Getting a 500 error

Yup, me too. I’m running a child-theme for buddypress on a multi-network site (both wp and bp are latest versions). Theme is network enabled and so is jonradio. I only need to apply the theme (Imbalance 2) to the blog part of the website.

I’ve never seen a 500 error caused by the plugin, but I will investigate immediately. URLs would be helpful.

In the meantime, I will test koozman’s scenario of network enabled Theme and Plugin with a Child Theme.

Here is the url that I have specified to use Twenty Eleven

https://www.genwnow.com/test-page/

I have tested with child themes, multi-site with theme and plugin network enabled, with Imbalance 2 theme, but I just cannot make it fail.

Unfortunately, I cannot afford to provide support for purchased themes, such as the Christina theme that mavrick21 is using as her Current Theme, because it means buying the theme.

For mavrick21, I would ask that you report your problem to ThemeForest where you purchased your Christina theme. Your purchase price includes Support. The other reason that I suggest this is that I noticed another unresolved support issue for the Christina theme with someone using the same web hosting service that you do.

In general, 500 Internal Server Error messages are most often caused by hosting issues. Here is the official WordPress documentation on solving them:
https://codex.www.ads-software.com/Common_WordPress_Errors#Internal_Server_Error

Of the WordPress documentation suggestions, Memory issues and other plugins are probably the best places to start. But, my specific suggestions for “first thing to do” are:

@mavrick21 – report the problem to ThemeForest support, simply because there might be something going on with the Christina theme that I don’t know about, and I have no way of determining

@koozman (and second step for @mavrick21) – write down the exact time and date as you create a 500 error, then ask your web hosting company to look in their web hosting logs at that exact time and date (give them your time zone, so they can convert) for any information they might have on that specific 500 error.

I wish I had better answers for you. But, 500 errors are extremely difficult to diagnose without access to the web host and its error logs. (Which is why I run my own web hosting software, rather than using commercially available shared hosting)

It is not like “normal errors” where you get specific error messages. Instead, 500 errors typically are interruptions of normal processing at random points.

Here you are: https://cos-rop.net/rop/blog/category/rop-resources/ (I applied it to a category instead of the blog because I don’t want to take down our blog right now)

Have you tried your plugin with Buddypress? Its default theme lives in its plugin directory while my BP child theme resides in the themes directory.

@koozman – thank you for all the details. I will be able to do something close to an “exact conditions” test now.

By the way, based on the long time it takes before generating the error, your problem is almost certainly a “loop”, where trying to create that particular URL in WordPress will consume infinite amounts of processor time and never complete.

Let me do my testing and get back here with what I find out.

@mavrick21 – your problem appears to be different as it responds almost instantly with the 500 error. Nonetheless, I’ll see if trying to solve koozman’s problem sheds any light on yours.

@koozman – I have just re-created your problem on my test system.

I will post here as soon as I have found a solution. Thank you for your patience.

@koozman – there is no quick fix. And there probably isn’t a feasible solution over the long run either.

Here is why: A little research had me discover that the BuddyPress plugin uses about 900 Action and Filter “hooks”, including a fair number that intervene throughout the Theme processing process within WordPress. The jonradio Multiple Themes plugin just “doesn’t have a hope” of circumventing all those interventions.

To clarify: this is a general problem with BuddyPress, not just in the situation you describe. I will be documenting the fact that jonradio Multiple Themes cannot be used with the BuddyPress plugin activated, and checking on the Settings page.

@mavrick21 – since your problem has nothing to do with the BuddyPress plugin, ThemeForest support is your best bet at this point. They really are going to have to test their Theme with my plugin, because I can’t.

I will keep playing with it. Thanks for the response.

I have approached the author of the theme to see if he will release a copy of the Christina Theme to me under a Non-Disclosure Agreement.

Ah man. Well, thanks for the help!