Here is what worked for me.

Open Norton Internet Security professional.
Click on Privacy Control and then Configure
Click on Advance button
Click on Add Site button
Type http://www.themagiccafe.com in pop-upbox click OK
Uncheck Use Default Settings on all the check boxes and select Permit on all the options.
Click OK and then OK on the other screen
You are done. Reload the page and you should have all the graphics and not have affected your security levels for any other site.

I hope this helps some one.

Mike

Two-week problem dissappeared today. Nice vanish. Yesterday I switched from Norton AV&Firewall to McAfee. I also downloaded 7 MSwindow updates. Maybe one of these actions created the fix for me.

Thanks mikeDes it looks like it cleared up problem.
ken

That worked. Thanks MikeDes.

I can't see the images either. I've never had a problem with images, I think it's you guys's server or bad scripting.

If it were the server settings or bad scripting, nobody would be able to see the images. Have you checked your firewall settings and other things discussed in this topic?

Sure sure, it's probably my firewall...

However, it IS your scripting or server because other sites display gifs just fine. I'm not just trying to resolve this problem for msyelf, frankly, it doesn't even bother me. I just don't think the users should have to alter their firewalls to view this awesome site.

But I am curious, why is it doing that anyway?

There are several different reasons why this might occur. It really depends on how your machine is set up and what kind of software you're running on it, so the cause (and solution) will vary from user to user. You'll need to determine which category you fall into and work from there.

Here are some clues:

Apparently, viewing certain sites like The Magic Café requires your browser to transmit full "headers". Headers contain information about your browser, your isp, and other stuff that's too technical to get into here. The problem is that certain firewall products (and internet privacy filters) block portions of the header from leaving your computer.

You'll need to permit full headers for the Café by changing some settings on your firewall or privacy software. Consult your user's manual on how to do this.

In ZoneAlarm Pro (not the free version), open up the control center and go to the "Privacy" screen. Click on the "Site List" tab, scroll down the list until you see "www.themagiccafe.com" and add a green check mark in the "Private Header" column. This allows full headers for the Café.

The Norton procedure has already been described in earlier posts.

Here's another thing to consider. Some "ad blocking" software can also cause graphics to vanish from your screen. In addition, if your privacy software has "Web bug" protection, you might need to disable it, since it could mistakenly disallow all graphics on a page. Consult your software manual for details on how to disable these features for specific sites like the Café.

What I would like to know is why the Magic Café is fine about me blocking browser information but insists I provide information about other sites I have visited for the majority of the pictures to appear.

What business do The Magic Café have in keeping tabs on what sites we have visited??

Marc Climens

Hmm ... well, the forum scripts don't require that information, that's for sure. (I would certainly know if they do!) I know Steve uses sitemeter.com to get stats, and those normally log referring URLs. Those sites normally log the info only if it's available, they don't usually require it. That's the only thing here that gathers visitor info, and frankly, we don't really care where else you visit.

What makes you think so? Just trying to understand.

Because, when you have Norton configured to not allow websites to have access to your previous url info, some of the graphics on The Magic Café home page don't appear, and the photos on the Meet The Staff page are missing, also.

Referring URL ... Norton again ... ah, ok, got it. The thing I don't understand is why Norton blocks images anyway. Makes no sense. Anyway, I don't use Norton firewall (thankfully!) and don't have that problem, so I don't know what to tell you.

BTW, accessing the Café from a bookmark should bypass the referring URL, if it's that big a deal to you. The browser doesn't send referring URL data when a bookmark is used, because there isn't one. If you use a bookmark and it's still a problem, well, then may I suggest a different firewall? Jeez ...

For what it's worth, I'm also getting this problem and have done so for the same amount of time as the other folks (about a month).

This is the only site that I have this problem with.

Regards

David

I don't think that we should have to alter our settings for our firewall when it is obviously the way the scripts and html are written on your end. All of the users said that they had to alter their norton or firewall configuration to make it work for them. They shouldn't have to do that. Period. I have NEVER had any other problems with ANY other sites. Only the Café gives me problems. I think it's outrageous that you would suggest that I have to use a different firewall. That would be like us saying to you, "Might I suggest someone who actually knows how to write web pages?"

You're welcome to look at the HTML produced by the scripts and suggest where the problem lies, but I doubt you'll find anything. Let me give you some facts to ponder:

#1: We have not changed anything that relates to how HTML is created in almost two years, and everything ran smoothly until recently.

#2: The problems have only come up in the last couple/few months, during which time - again - no changes have been made to the Café scripts.

#3: It appears that all (or most) of those who are having these troubles use the Norton firewall. I don't use Norton firewall and I have no such problem whatsoever. I use Zone Alarm and can see everything I want to see. I do use Norton AV though.

If sombody wants to use Norton firewall, that's an individual choice. I can't afford to buy Norton Firewall just to find out what the problem is. I have combed over the scripts since this problem was reported and have found nothing that would cause it. There are many people here who know me pretty well, and if there was something there to fix they know I would fix it. PHP codes have been looked at, as have HTML codes generated by the scripts. There's nothing else to look at. The one thing in use here that I don't have access to is the sitemeter stats system. Since I can't see how those work I can't tell if they might be having an effect. So, you're welcome to your opinion, and I'm welcome to mine. I'd be interested to know, though, if somebody's having this problem and is not using Norton Firewall. Anybody?

Gene,
Maybe because this subject is persistant you could make it a sticky.
Might save you guys some work.

Stickies are a nice idea but not many members take the time to read them. The time saver would be we would just have to link to it each time instead of typing out the answer.

Norton for me was worse than a virus. I am running XP Media edition and Norton came with my machine. After an auto-update in Norton, I was unable to view any news webpages. I got a message that said NORTON BLOCKED THIS SITE. I went to the utilities to unblock and it said I had to enter the admin passcode to make changes. I entered the passcode and it said it was invalid. I am the OWNER of my machine and I know the admin passcode. I use it all the time. I contacted Norton and they told me to contact my system admin. I am the system admin. I tried to shut down Norton and it prompted me for the passcode again. Grrrrrrr. I finally went to the registry and removed it from startup. I can't delete Norton, but I can keep it from running. I prefer Mcafee for Virus scans and the new Microsoft Antispyware tool. Since I have changed browsers to Mozilla Firefox I have not been plagued with adware, popups, or any malware. Norton is not for me!

When I had that problem I traced it back to Nortons Privacy settings. Since I've not actually logged into the Café for some time, my login was saved, a Norton update jacked up the graphics on this site only. After Logging out and Logging back in thus resetting my login cookie everything worked well. Others have noted this fix.

I hope this will get all those graphics working for you again.

Cheers,

S.W.