Troubleshooting Guide for FAILing Sites

When you get a negative report from the Navigation Code Wizard or a FAIL result from the WebRing code checker, at first, you may think you've hit a dead end. But that doesn't have to be the case. Using the tools you have and some nudging from this site, you can fix your own FAILs almost every time. Just go through each step with this page until you have the membership PASSing. I have the page divided into sections and within each section, individual situations are in bold type. This will hopefully help you locate the information that will help you best since this will be a lengthy page.

You may be able to bypass this lengthy process altogether if your site was PASSing the checker but suddenly, without your making any changes to either the site or the membership, is suspended. This suggests that the host "timed out" (was unresponsive) when the checker passed through. Force an immediate update to the checker through site management.
  1. Go to the View Ring Sites page.
  2. Find the FAILing membership and click your site's title beside it.
  3. Click the hyperlink labeled Test
Check the updated test result. If the site PASSes the checker, it should immediately be reactivated. If it PASSes but isn't activated, contact the RingMaster and inform him of your site's PASSing status.
If this didn't correct your problem or the site is FAILing and still pending, go to the next section for additional assistance.
The first step is to use the Navigation Wizard, which is designed to determine whether the correct navigation code is installed on the registered URL. If you aren't sure where this is, use the following steps:
  1. Log into your account
  2. Go to the View Ring Sites page
  3. Find the membership you need to troubleshoot
  4. Click the link labeled Wizard on the far right
First, read what the Wizard is saying. If it cannot find any valid navigation, we need to validate the registered URL manually, to ensure that there are no errors in the URL. Click the hyperlink representing the URL being tested. This should be the same as the registered URL.
If the proper page loads and displays the navigation code, jump to the next section (under the horizontal line).
If the page does not load or an error message appears, you need to edit the URL through site management.
  1. Return to to the View Ring Sites page.
  2. Find the FAILing membership and click your site's title beside it.
  3. Change the URL and save
  4. Return to the Wizard for further instructions (such as changing the navigation code or having the system change the U# to match the code you have on display already).
Once you have executed any remaining instructions from the Wizard, reload the Wizard page to get an updated report.
At this point, you either have the Wizard's validation or the situation remains unresolved.
If the Wizard has located the correct coding, there will be a link to the site management screen that you can use to verify that the checker also concurs with the Wizard. Remember that the Wizard is only a guide for code installation and the checker is the software that actually determines whether a membership will be active or suspended. If the site PASSes the checker, you are finished with troubleshooting and you are dismissed from this page. Should the checker not concur and still FAIL the site, we must do more investigation. Be sure you are viewing the "main" test result and not the individual details. If you are unsure that you are viewing the correct information, take a moment to read understanding checker results, another page of this site. Once you are certain that your site is truly FAILing the checker, jump to the next section for more help.
If the Wizard has not located the coding on your site, it's usually because it's not there. Like the Wizard states, you must have the code on that registered URL and not any other URL but that one. It won't check links pages as it's not spidering software. It checks the registered URL for some version of the coding. If it's on another page, you must fix that, either by moving the code to the registered URL or editing the registered URL to reflect the location of the coding. This will require using the steps in the previous section for editing.
If you are absolutely, positively, undeniably certain that the correct coding is present on the registered URL and the registered URL is being loaded by the Wizard, but the Wizard still is not validating the installation, bypass the Wizard at this time and go to the checker as shown in the next section.
If your membership should get Wizard validation according to everything written above, concentrate on PASSing the checker. After all, the checker is responsible for a site being active or suspended, no matter what the Wizard reports. The Wizard is a guide for code installation, to help you determine if the site should PASS the checker.
  1. Return to the View Ring Sites page.
  2. Find the FAILing membership and click your site's title beside it.
  3. Click the hyperlink labeled Test
Check the updated test result. If the site PASSes the checker, you are finished with troubleshooting and you are dismissed from this page.
If the checker is still FAILing the site even though you feel it should be PASSing, there are other things to check. We should have already ruled out "no code present" or "code on different URL" just by using the above steps. Below are some of the other known reasons that you should be watching for
  1. Spaces in the URL (URL should be a continuous string of characters, none of those "Microsoft-invented" spaces
  2. Redirect URL (one that leads visitors away from the coding or uses JavaScript to direct to the page
  3. Malformed URL (missing slashes, erroneous capital letters, etc)
  4. JavaScript (SSNB) is malformed (extra characters, including line breaks, or missing spaces/characters)
  5. Site comprised of "nested" frames (frame within a frame) or a frameset that is derived from JavaScript
  6. Code placed in a "nested" JavaScript call (SSNB JavaScript placed within another JavaScript code)
  7. File extension (not all extensions, such as .asp, can be read by the checker)
  8. Access to site requires a prior account log in (which is most likely going to preclude the site from being approved) or enabling of cookies (checker has neither ability)
As you may have already noticed, some of these are issues you can control within reason while others require great imposition to correct. This is only a partial list of known issues. To see a full list along with explanations and suggested fixes, refer to the Understanding Checker FAILures section of this website.
Once you've made suggested changes to your membership or coding, try retesting the checker (remember, you must click that Test link each time to update the results).
At this time, we've identified over 99.5% of the problems and solved over 98% of them. Your membership should now also be PASSing. If your membership is still FAILing, you may have an undiscovered conflict with the checker (highly unlikely) or an issue that just cannot be resolved (like the requirement to have cookies-enabled). Your only recourse at this point is to ask the RingMaster to override automated management and activate your site. RMs have the ability, but many lose sight of what is important (active sites that are indeed displaying fully-accessible navigation code correctly). So don't be surprised if your site is not activated for not PASSing. It is also advisible that you post your situation in the Member Resources & Technical Support Forum for further evaluation by WebRing staff. On occasion, the problem is caused by something on the RingMaster's side. With WebRing's assistance, those issues can also be repaired.
What to do with this information.

If your site was suspended for FAILing the checker but now PASSes, it should be activated immediately. If not, contact the RingMaster and inform him of your site's PASSing status. (It's important to note that while PASS-L will get the nod from the Wizard and checker, the RingMaster may not accept it just as some RMs restrict what type of code you can use (SSNB or HTML) to be an active participant).

If your site is still pending, this really only should mean that the RingMaster has not yet reviewed your site for inclusion. RingMasters are not supposed to be using PASS/FAIL as a criteria for admittance. A site's relevance to the topic of the Ring should be the only consideration. If you have a RingMaster who insists that your site must PASS before being approved, tell him he's living in the 20th Century and introduce him to Conditional Approval. Contact the RM and request a timely evaluation and decision.
If you've been informed that your site has been reviewed but no action taken because of the FAILing test result, again, you are dealing with a stubborn, resistant, behind-the-times RingMaster who isn't utilizing all the current tools at his disposal. Contact the RM and request a timely re-evaluation of your site.

Return to the Users' Guide Main Page