New Threads

[Dason]

I was reading through the FAQ and I noticed this

The administrator can also set up the forums so that each thread you read is marked in the database. If this option is set, then new threads (or threads with new posts) will not be marked as read until you have actually read them.

Do we have this option set? I don't think we do but I know that I would appreciate it. Otherwise the only way for me to know which ones I haven't checked yet are to check all of the threads that have new posts since the last time I visited. I went on vacation recently and when I came back I didn't want to skip over the new threads so I had to spend quite a bit of time checking them.

Or am I just dumb and this option is already set and I've been looking in the wrong places for new threads?

[Link]

When I browse through each section, I notice the ones that I haven't read yet by noting if they (the titles) are in bold text or not. Works kind of weird cause it only notes the recent new ones. If there's one I haven't read yet, but is like a week old, it isn't bold.

HTH

[Dason]

Exactly. I believe the way it's set up right now it keeps tracks of new threads you haven't read since your last visit but it only keeps track for a set amount of time.

The system I would prefer is to just have it keep everything as "unread" until I read it. I don't care if it's new. I just want to know if I've read it yet. It could be three months old and if I haven't read it, then it should tell me that.

[quark]

Dason,

There is an option in user control panel to display threads from a specified time point. Please go to My Talkstats > Edit Options. In the "Thread Display Options" area, there's a "Default Thread Age Cut Off" option. I know this is not what you are asking for but hopefully this would work the next time you are back from vacation.

The global option is to mark a thread as read after the last forum activity. If we were to "mark unread threads unread" then we need to store forum read times for every user, and this involves extra database write/read actions. There are nearly 10k users here and most of them rarely come back (we'll work on that ). For now the default option seems optimal as it saves system resource. If we have hundreads of avid users who need the unread option then I'd definitely consider a change.

The detailed description of the options are included below FYI.

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

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.


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.


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.

Thanks for the request. I didn't know this option existed. If anybody else need the "mark unread threads unread". Please post here.