Hi @henrywright sorry for the delayed response but I had other things to tend to. Yes, I am seeing the problem on both the localhost and my online server. The only difference between the two is that my local server is returning the error code and my online server is not.
I am once again updated to the latest versions of both WordPress and BuddyPress.
1. Which version of WordPress are you running?
3.7.1
2. Did you install WordPress as a directory or subdomain install?
Directory
3. If a directory install, is it in root or in a subdirectory?
Root on server / subdirectory on localhost (I have two copies for emergencies like this but this time both are behaving badly)
4. Did you upgrade from a previous version of WordPress? If so, from which version?
Yes, 3.6.1
5. Was WordPress functioning properly before installing/upgrading BuddyPress (BP)? e.g. permalinks, creating a new post, commenting.
Yes
6. Which version of BP are you running?
1.8.1
7. Did you upgraded from a previous version of BP? If so, from which version?
1.8
8. Do you have any plugins other than BuddyPress installed and activated? If so, which ones?
Yes: AddThis Social Bookmarking Widget / BuddyPress Template Pack / Edit Author Slug / Login With Ajax / Popular Widget / Video Thumbnails (disabled all plugins save for BuddyPress and the behavior continues)
9. Are you using the standard BuddyPress themes or customized themes?
Customized
10. Have you modified the core files in any way?
No
11. Do you have any custom functions in bp-custom.php?
Yes (2 lines - excluding php open and close tags):
<?php
add_filter( 'bp_use_wp_admin_bar', '__return_false' );
define ( 'BP_DISABLE_ADMIN_BAR', true );
?>
12. If running bbPress, which version? Or did your BuddyPress install come with a copy of bbPress built-in?
Not running bbPress
13. Please provide a list of any errors in your server's log files.
None
14. Which company provides your hosting?
nearlyfreespeech.net
15. Is your server running Windows, or if Linux; Apache, nginx or something else?
Linux: Apache (both localhost and server)
I have also just removed the avatars folder and it does indeed create one as well as the userid folder although that remains blank (no files are placed there) and the same error as my original post appears. Hope that helps in solving this.
I even removed the entire installation, reinstalled 3.6.1 and I am still getting the same issue. Another odd thing about this is that local avatars are showing up on localhost but not on the server copy. None of this makes any sense. My directory permissions are correct, when I run wp_debug I only get the strict errors for BuddyPress (that are showing up because of backwards compatibility). I have run out of ideas. I was hoping there was something I can place in functions.php or bp-custom.php that would cause it to look in the right folder for the uploads.
