true wherever the first poster (not necessarily the thread starter) in a thread has a signature, and the previous users do not. The ad will display in the first post with a signature and then attempt to render on any subsequent post that user makes after that as well.

[Steve Machol]

That certanly makes sense. If there is no signature, then nothing is going to show in the ad_showthread_firstpost_sig template.

[PossumX]

Re: ad_showthread_firstpost_sig not showing consistently (4.0.8)

What about the duplication for each subsequent post by the user that has the first signature? This is dangerous from an AdSense perspective.

So, your saying by design is how it is supposed to behave? Unfortunate if true, and I don't believe how it functioned in 3.8.6 (don't have one to test on anymore).

[Steve Machol]

I cannot duplicate that issue at all with the default 4.0.8 code and templates. The next step would be to follow the instructions in post #4.

[PossumX]

Interesting, to say the least.

This morning, I have deleted ALL files from my test site, and reuploaded the entire 4.0.8 Suite file system. I ensured that all were uploaded in their proper format, specifically, that all non-image based files were uploaded in ASCII format. When I run diagnostics, Suspect File Versions, there are none found at all (meaning that all files in all directories match only the proper 4.0.8 install source, downloaded from vBulletin). I have validated as well, that the only plugins installed are just the BLOG and CMS from vBulletin. So, for this go around, even though the same was true before, I followed the steps, verbatim, on the test board this morning.

I still have the exact same issue when using the ad_showthread_firstpost_sig template.

Below are 2 screenprints from the test site:

Thread with all templates in the default vBulletin 4.0.8 state:



Same Thread with ONLY the ad_showthread_firstpost_sig template edited, using AdSense:



I guess I'll just have to keep digging, as this is DEFAULT vB 4.0.8 Suite, with nothing else in the file structures, no plug-ins, and only the default vB 4.0.8 tables in the database.