502 error

User

Posted 08 Sep 2025 at 17:17

Hi all,

Please accept my apologies for the ongoing intermittent 502 error we are experiencing on the community. Our developers are actively working on fixing this issue but it is proving to be complex and difficult to resolve.

I understand and appreciate all your frustrations as I too use the site every day like many of you.

I will keep you updated on our work to resolve the issue and thank you all for your patience and understanding.

Best wishes,

Carol
Digital Manager

Prostate Cancer UK

User

Posted 02 Oct 2025 at 18:31

Cheers, Patrick.

On behalf of the Community, I'll send her an email.

Edited by member 02 Oct 2025 at 18:55 | Reason: Typo

User

Posted 02 Oct 2025 at 22:22

I have already sent messages to her and the chair of the trustees a few days ago, but please do.

Thanks Chris

Edited by member 03 Oct 2025 at 07:47 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 08 Sep 2025 at 19:21

Carol , you gave me the same reply 3 months ago. I have emailed the chair of the trustees and don't be surprised if you get embarrassing questions from elsewhere.

I don't care if you decide to kick me of the forum, it will save me leaving, as someone posted the other day they don't come on here very often because of the technical issues.

Thanks Chris

User

Posted 29 Sep 2025 at 00:23

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

Hi all,

I understand and appreciate all your frustrations as I too use the site every day like many of you.

I will keep you updated on our work to resolve the issue and thank you all for your patience and understanding.

Best wishes,

Carol
Digital Manager

Prostate Cancer UK

Hi Carol,

Three weeks have passed since you posted this and our intermittent 502 visitor, now appears to have taken permanent residence and brought a friend, 503 with it.

Using this site is now like wading through treacle. The problem has been going on for months. Are we making any progress in evicting the troublesome tenants?

I'm quite understanding, but the fault and time it's taking to eradicate it, would try the patience of a saint.

Like a lot of others on here, I work hard to try and help and support folk. However, the tools for the job have become so poor, I'm considering withdrawing my labour. I'm pretty sure a lot already have.

Edited by member 29 Sep 2025 at 12:39 | Reason: Additional text

User

Posted 21 Sep 2025 at 20:41

Stay on your soap box Jim and I'll get you a megaphone.

Someone, somewhere needs to listen

Edited by member 21 Sep 2025 at 20:43 | Reason: Typo

User

Posted 21 Sep 2025 at 19:58

Software developer myself. Some of these issues can be pretty difficult to diagnose and fix Even when you have done that you need to test to ensure that the fix does not brake anything else before final release to production 'live'

Having said all that this issue as Chris correctly points out has been going on for some time, I think that community updates would perhaps be helpful as to the current status of the investigation.

I have said this before, this underlying forum engine is very out of date. Its look and feel may well have been designed by members on here, however it feels old and clunky. The level of customisation built on top of the original software is likely half of the problem. However the software and of course the developers are costly. I guess it's a case of where do you want to spend the funds that PCa has? Although I would strongly support a refresh and the purchase of more standard off the shelf software, with only minor customisation which would likely lead to lower costs in the medium term.

I will get off my soap box now.

User

Posted 21 Sep 2025 at 20:46

Jim , get back on your soap box , in a message to me carol said she would keep us updated. Carol provided a great service to this forum for many years, not sure what has gone wrong.

Thanks Chris

User

Posted 29 Sep 2025 at 00:54

Well said mate , I spend more time looking at error 502 than I do looking at posts , this forum is going to lose some valued members like yourself if it isn’t resolved , I personally am pretty new to this club that I wasn’t happy about joining but have had some good help off people who are or were in a similar boat to me , I now have some experience that I can hopefully help others with but I’m at the stage now where I really can’t be bothered to keep navigating the 502 issue and will call it a day on here before long

User

Posted 01 Oct 2025 at 11:49

I just wonder how many people are being put off and therefore being seriously impacted by this issue. I know I am using the site less and less, with a number of my attempted posts being lost, and sometimes I cannot even access a post even after several attempts, it is so frustrating. This is a very serious problem, because the site is an invaluable resource for many people who want to use it to discuss and research their own very serious and worrying health concerns. Unfortunately, for all Users this site has become almost unworkable and in effect currently largely unavailable.

In my old world in IT, in everywhere I've worked, I am sure that this scenario would have been managed as a Major Problem with the appropriate high priority focus and urgency.

Disappointed,

Spongebob

User

Posted 02 Oct 2025 at 17:34

Agree with all the above, this site should support so many of you lovely lads, but sadly it doesn’t. I’m no tech but even I know it ain’t working right.
This charity is there to support men with PCa and enable them to support each other, it’s sadly failing men with this disease.
I cannot believe there is no solution in this day & age, I won’t rant, but come on get it sorted.
Leila

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User

Posted 08 Sep 2025 at 19:21

Carol , you gave me the same reply 3 months ago. I have emailed the chair of the trustees and don't be surprised if you get embarrassing questions from elsewhere.

I don't care if you decide to kick me of the forum, it will save me leaving, as someone posted the other day they don't come on here very often because of the technical issues.

Thanks Chris

User

Posted 08 Sep 2025 at 20:16

That would be a real shame Chris as your support to others goes above and beyond and this forum would be a poorer place without you

I made a thread about it. A few days ago as I wasn’t sure if if everyone was experiencing the same to the degree that I am but it seems so , it can be so frustrating especially if you have written a lengthy post and it gets lost

User

Posted 08 Sep 2025 at 21:41

Hi Carol,

Like Chris and others I am very frustrated as the site is sadly lacking, and a poor advert for the charity. A lots of these lads get a lot of support here, and for them to have to battle with the site inconsistencies of the poor technology along with the other difficulties they are living with is on my opinion a poor show. In this day and age.
If this charity is to offer this site then it should ensure it works correctly.
My husband doesn’t use it, but asks me what’s going on and my feedback is now negative.

Come on PCa UK get it together!

Carol this is not personal to you, I’m sure you are feeling similar frustrations too.

Leila

User

Posted 21 Sep 2025 at 18:29

I've just joined today but I am also getting the 502 error. Site feels very slow and buggy.

Having to refresh some pages to eventually get them to load but is obviously off-putting for a new user (or any user) specially given the circumstances most are in.

User

Posted 21 Sep 2025 at 19:58

Having said all that this issue as Chris correctly points out has been going on for some time, I think that community updates would perhaps be helpful as to the current status of the investigation.

I will get off my soap box now.

User

Posted 21 Sep 2025 at 20:41

Stay on your soap box Jim and I'll get you a megaphone.

Someone, somewhere needs to listen

Edited by member 21 Sep 2025 at 20:43 | Reason: Typo

User

Posted 21 Sep 2025 at 20:46

Jim , get back on your soap box , in a message to me carol said she would keep us updated. Carol provided a great service to this forum for many years, not sure what has gone wrong.

Thanks Chris

User

Posted 22 Sep 2025 at 00:44

I joined in 2008 when we had a platform that I and other members found worked OK. However, the Charity decided they wanted a new platform that would serve a wider group. This is the present one which had numerous bugs. These were gradually sorted out and worked reasonably well eventually, but there were still some problems years later. and now the 502 error. This Charity is involved with research projects and I wonder how much credence potential investors might have in a charity that can't even provide a reliable forum for men who need support. and are directed to it. A new platform is needed and PDQ. What is in the offing?

Barry

User

Posted 22 Sep 2025 at 11:42

I do appreciate the difficulty in trying to fault find and fix software issues on a live forum. This forum becomes such a vital resource (and it is only going to have more demand in the foreseeable future ) so it is almost impossible to contemplate it it going off line for any significant period for long term maintenance/repair - so it remains - sort of working - intermittently it seems.

There are off the shelf platforms which have good technical support because of their wider use (even free or paid for) so the main cost is hosting and ensuring security protections or backups.

The other alternative is to build a new platform alongside and gradually migrate users over to the new - but that all takes time, money, testing and considerable trial and error.

Edited by member 22 Sep 2025 at 11:48 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 22 Sep 2025 at 14:09

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

This Charity is involved with research projects and I wonder how much credence potential investors might have in a charity that can't even provide a reliable forum for men who need support. and are directed to it.

I totally agree, these continuing technical issues are making the forum virtually unworkable. It reflects poorly on PCUK. I know that there are cost considerations, but people using the forum help generate funds. Many buy PCUK merchandise and sponsor other forum users, raising funds for the charity.

User

Posted 22 Sep 2025 at 14:14

Ironically I just got the email notification of a new post to this thread , by yourself, Adrian
and guess what? When I clicked the link in the email to be taken to your post in this thread
it instead went to the 502 error page.
Had to refresh to read, then post this.

Edited by member 22 Sep 2025 at 14:15 | Reason: added words

User

Posted 29 Sep 2025 at 00:23

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

Hi all,

I understand and appreciate all your frustrations as I too use the site every day like many of you.

I will keep you updated on our work to resolve the issue and thank you all for your patience and understanding.

Best wishes,

Carol
Digital Manager

Prostate Cancer UK

Hi Carol,

Three weeks have passed since you posted this and our intermittent 502 visitor, now appears to have taken permanent residence and brought a friend, 503 with it.

Using this site is now like wading through treacle. The problem has been going on for months. Are we making any progress in evicting the troublesome tenants?

I'm quite understanding, but the fault and time it's taking to eradicate it, would try the patience of a saint.

Edited by member 29 Sep 2025 at 12:39 | Reason: Additional text

User

Posted 29 Sep 2025 at 00:54

User

Posted 01 Oct 2025 at 11:49

In my old world in IT, in everywhere I've worked, I am sure that this scenario would have been managed as a Major Problem with the appropriate high priority focus and urgency.

Disappointed,

Spongebob

User

Posted 01 Oct 2025 at 13:26

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

this site has become almost unworkable and in effect currently largely unavailable.

It is as dysfunctional as my post-op penis. 😞

User

Posted 01 Oct 2025 at 14:16

Probably the CEO is too busy, spending her reported salary of £90k+ to bother about the people she should be helping.

Thanks Chris

User

Posted 02 Oct 2025 at 17:34

User

Posted 02 Oct 2025 at 18:11

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

Probably the CEO is too busy, spending her reported salary of £90k+ to bother about the people she should be helping.

To be fair to Laura Kerby, she probably isn't even aware of the forum fault. I searched for an email address for her, so I could bring the problem to her attention, but I couldn't find one.

User

Posted 02 Oct 2025 at 18:27

There's one on this page - it's mostly connected with safeguarding but looks like her general contact-

https://prostatecanceruk.org/about-us/policies/whistleblowing/

Chief Executive
Laura Kerby
Laura.Kerby@Prostatecanceruk.org
020 3310 7215

Edited by member 02 Oct 2025 at 18:28 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 02 Oct 2025 at 18:31

Cheers, Patrick.

On behalf of the Community, I'll send her an email.

Edited by member 02 Oct 2025 at 18:55 | Reason: Typo

User

Posted 02 Oct 2025 at 22:22

I have already sent messages to her and the chair of the trustees a few days ago, but please do.

Thanks Chris

Edited by member 03 Oct 2025 at 07:47 | Reason: Not specified

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