Investigate lock_fields Event Overcollection and Empty Log Creation

[JohnDamilola]

We have observed a new event type called lock_fields being logged in the 39b logs. This event appears to be triggered by the lo_events module, which was likely introduced during the separation of the' lo_events' module in the recent extension update. The lock_fields events frequently log browser_info payloads.

After these events are triggered, the plugin does not appear to send additional data, as there is no activity logged in the corresponding study.log file. Instead, the following code is executed:

• weakref.finalize(handler, log_event.close_logfile, filename)(https://github.com/ArgLab/ArgLab_writing_observer/blob/3385b4648e7421b0765e4147bb60e814bff2db00/learning_observer/learning_observer/incoming_student_event.py#L213)
• Which in turn calls: log_event("[Empty log file -- no events captured]", preencoded=True, filename=filename)(https://github.com/ArgLab/ArgLab_writing_observer/blob/af0ce9a8a9c4f068ea1c43ab1cc8fc6424472453/learning_observer/learning_observer/log_event.py#L326C5-L326C96)

We are likely not losing data, but we are overcollecting and generating empty log files unnecessarily, and this behavior can lead to noise in log storage and may complicate downstream analysis.

Proposed Actions:

• Investigate the purpose of the lock_fields event and whether frequent browser_info logging is necessary.
• Consider suppressing study.log creation when no user activity is captured.
• Explore rate-limiting lock_fields events to reduce redundant logs.
• Document the expected behavior of lock_fields in the plugin for clarity.

[bradley-erickson]

What we need to do to test:

• Create student setup - extension loaded on a chromebook - confirm it connects normally, then track when we get logs through the day (as the system is both opened/closed/used)

[bradley-erickson]

See this Pull Request.
At the time of writing this comment, this PR still needs more testing.