MSN: sometimes doesn't allow to send messages since pidgin thinks the user is disconected

[hexion]

Steps to reproduce:

- Status online - Received a message from a contact (I doesn't answer) - The contact sets status to away - Wait 5 minutes without answering - TRY TO ANSWER. Pidgin wont send the message and an error will occur. Something like this: "pidgin could not send the message because the user is disconected).

I think this happens because pidgin closes the connection (the other client (emesene) reports a message like this "the user closed the session) despite I didn't close the window) and then fails to see the user connected (it actually IS connected), so it doesn't send the message.

[angelic]

I had this same issue a couple days ago, with the other client being the official MSN messenger.

[hexion]

Restarting pidgin doesn't solve the problem :|

This is very strange...

[chckens]

I've seen similar behaviour with one of my contacts today. I've been trying to reproduce it with the official client and a test account, but no luck there. Best I can do is give you is a few relevant snippets from the debug log for the contact which I still can't send messages to from Adium nor Pidgin, no matter if I sign out/in again..

[chckens]

signing on to MSN

[hexion]

More info:

I had the same issue in this situation:

- My status is "Connected" - A contact whose status was "Invisible" opened a session. - We were conversating normally. - The contact stopped writing for 1 minute - I tried to write a new line, but then the error "The message couldn't be sent because the user is offline" happened. - The contact writed me another line again. - Then I could write again too.

What happens here? I think that pidgin closes the connection when the 2 users don't write for 1 or 2 minutes. This shouldn't happen and it causes a lot of problems. The connection should be closed ONLY when we close the window or the other client closes the connection, AND even if that happens, if we write again a new connection should be opened.

[nosnilmot]

The server or remote end closes the connection after an idle timeout. Messaging with invisible users is not supported.

[angelic]

I had this happen with a fully visible person. I do not believe this is an invalid ticket.

[nosnilmot]

Replying to angelic:

I had this happen with a fully visible person. I do not believe this is an invalid ticket.

Then your issue is something different. Please open your own ticket for it and attach a debug log.

[hexion]

Another example of a closed ticket without any critery...

I just posted AN EXAMPLE of another issue. The first one I posted was with a FULLY VISIBLE contact.

I can't believe it... 3 people reported the problem, one developer simply reads the word "invisible" and just closes the bug without checking anything.... well done :/

[nosnilmot]

Replying to hexion:

Another example of a closed ticket without any critery...

Excuse me?

I can't believe it... 3 people reported the problem, one developer simply reads the word "invisible" and just closes the bug without checking anything.... well done :/

One developer who happens to know how to read MSN debug logs and knows that the (edited) log you posted shows that the contact was offline or invisible when you tried to message them.

If you have more complete debug logs feel free to attach them.

[hexion]

Sorry for my english, I meant: "Another example of a closed ticket without any CRITERION"

I didn't post any log, not edited nor unedited. That was another used called "chckens"

Whatever you want.. you are the lord of the truth here. Only one thought: this is not the path to get a good software nor to interact with the users. We made the effort to post here the bugs we find to "help" open projects (it's another way of helping, not as important as coding but it's important too), and you just ignore us in the moment you find a word you don't like in the comment or you don't understand something.

I'll try to explain you again. The last try... you can ignore this if you want.

With gaim (last I tried was SVN version before the name change) this didn't happen. Pidgin closes the connection in a 1 or 2 minutes timeout. Ok, I think the timeout should be much longer or even I wouldn't set any timeout and just close the session when we close the conversation window... but ok.

The problem is that, if that timeout is reached and we send another line, NO NEWER CONNECTION IS OPENED. And then, we cannot write until the contact writes another line and his/her client opens a newer connection with us. If he/she doesn't write again, we wont be able to write anymore, even restarting Pidgin.

And this happens both with visible and hiden contacts.

As you can see, this issue isn't a problem that happens only here... but, again, feel free to ignore it as you did before.

[chckens]

Replying to nosnilmot:

One developer who happens to know how to read MSN debug logs and knows that the (edited) log you posted shows that the contact was offline or invisible when you tried to message them.

That was my debug log, not hexion's. I agree, given the expected behaviour of the MSN protocol it looks as if the user is offline from that information. But they weren't offline nor invisible. And that snippet of the log occurs on MSN sign-on, before I've even tried to message them (though the same error is repeated when attempting to send a message).

http://trac.adiumx.com/ticket/6931 appears to be this same issue and has been closed as suspected MSN server weirdness. I think I'd be inclined to agree with that, so no complaints about closing this here (unless anyone is still seeing the problem?)

[hexion]

Replying to nosnilmot:

Replying to angelic:

I had this happen with a fully visible person. I do not believe this is an invalid ticket.

Then your issue is something different. Please open your own ticket for it and attach a debug log.

I didn't read that reply before...

Read again the first post. Where did I write there that the contact was not online? In fact I say he turned his status to away. I just posted before an example of this bug with a hiden contact, but that wasn't in the first post.

[nosnilmot]

Sorry for any confusion over the particular debug log attached here, I'm still getting used to the fact that this tracker allows people other than the original submitter to attach files. (fwiw, the "More info:" follow up perfectly matches the sample debug log, this appeared to me to be a clarification)

I'd still prefer to address one issue per ticket, however, and I'm not sure how many we're dealing with here (at least one issue appears to be someone's unhappiness with the way I am responding and for that I don't know what to say.)

The fact that hexion says this behavior changed since the latest (or recent) Gaim SVN confuses me somewhat, as I have (sadly) not had as much time to work on Pidgin as I would like, and therefore not much has actually changed - certainly not in the areas implied by this report.

So, if anyone is still interested in helping diagnose this further, could I please request the following from you:

• A debug log (showing as much as possible, if you can provide everything from startup (possibly with just the MSN account enabled) that would be a massive help, anonymising buddies is fine if I can still see who is different)
• Details of what client the buddy is using
• Exact steps to reproduce the problem

[hexion]

It's not unhappiness about how did you answer. At least you were polite, and that's much more than other situations I've lived in other projects when filing bugs.

It's just a global deception about how do many developers treat people that help filing bugs. When somebody bothers to file a bug explaining the best he can, if there's something to clarify or something needs more info the reaction hoped is "hey, I don't understand this, could you explain better?", not "hey, this is an uncompleted bug repport (or I haven't understood it completely), so I close it and mark it as invalid... go away little bastard"

But, well, that's a personal point of view and it's not interesting for anybody...

About the gaim svn issue... I wanted to say that "I" didn't have this problem with it... which of course don't mean that the problem appeared with pidgin. Maybe the problem was there before in gaim but I didn't suffer it..

Bye. Sorry for bitching here, maybe I threw here my "frustration" with many experiences in other "so-called-free" projects like beryl, audacious, (...), even gnome. At least, I repeat, you were polite answering for which I thank you.

[Shades]

Signon of msn + 3 single word chat attempts

[Shades]

Although I'm not sure if it's the same problem it certainly gives me the same error.

Today, for no reason I can see, a number of people give me the 'user is offline' error when I attempt to chat to them. They are online and I can connect fine via other protocols, I'll try a different msn client to see if that works shortly.

The attached file shows the signon and three chat attempts, the first two to people I knew would fail and the last to one that works for a comparison.

If I should have made a new ticket for this please let me know as I'm not sure if this would count as a duplicate or not.

Ben

[Shades]

I tried using a web-messenger and that seems to work successfully. I assume it would connect to a different server but at least it shows the problem is my end rather than theirs.

[nosnilmot]

Replying to Shades:

Today, for no reason I can see, a number of people give me the 'user is offline' error when I attempt to chat to them. They are online and I can connect fine via other protocols, I'll try a different msn client to see if that works shortly.

The MSN servers are acting up, if you try again it might randomly go through. Nothing we can do about this.

[Shades]

Okay but even after rebooting and reconnecting it only happens with the same contacts and always with those contacts. Also it didn't happen with the pidgin client, or at least the windows messenger client doesn't tell me there is an error.

However I'll assume it will go away, I'll let you know if I still have problems come Monday.

[Shades]

{Edit} replace didn't happen with only happens.. my brain is fuzzed.

[Tiran Kenja]

I am getting this in AdiumX (1.0.5 - using libpurple 2.0.2) today. I can't say if it is just one contact or more. Most of my contacts don't use the invisible status much.

webmessenger.msn.com actually shows contact as offline and will only send an email. But then I haven't been contacted from an invisible person in it.