Hi folx,

We're experiencing a major issue after the update to 3.14:

If it is a closed survey with participants/ tokens the submission of the survey ends with a 504. The user never reaches the "Completed View". This LS-behavior is not seen when the survey is open to everybody (without participants table).

Immediate help is needed.

504 : Gateway Time-out

Check your webserver log, can be different things …

Try to activate debug mode, and try with a little survey.

Any idea?

QuoTil wrote: We're experiencing a major issue after the update to 3.14:

1. Which version was used before the update to 3.14?
2. Nginx error. Can you post nginx.conf and tell us a bit about your setup. You can click on the version number at the bottom of your LimeSurvey installation to get systeminfos.

My apologies.

DevOps did cut off the email configuration (server/firewall-side). It seems that this blocked the completion of the survey. As much as I could see the debug mode did not report this as an error - which would be nice. Also maybe it would be an option to let LS complete a tokenized survey even if the email configuration fails.

Anyway. Sorry again and thank you for your great work.

QuoTil wrote: Also maybe it would be an option to let LS complete a tokenized survey even if the email configuration fails.

That might be the case. I guess you wanted to get an email after each completed survey sent to you? To me this looks like a timing issue. The email couldn't be sent and is causing a delay (still room for improvement for LS devs). The NGINX timeout is lower than the delay caused by LimeSurvey handling the email error.

I guess you wanted to get an email after each completed survey sent to you?

Yes indeed.

jelo wrote: (still room for improvement for LS devs).

No, because it can be easily fixed with a good mail server.
You can use your own server as a relay, mail is send by your server but it take really less time to send via PHP

DenisChenu wrote:

jelo wrote: (still room for improvement for LS devs).

No, because it can be easily fixed with a good mail server.
You can use your own server as a relay, mail is send by your server but it take really less time to send via PHP

No room for improvement, really? The error handling, when a survey is submitted and an email is triggered for the admin, might not slow down the submitting itself.

No room for improvement, really? The error handling, when a survey is submitted and an email is triggered for the admin, might not slow down the submitting itself.

It might, but it shouldn't.

holch wrote: It might, but it shouldn't.

This comes from trying to be more polite


When a mail cannot be sent, the submitprocess should continue. Without having a task queue a bit difficult to implement. Experience of survey respondent is more import than a missing email for the LS user.

Experience of survey respondent is more import than a missing email for the LS user.

Agreed.

holch wrote:

Experience of survey respondent is more import than a missing email for the LS user.

Agreed.

Sorry it's only an opinion …

Since such email can be an alert for a broken survey (bad submit email alert) : if user think is survey is saved : it MUST be saved. It's really more important .

Data is the most important

DenisChenu wrote:

holch wrote: if user think is survey is saved : it MUST be saved. It's really more important .

If the threadstarter described the situation correct, than LimeSurvey is hanging on to send an email to an mailserver, which is not available. The timeout (might be solved via a little NGINX tweak here) then prevents that the respondent can complete the survey.

You're saying: It is more important that LimeSurvey tries to send the email instead of letting the respondent completing the survey.

The Data that someone completed the survey is lost. A redirection is lost.

I more say : The development must take priority over features that are not correctable with a good server ...

With your opinion : if i make a broken plugin : broke redirection or show end page. LimeSurvey must disable this plugin.
But : if this plugin make a major action (for example : preparing an order) : maybe it better if we brake.

I'm OK with the general part : when a broken system happen : log it as error and show a clean error to user.
If we have time : add a checkbox on Global settings to send all error to a specific email etc …

But, if you look at bugs.limesurvey.org/my_view_page.php : you see a lot of other error that seems most important , no ?