How to Bypass WP 2.9 Error: Missed Schedule

image by Auntie P

Have you scheduled a post which did not publish on the specified date?  Instead you see an error message, "Missed Schedule" and the post still sits on the scheduled list! Very unsettling --- makes you second guess yourself and imagine those 'senior moments.'  But you did put in the correct date ahead of time; it was WordPress asleep at the helm.

Last Wednesday, I set Thursday as the publish date for a post. Thursday afternoon I notice it was not  on the homepage. WP kindly displayed the missed schedule' message, along with the number of hours that had passed. Apparently, as WP tried to publish, our server had a slowdown, causing WP to lose patience and miss the publication date!

This is a known problem which WP 2.9.1 was to fix, but the error is now in 2.9.2.  Currently, WP will wait one second if there is no response, so you can bypass the error by increasing the time to 10 seconds. Here are the steps to fix the headache going forward:

1. Backup the cron.php file, found in the WP-includes folder.
2. Find the code shown below and use your xml/text editor to increase the time measured in seconds:
   wp_remote_post( $cron_url, array('timeout' => 0.01, 'blocking' =>
3. Change the number in green to the value shown in red:
   wp_remote_post( $cron_url, array('timeout' => 10.00, 'blocking' =>
4. Save the file to your WP-includes directory. This should allow enough time for WP to wait out a busy signal.

What happens when WP misses a schedule?

As you know WP automatically notifies the major search/aggregation services when you publish a post. At BWS, we schedule our posts around the same time of the day to coincide with the FeedBurner email subscription time.  You can set that under "EMail Subscriptions, Delivery Options" for your FeedBurner account.  Our email notices go out around 5 pm IST. If we miss a schedule, then email delivery is 'next day.'

If  your post misses the schedule you can manually ping FeedBurner for RSS subscriptions. First save the scheduled (frozen) post as a draft then press the Publish button.  Go to Ping-O-Matic to notify the usual services. Key in the post url and select services such as Weblogs, Blo.gs, Technorati, Feed Burner, and NewsGator, among others.  Press 'Send Pings." Anyone getting RSS  subscriptions should see the post in their reader.

The ugly side of the Publish button

While we're on the topic of scheduling posts, I suppose you've had the real senior moment when you edit a draft and press "Publish" by mistake. No? Then this tip might help you keep your record.

Simply change the publish date to anything except "publish immediately." I usually set a new post to a date several weeks into the future, before I save the first draft!

Then if your finger slips on the Publish button, the unfinished draft goes to your scheduled posts list. Hopefully, you notice and return the article to draft mode before the world sees it. Actually the "Schedule" button replaces the Publish for your safety. Just remember to put in the real schedule date later.

What's your strategy for avoiding these mishaps around the all-powerful Publish button and Future Scheduling options? Inquiring minds want to know, so leave a comment.