[Plugin: podPress] Server returned HTTP Error 403: Forbidden

Hi Andrew,

I’m sorry. I have no concrete idea why the URL https://theonlypodcast.com/?feed=podcast does not work. But I have noticed that this problem seems to be limited to the additional Feeds of podPress. For instance the redirection of the default RSS Feed URL https://theonlypodcast.com/?feed=rss2 works.
It seems to be more an issue of these redirections. I have of course installed podPress in my blog too and it is no problem in this blog to use both URL schemes while a non-default Permalink scheme is active.

Please, try to set the Permalink scheme back to the default scheme for a moment and control whether the URL https://theonlypodcast.com/?feed=podcast works with this settings.
Does it work with the default Permalink scheme?

(You can test the URL in your browser. But it might be necessary to clear the cache of the browser to see a difference before reloading the “page”.)

I need to research a little bit before I can try to help you more.

Regards,
Tim

Tim,

After setting the permalinks to default, the feed validates and works as a URL in my browser. It only works in the default scheme though, as I tried using the other permalink setting, aside from custom, and came up with the previous results.

Obviously I am keeping the permalink structure to default for now, but I still wonder why this would happen all of the sudden, as I’ve been using your plugin for months.

Thanks for the help,
Andrew

Are you able to tell since which podPress version this problem has occurred?

It started with 8.8.8.4. I had no problems when I had 8.8.6.3 installed.

I have thought about this problem a lot and I know two further blogs besides my own blog where podPress 8.8.8.x is running and the /?feed=podcast and the /feed/podcast Feed is working at the same time.
That is why I think that it might be a problem on your server or blog. Are you able to rule out that no other plugin interferes with your Permalinks or rewrite rules?
I have also read the first post in this thread again and I have noticed the last sub section:

I have done everything you suggested in a previous post; re-saved my permalink structure, made sure the slug name remained “podcast”, and made sure that I the feed is active.

The order of the action is important.

Maybe you should try it this way:
* controlling/changing the Slug Name
* check the Active Feed checkbox
* saving the podPress Feed settings
(after this step the /?feed=podcast Feed should work)
* saving the Permalink settings (if you are using a non-default Permalink scheme)
(after this step the /feed/podcast Feed should also work)

If you have done these action in this order then maybe try it again while the other plugins are deactivated temporarily.

You could also try to find out whether the podPress Feeds like the “podcast” Feed has been added correctly to the rewrite rules of your blog. The plugin AskApache RewriteRules Viewer can show you all the rewrite rules. At the options page of this plugin are several boxes one of them with the name “feeds Supported default feeds.” (the second box with this name) should contain a section which looks like this

[root_rewrite] => Array
(
    [feed/(feed|rdf|rss|rss2|atom|podcast|enhancedpodcast|torrent|premium|playlist.xspf)/?$] => index.php?&feed=$1
    [(feed|rdf|rss|rss2|atom|podcast|enhancedpodcast|torrent|premium|playlist.xspf)/?$] => index.php?&feed=$1
    [page/?([0-9]{1,})/?$] => index.php?&paged=$1
    [comment-page-([0-9]{1,})/?$] => index.php?&page_id=2&cpage=$1
)

As you can see this list contains and should contain all slug names of the additional feeds. Please, control whether the podcast Feed is in this list when the non-default Permalink scheme is active.
The slug name should also be in first box with this name. That other contains only a simple list with all the slug names of the feeds. The slug name of the of the “podcast” Feed should be in that list as long as podPress and this Feed is active regardless of the Permalink scheme.

Control also the mod_rewrite_rules box. While you are using a non-default Permalink scheme e.g. Day and Name, the content of this box should contain

RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]

While you are using the default Permalinks, this box is probably empty.
If it is not empty in this situation, please post here what is in there.

I followed all of your instructions, to no avail. I even turned off all of my other plugins, besides yours and the AA RewriteRules, to see if one of them was interfering. I still come up with the same results: if the permalink structure is default, “?feed=podcast” works and “/feed/podcast/” comes up with a 404 Error. When a non default permalink is active, “feed=podcast” comes up with the 403 Error and “feed/podcast” works fine.
There is only one thing I noticed when looking at the rewrite rules:

[root_rewrite] => Array
(   

[feed/(feed|rdf|rss|rss2|atom|podcast|enhancedpodcast|torrent|premium|playlist.xspf)/?$] => index.php?&feed=$1
[(feed|rdf|rss|rss2|atom|podcast|enhancedpodcast|torrent|premium|playlist.xspf)/?$] => index.php?&feed=$1
[page/?([0-9]{1,})/?$] => index.php?&paged=$1

)

The only line missing from mine and the example you gave me is the line containing “[comment-page…]”. other than that, your example and mine match, whether or not the default permalink is active.

For further proof, this is what my mod_rewrite_rules look like

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
</IfModule>

Do you think I should take this up with my domain host?

Okay. The other plugins are not involved and the rewrite rules are looking to me.
I’m still not able to reproduce the problem.
Would you do a further test?

If the problem is not limited to podPress then it will probably happen when you add a further Feed with a different plugin.

The following code snippet is a simple plugin which adds a RSS Feed to a blog. This Feed with the slug name “testfeed” will have the same content as the main entries RSS Feed.

[Code moderated as per the Forum Rules. Please use the pastebin]

Create a new file with a text editor and name it e.g. testfeed.php.
Open the file with the text editor and copy and paste that code into the file.
Upload this file to your blog and store it for instance in the folder /wp-content/plugins/testfeed/.
Afterwards head to the plugins page of your blog and activate that plugin (“A Test Feed”).
This will create the Feed /?feed=testfeed (and /feed/testfeed).
Choose a non-default Permalink scheme and save the Permalink settings.

Does /?feed=testfeed work?
Does /feed/testfeed work?

If /?feed=testfeed is not working while the non-default Permalink scheme is active (and /feed/testfeed is working), deactivate a part of the this plugin by inserting comment characters in one line of the code. You may use the plugin editor of the blog for this action.

Modify the code like this:
old:

function testfeed_do_feed($withcomments) {
	testfeed_modify_certain_feedelements();
	do_feed_rss2($withcomments);
}

new:

function testfeed_do_feed($withcomments) {
	//testfeed_modify_certain_feedelements();
	do_feed_rss2($withcomments);
}

Or you modify the file with the text editor on your computer and upload the file again.

If this is also not working then you should try this code:
[Code moderated as per the Forum Rules. Please use the pastebin]

(This is comparable to the way the podPress versions before version 8.8.9 have added the Feeds.)

If the /?feed=testfeed URL does not work while /feed/testfeed works (while a non-default Permalink scheme is active) then it is probably a problem which is not limited to the podPress plugin.

Please, control also the /?feed=rss2 and the /?feed=atom Feed while the non-default Permalink scheme is active.
Is the RSS and the ATOM Feed working?

If the ATOM Feed or the /?feed=testfeed Feed is not working then turn off the podPress plugin temporarily and test the ATOM Feed and /?feed=testfeed again (while the non-default Permalink scheme is active).

This may not bring the solution but it will definitely help to narrow down the number of possible sources of the problem.

I can’t activate your simple plugin. I get a fatal error when I try to activate it. Am I doing something wrong? I feel sorry for taking up so much of your time.

Plugin could not be activated because it triggered a fatal error.

Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_FUNCTION, expecting T_STRING or T_VARIABLE or '$' in /home/content/41/6826341/html/wp-content/plugins/testfeed/testfeed.php on line 15

@toptm – I’m jumping in here but not sure if I can actually help. I noticed that in your OP you said you were getting a 403 error not a 404. That may indicate a permissions problem?
Scanning through the thread I gather that you are running wordpress on a shared-hosting server with Apache and some kind of *Nix OS – can you confirm?
Also, can you confirm that you are running the latest dev version of podpress? If not, what exact version?

Now for my wild speculation. Do you have an actual physical dir named podcast? Or do you have a wordpress category named poscast? Or a tag named podcast?

@ntm Tim, is there any possiblity that having a category named podcast could interfere with the default permalink scheme? How about a dir named podcast?

FWIW, I am using podpress with no problems on a shared host but I have seen some people have problems with permissions. Can’t understand why you would get a permission denied (403) error. Maybe you could try (temporariy) setting your podpress dir premissions to 777?

-Ray

Ray,

Yes, I was getting a 403 when trying to validate and use my original podcast feed, https://theonlypodcast.com/?feed=podcast (iTunes was also giving me an error when trying to download shows). Trouble is, the feed theonlypodcast.com/feed/podcast validated and worked fine, which Tim has told me before(in another post) should not be the case. According to him “/?feed=podcast” an “/feed/podcast” are essentially the same thing and should not be behaving this way.

I’m running wordpress on a GoDaddy server and only added Apache after Tim’s suggestion to look at my rewrite array. I don’t know what a *Nix operating system is; I’ve been learning most of this on-the-fly.

I constantly update all of my plugins, whenever I get an alert that one is available. Just to make sure, I went back and checked, and I am running 8.8.9.

As for your speculation, I do have a category named podcasts, but it never caused any problem, at least not with v8.8.6.3 . Do you think I should remove it anyway?

-Andrew

If you are on GoDaddy I think you are running Linux (a flavor of Unix = *nix) or possibly Windows. You are also probably installing everything from some kind of control panel interface, right? I’m not sure what you mean when you say you “added Apache after Tim’s suggestion to look at your rewrite array.” Can you explain how you added Apache?

Also, can you explain how you installed wordpress (and are you running 3.0.4)? Did you install from the GoDaddy control panel or FTP the files somehow? And how did you install the podpress plugin? From inside the admin page of your wordpress install? Or did you ftp it manually? Can you figure out how to see the permissions on the dirs from your control panel or ftp client? do the permissions for the podpress dir look different from your other plugins?

One thing you could try it deleting the entire podpress dir and then reinstalling it. Another thing you could try is to revert to 8.8.6.3 and see if the problem disappears. You can checkout 8.8.6.3 with an svn client (like tortoiseSVN for windows). I don’t think GoDaddy has svn installed on their shared hosting servers so you’ll have to check it out onto your local machine and then ftp it up to your GoDaddy webhost. If you run Linux at home you can simply run this command from the shell prompt to download 8.8.6.3 svn co . https://plugins.svn.www.ads-software.com/podpress/tags/8.8.6.3/

My best guess is that either the permissions got messed up on a file or a file is corrupted somehow. A clean install of podpress would be the first thing to try. Also be sure to mention if you see *any* error messages when deactivating and reactivating the plugin or elswhere.

-Ray

Plugin could not be activated because it triggered a fatal error.

Which version of the plugin caused this error? The last one?
Anyway, now it is hard to say what in line 15 was. I have put the code of plugins into files and uploaded it. You can download the plugins: https://undeuxoutrois.de/downloads/testfeed.zip
Please, put the folder and the two files into your plugin folder (for instance /wp-content/plugins/).
At your plugins page you will see two new plugins “A Test Feed – I” and “A Test Feed – II”. The first one will add a Feed with the slug name “testfeed1” and the second one the “testfeed” Feed. The difference between both is that “testfeed1” has a customized Feed title and description.

Please, try this before you start making podPress rollbacks.
(But when start to do that, you could download an older version podPress also here: https://www.ads-software.com/extend/plugins/podpress/download/)
You could also try to change the slug name of the “podcast” Feed for a test. This could maybe rule out problems which could be causes by name similarities with folders or categories.

@ntm Tim, is there any possiblity that having a category named podcast could interfere with the default permalink scheme?

The only problem that I know is the case when you have a category with the name “podcast” and this category is a sub category of another category. In such a configuration you would get the category Feed instead of the category page when you would call that page and while a non-default Permalink scheme is active.
https://undeuxoutrois.de/wp/category/allgemeines/podcast/ is the URL of the WP core category list widget to the category page but it opens the category feed (which would usually be https://undeuxoutrois.de/wp/category/allgemeines/podcast/feed or https://undeuxoutrois.de/wp/category/podcast/feed).
But this special problem has most likely nothing to do with original problem in Andrews blog where the original URL scheme is not working in one case while the non-default-Permalink-scheme-URL seems to work.

Try the testfeed plugin and if /?feed=testfeed1, /feed/testfeed1 and /?feed=testfeed, /feed/testfeed are working, try to change the slug name of the podcast Feed for a test.
These test will show whether this is a problem which happens because of a name similarity with a folder, category or tag. And since HTTP 403 is a permission error, it might be possible that this is problem caused by a folder with the same name or at least a permission definition which has something to do with the name “podcast”.
BTW: the testfeed will look like this: https://undeuxoutrois.de/wp/?feed=testfeed1 or https://undeuxoutrois.de/wp/feed/testfeed1
(I’m using the “Day and Name” Permalink scheme.)

Actually, if https://theonlypodcast.com/?feed=testfeed is not working and https://theonlypodcast.com/feed/testfeed is working (at the same time) while you are using a non-default Permalink scheme then it is almost certain that you should it is no problem of podPress. In this case you should turn off podPress and test both Feeds again to control whether podPress is involved somehow or not.

@ray:

“added Apache after Tim’s suggestion to look at your rewrite array.” Can you explain how you added Apache?

Andrew did probably meant the
AskApache RewriteRules Viewer plugin for WordPress.

Tim,

With podPress active, all of the URLs for both testfeed and testfeed1 work with a non-default permalink scheme.

When changed to the default scheme, only “?feed=testfeed” and “?feed=testfeed1” worked.

The same results occurred when I deactivated podPress.

I deleted my category “Podcasts”, just in case, before performing these tests. It made no diffference, as “?feed=podcast” still only works under a default scheme and “/feed/podcast” only works under a non-default scheme.

@Ray- Yes, my version of wordpress is running on Linux through the GoDaddy server. I was given the URL to the wp-admin login page as soon as GoDaddy confirmed my purchase; I never had to install wordpress. And, yes, I am running worpress’ current version.

All of my plugins have been installed through my wordpress admin page, along with all of their updates.

As per Tim asking, I have not downgraded podPress. Yet.

Also, Tim was correct in saying that I installed the AskApache RewriteRules Viewer plugin, not some other program with Apache as its name. Sorry for the confusion.

Thanks, both of you,
Andrew

Andrew,

thanks for your tests and this report!

But with this result I need more help of you.

Please, change the slug name of the “podcast” Feed. For instance you could name it “testfeed3” (nothing with “podcast” in it). Save the Feed settings. Set the Permalink scheme to a non-default scheme and save this setting too.
Does “?feed=testfeed3” and “/feed/testfeed3” work?

It would be great if you would do also a further test:
Deactivate the new option “Include only posts with podPress attachments in this Feed” (since 8.8.9) of the podcast (or testfeed3) Feed and do not use the category and the file type filter of this Feed. After saving the Feed settings, the Feed should contain all blog posts. All Feed filters of podPress which influence the the number of posts in this Feed will be deactive (like in the testfeed plugin). Make sure that a non-default Permalink scheme is active and control both Feed URLs (e.g. “?feed=testfeed3” and “/feed/testfeed3”).
If both Feed URLs are working in this test, the source of the problems is maybe a problem with the filters of podPress. If both Feed URLs are working then make the counter test and make the hook or cross in that checkbox again and control whether the previous behaviour occurs again.

If the renamed Feed with no filters on shows the same behaviour as the original podcast Feed then it would be interesting to know whether the .htaccess file in the root folder of your blog (the same folder which contains the wp-config.php file) contains more instructions as these

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
</IfModule>

(while the non-default Permalink scheme is active)
Do you know how-to access to the file of your blog via FTP or SSH? This .htaccess file might be not visible by default. If you can not find it in the view of the root folder, check the view settings of your FTP or SSH client program.

BTW: I have noticed an interesting thing.Some minutes ago I controlled the default podPress Feeds /?feed=podcast, /?feed=enhancedpodcast and /?feed=torrent of your blog. /?feed=podcast and /?feed=enhancedpodcast are not reachable (“Oops, Page Not Found”). But /?feed=torrent works (although it is a <channel> with no <item>s – no posts in the feed).
What are the filter settings of the other two Feeds?

Regards,
Tim

Tim,

After changing the slug name, both URLs(testfeed3) will validate. They also show all my blog entries when I un-check the “Include only…” option. After changing the slug name back to “podcast”, my initial problem resurfaces.

My .htaccess file does contain the instructions you have listed.

My enhancedpodcast feed filters are set to M4A and M4V, while my torrent feed is set to Torrent-P2P. I never touched either of these two feeds for as long as I’ve had your plugin.

Thanks,
Andrew