Left parentheses "banned". Use [square brackets] instead.

**Lowell** · March-27-21, 10:08 AM

Gremlins are at work on DetroitYES!

For some weird reason, using a
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in titles to threads suddenly started creating an issue where clicking/tapping a thread title with a left parentheses mark fails to open the thread and instead leads to a page reading:

Forbidden
You do not have permission to access this document.

As a workaround, until we find the solution, we discovered that by using the forum software’s censoring function to ‘ban’ the left parenthesis mark we can cause it to be replaced with a double left square bracket [[. [But we can’t yet figure out how to make that a single bracket. Sheesh!]

So, if you wish to put words in parentheses, in thread titles or posts, use [square brackets] instead. If you forget and use a left parenthesis, it will automatically be overwritten with the double left bracket [[.

You will also notice that all instances where a left parentheses were used in past posts or thread titles are now replaced by double left brackets.

So, as our Brit friends might say…
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Size: 116.7 KB

**Jimaz** · March-27-21, 12:38 PM

What's unnerving about that is that it seems to indicate a deeper problem that might crop up elsewhere. I can't imagine why a left paren would cause a problem unless it were something like an escaped quotation mark.

If you want to put a quoted string within another quoted string, you sometimes need to differentiate between the inner and outer quotation marks by escaping it with something like

"But don't \"quote\" me on that."

or sometimes

"But don't ""quote"" me on that."

Without escaping, the system would confuse the first inner quotation mark as the terminating quotation mark for the outer quote.

Confusing as hell. LOL!

**Jimaz** · March-27-21, 02:10 PM

These old posts might provide a clue.

Parentheses in thread titles

Problems using parentheses [[) in post titles

**Jimaz** · March-27-21, 02:23 PM

^ Note the censor replaced the left paren with two left brackets. LOL!

**Jimaz** · March-27-21, 03:06 PM

The problem might be that the paren is being used in the URL.

Try having the censor replace the left paren with %28?

Just a guess.

**Jimaz** · April-07-21, 10:31 AM

Just now I noticed that the frowny face gets corrupted by the two brackets. Oh, the humanity! :[[

**Jimaz** · April-25-21, 03:04 PM

The two brackets corrupted a link to The Twilight Zone so I laundered the URL though TinyURL.com. That works.

**jcole** · April-26-21, 01:33 PM

That just makes it into a Vampire face. Or a spider face.

Originally Posted by Jimaz

Just now I noticed that the frowny face gets corrupted by the two brackets. Oh, the humanity! :[[

**Jimaz** · May-12-21, 04:50 PM

Looks like Kathleen started a Discuss Detroit thread titled
"Abandoned Detroit - The City of Neglect [[Documentary) [[2021)"
and when I click on it I get the page that says

Forbidden

You do not have permission to access this document.

Web Server at detroityes.com

Looks like that bug is still alive. Maybe we should just avoid using parentheses altogether until a real fix is available?

**Kathleen** · May-12-21, 04:53 PM

Originally Posted by Jimaz

Looks like Kathleen started a Discuss Detroit thread titled
"Abandoned Detroit - The City of Neglect [[Documentary) [[2021)"
and when I click on it I get the page that says

Looks like that bug is still alive. Maybe we should just avoid using parentheses altogether until a real fix is available?

Sorry about that!! Guess I was getting used to seeing [[ so I didn't even think about it. Hope the post can be corrected by the Admin soon!!
I did get the Forbidden error message when I submitted the thread, so wasn't even sure it posted.

**Jimaz** · May-12-21, 05:18 PM

Originally Posted by Kathleen

Sorry about that!!....

It's not your fault! LOL.

Someone just needs to get in there and spank the naughty software pixies.

**Jimaz** · May-12-21, 05:30 PM

Okay, this is interesting. After getting the Forbidden page, I edited the URL in the location bar to replace the hyphen with a left parenthesis, both before "Documentary" and "2021" and the page came up normally!

At least we have a manual workaround now.

Kathleen, I think you can edit the title in the "Go Advanced" controls if you want. Maybe replace the brackets & parens with {braces}?

Here's a link to it: Abandoned Detroit - The City of Neglect [[Documentary) [[2021)

**Kathleen** · May-12-21, 06:18 PM

Thanks, Jimaz. I removed the parens and went with the -- and comma! Looks like it is accessible to all.

**Jimaz** · May-12-21, 06:24 PM

Originally Posted by Kathleen

Thanks, Jimaz. I removed the parens and went with the -- and comma! Looks like it is accessible to all.

Yes, I noticed.

I just wish we could get to the root cause of this bug so folks don't have to deal with it.

Someday we may come to regret overambitiously burying society under a thick blanket of technology.

**Ray1936** · May-14-21, 11:07 AM

Originally Posted by Jimaz

Someday we may come to regret overambitiously burying society under a thick blanket of technology.

This octogenarian feels such burying more and more every day. Sigh.

**Jimaz** · August-15-21, 09:47 AM

Originally Posted by Jimaz

... Someday we may come to regret overambitiously burying society under a thick blanket of technology.

Over the years I've noticed that when too much technology creates a problem, the reflexive reaction is to turn to even more technology for a solution.

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results"

— {often misattributed to?} Albert Einstein

In the following video about the accumulation of space junk orbiting the planet, at 3:15, they discuss solutions involving — wait for it — launching experimental debris hunters into orbit to try to capture fake debris. So they're going to add junk in an attempt to remove junk?

Clearing the heavens of space junk

Okay, to be fair, there must be more to the story but at 5:17 Iridium's Matt Desch says "We think the most important thing is don't create any more while we're still trying to figure out a technical solution for it."

The solution will have to involve removing junk at a faster rate than it's added.

**Jimaz** · April-21-22, 06:42 PM

Now I'm getting the original problem on the "New [[rehab) Royal Palm Hotel - Tapestry Collection Hotel by Hilton." thread.

And they told us computers would make our lives easier. LOL!

**Lowell** · April-22-22, 10:23 AM

Yep cleaned it up. Use square bracket or else! - they do it themselves.

I'm working toward an upgrade for vBulletin 5 but it is on the back burner. It was a piece of junk when it came out years ago so I have been reluctant even though I own the license. The cracks are showing but version 4 seems to roll along, other than this quirk.

**Jimaz** · April-22-22, 11:48 AM

Yes, it's working fine for me now. Thanks Lowell!

As a former bit twiddler, I'm truly surprised that such a bug can even exist.

Someone spank the naughty software pixies, please.