Cannot connect to self over HTTP – possible DNS resolution issue.

If you can, test cURL yourself. Also try to connect from your server to your server by cURL. If works, ask hosting admins, show him “server scanner”, phpinfo output and your results. There can be a settings in server’s firewall. Well, if not works, do same, cURL must be fixed.

Hi
I spent a lot of time wiht my hosting company trying to resolve this.

I have no idea what you mean by:

If you can, test cURL yourself.

But the hosting company support confirmed:

1) I can connect to my own server
2) There are no firewall settings blocking me

This is hostgator btw

Please see next post for my chat with them abiout this issue:

7:52:07 PM
Joseph
This is the situation:
7:52:18 PM
Joseph
I am running a WordPress site
7:52:28 PM
Joseph
I want to use a membership plugin
7:52:54 PM
Joseph
It has a php program that I can run to test the server to see if it is compatable
7:53:02 PM
Joseph
Here are the results:
7:53:19 PM
Joseph
Cannot connect to self over HTTP - possible DNS resolution issue.
Can't connect to: https://[website].net

In order to run s2Member, your installation of PHP needs one of the following...
?￠???￠ Either the cURL extension for remote communication via PHP (plus the OpenSSL extension for PHP).
?￠???￠ Or, set: allow_url_fopen = on in your php.ini file (and enable the OpenSSL extension for PHP).
7:53:32 PM
Joseph
The above is the result of the test
7:53:46 PM
Joseph
I ran phpinfo() on my server and got this:
7:54:01 PM
Joseph
curl
cURL support enabled
cURL Information 7.19.7
Age 3
Features
AsynchDNS No
Debug No
GSS-Negotiate Yes
IDN Yes
IPv6 Yes
Largefile Yes
NTLM Yes
SPNEGO No
SSL Yes
SSPI No
krb4 No
libz Yes
CharConv No
Protocols tftp, ftp, telnet, dict, ldap, ldaps, http, file, https, ftps, scp, sftp
Host x86_64-redhat-linux-gnu
SSL Version NSS/3.19.1 Basic ECC
ZLib Version 1.2.3
libSSH Version libssh2/1.4.2
7:54:14 PM
Joseph
OpenSSL support enabled
OpenSSL Library Version OpenSSL 1.0.1e-fips 11 Feb 2013
OpenSSL Header Version OpenSSL 1.0.1e-fips 11 Feb 2013
7:54:26 PM
Joseph
Also:

allow_url_fopen On On
7:54:56 PM
Joseph
So according to phpinfo my site seems to be meeting the requirements of s2Member.
7:55:18 PM
Joseph
s2Member
7:55:20 PM
Joseph
If you can, test cURL yourself. Also try to connect from your server to your server by cURL. If works, ask hosting admins, show him "server scanner", phpinfo output and your results. There can be a settings in server's firewall. Well, if not works, do same, cURL must be fixed.
7:55:24 PM
Support rep
Yes you may need to check something else, do you get a 403 error?
7:55:30 PM
Support rep
Curl appears to work fine on your server.
7:55:37 PM
Joseph
The above is what the plugin develop told me to do
7:55:42 PM
Joseph
But I do not know how to do it
7:55:55 PM
Joseph
Could you help me please?
7:56:01 PM
Joseph
When the developer says:
7:56:13 PM
Joseph
If you can, test cURL yourself. Also try to connect from your server to your server by cURL
7:56:21 PM
Joseph
I have no idea what to do
7:56:29 PM
Support rep
Okay, I have ssh'd in and tested curl, here is the output.
7:56:35 PM
Joseph
and
7:56:41 PM
Joseph
If works, ask hosting admins, show him "server scanner", phpinfo output and your results. There can be a settings in server's firewall. Well, if not works, do same, cURL must be fixed.
7:57:06 PM
Support rep
curl -I www.google.com
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Mon, 05 Oct 2015 23:56:40 GMT
Expires: -1
Cache-Control: private, max-age=0
Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1
P3P: CP="This is not a P3P policy! See https://www.google.com/support/accounts/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=151657 for more info."
Server: gws
X-XSS-Protection: 1; mode=block
X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN
Set-Cookie: PREF=ID=1111111111111111:FF=0:TM=1444089400:LM=1444089400:V=1:S=-APM6t9NZ0auiKNC; expires=Thu, 31-Dec-2015 16:02:17 GMT; path=/; domain=.google.com
Set-Cookie: NID=72=TAZN9koaw_J-AeeOuDdjjDawCO4HDAxOT0vVEi2RstkjIZD8SzNMen5i7EaQ-WO9fv1KP-24ENkFOUYoMsNB6PaGP0Xj6kTMVFRnTzEe6ko_UOagHAcJF9rNPNhQuyfoUabxaamz5EQMkJjppOCKhL_t7CMrdKYi; expires=Tue, 05-Apr-2016 23:56:40 GMT; path=/; domain=.google.com; HttpOnly
Transfer-Encoding: chunked
Accept-Ranges: none
Vary: Accept-Encoding
7:57:21 PM
Support rep
This was done from shell in your account.
7:57:26 PM
Joseph
Thanks
7:57:42 PM
Joseph
But I am not at a technical level to understand the results
7:57:51 PM
Support rep
I would think it could be being blocked by Mod_Sec do you see any kind of error message when trying to run it?
7:57:53 PM
Joseph
Could you explain further?
7:58:08 PM
Joseph
When trying to run Mod_sec?
7:58:23 PM
Joseph
I don't know what that is nor how to run it :(
7:58:46 PM
Support rep
Mod_Sec is on the server, certain programs get blocked by if they try to be requests outside of the server.
7:58:58 PM
Support rep
When trying to run your plugin do you get an error message?
7:59:01 PM
Support rep
Or a 403 error?
7:59:02 PM
Joseph
ok
7:59:10 PM
Joseph
No
7:59:15 PM
Joseph
I have not run the plugin as yet
7:59:38 PM
Support rep
Try running it, if it gives you an error, I may be able to find it and whitelist it for you, if that is the cause.
7:59:45 PM
Joseph
Just this "server scanner" php code which is scans the server and sees if it has the requirements for the plugin
8:00:02 PM
Joseph
I will give you the link to the page that runs the code if that helps
8:00:05 PM
Joseph
brb
8:01:22 PM
Joseph
THis is the url that runs the php code that checks the server
8:01:24 PM
Joseph
https://[website].net/sitetest/s2-server-scanner.php
8:03:15 PM
Support rep
a?￠ Or, set: allow_url_fopen = on in your php.ini file (and enable the OpenSSL extension for PHP).
8:03:22 PM
Support rep
I believe thats what you need to do at the end.
8:03:32 PM
Support rep
You said you did: set: allow_url_fopen = on in your php.ini file
8:03:45 PM
Support rep
But did you also enable the OpenSSL extension for PHP ?
8:03:53 PM
Support rep
It's already installed for you to use.
8:04:02 PM
Joseph
Yes I have that set
8:04:24 PM
Joseph
I embedeed phpinfo at this url to confirm all the requirements are already set:
8:04:24 PM
Joseph
I embedeed phpinfo at this url to confirm all the requirements are already set:
8:05:00 PM
Joseph
https://[website].net/sitetest/my-phpinfo-page/
8:05:42 PM
Joseph
Like you said, I have curl, openssl enabled and allow_url_fopen = on
8:05:52 PM
Joseph
But the plugin developer is saying this:
8:06:22 PM
Joseph
Also try to connect from your server to your server by cURL.
8:06:32 PM
Joseph
Could you try that? I have no idea what that means
8:06:36 PM
Joseph
AND he says:
8:06:47 PM
Joseph
There can be a settings in server's firewall.
8:06:57 PM
Joseph
Could you check into that?
8:07:00 PM
Support rep
Hmm okay, yeah which would be Mod_Sec.
8:09:22 PM
Support rep
curl -I 192.185.4.19/~[website]/
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Tue, 06 Oct 2015 00:09:03 GMT
Server: Apache
Last-Modified: Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:32:58 GMT
Accept-Ranges: bytes
Content-Length: 20
Content-Type: text/html
8:09:38 PM
Support rep
Not sure if that's what he meant, but that seems to be working.
8:10:25 PM
Joseph
Fair enough, he is not being clear what he meant and I am sorry I cant provide more info
8:11:02 PM
Joseph
So it looks like that is the test to see if the server can talk to itself, as he refers to it? And this is ok I think?
8:19:38 PM
Support rep
Hmm have you tried actually installing the plugin yet?
8:19:45 PM
Support rep
It may just be a false positive.
8:20:07 PM
Joseph
Hi
8:20:11 PM
Joseph
I just reloaded
8:20:12 PM
Joseph
https://[website].net/sitetest/s2-server-scanner.php
8:20:19 PM
Joseph
And it is still giving me:
8:20:35 PM
Joseph
Error[ERROR] cURL Extension / Or fopen() URL
One or more HTTP connection tests failed against localhost.
Cannot connect to self over HTTP ?￠???? possible DNS resolution issue.
Can't connect to: https://[website].net

In order to run s2Member, your installation of PHP needs one of the following...
?￠???￠ Either the cURL extension for remote communication via PHP (plus the OpenSSL extension for PHP).
?￠???￠ Or, set: allow_url_fopen = on in your php.ini file (and enable the OpenSSL extension for PHP).
Please consult with your web hosting company about this message. See also: WordPress recommended hosting platforms.
8:20:44 PM
Support rep
Can't connect to: https://[website].net
8:20:53 PM
Support rep
curl -I https://[website].net
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Tue, 06 Oct 2015 00:20:29 GMT
Server: Apache
Last-Modified: Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:32:58 GMT
Accept-Ranges: bytes
Content-Length: 20
Content-Type: text/html
8:20:58 PM
Joseph
I am told by the plugin developer that I must fix this issue 1st
8:21:25 PM
Support rep
So that is actually the installer?
8:21:26 PM
Joseph
When you say:
8:21:28 PM
Joseph
Can't connect to: https://[website].net
8:21:44 PM
Support rep
I'm just repeating the error from:
Cannot connect to self over HTTP ?￠???? possible DNS resolution issue.
Can't connect to: https://[website].net
8:21:47 PM
Joseph
And you copy the results:
8:21:49 PM
Joseph
curl -I https://[website].net
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
8:22:01 PM
Support rep
Yes showing that curl can connect.
8:22:05 PM
Joseph
To me the OK means that it is OK - that it CAN connect
8:22:25 PM
Support rep
And you have your php.ini set with the required settings enabled.
8:22:30 PM
Joseph
Ok thank you for clarifying and checking and testing that
8:22:32 PM
Support rep
That is correct.
8:22:36 PM
Joseph
Yes I do
8:22:44 PM
Joseph
In that case, could it be:
8:23:04 PM
Joseph
The dev says:
8:23:05 PM
Joseph
There can be a settings in server's firewall.
8:23:15 PM
Joseph
You said that may be mod_sec?
8:23:23 PM
Joseph
Is that something you could check further?
8:24:03 PM
Support rep
Yes I've checked it, your are not hitting any mod_sec rules.
8:24:14 PM
Joseph
Ok thank you so much for doing all that
8:24:36 PM
Support rep
Not a problem!
8:24:38 PM
Joseph

In that case I think I need to go back to the dev and tell him your results and help and see what he can do

Yes, also tell him it may be a false positive, and if there is a way to override the error to see if it will continue with installation.

Please note the hosting co says:

Yes, also tell him it may be a false positive, and if there is a way to override the error to see if it will continue with installation.

I would create a short script to test the cURL from exactly directories, as .htaccess (and Apache config generally) can change preferences by directory.

I have no idea what that means ??

I would create a short script to test the cURL from exactly directories, as .htaccess (and Apache config generally) can change preferences by directory.

Short? Script? What kind of script? PHP? To do what? I have no idea what CURL is nor how to test it. “Exaclty directories” – not sure what that means either… which directories? Preferences? What preferences?

You have not defined anything that you are talking about.

You are presuming that I know all about your plugin, cURL, what the plugin does, what directories to use, that when you tell me this that I should know all about what exactly you mean. Like I have years of experience of coding your plugin.

Sorry I dont usually make negative remarks, but in this case i will make an exception – your response is not near anything that would be acceptable to a basic user of your plugin.

You are presuming that I know all about your plugin

Sorry I dont usually make negative remarks, but in this case i will make an exception – your response is not near anything that would be acceptable to a basic user of your plugin.

Sorry, wpfan1000, that’s just unacceptable. s2Member is not krumch’s plugin. Nor is it mine. It is you who presumes far too much. This is a community forum, where mere users of the plugin seek to help other users.

If you don’t understand what someone else writes, just say so and wait for them to respond when they have time.

Hi,

If you look at the reviews of this plugin, it is ripe with people who are saying that the support for the plugin is say, less than stellar.

Terrible Support — not worth hassle — find alternative
By Loz702, September 16, 2015 for WP 4.3.1

Good plugin let down by dreadful documentation and support
By jeremy2805, July 29, 2015 for WP 4.2.3

It is partially due to attitudes of people like you who believe a) That people other than the plugin devs should be providing support,
b) That anyone can post anything in terms of support, even these very cryptic and presumptuous and completely unhelpful posts, like krumch’s.

Your post assumes that any support is good support, and that just aint so.

Your statement ignores the idea that there is such a thing as quality support. Maybe you should start considering that.

Quality support is support that is helpful, succinct, understandable, not cryptic, and more. Something that helps, not hinders. Something where the time is taken to resolve the issue, not try and figure out what is being meant.

Just because someone is volunteering to support a plugin, which should be done by the devs, does not mean the support is valuable or well done or should be accepted even if it is poor quality.

It seems maybe the devs have an arrangement with some users like you for the devs not to provide support, and for non-devs to do it – I would suggest the devs rethink that policy.

Take a look at my support posts in the WP support forum – I would never leave such a cryptic, unhelpful post.

This whole attitude of anyone can leave support, and if a support post is cryptic, unhelpful, puzzling, and of very poor quality, but a user better accept it and if they mention that it is poor quality, they will be told off, is totally unacceptable.

This “support” as you call it is a total waste of my time in that 1) I had already spent an hour + on it talking to my hosting company – who was helpful and polite btw – 2) It is bringing me no closer to a solution 3) It is taking my time to have to try and decode very poor support posts 4) Having to respond to your post etc.

@ devs of this plugin – 1) How is that working for you? Do you think this approach will get you more or less customers? 2) Do you think that giving poor support in the forums of your free plugin, done by non-devs it seems, will give users a good impression of you, your plugin, support for your paid plugin, or the opposite?

Based on your post, the other posts in this issue, the reviews mentioned above, as well as

What a nightmare!!
By qtp tutorial, July 22, 2015 for WP 4.2.2

We have been having issues since the beginning with this plugin.

Is a good plugin – But forget the support
By creativesousa, June 9, 2015 for WP 4.2.2

Shocking, Goes against the whole ethos of WordPress
By Cheets_UK, May 28, 2015 for WP 4.2.2

and more (These are examples in just the last few months) I am abandoning consideration of this plugin and its paid version. Good luck with it.

I will also be leaving a review shortly.

@wpfan1000: I can feel your fear. But will anger fix your problem? If you can’t understand how to drive a car, is this mean that the car is broken?

I find two ways in the case I don’t know/understand something: I find someone, who knows/understands, or (my preferred) I learn myself.

This plugin looks like a pocket knife, but it is a power tool. If you know to handle it, you can do almost anything.

@krumch, Are you associated with this plugin?

@andrew: Yes, as user, both on my and my client’s sites. Also I develop tools to it. But I am not in the plugin’s team, nor contact them out of this forum.

@krumch –

@wpfan1000: I can feel your fear. But will anger fix your problem? If you can’t understand how to drive a car, is this mean that the car is broken?

The quotation is not analogous. I don’t understand how to use this plugin but I have not said it is broken.

I find two ways in the case I don’t know/understand something: I find someone, who knows/understands, or (my preferred) I learn myself.

Incomplete. If you find someone, you need to not only find someone who understands, but who can explain things and support you in a beneficial, quality manner.

It would be beneficial to others from now on if you thought not only about responding about this plugin, but the quality of your responses.

Unsubscribing

@wpfan1000,

It is partially due to attitudes of people like you who believe a) That people other than the plugin devs should be providing support

The plugin is open-source. This is a community forum. This is what such forums are for.

It would be beneficial to others from now on if you thought not only about responding about this plugin, but the quality of your responses.

Obviously, you have not looked through krumch’s responses in this forum. He is a highly valued member, who has helped many of us in the past and, despite your remarks, will (I hope) continue to do so in future.

Ok, well, I am sorry this got out of hand.

I do recognize that krumch does provide great support with the plugin with many other people.

I just have spent hours on trying to solve this issue with my hosting company, and trying many different things. My client who this is for, is on my back to get this resolved. I am losing money in this project and feel like I am getting no where in getting this resolved.

I just started to feel very frustrated. I am sorry if my remarks were inappropriate.