Thread/Forum Read Marking

We need a way to more easily mark all threads as read. If this is going to remain a manual process rather than automatic, then consider moving the "Marks all threads as read" link out of Quick Links to its own top level link. For people who do not use JavaScript having to select that link currently is a two step process.

Second, when users select that link, don't redirect them to the forum top level. The current page should remain.

People who visit only one forum suffer under this new method. The old method worked great for such people.

If the people who prefer the previous method are outvoted, there needs to be a way to accomodate the folks who prefer that method. Please work with us.

Originally Posted by jeremy New System: [2] Uses the database to store thread and forum read times. This allows accurate read markers to be kept indefinitely.

I think it is broken (in Opera). It looks like almost every time I visit system marks some threads unread, even if they were marked "read" before and there were no new posts in thread. Can't pinpoint the source of the problem, but it looks like it happens if there was roughly 8 hours between visits, or when new day starts (i.e. previous visit was at evening, and new one is at morning), and maybe to logging in/out of account.

Originally Posted by SigTerm I think it is broken (in Opera). It looks like almost every time I visit system marks some threads unread, even if they were marked "read" before and there were no new posts in thread. Can't pinpoint the source of the problem, but it looks like it happens if there was roughly 8 hours between visits, or when new day starts (i.e. previous visit was at evening, and new one is at morning), and maybe to logging in/out of account.

The new system stores the unread markers in the LQ.org database. This means it is independent of the browser's cookie settings. So if it doesn't work in Opera, it is probably because Opera's serving up its own cached pages instead of freshly served page from the server.

I've had my issues with Opera being aggressive with its cache settings and causing issues with dynamic websites. Probably you need to modify some settings in Opera.

Originally Posted by vharishankar it is probably because Opera's serving up its own cached pages instead of freshly served page from the server.

Nope. Cache size is minimal, and emptying cache does not fix the problem. Threads mark themselves unread after several hours - if you close opera, come back few hours later, and open forum, some threads will be marked unread, even if the last post in them was made long before your previous visit.

I don't care about the issue, but I *think* some people may want to fix it.

Originally Posted by SigTerm I think it is broken (in Opera). It looks like almost every time I visit system marks some threads unread, even if they were marked "read" before and there were no new posts in thread. Can't pinpoint the source of the problem, but it looks like it happens if there was roughly 8 hours between visits, or when new day starts (i.e. previous visit was at evening, and new one is at morning), and maybe to logging in/out of account.

Is it the aforementioned Zero Reply bump causing this, or are you also seeing it in threads with multiple posts?

--jeremy

I noticed that zero reply threads always stay unread and will not disappear from My LQ. Is that a bug or a feature? And if it's a feature, is there a way to choose to turn it off?

Hi.

Originally Posted by makyo Hi. +1 It's too soon for me to tell if I like this way of the time-out working, but I can tell you that I really disliked the time-out of the previous method. I might walk away for a cup of coffee and when I came back, everything was updated, and I had trouble telling where I should start looking at threads again. So thanks for the experiment, I'll try to work with it and provide feedback ... cheers, makyo

After using it for a few days, I prefer the new scheme to the old scheme. If there are warts, then I have not been inconvenienced enough to notice, and certainly not enough to complain. If the warts can be removed, then all the better.

Thanks for the change ... cheers, makyo

On the subscribed threads page I just noticed my Processor cooler mount conversion (Scythe Universal Retention Kit?) threaded listed with a last post time of "Today 05:14" but the post itself shows "Yesterday, 12:37". It is a zero reply thread so the last post time might be the auto-bump time.

Firefox 3.6.22, Timezone IST.

Originally Posted by SigTerm I think it is broken (in Opera). It looks like almost every time I visit system marks some threads unread, even if they were marked "read" before and there were no new posts in thread. Can't pinpoint the source of the problem, but it looks like it happens if there was roughly 8 hours between visits, or when new day starts (i.e. previous visit was at evening, and new one is at morning), and maybe to logging in/out of account.

I have no such problem in Opera. The only issue I do experience is that certain threads are always marked as unread, no matter how many times I visit them:

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...ga_vid-916834/
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...-5-5-a-916422/

Other threads all work as expected.

Originally Posted by jeremy Is it the aforementioned Zero Reply bump causing this, or are you also seeing it in threads with multiple posts? --jeremy

I'm not sure, but it looks like threads with replies also mark themselves unread. For example there's this thread. I was there today, saw it, it didn't change since that time, and it is unread again.

However:

1. I'm not sure whether I was logged in or not during last visit (visit was from the same machine/browser). It is possible that I wasn't logged in.
2. It is possible that there was at least oe login/logout between visits during this day.
3. It is possible that my ip changed several times.
4. And it looks like at least one my visit didn't register (forum claims I visited roughly 7 hours ago, but I remember reading it 4 or 5 hours ago).
5. Also regardless of the "graphic designer" thread, there were several threads that are marked unread, even if their last post was made before my last visit forum actually registered.

I don't think I'll be able to experiment and provide more "precise" information than this. All I know that at one point some threads somehow are marked unread, even if they didn't change since last visit.

Originally Posted by SigTerm I'm not sure, but it looks like threads with replies also mark themselves unread. For example there's this thread. I was there today, saw it, it didn't change since that time, and it is unread again. However: I'm not sure whether I was logged in or not during last visit (visit was from the same machine/browser). It is possible that I wasn't logged in. It is possible that there was at least oe login/logout between visits during this day. It is possible that my ip changed several times. And it looks like at least one my visit didn't register (forum claims I visited roughly 7 hours ago, but I remember reading it 4 or 5 hours ago). Also regardless of the "graphic designer" thread, there were several threads that are marked unread, even if their last post was made before my last visit forum actually registered. I don't think I'll be able to experiment and provide more "precise" information than this. All I know that at one point some threads somehow are marked unread, even if they didn't change since last visit.

For Zero Reply threads this is a known issue that will be addressed. 1 and 4 lead me to believe you were not logged in, which would mean your thread read marking would not be impacted by that particular session. IP, cookies, browser, etc. have absolutely no impact in this case.

--jeremy

Originally Posted by DavidMcCann At last I understand (hopefully). Instead of the system telling me which posts have been made since I was last here, I have to remember to tell the system what to mark before I go. What I don't understand is why that is an improvement.

Not aimed at you in particular David, but this is why it is an improvement: this "new" way (which is only new to LQ, it's been the norm at many many other forums) still allows you to mark all posts read whenever you want to, but it also allows any member to visit, read only some threads - or even just one, for particular example if you find a LQ thread as an answer to a web search you make, and still have the threads you haven't read show as not read when you come back the next day.

The "old" way completely prevents reading only some threads without losing status information.

It is such a huge improvement that I am surprised when I hear of people who relied on the "old" behaviour.

Originally Posted by SecretCode The "old" way completely prevents reading only some threads without losing status information.

That's only true if you use the "Remember me" login option to avoid having to log in each time you visit. Yes, I use that option on my home machine. Under the old system, if I ran across a link pointing to something on LQ I had to remember to manually delete linuxquestions.org cookies before clicking on said link or else my last visit time would get an unwanted update. So, I much prefer the new system, but I can see why people who do log in only when making a "serious" visit would be happier with the old, automatic marking.

Originally Posted by SecretCode Not aimed at you in particular David, but this is why it is an improvement: this "new" way (which is only new to LQ, it's been the norm at many many other forums) still allows you to mark all posts read whenever you want to, but it also allows any member to visit, read only some threads - or even just one, for particular example if you find a LQ thread as an answer to a web search you make, and still have the threads you haven't read show as not read when you come back the next day. The "old" way completely prevents reading only some threads without losing status information. It is such a huge improvement that I am surprised when I hear of people who relied on the "old" behaviour.

Just because you drive a car doesn't mean you understand every component of the engine. Thread marking is just a mundane detail that people can't be bothered researching because they prioritize their time for other things, myself included. I had no idea how the system worked until this thread was opened. Just saying since you said you were surprised.

SAM

I have been a forum administrator using vBulletin and so I know the different options and what they do.

Technically speaking, the "new" way (or rather the database storage of thread 'read' marking) allows vBulletin to keep "read" markers without relying on cookies or browser dependent settings - everything is handled on the vBulletin database server-side. The "old" way relied on the end user's browser cookies to keep this information.