Creative Curio

Firstly, I’d like to extend a huge THANK YOU!!! to all of my wonderful readers and those of you who commented on my last post, WordPress Database Error MySQL Server has Gone Away. I really appreciate your support.

I did so much research on the error I found repeated in my error logs called “WordPress Database Error MySQL Server has Gone Away.” I came across a few solutions, but they only broke my blog even more! I tried setting up a testing server, but the database wouldn’t play nice with it, so all the changes I was making to my blog were live (very scary!).

I suppose you all are wondering how I fixed that MySQL has gone away error. Well, it’s still a bit of a mystery to me, but here’s what I think was going on:

Long story short, I believe the problem was twofold. The first was switching hosts in the middle of April. I read that the “gone away” error can happen when you switch. I don’t know why, I just read it can happen. Rob’s Notebook to the rescue! This solution didn’t fix the problem all the way (and why isn’t this brilliant bit of coding a standard for a WP installation??!), though, and I left a comment for Rob asking for more info on inserting the time_out portion of his solution. He was kind enough to email me back personally, and help me with inserting that piece of code (thank you again, Rob!).

The second piece of the problem was some scripting modifications I made in an attempt to Fight Spam without a Captcha. I didn’t even consider this could be an issue; if I were to have problems with this script modification, I would think they would happen right away. I don’t in any way think it was faulty code from Vivien; I think it was me being lazy when I upgraded to 2.5 soon after its release (the wp-comments-post.php I modified was replaced with the new 2.5 file). I just copied the code in the wp-comments-post.php I had modified, trying to make a quick job of updating it instead of making sure I did it all correctly. Andrew, from Fun with Wordpress, made a suggestion about spam plugins, which turned me onto this idea (thanks, Andrew!).

I want to extend a big thanks to the Bluehost support team, too, for putting up with all my calls about this crazy problem. They were all very friendly, polite and as helpful as they could be. I am still very, very pleased with Bluehost and I would recommend them if you’re looking for new hosting (really wish they had a hosting option other than shared, because I’m sure I’ll outgrow their service someday).

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Update: The problem has been solved! Read about the solution.

I politely asked the MySQL server to come back, but it refuses.

You’ve probably noticed a few posts and comments missing. I’m having trouble with Wordpress and you’ve also probably noticed that, too: when you comment on a post, it takes you to a 404 page. After a lot of fruitless research and 5 calls to my host, I had to have them try one last thing… rolling the account back to before when the error occurred. That didn’t help! So now I’m pleading with you, if you can think of anything, please let me know!! Short of completely deleting the DB and files and reinstalling WP, I don’t know what to do (and I had a tough time importing the DB when I moved over to my new host 2 weeks ago).

Below is the thread I started at Wordpress Support. I’m asking you to help, too.

I have been dealing with a strange issue for the past two days. I hope I can give enough explanation so you have an idea of what is going on. I would be so greatly indebted to you if you could help me!!

I am getting the above error when someone comments on my blog (WordPress database error MySQL server has gone away). It brings up a 404 error page and the address displayed in the address bar says wp-comments-post, which makes me guess that’s where the error lies. If I am logged in as the admin and post a comment, it brings up a 500 error, again with the wp-comments-post. It really seems like it’s a problem with the redirect, but I’ve downloaded the wp.zip file and taken a fresh file out of there and uploaded it. Nothing.

The comment IS posted to the database and if you click the back button, the new comment is now at the bottom of the page.

I hadn’t changed anything in the settings or files from the time it was working to when it stopped working. I did have a scheduled post that went up, but other than that and some comments, no change to the database either.

Fixes I’ve tried:

-updating to WP 2.5.1
-updating all plugins
-deactivating plugins one by one to see if they are causing the problem
-replacing wp-db (but the one on OpenAdvent doesn’t work for 2.5+ and gives me an error… won’t even load the site!)
-deleting and reuploading the .htaccess file
-rolling back the server to when before the problem occurred (VERY weird that this didn’t fix it! And I’m back to 2.5 now)
-replacing the wp-comments-post file
-Bluehost performed an SSH test to determine that the DB is functioning as it should
-updated permissions on wp-comments-post to 755

UPDATE: I received this from my host this morning. I don’t know that it helps too much, though. See if it gives you any ideas…

There are a couple of reasons why this might happen, but let me explain what is happening first. When a MySQL connection lies idle on the server for more than 60 seconds, our servers disconnect it. This is to prevent excess server load, and to release the connection socket back into the pool to prevent connection failures.

There are a couple of reasons that this might happen. The more common is that your script opened a MySQL connection, and then began doing other things, like uploading a file via FTP. Some of these actions can take a while, and so the script goes idle until it receives an awake call telling it that the action completed. While this is good for continuity with the script, the MySQL connection is closed causing problems. Basically, this is a problem with script design, and the developer of the script would need to resolve this.

The other common reason for this happening is Persistent MySQL Connections. This would be a setting in your script. Essentially what this is designed to do is speed up the connection of a MySQL database to a script by not allowing the connection to close. The problem with this is that, even according to MySQL, it does not significantly speed the connection process, and on our servers, the connection is closed long before it is needed the second time. The resolution of this issue would be to disable persistent connections for the MySQL database. Contact the script developer for assistance in doing this.

PLEASE if you have any ideas, let me know so I can try them!

One thing I noticed is that if you are the first one to comment, it goes through and reloads just fine. Let me know if you DON’T experience the 404 redirect when you comment. If you do experience it, just hit the back button or reload the post to see your comment.

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Using the element of shape shapes in graphic design can seem very basic, but there are underlying meanings and complex ways of using shape that are important to remember. Shapes don’t have to be just squares, circles and triangles. Quick points to remember about the element of shape:

Three classes of shape

• Geometric: mechanical, pure form
• Natural: organic, irregular
• Abstract: mass and proportion

Shape and meaning

• Curves and Circles are soft, whole, peace, feminine, everlasting, care-free
• Rectangular means trust, order, security, masculine, solid, reliable, predictable, familiar, monotonous, boring

Shape can be used to

• create texture
• define space
• separate/emphasize
• produce mood

For a more in depth look at the theories behind shape, read Get in Shape in 10 Minutes or Less.

Waitrose Honey

The Waitrose Honey logo uses implied shape and lines to create the E and the beebody. This practice of implied shape is often referred to as Gestalt theory, which basically states that you can infer a whole by only seeing its parts. There really is nothing to that bee body other than three lines, but you see the striped body of a bee because your mind says you should.

Usually people are scared of bees because they sting, but this bee is actually kind of cute! Why? It is a soft bee. What makes it soft? It has smooth curves in its wings, body and head that give it a calm appearance. Asking and then answering these kinds of questions will help you discover what makes good design good and how you can incorporate those rules into your own compositions.

Also notice the underlying rectangles of the honey logo as whole. Rectangles evoke feelings of dependability, reliability, predictability; you can trust this honey to be good. Underlying shapes are very important to composition, as noted earlier in Why Being Odd is Good: The Principle of Balance, which goes over the rule of thirds and triangle composition.

Degrees of Separation

Typography can take shape, too. With weight (bold, light), leading, size, style (regular, italic), tracking or kerning, and word wrap, you can control the shape your type takes. Also pay attention to the shape of your body copy and remember that you can wrap it around images or make it take on shapes of its own to incorporate it into the rest of the design. An invitation to an aquarium may have bubbles in the background and you may design the body copy to fit in the shape of a circle to repeat the theme. You may recall the poet ee cummings from school. No, those crazy punctuations, lack of spacing and weird line breaks aren’t a mistake!

Remember that even if you are only using a standard rectangle for your body copy, it can still use shape. Blur your eyes to get a feel for how it sits on the page. Is it too dominant? There are many things you can do to lighten its visual weight: decrease the point size, increase leading, narrow column width, wider alley space, or break up text into multiple short columns—just to name a few ideas.

Cat Box Business Card

Have you ever thought about incorporating the shape of the medium into your design? Diecuts are a great way to use shape and they make the product unique and memorable. Diecut shapes are another way to work in a repeating shape element, too.

Catalina Estrada

Shapes run rampant in the works of Catalina Estrada. She has a unique way of combining basic geometric shapes and simple organic shapes (trees, grass, simple animals and plants) within her illustrations, that, along with the bright, primary colors, give her work an innocent, child-like, playful quality. The shapes are delicate; even the ones that have a bit of sharp end—like the blades of grass or the girl’s hair—curve gracefully.

This has been the second installment in Real World Examples of the elements of design. Previously covered was line and next up are space, shape, scale, texture, value and color. Subscribe to Creative Curio by RSS or email so you don’t miss any more of these awesome articles! Don’t know what RSS is? Check it out. And remember that May 1st is RSS Awareness Day!

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