#wordpress 2025-01-24

2025-01-24 UTC
[schmarty] and Temujin joined the channel
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[Alexandra_Samu] That’s kind of you! Well I’m still stumped on the auth issue.
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GWG The last time we had something similar, it turned out that a security module was blocking the header. So not sure.
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GWG There are also caching possibilities
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GWG Or something obvious we're missing
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[Alexandra_Samu] ↩️ yeah this feels roughly right — some weird divi caching thing, some security module I have forgotten about
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[Alexandra_Samu] ↩️ it is seriously SO nice of you to throw yourself into this. You are giving me hope for human kindness.
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[Alexandra_Samu] ↩️ I just deactivated the micropub plugin for now on grounds of simplification?
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[Alexandra_Samu] ↩️ ok, another hypothesis — I also have activitypub setup (I am kind of forgetting what I did when by now)
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[Alexandra_Samu] https://chat-uploads.indieweb.org/files/2025/01/wordpress-20250124-052013-image.png
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[Alexandra_Samu] ↩️ is there a universe in which activitypub and indieauth are fighting over who is really me?
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GWG [Alexandra_Samu]: Do you have the Friends plugin activated or just ActivityPub?
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[Alexandra_Samu] just activitypub atm
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GWG ActivityPub is unlikely to interfere because it doesn't do anything with the authorization header
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[Alexandra_Samu] re: indielogin, it gives me a wordpress auth screen and then I get a 520 error
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GWG 520 from it or from your site?
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[Alexandra_Samu] https://chat-uploads.indieweb.org/files/2025/01/wordpress-20250124-052821-image.png
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GWG ActivityPub is maintained by a community member, so unlikely we wouldn't notice if it was that.
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[Alexandra_Samu] https://chat-uploads.indieweb.org/files/2025/01/wordpress-20250124-052850-image.png
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GWG There is your answer
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GWG Cloudflare
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[Alexandra_Samu] I don’t think I ’m running cloudflare
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[Alexandra_Samu] but maybe I am — if so it’s been EONS
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GWG Wonder if WP Engine uses it
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[Alexandra_Samu] hmm
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GWG If it does insert it, it could be blocking the header
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[Alexandra_Samu] that’s so funny, it didn’t occur to me I was the cloudflare layer! I thought thtat was indielogin
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GWG Well, aaronpk, who runs indielogin and was the editor of the IndieAuth spec, is usually in our dev room. I'm sure we could confirm.
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[Alexandra_Samu] AHA!! It’s Wpeingine!
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[Alexandra_Samu] https://www.cloudflare.com/en-ca/case-studies/wp-engine/
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GWG I've never used WPEngine, I self-host nginx, but...
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GWG So, there might be a way for them to allow the header to be passed. It looks like you are tripping their security
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GWG Which is not uncommon
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GWG Many shared hosting providers filter that header, which is odd.
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GWG Indielogin, regardless, is just a login service. Good simple way to test IndieAuth.
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[Alexandra_Samu] my little ai helper suggested replacing my indieauth endpoints with http://indieauth.com
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[Alexandra_Samu] is that viable?
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GWG No
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[Alexandra_Samu] ah
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GWG Let me try to explain why
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[Alexandra_Samu] well at some point I’ll get away from wpenine but no time soon
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GWG Indieauth.com is a hosted Indieauth endpoint as opposed to the IndieAuth plugin, which turns your site into an IndieAuth endpoint
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GWG The problem we discovered was that people thought you needed indieauth.com to do indieauth...think WordPress.com vs Wordpress.org.
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[Alexandra_Samu] ah
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GWG Also, it's a reference implementation that, since it doesn't know who you are...tries to connect your site to other services it can authenticate too
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[Alexandra_Samu] ok so not an option
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[Alexandra_Samu] well, one of the 82 tabs I had open just crashed firefox, so I think that is my signal to go to bed
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GWG [Alexandra_Samu]: Probably mine too in a few minutes
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GWG But I want to try to help.
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[Alexandra_Samu] you have been VERY kind
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GWG any time.
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GWG That's what we're here for. The room.
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GWG As I said, we're all in and out timewise, but we'll eventually respond.
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[Alexandra_Samu] I think my next step is to ask wpengine if they know how to disable cloudflare on my site — I’m a little mystified that it’s enabled because it seems like something you opt into, but maybe i have that setup via my registrar so I’ll start there
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GWG Keep me posted if you need anything.
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[Alexandra_Samu] at a moment when the social web mostly feels terrible it’s very nice to be reminded of why i used to love this stuff
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[Alexandra_Samu] I am doing a radio interview this afternoon that in theory is about the bluesky migratin
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GWG If you need something live...the community has a Zoom account, and we do events every so often. Happy to put a...setting up Indieweb plugins on WordPress thing on the community calendar.
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[Alexandra_Samu] so this process may come up!
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[Alexandra_Samu] I am kind of fascinated/surprised this is still so niche-y
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[Alexandra_Samu] like, why isn’t everyone with a wordpress site doing this instead of just going to bluesky
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[Alexandra_Samu] well, I guess the rabbit hole I am in may be part of the answer
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GWG There is an explanation I tried to do a few years back that might help
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GWG https://wptavern.com/wpweekly-episode-361-introduction-to-the-indieweb-with-david-shanske
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GWG That was me trying to do the Elevator Pitch for IndieWeb for WordPress users
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GWG I tried to help with CSS Tricks as well, https://css-tricks.com/de-mystifying-indieweb-on-a-wordpress-site/
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GWG Hmm..probably overdue for an update now that WordPress is getting a lot of attention due recent community drama.
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[Alexandra_Samu] yeah
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[Alexandra_Samu] this is another reason I want to get off wpenine
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[Alexandra_Samu] but I can never face down the legacy nightmare
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[Alexandra_Samu] which is why I am working at a desk with a mac g3 sitting at my feet
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[Alexandra_Samu] just bc it’s too tiring to think about what else to do with it
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GWG I ended up switching to ClassicPress, but that is more about the fact I don't use the Block Editor so am fine with a fork that strips it out
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GWG I still run several WordPress sites as well.
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[Alexandra_Samu] omg the cloudflare issue is totally me!!!
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GWG So I make sure the stuff works with both
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[Alexandra_Samu] I have A records pointing to cloudflare from my registrar
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[Alexandra_Samu] oh! no! that’s a WPengine server on cloudflare apparently. so this is a wpengine issue.
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GWG I'm sure there is a setting somewhere in Cloudflare to support this
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[Alexandra_Samu] ok I will bug them tomorrow and see what they can do
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[Alexandra_Samu] you have been lovely! You show up here as GWG because I’m guessing you are actually in IRC or discord while i am in slack atm
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[Alexandra_Samu] but I know you are actually David, right?
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GWG Yes.
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GWG GWG was my old Freenode name, before we moved the IRC rooms over to Liberachat
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GWG I just kept it
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[Alexandra_Samu] ha!
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[Alexandra_Samu] anyhow thank you again! and hopefully I will get wpengine to liberate me from this situation - — any tips on what I should be asking them
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[Alexandra_Samu] i assume it’s bascially, you’re still stripping my authorization headers, apparently bc of cloudflare?
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GWG Tell them you are trying to login using IndieAuth, which is a variant of OAuth, and Cloudflare is blocking it
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[Alexandra_Samu] ah perfect! thanks!
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GWG https://community.cloudflare.com/t/anyone-520-error-how-to-fix/477349
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GWG Looks famliar
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[Alexandra_Samu] that’s very helpful! OK, I’m going to go to bed. Thank you very much for giving me something much better to do than look at ikea hacks on pinterest.
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GWG [Alexandra_Samu]: I can talk about Ikea Hacks also.
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GWG I'm 3d printing Skadis accessories as we speak
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[Alexandra_Samu] oh don’t tempt me
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[Alexandra_Samu] ok I am going to show you the GREATEST BILLY HACK in the history of billy hacks
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[Alexandra_Samu] it’s not really a hack
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[Alexandra_Samu] also I may have oversold it
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GWG There may be something behind the CLoudflare problem that WPEngine can handle. Does WPEngine have logs you can access?
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[Alexandra_Samu] https://chat-uploads.indieweb.org/files/2025/01/wordpress-20250124-055209-img_0513.mov
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[Alexandra_Samu] I added some logging to WP config earlier and logged one round of this process, but then I turned off the logging because WordPress dashboard said it was a security risk
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GWG Very nice
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GWG [Alexandra_Samu]: I meant server logs. If it is WPEngine, not CLoudflare, returning an error, it should be there what it is.
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[Alexandra_Samu] hmm
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[Alexandra_Samu] looking
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GWG https://wpengine.com/support/error/
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GWG Try to see what happened at the time you tried to use IndieAuth
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GWG And the 520 was returned
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[Alexandra_Samu] it’s weird, it’s not there
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[Alexandra_Samu] I have a lot of “preventing possible attempt to enumerate users, referer: https://www.google.com”
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GWG That sounds like a security plugin
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GWG That's why I said some security measure is probably blocking it
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[Alexandra_Samu] interesting
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[Alexandra_Samu] I don’t think I have any extra security stuff on there at this point
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[Alexandra_Samu] she says on the unsecured chat
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[Alexandra_Samu] ok I will talk to wpengine
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[Alexandra_Samu] thanks again!
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GWG I'm sorry. Wish I had an instant answer
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[Alexandra_Samu] and sleep well
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