Query logging - multiple instances of each search

sean.turner · Post by **sean.turner** » Thu Dec 04, 2008 11:40 am

I'm evaluating Webinator using the free version and the query log seems to show multiple instances of every search I perform.

Here's an example of the query log entries for one single search:

30 2008-12-04 11:11:57 10.223.200.172 Hits:0 abc
31 2008-12-04 11:11:57 10.223.200.172 Hits:0 abc
32 2008-12-04 11:11:56 10.223.200.172 Hits:0 abc
33 2008-12-04 11:11:55 10.223.200.172 Hits:0 abc
34 2008-12-04 11:11:54 10.223.200.172 Hits:0 abc
35 2008-12-04 11:11:54 10.223.200.172 Hits:0 abc
36 2008-12-04 11:11:52 10.223.200.172 Hits:0 abc
37 2008-12-04 11:11:52 10.223.200.172 Hits:0 abc
38 2008-12-04 11:11:51 10.223.200.172 Hits:0 abc
39 2008-12-04 11:11:50 10.223.200.172 Hits:0 abc
40 2008-12-04 11:11:49 10.223.200.172 Hits:0 abc

The search was recorded 11 times. This happens for many other searches, though some are only recorded a different number of times, e.g., 2, 3, 4, 12...

How can I get the logging to only record each search once? Thanks.

Post by **mark** » Thu Dec 04, 2008 11:53 am

It only logs each search once. I think if you check your webserver logs you'll see that client performed the search that many times. Maybe the client's browser has some add on(s) that cause multiple hits? Or there's some proxy or such between the client and server that's causing more hits.

sean.turner · Post by **sean.turner** » Thu Dec 04, 2008 12:15 pm

I was using Firefox with several add-ons. I just performed a search using Safari with no add-ons, and only one record was logged.

I'm guessing in the real world, a lot of users may have add-ons installed, which must distort query reporting quite significantly. Are there any plans to address this issue?

Post by **mark** » Thu Dec 04, 2008 2:12 pm

In general add ons shouldn't be repeating requests though there are some that may click ahead in an attempt to have the page you might visit next ready to go. That shouldn't cause multiple hits on the same no-answer query.

Can you find out which add-on was doing the multiple queries?

In the general case it's not possible to tell if a repeated query was done by a real user or some agent. And it's entirely possible to have repeated queries from the same IP that are actual different users. Such as with proxies and the like.

sean.turner · Post by **sean.turner** » Thu Dec 04, 2008 3:37 pm

I have 10 add-ons installed for Firefox - which is obviously more than most people, as I'm developing web content. I'm guessing all of these could be generating additional query log entries, which would account for 11 entries instead of 1.

I don't know which of these add-ons are affecting the logging, but here's a list of what I have installed:

- CLC-4-TTS 3.2 (components for CLC-FireVox)
- CLC-FireVox 5.6 (text-to-speech extension)
- CLC-Utilities 4.2 (more CLC-FireVox components)
- DOM Inspector 1.8.1.18 (web developer tool)
- Fangs 1.0.4 (another text-to-speech service)
- FireBug 1.05 (web developer tool)
- Flashblock 1.5.7 (Flash blocker - this is disabled)
- Talkback 2.0.0.11 (reports crash data to Mozilla)
- Web Developer toolbar 1.1.6 (web developer tool)
- YSlow 0.9.5b2 (performance tool)

I'm the only person on this IP using Webinator at this time. Hope this helps!

Post by **mark** » Thu Dec 04, 2008 4:11 pm

add-ons shouldn't, and generally don't, cause replicate web hits. ie, there's won't be a replicate hit for each installed add-on.

I've used DOM Inspector, FireBug, Flashblock, Talkback, Web Developer without issue so it's probably not one of those. Try disabling add-ons one at a time until the replicate hits stop. Then you'll know which it was. Maybe it can be configured to behave better.

sean.turner · Post by **sean.turner** » Thu Dec 04, 2008 4:39 pm

OK, I've investigated each of the other add-ons, and none of them seem to cause replications. So I tried disabling the add-ons you listed above and found it's actually FireBug that's causing the replications. I can use any other add-on without problems, but as soon as I enable FireBug, the replications begin.

As our audience is unlikely to use FireBug, I don't think this will be an issue, although if anything can be done to overcome the FireBug problem, it would definitely be appreciated. Thanks!

Post by **mark** » Thu Dec 04, 2008 4:54 pm

Hmm, I haven't used firebug in a long time. It caused various random crashes (but not extra page fetches) and Web Developer replaced it for me. I'll poke around with it.

Post by **mark** » Thu Dec 04, 2008 6:08 pm

I installed firebug 1.2.1 and don't see any duplicate fetches. I tried turning on everything I could find. Maybe you just need a newer version?

sean.turner · Post by **sean.turner** » Fri Dec 05, 2008 9:19 am

Yes, I think that must have been the problem - the latest version doesn't cause replication. Thanks!