"New Posts" link

[SilvrT]

No biggie here...

 

I'm curious about how the "New Posts" function works and here's why... at home this morning I clicked "New Posts" and got about 3 pages ... I read maybe 1 post and then shut down. Headed off to work and once there, opened the site and clicked "New Posts" and only got 12 ... how is it so different?... shouldn't I have had at least close to the same number as I had at home?

 

I question this because now, at work, I figgure I am not seeing (or know which are new or aren't) the "New Posts" that there actually are.

 

Anyone have an answer for this? Don, I was going to PM you but figgured maybe someone else had an answer and you could focus on important stuff.

[V7Goose]

I'm can't fully explain it, but what you saw seems to be normal. I use the New Posts link almost exclusively anymore, but sometimes I notice that lots of threads that HAD new posts are now marked as read. My workaround whenever I suspect I may not be seeing all the threads I should is to go to Quick Links and check Today's Posts. That pulls up all threads updated in the last 24 hours, and I can go down the list until I see something that I know I already saw to catch up on all the "new posts".

Goose

[SilvrT]

hmmmmm... interesting .... I have just tried the "Today's Posts" link and found a thread by Sailor that really should have shown up as a New Post coz I had not seen it yet and there was a direct question in it for me...yet it showed as though it were already read (it wasn't bolded). Had I not browsed thru those items, I would not have seen that thread.

[krispy]

I could be wrong, but I think the "New Posts" tab brings up any thread that has a new post in it since the last time you pushed "New Post". So if you pushed it at home, only read some of them, went to work and pushed it again, you got the new posts since you last pushed the button. It doesn't keep track of what you may have looked at (or not).....I think....maybe....

[SilvrT]

I could be wrong, but I think the "New Posts" tab brings up any thread that has a new post in it since the last time you pushed "New Post". So if you pushed it at home, only read some of them, went to work and pushed it again, you got the new posts since you last pushed the button. It doesn't keep track of what you may have looked at (or not).....I think....maybe....

 

I don't think so because I can sit here and click on "New Posts" a number of times and get the same one's and there aren't any new items in the threads.

 

It was a good thought tho

 

Well, upon thinking about it... that may be partially true... it might work on a timing thing ...

[Sleeperhawk]

Here is what happens, at least to me:

 

1. You log in at home under your ID

2. View some threads, then shut down browser, this still leaves you connected to the web site.

3. After so long of staying connected and inactivity, you will be logged off and all threads are marked read (this is key, because this happens to me all the time)

4. You eventually make it to work after stopping someplace for coffee and passing gas, oopps mean getting gas, you log into the site from work.

5. Remember point 3 from above, you now only have New post listed based on the time you were officially logged off due to inactivity, otherwise you may see some older and newer New Post.

 

Bottom line is, if you shut down the browser without officially logging off, the web site will do it for you after so many minutes of in-activity and mark all threads as have been read.

 

[V7Goose]

Well, I haven't found it to follow any pattern. I regularly use four different computers (two laptops downstairs and two desktops upstairs, and I'm on this site every time I get on any of them), each one is logged on here, often multiple computers at the same time, and I NEVER log off the site. Some times I shut a computer down or put it in standby, and sometimes I do not. Even after I have shut down a computer for several days, when I reboot one or bring one out of standby, it still has me logged on here as soon as I bring up the browser.

 

Now the strange part is that the amount of time between when it updates the "read" status of a thread (and therefore the one that show in New Posts) changes all the time. Usually, it only seems to be updated once a day, but other times it will happen several times, sometimes as soon as 1/2 to 1 hour after the last update. The oddest part to me is that a thread is not shown as "read" after I have read it and then re-click on the New Posts or otherwise refresh the browser display.

 

Of course, for me, all this strangeness might just be caused by my use of multiple computers!

Goose

[SilvrT]

Here is what happens, at least to me:

 

Bottom line is, if you shut down the browser without officially logging off, the web site will do it for you after so many minutes of in-activity and mark all threads as have been read.

 

 

I closed the browser (didn't log off the site) for appx 20 minutes. See att'd word doc for results .... if the above is true then it takes longer than 20 minutes.

[Sleeperhawk]

I closed the browser (didn't log off the site) for appx 20 minutes. See att'd word doc for results .... if the above is true then it takes longer than 20 minutes.

 

It is definitely more than 20 mins, but less than 2 hours. I purposely left me signed in and left 2 post unread, came in, reloaded, those posts were marked read, and now have some new ones. Freebird should know what the timer is set too.

[SilvrT]

those posts were marked read

 

that's because I read them....

 

I guess this is the way it should be tho, otherwise, a guy could have a lot of "unread" posts listed eh?

 

Having said that, prolly a good idea then to review the "Today's Posts" instead of "New Posts" when first accessing the site after a couple hours. Dang.... now I'm thinkin .. "how many controversies could I have been involved in that I missed"!!

[V7Goose]

I think all this talk about it has awakened the beast - today is not "normal" for this at all - I have only been using this one laptop all day, and my New Posts display has been reset at least four times in the past few hours!

Goose

[Sleeperhawk]

I think all this talk about it has awakened the beast - today is not "normal" for this at all - I have only been using this one laptop all day, and my New Posts display has been reset at least four times in the past few hours!

Goose

 

 

Happens all the time due to in-activity

[Freebird]

Folks, here it is in a nutshell. There are three options on how this can be setup. We are currently using option 1 which works as Sleeperhawk says. The session timeout is set for 3 hours. I have decreased that before but got complaints from those of you who stay logged in but get detracted sometimes only to come back and find that you have been logged out.

 

I've also tried changing this to one of the other options but got a lot of complaints that folks didn't like it as much. Don't remember exactly what it was that they didn't like though.

 

This option controls how threads and forums are marked as read.

1. Inactivity/Cookie Based - once a user has been inactive for a certain amount of time (the value of the session timeout option) all threads and forums are considered read. Individual threads are marked as read within a session via cookies.
    
   This option is how all versions of vBulletin before 3.5 functioned.
   
2. Database (no automatic forum marking) - this option uses the database to store thread and forum read times. This allows accurate read markers to be kept indefinitely. However, in order for a forum to be marked read when all threads are read, the user must view the list of threads for that forum.
    
   This option is more space and processor intensive than inactivity-based marking.
   
3. Database (automatic forum marking) - this option is the same as a previous option, but forums are automatically marked as read when the last new thread is read.
    
   This is the most usable option for end users, but most processor intensive.
   

[SilvrT]

Thanks a bunch Don and all you guyz for your comments and clearing this all up. It wasn't a "biggie" for me...just curiosity.

 

Ya'll ROCK!

[Sleeperhawk]

Leave as is, what the masses don't know, will not hurt them :whistling:

 

 

Folks, here it is in a nutshell. There are three options on how this can be setup. We are currently using option 1 which works as Sleeperhawk says. The session timeout is set for 3 hours. I have decreased that before but got complaints from those of you who stay logged in but get detracted sometimes only to come back and find that you have been logged out.

 

I've also tried changing this to one of the other options but got a lot of complaints that folks didn't like it as much. Don't remember exactly what it was that they didn't like though.

 

This option controls how threads and forums are marked as read.

1. Inactivity/Cookie Based - once a user has been inactive for a certain amount of time (the value of the session timeout option) all threads and forums are considered read. Individual threads are marked as read within a session via cookies.
    
   This option is how all versions of vBulletin before 3.5 functioned.
   
2. Database (no automatic forum marking) - this option uses the database to store thread and forum read times. This allows accurate read markers to be kept indefinitely. However, in order for a forum to be marked read when all threads are read, the user must view the list of threads for that forum.
    
   This option is more space and processor intensive than inactivity-based marking.
   
3. Database (automatic forum marking) - this option is the same as a previous option, but forums are automatically marked as read when the last new thread is read.
    
   This is the most usable option for end users, but most processor intensive.
   

[Aussie Annie]

Would someone like to explain ALL of that again? This 'puter talk is mind-boggling and I'm still learning

[BradT]

This one came up before, long before the crash and it was set at 20 minutes or something ridiculous. You could hardley even go get a beer and it cleared all the new posts.

 

I know it was changed but did not think it is set at 3 hours. I thought it was set at an hour. I still think it is much less than 3 hours.

 

Brad