A new feature of this site is the list which states who is Online at the moment. One problem though. When I'm finished with the site, I normally just close it, but it still says im Online. Maybe you could put in a new feature that will log a user out if inactive for some time? I think a lot of people would make the same mistake and it would clear that list up a bit. It may also make Bob happier. Or not.
This happens on some other message boards. It's just a time delay. I never log out of my message boards, because I am lazy, but my online status does go away. It just takes a little time.
Actually, I think I tried that: I logged out, and then came back after some time and it showed I was online. It may just be a timing thing, or Mal may be caching ip address to username relations.
Right, here's how the Who's Online function works. Whenever a person opens a page, it's recorded by the board. The board is in contact with their computer, giving them that information. However, once they've loaded the page, the board is no longer in contact with them until they once again load a page or otherwise interact with the server. If the board literally only showed poeple online who were at that moment accessing a page, it would be a bit like roulette. There'd be no way to be sure that the members would be caught at that time. They might be reading a thread or making a post. So, what the Who's Online function actually displays are those who've interacted with the server in the last X minutes.
Yes. Therefore, another related thing occurs. I might open the boards at work, and then not be able to look at it for twenty minutes. Since, after a while, the site records no activity, it says I have dropped offline. However, I still have the page open. Also, that page will not update itself, so it will show whoever was online when I first logged in.