Preserved Topic: grrr tagboards

I am trying to install a tagboard but ugh i am having cgi problems. I have set the permissions right and I am getting a 500 internal error, any suggestions?

The poster has demanded we remove all his contributions, less he takes legal action.
We have done so.
Now Tyberius Prime expects him to start complaining that we removed his 'free speech' since this message will replace all of his posts, past and future.
Don't follow his example - seek real life help first.

yes it is perl and I am using 755 on the cgi files and 660 on the dat files. I also tried using 777 on the cgi files and it still did not work.

sorry i was so vague

Hi adaline,

Do you have access to your server error logs? If you do, paste the error here so we can see what's happeing. If not you can add this line: use CGI::Carp qw/fatalsToBrowser/; somewhere near to the top of the script like this:

#!/usr/bin/perl

use CGI::Carp qw/fatalsToBrowser/;

#rest of code below

That will direct errors to the browser rather than stderr (your logs). It doesn't catch all errors but it's worth a try if you dont have access to you error logs. Either way, paste the message here.

Regards,
Charlie

it says:

Error: Could not open data file.

hmm.

Sounds like the data files exist. besides the permissions who are the owners of the files? you may have to change the ownership of the files as well



:[ Computers let you make more mistakes faster than any other invention in human history, with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila. ]:

That sounds like (a) Wrong permissions on the data file, (b) data file doesn't exist or (c) wrong path to the data file. Make sure that the script has the correct path to the data file and the permissions on the file are at least 664. If the file is not there use FTP to upload a empty file or use SSH/Telnet and type 'touch filename' (filename is the actual name of your data file) on the command line in the correct directory. That should fix it I hope

Regards,
Charlie

what do you mean who are the owners of the files? sorry this isn't my strong point.

Here is what the readme is with the tagboard:


-Create a directory for TagPro.

-Make sure that the first lines in admin.cgi and tag.cgi match your path to Perl.

-Upload the following files to the same directory (using ASCII mode): admin.cgi, tag.cgi, tags.dat, vars.dat, board.html, and tagboard.shtml.

-If you are using a UNIX server, CHMOD admin.cgi and tag.cgi to 755. CHMOD tags.dat and vars.dat to 660.

-Open tagboard.shtml (the one on your server) in your browser. You should see a simple empty tag board, including the form. Enter your name, URL, and a message then hit Tag to test the tag board. It should show you a success message, and then redirect you to the tagboard so you can see your post. If it doesn't work, start again at Step 1 (and make sure your server supports server side includes).

-Now, open admin.cgi (on your server) in your browser. You should see a simple installation screen. Create your admin name and password, double check that your data files aren't visible, and click Install. This will take you to the main menu, where you can modify the tag board variables, delete the tag you just posted, etc.


I've done everything up to step 5 and that is where i am stuck. I uploaded all my files to my cgi-bin. These are the file names:

admin.cgi
board.shtml
tag.cgi
tags.dat
vars.dat


That's pretty much all the info.

Well, the data file and path shouldn't be the problem then. Try to CHMOD the two .dat files to 770 and see if that works. Where did you get the script? Can you post a link?

Regards,
Charlie

ahhh piper the 664 worked, i am not getting a 500 error. however now it isn't doing what it says in step 5 of the readme. it is just taking me back to a blank tag board rather than showing me the msg, any suggestions why?

I got it at http://www.danlewis.org/tagpro



[This message has been edited by adaline (edited 10-01-2001).]

My best guess is that your scripts run as the 'nobody' user and not as your user. You will most likely need to change the permissions to 666 for it to work correct. Give that a shot.

Regards,
Charlie

ugh it didn't work. how frustrating is this? is it okay that i have all the files uploaded into the cgi bin?

i set it to 666 on the dat files........and it still does the same as before, without the 500 error



[This message has been edited by adaline (edited 10-01-2001).]

Having all the files in the cgi-bin should be OK. How about CHMOD'ing the .dat files to 777? Do you know if your scripts run under SuExec (as your user) or if they run as the 'nobody' user (web server user)?

Regards,
Charlie

the 777 didn't work and how can I find that out piper because I have no idea.

also, in advance i really appreciate the help

Couple more things to try. Download the .dat files to your PC and see if any data is making it into the files. Also, try deleteing the .dat files and see if the script will make them for you. If the script does make the files you might still need to CHMOD em to 666 or 777. Other than that I will need to see the script to find out what's wrong with it.

Good luck!
~Charlie

[edit] If the script does create the files for you, use FTP to see who owns the files on the server. That will tell you what user your scripts run under[/edit]

[This message has been edited by Piper (edited 10-01-2001).]

When I installed a tagboard, I had to play around with the permissions. The data files had to be chomoded to 666, I believe. Also the tagboard.shtml had to be chmoded to something besides what the readme says. Play around with it a bit.

when in doubt you can chmod everything to 777 and then drop permisssions from there.

In regards to the user.
besides the general permissions set to a file each file is owned by a user and a group. Generally scripts run by a browser runs apps as a default user called either "nobody" or sometimes "apache".



:[ Computers let you make more mistakes faster than any other invention in human history, with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila. ]: