Request for useful addition to forum script

[Winston]

Would it be possible to change the way threads are shown on the front page of forums, to reflect whether there are new posts to the thread since you last opened it?

Under the old system, threads that you'd visited and where no new posts had been made would be coloured dark blue, while the other threads were coloured light blue by default.

I believe this was mentioned early on after the change to vBB, but I don't think it was ever adressed by the admin's. As it is now, I find it difficult to keep track of the threads I've visited. Wouldn't want to miss anything important!

[Chowlett]

Threads with new posts have red open envelopes to the left. Threads with no new posts have yellow closed envelopes to the left.

[Winston]

That's not how it works Chowlett. A thread retains a red envelope even after you've visited it (if you use the back button), and after a while (I'm not sure what causes this), they're all yellow whether you've visited them or not. Which isn't very informative...

Don't you remember how it used to be, when you could easily pick up where you left off last time you visited on the basis of the thread titles' colour? Not possible anymore with the coloured envelopes.

There is a distinct difference in how it works now and how it used to work before the change. Basically, the "change colour after new posts"-feature is gone. I'm sure someone with more insight into scripting than me will be able to define and explain the difference more satisfactory.

[Winston]

Also, if you log on and go to one forum and read some threads, then log off and go to another forum, the envelopes will all be yellow. This is also indicative of a change in the way the script processes the cookie information.

[MarkG]

Originally posted by Winston
A thread retains a red envelope even after you've visited it (if you use the back button)

then dont use the back button!

if you have the "Browse board with cookies?" option to "no", the whole information of what you have done during your visit is related to the session number (the thing on the url after the "s="). using the back button will confuse the script


also, of course the forum will characterize all threads as "read" if you log off. when you log off, it means that you are leaving the forum

[Paul]

I agree with Winston's proposal. When I visit Apolyton I don't always have time to read everything I want to read and when I visit the next time all old threads have red envelops, whether I read them or not.

In the old forums at least the thread title would still show as unread, so I could easily find what I still had to read.

[Winston]

I'm having trouble describing the difference from the old forum system, because I don't know enough about cookies and forum scripts. Bottom line is, the old system kept better track of what threads you visited than the new envelope system. Wouldn't it be a useful addition to implement it again under the vB script?

Also Markos, if I shouldn't use the back button, how do you suggest getting back to the front page? I suppose using the Go-button in the bottom right corner? Won't that colour all the envelopes yellow?

I have my preferences set to "browse board with cookies" BTW.

I'm very confused about all of this. I just know it doesn't work as well as it used to.

[MarkG]

Originally posted by Winston
Also Markos, if I shouldn't use the back button, how do you suggest getting back to the front page?

from the " Apolyton CS Forums" link on the top part of the page or by clicking on the apolyton logo

[Winston]

Ok. The problem is that this way of returning to the forum front page doesn't solve the problem of how to keep track of threads you've visited.

I sincerely hope someone else will be able to explain this better than I'm capable of. All I know is it's impossible to know which threads you've visited and which ones you haven't.

[Asher]

Paul is exactly right.

VBB currently works using cookies instead, and the 'unread' posts in VBB mean 'unread since your last visit', and this visit is actually reset hourly instead of instantly like when you add the ?<post#> like the UBB did.

I say you go kludge it in, Markos.

[Paul]

In the old forum the script added ?x (where x was the number of replies to the thread) after the thread's url. That way your browser would mark the thread as unread if new posts were made after the last time you read it. I don't know if that can be done with vBB, but it would be a nice improvement.

[Paul]

And with the old forums threads wouldn't show as new again when there have been server problems where the clock gets set back three hours.

When is that problem ever going to be solved? I notice that it's happening again, putting Glonk's post before mine.

[TCO]

Mark,

The new setup has worse functionality than the old one:

-Do you understand our issue (in terms of reader response)?

-Can you hack vBB? You did lots of useful hacks on UBB.

[Ecthy]

yeah, most of the old upgrades were more than OK, it would be neat if you continued your great work... go on!

btw, why does the forums main page sometimes show up "last post by" and sometiems doesn't?

[MarkG]

the fact is GP, that i do see correctly the threads with new posts and during a session i do see the threads that i have visited as read and not as having new posts.

therefore the issue is a matter of how the forum is used and not if it has a feature or not.

correct me if i'm wrong....