[cmroybal]

This is my first post to these forums, and I have spent considerable time over the past few days here looking for a solution to my very common problem: forum posting will not work on my site. After trying many of the solutions posted here in various threads, I still cannot post anything to forums. So…

What follows is a lengthy transcript of the very detailed process I took to troubleshoot the problem for myself and in accordance to the guidance I received in this forum. I would appreciate any help anyone can provide me:

— I had a previous WordPress setup on my site http://www.its-your-move-org so I did this:

1. Deleted WordPress from existing domain via Dreamhost One-Click Install “Manage Installed Applications” function.

2. Deleted all remaining files associated with site via WebFTP.

3. Installed WordPress with One-Click Install > custom installation > at my main http://its-your-move.org address. > I also chose the function “Automatically create database.”

4. After successful WordPress install > From WordPress Admin Panel > Installed BuddyPress 1.2.7. plugin from plugin menu > Activated it.

5. Under Settings menu > Permalinks > Updated permalink structure by choosing “Day and name” > Saved changes.

6. Activated BuddyPress Default 1.2.7. theme from Manage Themes menu. (The theme that came up at the very beginning was Twenty Ten.)

7. Went to BuddyPress Menu > Selected Forums Setup > Clicked “Set up a new bbPress installation” > Pressed “Complete Installation” > Received message: “All done! Configuration settings have been saved to the file bb-config.php in the root of your WordPress install.”

8. Clicked on Settings menu > checked box “Anyone can register” > Saved changes

9. Opened up new window and visited my website home page: http://www.its-your-move.org

10. Clicked on “Groups” tab at top of page > On page 1. Details: Created “Test” Group; Group Description: “Test” > Click “Next Step” > On page 2. Settings: Made sure “Enable discussion forum” box was checked > Selected “This is a public group” under Privacy Options > Clicked “Next Step” > On page 3. Avatar: Did not upload avatar on following page > Clicked “Next Step” > On page 4. Invites: Clicked “Finish” after receiving message in orange: “Once you have built up friend connections you will be able to invite others to your group. You can send invites any time in the future by selecting the “Send Invites” option when viewing your new group.”

11. The Home page for my new “Test” group was brought up automatically after clicking “Finish” on last page.

12. Clicked on “Forum” in the light grey link bar. > “Post New Topic:” fields open with message at top in orange: “Sorry, there were no forum topics found.”

13. Entered this information in “Post New Topic:” Fields:

Title: Test
Content: Test
Tags: Test

14. Clicked “Post Topic” > Received two error messages on following page:

In red: There was an error when creating the topic
In orange: There are no posts for this topic.

— So… I then attempted hnla’s solution in BP forums.

15. From the page I received the two error messages > I clicked on “Admin” in the light grey link bar > Clicked on light-blue command “Group Settings” > unchecked “Enable discussion forum” box > Clicked “Save Changes” at bottom of page > Received green message: “Group settings were successfully updated.” > re-checked “Enable discussion forum” Box > Clicked “Save Changes” again > Received green message: “Group settings were successfully updated.”

18. Clicked on “Forum” in the light grey link bar. > “Post New Topic:” fields open with message at top in orange: “Sorry, there were no forum topics found.”

19. Entered this information in “Post New Topic:” Fields:

Title: Test
Content: Test
Tags: Test

20. Clicked “Post Topic” > Received two error messages on following page:

In red: There was an error when creating the topic
In orange: There are no posts for this topic.

— So… I checked if I could post anything directly through “Forums” tab

21. Clicked on “Forums” tab at top of page > This opens up Group Forums Directory” > Received message in orange: “Sorry, there were no forum topics found.”

22. Clicked on “New Topic” grey box > Entered this information in “Post a New Topic:” Fields:

Title: Test
Content: Test
Tags: Test
Post in Group Forum: Test

23. Clicked “Post Topic” > I was automatically returned to Group Forums Directory and again received this message in orange: “Sorry, there were no forum topics found.”

— So… I tried to re-install bbPress forums again

24. From WordPress Admin Panel > Went to BuddyPress Menu > Selected Forums Setup > Received message: “bbPress forum integration in BuddyPress has been set up correctly. If you are having problems you can re-install” > Clicked “re-install” link > Clicked “Set up a new bbPress installation” > Pressed “Complete Installation” > Received message: “All done! Configuration settings have been saved to the file bb-config.php in the root of your WordPress install.”

25. Returned to my website > Clicked on “Groups” tab at top of page > Selected “Test” group > Clicked on “Forum” in the light grey link bar. > “Post New Topic:” fields open with message at top in orange: “Sorry, there were no forum topics found.”

26. Entered this information in “Post New Topic:” Fields:

Title: Test
Content: Test
Tags: Test

27.Clicked “Post Topic” > Received two error messages on following page:

In red: There was an error when creating the topic
In orange: There are no posts for this topic.

— So… Checked some other things I heard about in the BP Forums:

28. Through my WebFTP > I confirmed that file “bb-config.php” is located in the same place and level as “wp-config.php”

— And this is where I decided to stop and ask for help.

I do not know much about programming or dealing with databases, but I suspect after all of these tests and trying other things on a different site that:

Somehow, the bbPress tables are not actually being created in the database where the WordPress tables are. I see no sign of the bbPress tables in the database when I examine the database via Dreamhost’s phpMyAdmin.

Again, I do not know that much about databases, but I do think this might be the root of my particular problem, seeing as how other people’s solutions have not worked. So…

Is there a way to just add the tables to my database?

And any other thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

[cmroybal]

Okay, I think I have a problem…

These are all the tables I have in my database: http://www.its-your-move.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Screen-shot-2011-01-17-at-12.31.37-PM.png

And this is the information I get from my wp_bp_groups_groupmeta table: http://www.its-your-move.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Screen-shot-2011-01-16-at-8.41.33-PM.png

I do not think I even have the correct table you advise me to find and then delete forum_id from. Maybe the correct tables aren’t even being produced?

[Matthew Willse]

I reproduced the problem and found a solution.

bbforum is not creating its tables or entries after using the one-click install on Dreamhost. Dreamhost’s one-click install yields a unique wp-config.php file with several differences that might be the problem. bb-config.php settings were fine.

A manual installation fixes the problem.

@cmroybal – you might be able to fix wp-config.php. If that doesn’t work, a fresh manual installation will definitely do the trick. It isn’t too difficult. You can create a database within Dreamhost (rather the phpmyadmin), and upload WordPress via ftp. After that, it takes about 1 minute for the WP install.

For those of you wondering if the problem related to multisite — it does not. I have that working as well.

“There was an error when creating the topic” really should say “There was an error because of a one-click install.”

[cmroybal]

@thecoup !!!

Thank you so much for the advice. I am going to tackle your solution in the morning and let you know how it goes. Many, many thanks in advance!

[Hugo Ashmore]

One click installs should be outlawed!

WP/BP is a manual thing and one has to learn the basics for manually ftp-ing or SSH-ing to install these two apps

@thecoup well done for tracking down that issue, I find this hilarious as this is another ‘Host’? recommended by WP. What exactly had been changed or upset with wp-config to cause this issue?

[modemlooper]

Nobody listens, Like I said in the first reply, one click breaks from time to time. It’s happened and it will happen again.

[Hugo Ashmore]

sorry did someone say something

[cmroybal]

@thecoup

I can confirm that your method to troubleshoot my particular problem was successful.

So the final verdict: Do not use Dreamhost’s One-Click Installs to install WordPress if you want to use BuddyPress. Instead, do a manual WordPress install and continue from there.

Thanks to everyone for their help! Hope this information saves other people headaches in the future.

[modemlooper]

@cmroybal I told you that on the first reply. LOL.

[cmroybal]

@modemlooper

Thanks for the advice. It took thecoup actually replicating my process to convince me. I’m just glad it all worked out.

[modemlooper]

@cmroybal When software is tried and true like WordPress and you have issues at install. It’s usually the install process. That’s why I suggest a different install method. also the same thing has happened to me before with one clicks and now I never use them.

[Hugo Ashmore]

It took thecoup actually replicating my process to convince me

That isn’t entirely the correct approach, it is up to the individual , where possible, to test all possible conditions to be able to rule them out of the process of troubleshooting. To base ones belief that something ought to work on past experience is flawed, simply having performed this extremely simple process of a manual install would have saved a lot of time and a lot of human resources in trying to troubleshoot this for you

One click installs are for newbs, don’t be one, don’t use these horrible automated systems; FTP and SSH are simple enough protocols with easy to use apps, and working this way gives you greater control.

Just to recap on this thread:
On page 1 modemlooper gave this advice: (note the bold text)

Just a tip. Never use one click installs. Create the database and upload the WP files. I can’t say this will fix the problem but it could be worth a try. Your hosts one click could be broken.

cmroybal -replied:

modemlooper: Thanks for the tip. I have successfully installed around 10 other websites with WP via one-click install and have never faced any problems like this with a plugin. There might be a conflict between the Buddypress plugin and this type of WP install, but I haven’t heard of anybody else identifying this as a problem before.

What do others think?

Flawed logic is apparent! what may have happened in the past does not necessarily hold true for the present situation. You appear to rule out modemloopers suggestion based on the fact that you have never heard of anyone else identifying this problem – we need to keep in mind here that installing WP manually takes around 2 -3 minutes. you end that comment by passing back the onus to others , at this stage it is irrelevant what others think, testing the possibility was the correct course of action.

modemlooper – replied further:

I’ve used one clicks and on occasion it’s broken. If you can do a manual install I’d try it.

yet again modemlooper urges that the manual install is tried yet it seems to fall on deaf ears

Sorry to come across in this manner but it’s a useful thread to highlight where time and resources can be wasted when simple tests are not performed.

[modemlooper]

I want to add that one click software could be outdated. Best to get WP from wordpress.org so you know you have the most up to date software.

[cmroybal]

@hnla

throughout your long ramble you forgot one important fact that I plainly stated at the end of my first post: “I do not know much about programming or dealing with databases…” So I must firstly apologize by saying: “Sorry for being an impatient newb.”

I am very much a newb, and I was looking for someone who had experienced the exact same problem to tell me what to do. I am not interested in troubleshooting forever and ever, especially if I do not know how exactly to troubleshoot in the first place since I am a newb. People like me – newbs – sometimes come to forums like this for direct help, not to necessarily work through the problem ourselves. That’s what you super knowledgeable non-newbs can do; help us newbs not waste a lot of time. That is one of the reasons I included such a detailed list of steps in the first place. I was hoping someone who either spot my mistake right off from experience or else replicate my process and prove they know what is wrong. I was looking for certainty, not just what might work. Therefore, again I apologize for my impatience and non-desire to continue to troubleshoot. I should have maybe stated this also in my first post.

In modemlooper’s case: I wanted someone who was certain about what the problem was. He never said that he had my exact same problem and fixed it by doing a manual install. At the point when I posted in this forum, I did not want to simply “try” any more fixes, I wanted to “implement” the correct fix ASAP. And I did work off some flawed logic because I hadn’t experienced any problems with WP One-Click installs in the past, but again I did not want to waste time on possible fixes and in the case of a manual install, I did not even know how to do one in the first place. I apologize to modemlooper if I am not expressing enough credit for his advice; the fact that he knew the answer in the end should bring him enough satisfaction.

thecoup told me what I wanted to hear; He replicated my process and figured out definitively what went wrong. This newb needed to hear something definitive at this point in my journey. I am sorry for needing that.

I apologize if my mindset was to come in here and get an easy fix, but I just simply don’t have the time or desire to discover some of these fixes on my own. That is one of the major reasons I use one-click installs in the first place; I do not know how to manual install and I do not do most of my own programming or website maintenance for myself. Hope this bit of information helps you understand the mind of the newb and remember that you all – the non-newbs – have an important role sometimes: just to tell the newbs what to do because you can.

Thanks all again.

[Hugo Ashmore]

Your post says it all really. I do not wish nor will I get involved in discussing this much further, my reason for the comment was to point out in general the importance of following certain advise when provided or at least acknowledging it, but you express the sentiments above that really don’t tend to go down well , i.e “quick fix” , “I did not want to simply “try” any more fixes, I wanted to “implement” the correct fix”

Sometimes you are not going to find someone with the exact same issue or the perfect answer and that is where you will have to get involved in ‘trying fixes’.

That’s what you super knowledgeable non-newbs can do
and remember that you all – the non-newbs – have an important role sometimes: just to tell the newbs what to do because you can.

And pray explain to us why we should? Most of us started out with as little knowledge as you but step up and learn, every day I have to apply myself to things that I haven’t a clue about but have to study, read guides, become familiar with I do not expect nor ask that others do this for me or expect them to simply give me the benefit of their experience just like that, yes at times it helps but I always remember that first and foremost it is I that have to do the leg work and demonstrate that fact.

Manual installs? easy as pie, you needed to have attempted one , if you came unstuck or needed help with that you would have received it, but clearly it would have saved a lot of time.

[espeon]

OOOOO @hnla thinks she is all bad because she is a forum moderator!!!! OOO! Go and get a life!

WHy the heck do they give you the special treatment when all you know how to do is piss off people?

Learn some code, stop acting like a B%&$.

Thank you!

(go ahead and do whatever block me just cuz i said the truth, im sick of the demon hnla being here anyways)

[Hugo Ashmore]

Hmm…

Do I really come across as a girl? clearly I need to start writing in a far more butch manner.

Special treatment? what special treatment do I / have I received?

The reality is that I have spent far too many years helping people than I care to think about, my coding knowledge? actually it’s quite extensive

You’ll be pleased to hear that I can’t ban you as in truth moderators powers on this site are very limited.

[espeon]

Oh, I know. Mods can only sticky, close, and delete topics. But I am sure Paul will be here sometime.

Seems you like to quote, so I’ll quote some stuff you said!

I’m a forum moderator, what forums have you been frequenting where it’s acceptable to pass a comment like that to regular members let alone a site moderator. and then paul closed the topic because i was being rude to you because you get so caught up on your 30 minute speeches on what is wrong with us, why we are stupid, and those underline slurs on everything you make. I have read other posts you make too.

Thats why I think you get the special treatment little girl.

[Hugo Ashmore]

Lets draw a line under things now and leave the thread to continue on topic if it needs to.

[modemlooper]

How ’bout those manual installs….

[kanoc]

I have the same problem so I need to reinstall my wordpress manually to make buddy press forum work?

[lumenbeing]

Okay if reinstalling now were an option I would totally do it, but I’m working on a project that has come too far and MUST launch in a day. Funny enough, “fixing the broken buddypress forums” was the last item on a long list of to dos.
I’m not afraid to dive into the config file or the database to do what needs to be done.
thecoup mentioned that there might be another way. I would love to hear it.

[Virtuali]

Um, reinstalling wordpress is not necessary. This is an issue with your Database Connection, not connecting properly, changing your DB psw in your bb-config.php can trigger this to happen.

[javy]

This seems like the place to go with questions about the forum, so here goes:

I can’t get to the forum directory. If a user tries to go to http://www.intennis.com/forums they are redirected to the homepage. If I go to a group page and then click on forum from within the group I can see my test post (http://www.intennis.com/groups/forum-test/forum/ as an example). But the main /forum directory doesn’t work. Does anyone have any idea of what may be broken?

[dba2k10]

Hi guys, I found a solution and credited this thread here:

https://buddypress.org/community/groups/how-to-and-troubleshooting/forum/topic/bbpress-posting-errors-missing-database-tables/

Check your database tables and make sure all of the necessary tables for bbPress have been created in your installation. In my case I was missing the bb_post table (the one involved in actually posting a topic) – it was failing to install properly due to an error in MySQL syntax – all explained in my thread. By downgrading my MySQL version I was able to install bbPress successfully – the missing table (bb_post) was created and I was then able to post forum topics in my groups without any error!

[lumenbeing]

@javiermatosdes & @dba2k10 – will those solutions work for someone who has commited the sin of 1-click install with Dreamhost?

@Virtuali – That’s nice, but what is the solution if a bb-config change occurred?