WordPress.org

1. RebeccaInMI
   Member
   Posted 5 months ago #

   I'm setting up WP for a friend so she can have her own blog site. When she publishes a new post she wants a tweet to be sent automatically, so I'm trying to get the plugin Simple Twitter Connect to work. I *think* I got the Twitter settings right and set up the plugin properly, but I am getting an error that says:

   RSS Error: WP HTTP Error: connect() timed out!

   What am I doing wrong? How do I fix that?

   Also, under Publish settings, when I click the "sign in with Twitter" link image for "Authenticate for auto-tweeting" I get stuck in a loop where I authorize the app and a seven-digit PIN is generated. I'm supposed to return to the blog and enter the code to complete the authorization process, but I can't find where I'm supposed to enter it.

2. Otto
   Tech Ninja
   Posted 5 months ago #

   If you get the PIN, then you haven't set up the Twitter App correctly.

   Go to https://dev.twitter.com/apps , pick your app, and then the Settings tab. Put the URL of your site in for the Callback URL. Also make sure you've set the app to "Read and Write", so it can post to twitter.

   If this RSS error you're talking about is happening on the settings page, in the right hand box area, then that's not really a critical problem. It just means that your installation of WordPress can't retrieve the RSS feed from http://status.twitter.com/, which it does in order to show you possible problems with the Twitter service. There's a lot of reasons this might be broken, but assuming the server can still talk to Twitter's servers, it won't affect the operation of the plugin.

3. RebeccaInMI
   Member
   Posted 5 months ago #

   I put the URL of the site in the Callback URL and then went through the authenticate process again. Now instead of getting the PIN I just end up at a blank screen after authorizing the app. Is that supposed to happen?

4. Otto
   Tech Ninja
   Posted 4 months ago #

   No, that "blank screen" should be a redirect to your site with the proper credentials.

   You may have some other plugin interfering, perhaps? Try disabling other plugins and/or using the default theme to see if something else is breaking it.

5. RebeccaInMI
   Member
   Posted 4 months ago #

   Unfortunately I still get the blank screen even when using the Twenty-Eleven theme and with all plugins except the Simple Twitter Connect ones deactivated. Thoughts?

6. Otto
   Tech Ninja
   Posted 4 months ago #

   Nope, no idea. It works for me, and that's about the best I can say. If you figure out what the deal is, let me know, but I'm at a loss.

7. OC2PS
   Member
   Posted 3 months ago #

   Double check your callback URL. Ensure you enter exactly as it is - with or without www. as the case may be.

   Good luck!

8. FPMSummer
   Member
   Posted 3 months ago #

   This is the same problem I've had every time I've tried to use Simple Twitter Connect. It still happens even with the newest version; STC has never worked for me, while SFC does work nicely. It's weird!

   Every time I try to authenticate to Twitter, I get a blank page that goes nowhere. It happens 100% of the time using both Firefox and on Safari, and I have yet to be able to get auto-tweeting of published items to work, nor can anyone leave comments by "Signing in with Twitter", I'm guessing because I can never verify the app request.

   What's worse is that several of the other Twitter plugins won't work on those sites because I'm already using Simple Facebook Connect, so I'm stuck with either dropping SFC and trying something else (not my first choice), or never being able to connect Twitter with this handful of sites automatically and either manually Tweeting everything, or setting up RSS feeds to tweet (not optimal).

   If there are any solutions or other options out there, I'd love to hear them. I'd hate to have to drop Simple Facebook Connect and look for another Facebook integration plugin just to get some sort of Twitter connectivity going on these sites that use both.

9. RebeccaInMI
   Member
   Posted 3 months ago #

   FPMSummer, we never could get it to work so we had no choice but to give up. We are now using Add Link to Facebook (by Marcel Bokhorst) and Auto Twitter (by Unreal Media) instead and they are working fine.

10. FPMSummer
    Member
    Posted 3 months ago #

    RebeccaInMI, with the Facebook changes in regards to too many posts per day possibly being flagged as spam, I don't really need auto-posting to Facebook, so SFC has fast become too much tool for my needs, in addition to the breaking other plugins conundrum.

    All I want is for posts to correctly auto-tweet without converting special characters into HTML numerical code, to be able to choose a URL shortener for the link back in the Tweet, and for people to be able to leave comments on the WP site using either the Facebook or Twitter or Google+ credentials if they choose to, and to have a Facebook Fan Box as a widget on the sidebar.

    WordTwit used to perfectly achieve the auto-tweeting I prefer. That plugin is broken now -- it still works on a couple of my sites where it had been running prior to any WP 3.0 upgrades, but it cannot be installed or configured on any new sites anymore. No one at Brave New Code seems to care about the free version of the plugin anymore, so once it breaks on the existing sites, it'll be time to replace that as well.

    Alas, Auto Twitter doesn't seem be to available for download anymore (or even exist in the repository), so my search for a reliable Twitter plugin continues as well.

    Searching through the Plugin repository for something functional for Facebook and Twitter is becoming a nightmare. I also wonder why any Facebook or Twitter plugin that hasn't been updated since 2010 aren't being removed for being dicey, to help declutter the selections and prevent people from wasting their time.

11. RebeccaInMI
    Member
    Posted 3 months ago #

    That's funny, we just added Auto Twitter! I could try to find the files in the directory, zip them up, and email them to you?

    Initially I wanted to find an all-in-one type solution for posting to FB and Twitter (and Google+ as well, but I wonder if that social media outlet is too new to have plugins for posting to it automatically anytime a new post is made on a WP blog... I couldn't find any). It seems that using a single plugin for each one individually is a better bet, however.

12. Otto
    Tech Ninja
    Posted 3 months ago #

    It's not possible to auto-post to Google+ yet, they don't have an API to allow you to do so.

    When such an API does exist, it will be added to Simple Google Connect. :)

13. FPMSummer
    Member
    Posted 3 months ago #

    I don't think an all-in-one solution is the way to go, and I'm not sure I'd want one... if one breaks, they'd all break!

    I think a "less is more" option is what I'm looking for. I'd be happy with one plugin each for FB, Twitter and Google+, that allows folks to leave comments on my WP sites with whichever service they prefer, and will allow me to automatically Tweet new articles.

    I don't need cross-posting with either FB or G+, and outside of wanting a widget that would show how many FB fans or how many are in my G+ circle, I don't have a need for the other extra bells and whistles.

    If STC was working, I'd be tempted to try SGC, but right now, let's just say I'm a little gunshy :)

14. RebeccaInMI
    Member
    Posted 3 months ago #

    It's not possible to auto-post to Google+ yet, they don't have an API to allow you to do so.

    That's what I figured. Too new.

15. Otto
    Tech Ninja
    Posted 3 months ago #

    STC does need some work to revamp it a bit and bring it up to par with SFC and SGC's methods. Haven't had the time recently.

16. FPMSummer
    Member
    Posted 3 months ago #

    I'm finding out it's not just STC. I've tried 3 other plugins that are supposed to work and allow folks to use Twitter credentials to leave comments, and they all do the same thing: return a blank page.

    I've even reset the Access Keys several times, to no avail. It's a complete mystery now.

    I've even deleted the app and created a new one with the same results. So now I'm completely confused, and I've seen comments on Twitter's developers forums about lots of apps returning blank pages instead of authorization pages, and that no one there can figure out why either.

17. inTOWN
    Member
    Posted 3 months ago #

    @OC2PS That did the trick for me: leaving at the www

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