On Wed, 2022-09-28 at 09:47 +0100, lejeczek via users wrote:
I did clear cookies but not data - which data clearance turns out solved the issue - thanks for the tip!
Site authors play with their sites all the time, just as much (or more) as users fiddle with their computer. Sometimes their changes aren't compatible with their previous site content. They'll just reload their browser and not give much thought as to how their users will deal with the change (trying to reload a page on a non-computer browser can be a pain).
Clearing cached content often flushes away something that isn't working right. Sometimes you need to purge cookies (which can contain site custom preferences that you've made, automatic options to login again next time with a password stored on your computer, site bookmarks for previous interactions, etc).
I tend to do cache purges first, new content will (should) always load in as you browse a page, so purging cached old content shouldn't cause a problem by itself.
Purging cookies tends to cause nuisance factors without solving problems (though sometimes it *does* fix things). Nuisances such as having to relog into the TV guide site, instead of it popping up as me already logged into it, or reconfiguring it as to which state I live in, and which channels I want to ignore.
The relog in versus continue from before tends to be the biggest pain, as you have to find the login details again. Some sites are designed in such a way that they mess up your browsers auto-fill-in feature.
Most purged cookies don't affect you, they're there for advertisers, and other tracking purposes that were never under your control, nor of any interest to you.