Error "Contact Form Temporarily unavailable"

[kreyher]

I recently received just over 400 junk emails that were sent via the Joomla Contact form. I entered into the admin side and verified settings for my contact form. I then checked what options were available to prevent this from happening again so I headed over to Global Configuration, Mail Settings. I looked at the different options and made changes but returned them to the default settings (except for the From Email address).

Now, any time I try to login to the site I get the "Contact Form Temporarily unavailable" message. This message comes up on the Admin login as well as the public side login.

[brian]

that message does not exist in the core of joomla

[kreyher]

I have just a few extensions. BreezingForms, Jevents, JSmallfib, and a reset hits module.

[sozzled]

I [have some problems using the] the Joomla Contact form.

Now, any time I try to login to the site I get the "Contact Form Temporarily unavailable" message. This message comes up on the Admin login as well as the public side login.

As @brian wrote, there is no "Conatact form temporarily unavailable" message in the core CMS Joomla system. I can't locate the source of that message either.

I have just a few extensions. BreezingForms, Jevents, JSmallfib, and a "reset hits" module.

We may not be able to identify the source of the strange message that you're receiving if you don't give us sufficient information. Saying that you have "a few extensions" (and listing selection of them) doesn't really help. I suggest that you use the Forum Post Assistant tool (as other people use) and we may be able to target the source of this message better. Without that information, you're asking us to guess. I'm sorry but I don't know the answer to your question without better information from you.



I hope this helps.

[Per Yngve Berg]

Search the language files to see where it's located.

Extensions->Languages->Overrides

[mandville]

[cough cough]
https://www.jotform.com/answers/search. ... navailable perhaps?
post your FPA so we can see all your extensions

1343417_Screen Shot 2018-01-09 at 16.51.46.png

[kreyher]

Thank you for the ideas so far. I tried running the Forum Post assistant and when I clicked "click here to generate post" I received the "contact form temporarily unavailable" message.

I would like to provide other information regarding the site including a complete list of plugins. I am uncertain of the best way to do so.

[mandville]

I tried running the Forum Post assistant and when I clicked "click here to generate post" I received the "contact form temporarily unavailable" message.

running the FPA and clicking the generate button will NOT interact with your joomla, it is a stand alone script there fore it should not be generating any errors as you describe. any chance of a url?

[kreyher]

I tried running the Forum Post assistant and when I clicked "click here to generate post" I received the "contact form temporarily unavailable" message.

running the FPA and clicking the generate button will NOT interact with your joomla, it is a stand alone script there fore it should not be generating any errors as you describe. any chance of a url?

Sure. https://la-schools.com

[sozzled]

I cannot see a "contact form" at this URL.

We asked you to use the instructions for the Forum Post Assistant report tool. See viewtopic.php?f=714&t=793531

[kreyher]

As I stated in my original post (see quote) All you have to do is click login on the login form (bottom right). No username or password required to receive the message.

Now, any time I try to login to the site I get the "Contact Form Temporarily unavailable" message. This message comes up on the Admin login as well as the public side login.

I cannot see a "contact form" at this URL.

We asked you to use the instructions for the Forum Post Assistant report tool. See viewtopic.php?f=714&t=793531

And the tool gave the same message when I clicked to generate the post.

[sozzled]

As several of us have also said, we don't know where this "Contact Forum Temporarily Unavailable" text comes from. We've asked you to use the FPA tool and post the results of that tool here, on the forum, so that we can help you. I can't give you better advice than that, sorry.

[kreyher]

I wish you had read the rest of my post. The tool gave me the same message. I am at a loss on what to try next aside from erasing the site.

We've asked you to use the FPA tool and post the results of that tool here, on the forum, so that we can help you. I can't give you better advice than that, sorry.

And the tool gave the same message when I clicked to generate the post.

[mandville]

the only area i could get that message was when i pressed login button,
now, some odd things i notice
you are using SEF urls, https://la-schools.com/index.php/district-office/requests-for-proposal
i do see that you can access via a // eg index.php//district
i didnt want to test any of the other contact forms.
redo the module, check your configuration file for your live site
if you want to PM a link to your fpa on the site we can check if it wont post
sozzled and myself are respectable people to get your hidden url

[sozzled]

@kreyher, Let's clarify your story:

1) You downloaded the .ZIP file containing the FPA report generator, as instructed?
2) You extracted the file fpa-en.php from the .ZIP file and uploaded it to the webserver folder that contains your website (the same place where you will see the file configuration.php, for example), as instructed?
3) You then went to https://la-schools.com/fpa-en.php, as instructed, and instead of seeing

you saw "Contact form temporarily unavailable" (the "same message" as you described it), yes?

Yes, I read what you wrote. I'm mystified by what I read but I did read everything.

[brian]

I cannot see a "contact form" at this URL.

There are 4 categories of contact forms see this link for a shortcut to them all
https://la-schools.com/index.php?option=com_contact

Dont think that will help diagnosing though as the message is not coming from core joomla

[sozzled]

Brian is right. Anyone who knows anything about Joomla can locate a Joomla contact form (if a Joomla website uses them) if they enter the URL in the way that @brian described. Whether they can use the contact form, however, is a different matter.

I recently received just over 400 junk emails that were sent via the Joomla Contact form.

It's an occupational hazard of using contact forms. If the website doesn't require people to login before they can access the form, then the form can be used. If the form is used for sending junk mail then that's just the nature of things. It's also one reason why I'm very careful about using contact forms on any website that I build or manage.

Now, any time I try to login to the site I get the "Contact Form Temporarily unavailable" message. This message comes up on the Admin login as well as the public side login.

I suspect that this is unrelated the "junk mail" issue(s). Typically, if someone tries to login on a Joomla website and they don't enter a valid username or email address, people should be directed to a login page where they'll be asked to enter their correct username/password or they're be given the opportunity to be reminded of their forgotten username/password. The URL of the I-clicked-the-login-button-with-no-username-password page is <domain-name>/component/users/?view=login (or something like it if you use SEF URLs) or <domain-name>/index.php?option=com_users&view=login (if you do not use SEF URLs). Clicking the "login" link should not go somewhere that generates "contact form temporarily unavailable".

When you go to https://la-schools.com/index.php?option ... view=login there's no problem. Clicking the login button without entering the username doesn't go to a "contact form temporarily unavailable". The problem seems to be with the way that the login module has been configured (or that there's some other redirection in play). The FPA report may help.

Anyway, why would anyone try to login to the administrator site without entering a username/password? That doesn't make much sense to me.

[brian]

@sozzled I just showed that link to save typing in the 4 menu links to the contacts - they aren't hidden in anyway they are directly on the menu

[sozzled]

I must be blind, Brian, because I pressed CTRL-F on the site, searched for [the text] "contact form" and I can't see those links "directly on the menu". You're right that, if you know the link, it would save having four menu items (wherever they may be ... but I still can't see 'em). Doesn't matter; there are other issues involved here.

[kreyher]

that message does not exist in the core of joomla

I believe this was the most helpful after trying a plethora of other ways to determine where the problem actually was. I have since copied the entire site and database to another webserver and I do not get any errors. Some setting (or permission) on my host must be the issue. Thank you for your help.

[rkinney]

I am relatively new at this: But, I am having a similar or same problem.

The administrator login on my site (www.rkinney.com/administrator), when I attempt to login, gives me this same "Contact Form Temporarily unavailable" error. This means I cannot login to the administrative section and fix anything. I don't have any other contact forms. I'm running Joomla 3.8.10. I tried running the fpa-en.php script as well... and am getting "Error 500 - Internal Server Error" when doing so. Otherwise, the frontend of the site is running correctly. I would just like to be able to login to the backend.

Help?!

[leolam]

@Robert,
Can you please post the output of the FPA. viewtopic.php?f=714&t=793531 I can reproduce the issue (just try to login with admin/admin and the error pops up)

Leo

[rkinney]

@leolam

Thank you for responding. The FPA script does not seem to be working either. Or I am simply not understanding something... When I run it, I get:

Error 500 - Internal Server Error
An error was encountered while processing your request. Typically this is a temporary condition. Please contact the web site owner for further assistance.

[sozzled]

If you're getting a HTTP 500 Internal Server Error just by entering the FPA URL in your browser, then I suspect one of two things:

1) as @brian wrote earlier in this topic (in answer to a similar question), there's "a problem" with the way your website it hosted; or

2) you have modified some settings that are essential to what a Joomla website requires in order to operate.

Typically, but not exclusively, this could mean that you've changed a file like .htaccess (for example). One way to find out (if .htaccess is the cause of the problem) is to rename the file .htaccess to htaccess.old and then attempt to run the FPA again.

There could be other reasons.

[rkinney]

@sozzled,

Thank you for responding also. A few new important bits of info:

1. I tried changing the .htcaccess as you suggested. No change. Still error 500 when running the FPA.

2. I didn't change anything on the site. And in fact, it happened to 3 sites simultaneously. That is, I'm actually getting this 'Contact Form Temporarily unavailable' error on 3 sites. None of them have been modified in months. This leads me to believe that there is some problem with the hosting...

3. But the host (inmotionhosting.com) says they haven't changed anything. I've now tried running PHP 5.3 and PHP 7.0, and PHP 7.2. I have about 10 other sites on the same host... no problems with them.

So, I'm at a complete loss. Any help/advice at all is appreciate!

[rkinney]

@sozzled and @leolam,

Good news! The Host has gotten FPA working. They still have no idea why I'm getting the form error, but if you have insight, that would be so helpful! Thank you!

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[sozzled]

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings but the information you've posted in your last forum message is useless to us. Please read the instructions about how to generate the BBcode—it's just a copy-and-paste task—that we use to see the report. PDF documents are useless to us (as far as the FPA report is concerned).

Anyway, in view of the information that "the host has gotten FPA working", this suggests that the host may be reponsible (in part, at least) for why your website is not working. I don't know the answer. I'm just following @brian's lead on this—he knows everything (sometimes without having any facts)!—so I'm only a bystander.

[rkinney]

Thank you for your help. It looks like the .htaccess file has some bad code in it. No idea how that happened. And when I changed it before.... no idea why it didn't work. But I think it is fixed now.

So, thank you!

[Tiabo]

Hello rkinney,
searching for a solution, it seems to be that you had one.
what is exactly the issue at the .htaccess file?
and in which one?
regards

[dbateman2214]

Thank you for your help. It looks like the .htaccess file has some bad code in it. No idea how that happened. And when I changed it before.... no idea why it didn't work. But I think it is fixed now.

So, thank you!

Hello rkinney,

I also am having this issue and the site is hosted by the same company (InMotion) Can you tell me what you fixed in the .htaccess file?

Thanks!