06-08-2001 18:24									#1
	Request for useful addition to forum script Browse Apolyton AD-FREE

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!

	07-08-2001 01:53									#2
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Threads with new posts have red open envelopes to the left. Threads with no new posts have yellow closed envelopes to the left.

	07-08-2001 04:27									#3
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization 2

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.

	07-08-2001 04:30									#4
	Support Apolyton, buy GURPS/ Alpha Centauri

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.

	07-08-2001 10:39									#5
	Inflate your Upload Space

quote: 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

	07-08-2001 13:37									#6
	Increase the size of your Attachments

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.

	07-08-2001 14:43									#7
	Tired of ads?

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.

	07-08-2001 14:51									#8
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

quote: 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

	07-08-2001 15:06									#9
	Inflate your Upload Space

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.

	07-08-2001 17:05									#10
	Browse Apolyton AD-FREE

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.

	07-08-2001 16:40									#11
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

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.

	07-08-2001 17:16									#12
	Remove this text

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.

	07-08-2001 20:41									#13
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

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.

	07-08-2001 20:51									#14
	Tired of ads?

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?

	07-08-2001 21:38									#15
	Increase Your PM Length

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....

	09-08-2001 02:16									#16
	Suffering from ads?

*Lip quivering*

I think most people would welcome the system I suggested as a supplement to the existing one. It aslo has the advantage of keeping the information about visited threads from one session (log on) to another, which is very useful.

Please implement this Markos if it's not too much work. All in good time, of course.

And congratulations on your third anniversary. Well done I must say.

	09-08-2001 09:18									#17
	Increase Your PM Length

You still have to use cookies, otherwise there's no way to retain the "memory" between the visits. The modification seems easy: just use bigger cookies by concatenating thread number and last post read. However there is a problem, namely how to keep track of threads that aren't touched? Should they be set to read, unread, something in between? It's not that easy (in terms of design decisions).


Glonk,

Hourly? What are you talking about?


Winston,

Don't use the Back button on your browser it messes up the cookie updating. Use the drop down box at the bottom right or the nav (navigation) bar near the top.

Last edited by Urban Ranger on 09-08-2001 at 09:26

	09-08-2001 09:36									#18
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

quote: Originally posted by 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....

I will interpret this as a "no" to my first question. Mark, if you keep acting DanQish, I will start being Yin26ish!

	09-08-2001 12:39									#19
	Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

quote: Originally posted by Urban Ranger You still have to use cookies, otherwise there's no way to retain the "memory" between the visits.

Not if you do it like on the old boards. That system used your browser's url history to keep track of which threads you had visited.

	09-08-2001 13:14									#20
	Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

quote: Originally posted by Paul Not if you do it like on the old boards. That system used your browser's url history to keep track of which threads you had visited.

that trick wont work for people who dont use cookies for browsing and have the session number on the url(the thing after "s="

	10-08-2001 00:05									#21
	Browse Apolyton AD-FREE

I'm all for better functionality. Currently the easiest way for me to work out if there have been any new posts is to look at all the threads that have had their last posts after I was last here.

To narrow it down I also quickly scan the screen for threads with the black marker indicating which threads I have posted in and should therefore revisit.

	13-08-2001 18:25									#22
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

So, can we have both the present envelope system and the old coloured thread title system like on the UBB board?

Please?

	13-08-2001 18:30									#23
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations

do you think that would work?

	13-08-2001 18:45									#24
	Lose 30 kilos (of popups)

Ecthelion,
I have absolutely no idea. The only thing I know is that the present system doesn't work nearly as well for me as the old one. It's impossible to extract any useful information about which threads have been visited and which ones haven't.

	13-08-2001 19:08									#25
	Tired of ads?

quote: Originally posted by Winston So, can we have both the present envelope system and the old coloured thread title system like on the UBB board? Please?

as i said in a previous post, it would not work for people who dont use cookie during their visits...

	22-08-2001 18:33									#26
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization: The Boardgame

Won't some kind soul please help me convince Markos about changing to the old system of different coloured threads?

I can't do it on my own. I don't know enough about the mechanics of cookies and all that stuff. I just know I miss the old system, and I've a feeling I'm not the only one.

Please? It'll be an improvement for a number of us I think, and no loss to anyone.