Troubleshooting Shows

Why can’t I create a new show?

There are two different plan conditions behind this, and what you see on screen tells them apart.

Add Show is greyed out

You are at your plan’s show limit — every slot is in use. The Add Show item in the show switcher is disabled, with an upgrade link beneath it. Nothing has gone wrong and none of your shows have changed; you have simply run out of slots.

How to resolve: Archive one of your existing shows to free a slot, or upgrade to a plan with a higher limit at benecaster.com/shop/plans/.

A red banner on Benecaster → Shows says some shows are disabled

You are over your plan’s show limit. The banner reads “You have 5 shows on a plan that allows 3” and then lists the shows that have been disabled. Show creation is blocked until you are back within your limit, because adding one would push you further over.

How to resolve: The same two options — archive a show or upgrade your plan. Note that disabled shows still count toward the check, so archiving a disabled show frees a slot just as archiving an active one does. See Show Limits and Multi-Site Use → for how the auto-disable logic works and how recovery happens.

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Why is a show returning 410 Gone?

A 410 response on a show’s feed URL means the show has been automatically disabled because your site is over its plan’s show limit. The response body includes an XML comment explaining the reason:

This podcast feed is temporarily unavailable while the site owner is over their plan's show limit.

This is different from an archived show — archived shows also return 410, but with a different message. If you’re seeing the over-limit message and didn’t expect it, check your Shows portfolio in Benecaster (a red banner and disabled pills will be visible) and see Shows Portfolio — Over-Limit State →.

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Why is a show missing from my public site?

If a show isn’t appearing in your public show listings or archive pages, it may be disabled due to an over-limit condition. Disabled shows are hidden from public listings by Benecaster’s query filters — they remain fully visible in the Benecaster admin Shows portfolio.

Check Benecaster → Shows for the red over-limit banner. If it’s present, one or more shows are disabled and hidden. Resolve the over-limit state (upgrade or archive) to restore public visibility.

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Why did I get “we couldn’t verify your plan slot right now”?

This message appears when you try to unarchive a show and the license server is unreachable. Benecaster makes a live validation call on each unarchive attempt to confirm a slot is available before proceeding.

Common causes:

• Your server’s outbound HTTP is blocked by a firewall or hosting restriction
• A temporary outage on benecaster.com
• A DNS resolution failure

How to resolve: Wait a minute and try again. If the problem persists, check that your hosting environment can reach benecaster.com on port 443. Contact support if outbound connectivity looks fine from your end.

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Why did an unarchive fail with “show limit reached”?

When you unarchive a show, Benecaster makes a live call to the license server. If that call confirms your plan is at or over capacity, the unarchive is blocked with the message:

Unarchiving this show would exceed your plan’s show limit. Upgrade or archive another show first.

Upgrade your plan or archive a different show, then retry the unarchive.