--- loncom/lonnet/perl/lonnet.pm	2012/06/24 18:03:29	1.1172.2.7
+++ loncom/lonnet/perl/lonnet.pm	2012/07/05 19:27:27	1.1179
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # The LearningOnline Network
 # TCP networking package
 #
-# $Id: lonnet.pm,v 1.1172.2.7 2012/06/24 18:03:29 raeburn Exp $
+# $Id: lonnet.pm,v 1.1179 2012/07/05 19:27:27 raeburn Exp $
 #
 # Copyright Michigan State University Board of Trustees
 #
@@ -75,6 +75,8 @@ use LWP::UserAgent();
 use HTTP::Date;
 use Image::Magick;
 
+use Encode;
+
 use vars qw(%perlvar %spareid %pr %prp $memcache %packagetab $tmpdir
             $_64bit %env %protocol %loncaparevs %serverhomeIDs %needsrelease
             %managerstab);
@@ -97,6 +99,7 @@ use File::MMagic;
 use LONCAPA qw(:DEFAULT :match);
 use LONCAPA::Configuration;
 use LONCAPA::lonmetadata;
+use LONCAPA::Lond;
 
 use File::Copy;
 
@@ -1383,8 +1386,8 @@ sub check_loadbalancing {
             $is_balancer = 0;
             if ($uname ne '' && $udom ne '') {
                 if (($env{'user.name'} eq $uname) && ($env{'user.domain'} eq $udom)) {
-
-                    &appenv({'user.loadbalexempt'     => $lonhost,
+                    
+                    &appenv({'user.loadbalexempt'     => $lonhost,  
                              'user.loadbalcheck.time' => time});
                 }
             }
@@ -2582,10 +2585,11 @@ sub ssi {
 
     $request->header(Cookie => $ENV{'HTTP_COOKIE'});
     my $response= $ua->request($request);
+    my $content = Encode::decode_utf8($response->content);
     if (wantarray) {
-	return ($response->content, $response);
+	return ($content, $response);
     } else {
-	return $response->content;
+	return $content;
     }
 }
 
@@ -9956,7 +9960,11 @@ sub deversion {
 sub symbread {
     my ($thisfn,$donotrecurse)=@_;
     my $cache_str='request.symbread.cached.'.$thisfn;
-    if (defined($env{$cache_str})) { return $env{$cache_str}; }
+    if (defined($env{$cache_str})) {
+        if (($thisfn) || ($env{$cache_str} ne '')) {
+            return $env{$cache_str};
+        }
+    }
 # no filename provided? try from environment
     unless ($thisfn) {
         if ($env{'request.symb'}) {