rant

[lucy24]

Naming no names because it could happen anywhere (and probably has)...

Earlier this month my host--who is not a bad host overall--did one of their periodic server upgrades. As usual it was preceded by at least five or six emails crowing that they're moving from Linux Something to Linux Something Else, and for more information, follow this link. These server upgrades are frequent enough that I saw no reason to consult the More Information page, because honestly, what do I care what operating system the server uses?

A few days ago I had occasion to look up something in my error logs. Would anyone care to guess what other change they made concurrently with tweaking their operating system, but which wasn't considered important enough to mention in any of their direct emails?

Yes. Yes they did.

I must say, it takes a particular talent to do something that users have been nagging about for several years ... and then do it in such a way that the user is left feeling irritated and disgruntled.

Mutter, grumble.

[not2easy]

If it was not log related I can only guess it was an Apache version change? And did they explain it all on the More Information resource at least?

[lucy24]

Yes, in the More Information page they do say--halfway down the page--that along with the other stuff they're concurrently upgrading to 2.4. With further link to apache dot org page about moving from 2.2 to 2.4, which of course is primarily targeted at server administrators.

I noticed it because error logs suddenly started saying access_compat, which is a 2.4 mod. In fact it's the quintessential 2.4 mod, since its only purpose is to enable existing Allow/Deny directives to continue working.

Apparently the change in Apache version is far less interesting and important than the change in server operating system.

[iamlost]

It is sooo irritable that the one, the only, time one shrugs off RTFM it bites. After which one studiously reads, muttering about infantile punctuation, mediocre grammar, and incompetent technical composition, every single word until, once again, one ignores RTFM and... it's a conspiracy, I tell you, conspiracy!

[tangor]

it's a conspiracy, I tell you, conspiracy!

Or a revelation that there's no limit to human stupidity ... er, technical manuals. :)

[lucy24]

I've now updated all my access controls from Allow/Deny format to Require format. This would have gone a lot faster if the Apache docs had said plainly and explicitly that you cannot have a <RequireNone> envelope by itself; it has to be inside a <RequireAll>. Sigh. And this part, of course, couldn't be done on the test site, since the same rules apply to all.

:: scurry to today's logs ::

In the time it took me to figure it out, the Yandexbot picked up four 500s on my “real” site. Meh, could be worse. Imagine if it had been the bingbot: they’d never get over it, and would be requesting those four files 80 times a day in perpetuity.

[Dimitri]

I hope you keep an eye on PHP updates too, because with the 7.x branches, there are significant changes, discontinued functions and things like that :) (if you use PHP),

[lucy24]

Yikes. Yes, I suppose I'll notice if all my navigation headers disappear, and request headers no longer get logged. Fortunately I only speak about three words of PHP, so they're not likely to be from an obscure archaic dialect ;)