Got "General Error" message: why?

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This is just a short and simple post to test whether I can post here at all, because my first attempt to post resulted in the following message:

"General Error

In order to try to prevent spammers, we do not allow our users to post URLs in any form until they have posted at least 5 legitimate posts and have been with us for more than 5 days. We appreciate your understanding in this matter in order to help us eliminate spam from this forum. If you have somehow gotten this message even though you meet both of the criteria, please let us know ASAP.

Thanks!"

Unless I've gone mad, there were no URLs in my article.

Unfortunately the site software is full of bugs and they are unlikely to be fixed. A totally new version of the site software is supposedly in the pipeline but I don't know when/if it will be ready.
You will probably get more random error messages over time; you were just unfortunate to get one on your first post.

The one that irritates me is after posting getting a "couldn't obtain watch information" and when I try to post it again it tells me off for trying to post too soon after my last post! So it takes a third attempt to post the same message.

It's not only the site software that's full of bugs - my mind has quite a few as well!

What caused the "General Error" was that, in my first post, I quoted some of the text of the Terms and Conditions - which, as should have been perfectly obvious (especially as I read the thing over several times, to try to see what was wrong!), contained no less than four occurrences of the string "WrongPlanet", followed by a dot, followed by "net"!

(All I can say in my own defence is that there weren't any occurrences of "h t t p".)

Yes, folks, even Aspies can be idiots!

Not a great start ...

Don't worry about it. Welcome to WrongPlanet.

Thanks.

I like the Stan Laurel avatar, by the way.

I usually choose "Eccles" from The Goon Show (or rather, from the less funny Telegoons) as my avatar, but I haven't set my profile up properly yet.

Just following up from my post in your other thread it is advisable not to leave you email address on public view either as the spammers regularly harvest them and once you are on spammers lists you'll never get off them again.

(Unfortunately) my Stan Laurel avatar is scheduled for its demise later today. I like to change every few months.

Thanks for the warning. If I'm not mistaken, my e-mail address hidden by default, and I haven't changed that setting.

I think I've got my profile pretty much sorted out now.

Another fine mess!

no smilies data makes me unsmile

^ Or posting a reply to someone's PM to be told "User doesn't exist!" ... Duh, yes they do!

Me with unsmilies:


yes, I even turn into a Republican!

Er... I think we should give him his smilies back if anything.

Who the hell is this General Error? And what the f*%&$ is he doing in mah computar?