Unfurling links not reliable

C

ClubMan

Registered User
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One annoying quirk that I've noticed lately (on mobile - I don't know if it happens on desktop too) ... when drafting a post containing a link the preview may show the unfurled link but when the post is submitted the link sometimes appears as a non unfurled link that can be clicked or sometimes just as text and not even as a clickable link. Then if I edit the post and post it again without making any changes the link might appear correctly as an unfurled link. Sometimes it can take several attempts to get the link to appear properly as an unfurled link. This is not the same as the fact that some links never appear as unfurled links or some not being clickable.

Test - of unfurling- copy

Flahavans etc roll and steam their oats : https://www.flahavans.ie/inside-flahavans/our-oats/ Most food is processed. It helps make it safer, convenient and last longer. Ultra-processed food in excess can be an issue, but everything in moderation!
www.askaboutmoney.com

Why are some links not clickable?

https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/ireland-edges-into-top-10-global-tax-haven-ranking-2024-10-01 Ireland edges into top 10 global tax haven ranking DUBLIN, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Ireland has leapfrogged the Bahamas to become the world's ninth most significant tax haven, according to a ranking...
www.askaboutmoney.com
It's a bit difficult to describe and to reproduce as it seems like random behaviour. Anybody else notice this sort of behaviour? Similar behaviour is mentioned here:

Why are some links not clickable?

https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/ireland-edges-into-top-10-global-tax-haven-ranking-2024-10-01 Ireland edges into top 10 global tax haven ranking DUBLIN, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Ireland has leapfrogged the Bahamas to become the world's ninth most significant tax haven, according to a ranking...
www.askaboutmoney.com
 
Yes, it's happening in this post, on a Windows laptop:

The Times - "Regulator to up scrutiny of personal pensions"

https://www.thetimes.com/world/ireland-world/article/regulator-to-up-scrutiny-of-personal-pensions-375g8jwbh Regulator to up scrutiny of personal pensions Brendan Kennedy, the Pensions Authority chief, says personal retirement savings accounts are a key focus after rapid growth in funds The...
www.askaboutmoney.com
 
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Yes and it has re-occurred here with a few links, which having corrected themselves, have now gone "bad" again and display simply as plain text. e.g.

CCPC - (Competition and Consumer Protection Commission)

EIIS - https://www.neh.gov.ie/business-supports/employment-investment-incentive (Employment Investment Incentive Scheme)

FSPO - https://www.fspo.ie (Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman)

No difference that I can find whether on macOS or iPadOS, using Safari, Chrome and FireFox.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
mathepac said:
CCPC - https://www.ccpc.ie (Competition and Consumer Protection Commission)

EIIS - https://www.neh.gov.ie/business-supports/employment-investment-incentive (Employment Investment Incentive Scheme)

FSPO - https://www.fspo.ie (Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman)
Click to expand...
What happens when I quote them?
Do they become clickable?

Edit: no but they are clickable in the preview when I look at it.

1000021697.webp
 
Could there be something happening server side (i.e. at the Askaboutmoney.com XenForo end) that is unreliable? E.g. it checks links to see if they're navigable (and, optionally, unfurlable) and if they are then it renders them accordingly. But maybe sometimes this fails and links that should be clickable appear as regular text instead, or links that should be unfurlable are presented as ordinary links?
 
ClubMan said:
Edit: no but they are clickable in the preview when I look at it.
Click to expand...
I hadn't thought of testing that but it happens for me too. It really is a strange one.
[EDIT] but they immediately lose their formatting and clickability on re-posting.
 
Does anybody get this behaviour on a desktop as opposed to mobile? I'm assuming that it should happen in both cases if it's a server side issue...
 
Test...

Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit

Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit (JPRB) is a payment based on your earnings from work before you became unemployed. It is available from 31 March 2025.
www.citizensinformation.ie www.citizensinformation.ie
First time I preview the draft post the link appears like this...
1000021698.webp

Second time I preview it I get the same result.
Third time ... Same.
So I'll submit the post now...

Edit: the post shows the link as clickable but not unfurled. What happens if I edit and repost... Now the preview unfurls the link!
1000021699.webp

Let's post again...
 
mathepac said:
I haven't tested on iPhone
Click to expand...
Sorry, I missed that. So it's happening on the desktop for you.
So it's probably not related to the client side nature of the website - i.e. mobile versus desktop view.
Or if it is then it's perhaps related to the client side scripting in the HTML that deals with links?
 
ChatGPT for what it's worth...

You said:​

Can you find anything relating to the XenForo bulletin board platform being unreliable in how it deals with links in posts -. E.g. sometimes they're rendered correctly as unfurled preview links, sometimes as raw URLs that can be clicked to navigate, and sometimes as raw text that are not clickable/navigable. This behaviour seems to vary randomly in the preview post view as well as when the post is actually submitted.

ChatGPT said:​

Yes — there are documented reports from XenForo users and on the official XenForo forums that describe inconsistent behavior with how links are rendered, linked, and “unfurled” (rich previews) — exactly like what you’re seeing (sometimes rich previews, sometimes plain clickable links, sometimes just text). Here’s what’s been reported and what seems to cause it:

1. Rich preview (“unfurl”) behavior is conditional​

XenForo’s unfurl feature doesn’t always turn a URL into a rich preview (with title/description). Whether it does depends on a bunch of factors — and that leads to inconsistent outcomes where you may see just a raw URL or a “normal” clickable link instead of a preview.

For example:

  • If the link is on its own line, XenForo typically will attempt unfurling.
  • But if metadata can’t be fetched — e.g., the target site blocks requests, returns errors, or the payload is too large — unfurling simply fails and only a normal link appears.

2. Unfurl can​

Users report that even on the same forum version, some URLs unfurl and others don’t — even if they’re all just plain links to existing threads. One discussion notes links in a list where only some unfurl and others remain plain links without a clear pattern.

Reasons discussed by community members include:

  • Server limits on how many URLs are unfurled in one post.
  • Whether the unfurl metadata has already been cached/processed earlier.

3. Some links​

There are old and recent reports where pasted URLs remain as raw text (not even a clickable hyperlink) after submitting, even with rich previews enabled. One official forum thread explains this exact symptom happening in XF 2.2: the posted URL stayed as plain text instead of converting to a link or preview.

This is generally less common, but it has been reported.

4. The editor vs. saved post can behave differently​

There are cases where editing a post affects unfurl behavior: if you edit an existing unfurled link, it may lose its rich preview and revert to a normal link (or raw URL) if the unfurl data isn’t reprocessed on save.

This is down to how the BBCode renderer and unfurl storage work internally in XenForo.

5. Some behaviors are by design (not bugs)​

The XenForo devs have explained that:

  • Unfurling only happens when metadata is fetchable and within memory/time limits.
  • Auto-linking URLs to clickable links is normal behavior, and unlinking them often gets reversed on save unless you use special BBCode like ....
So at least some variability is built into how the system is supposed to work.

Summary​

The behavior you’re seeing — odd inconsistencies in how URLs are shown in XenForo posts — is a known and discussed pattern:

✅ Rich preview (unfurl) often works, but only if metadata can be fetched and if the link meets certain formatting conditions (e.g., on its own line).
⚠️ Sometimes unfurling fails and you get a normal clickable link instead.
⚠️ In rarer cases, links might remain as raw non-clickable text (reported in XF 2.2).
⚠️ Editing and existing metadata caching can change how links display.

So yes — the variation you’re noticing isn’t unique to your forum; other XenForo users have observed similar link rendering inconsistencies.
Click to expand...
 
@ClubMan

Is this a big problem or a mild inconvenience?

You posted it originally in a thread about problems in accessing askaboutmoney.

Is it stopping you from accessing askaboutmoney?
 
Brendan Burgess said:
Is this a big problem or a mild inconvenience?
Click to expand...
I find it really annoying and it militates against posting useful content especially when the links aren't even clickable. When the unfurled preview of a link doesn't appear it doesn't help the reader to understand the context of the post/link.
Brendan Burgess said:
You posted it originally in a thread about problems in accessing askaboutmoney.
Click to expand...
I didn't want to open a new thread about issues accessing the site.
Brendan Burgess said:
Is it stopping you from accessing askaboutmoney?
Click to expand...
No.
 
ClubMan said:
I didn't want to open a new thread about issues accessing the site.
Click to expand...

But it's nothing to do with accessing the site? That is my point.

If people can't access askaboutmoney, it's urgent.

If the links they post have to be copied and pasted , it's on the todo list.
 
Has something changed recently (last few weeks) that means that fewer and fewer links to other Askaboutmoney threads or specific posts in a thread don't unfurl either at all or only unreliably.

Tests...

How to reply to or quote a post

To reply to a post, you just start typing in box below the post and then press Post Reply.
www.askaboutmoney.com
 
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