UPDATE: We believe we have fixed the setting issues behind the problem. But if you encounter an error message, please let us know. Thanks!
For months, my OCD has been triggered by a vexing, mysterious problem: Some of my readers keep getting “403: Forbidden” errors when trying to read posts. I’ve looked high and low for the cause and solution, to no avail.
Mood music:
http://youtu.be/QD0D7IuriWQ
What probably infuriates me most is that I can access the posts just fine. If it failed for me, too, at least there’d be a little less mystery.
Instead, I’m left to wonder why the blog opens for some people and not others. I have noticed that the folks who get 403 messages are trying to open posts from an iPhone or iPad and usually get through from their desktop computers.
Also read “Depressed Web Servers and Other Amusing 404 Pages“
But there are some who get locked out from any mobile device, and some who can get through on those Apple devices.
Typically, my OCD is triggered by things I can’t control. In this case, however, it’s something that probably can be controlled. It’s pinpointing the issue that’s the problem.
In response, I’ve done what any typical OCD head would do: wasting hours and days exploring every line of code and every URL for clues.
I’ll continue to investigate the problem. If anyone wants to do some investigating of their own, I’ll gladly accept the help.
If there’s any silver lining, it’s that the error messages are killing me much more than they are killing you.
I popped your site up in my iOS devices to see if I got any errors to trace, but everything seems fine to me. When working in IT, it feels like stuff like non-reproducable user errors and mysteriously malfunctioning technology will be the death of me. LOL But I still can’t wait to jump into someone else’s errors to see if I can tell what’s going on. XD