Members being registered as free subscribers

I’m not sure where my thread went, so I’m starting a new one. Basically, I’m having a problem where a user occassionally gets registered as a free subscriber instead of a paying member (and then they can’t access what they’ve paid for). You determined that my coding looked correct and that my log files were ok. This was your final response:

Thanks for the heads up on this request for support.

I’ve seen this reported in the past, and it seems to be related to MySQL query failures. It happens VERY rarely, but when it does happen, it really hurts. The customer is left out in the cold, with nothing to show for their purchase. Due to the way WordPress handles user creation, it’s quite difficult for s2Member to catch certain types of query failures. Therefore, in this rare scenario, s2Member proceeds normally, not realizing the server has actually failed to complete a query; originally put forth by inner routines in the WordPress core.

MySQL query failures can happen as a result of server load, or mis-configuration. I would start by taking a look at your MySQL server logs. Please take a VERY close look at the number of failed queries. If your hosting provider makes phpMyAdmin available to you, take a look under: Status -> Connections -> Failed attempts

My hope is that WordPress 3.4 will resolve this matter once and for all. Until that’s released, boosting server performance may further reduce the likelihood of this occurrence.

When I looked at my query failures, there were over a thousand for the past 6 months. I don’t know where to begin looking for a solution. Do I work with my host to increase memory or something (I’m on a VPS and my site is relatively small)? OR, is there a way I can have an email sent to me when someone is registered as a free subscriber? Or some kind of hack that would automatically upgrade them to the role they are supposed to have? It happens a few times a week…

Hi Lisa.

It’d be best to contact your hosting service to help you work out the queries problem.

I hope they help you sort it out quick. :)