Sorting out pointers and tracking

[Jeff G.]

problems with the Read/Unread settings.  Pointed out that this issue hadn't (yet) been raised here

27578[/snapback]

OK, I'll raise one. It appears that a Forum or sub-Forum is only marked as read (light blue icon vs. dark blue icon) when that Forum or sub-Forum has actually been displayed with no unread Topics (that is, no orange markers). Use of "View New Posts" and direct entry of Topic and Topic/Post URLs appear to have no effect on the read/unread status of Forums and sub-Forums, and "Mark all forums as read and return to index" appears to just have been an afterthought to cover up this deficiency.

[Wazoo]

http://forums.invisionpower.com/index.php?showtopic=168700

Invision Power Services _ IPS Customer Chat _ Big problem

Posted by: forsakenZen May 3 2005, 08:56 PM

Ok I'm having some serious issues here, and I know it's been addressed before, concerning showing new posts.

I like to view in outline mode and when I come into the forum after having closed my browser out, even the posts I read in outline mode have the new post icon displayed to the left of them (in icon view). This literally makes it impossible for me to chart which posts I've read in heavily trafficed threads.

Once I click on ANY of the posts (the one's showing as unread) to read them, the rest instantly switch, once on the new page, to the viewed post icon. This is become amazingly frustrating.

If I stay on the board, as I've tested with one of my users, and he makes posts, etc., I view the unread posts properly, and when I click on it, it marks it as unread while leaving the others unmarked.

I'm not quite sure how bad this affecting linear mode either, but it definitely seems to be a session based thing seeing as how when I close my browser out it seems to forget what posts I've read.

Also having the problem of when I come back it shows new posts in the board index, but when I go to forum index no icons are lit up. None of the posts show anything new either.

This seems to happen flip floppy across the board and is ANGERING my users immensely. I've been taking a lot of heat since switching to PHPBB and this is just another nail in the coffin. I really need some help here otherwise I'm going to be forced to go back to a system where my users can at least tell which posts they've read, and have it track them accurately.

Any speedy help would be appreciated.

(NO I haven't updated since I last installed 2.0.3, should I be installing a new version based off of the client area? And please don't say do that and then get back with us, I need to know if doing that is going to resolve this problem).

Posted by: Wazoo May 4 2005, 12:57 AM

I had some user questions on using this view .. tried sorting out how the heck it was actually supposed to work ... as yet another check, how about taking a look at http://forum.spamcop.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=4062 .. see if the same problem exists (wouldn't mind some input on how this view is 'really' used) ... noting that this Read/Unread question hasn't come up there (yet)

Posted by: forsakenZen May 4 2005, 01:56 PM

It's performing the same there Wazoo. I really wish a quick fix or something for this could be posted, I think it ridiculous a forum software with a price tag fails to track read and unread topics appropriately.

Feature rich is fine, but what good does it do me when a user comes to my board a day after they last visited and can't even tell which posts are new in a thread because they ALL get marked as new if there's just one single new post in the thread? AND after that, when you click to just read ONE they all get marked as being read.

I tried dinking with it since it seems it's now using topic id's to track read/unread posts and a simple check against a last visit - instead of the POST id. I thought it'd be an easy enough change but I'm unable to procure any results. The old method, from my take of looking at the old code, did a more advanced check against the post ID and then set it in the cookie as being read, then checked against it. Maybe it was done this new way to be less cumbersome on whatever end(client or server), but it totally nulls the point if it completely destroys tracking read and unread posts. The most basic, freeware BB does this properly, yet this doesn't... or I guess better put doesn't now. hmph

For as much as I've built up IPB to my users it's pretty hard to have a leg to stand on when something this silly isn't either addressed or a quick fix posted for.

I came back today in a heavy trafficed thread and had no idea the posts I had read or hadn't read in the thread because of this, so I just gave up all together. I'm sure many of my users, who are accustomed to an outline view(threaded) type of board, feel the same way. Wait, pause that, they do because they're busy complaining about it on my forums. Not that the linear tracking is any better; I had to install a hack for that to even work properly...

ughs.

Posted by: Wazoo May 4 2005, 10:36 PM

I added this dialog 'over there' to explain one of my comments ... at least one usr 'there' says that your described problem is not seen ... looking through your last, I might be a bit confused ... version 2.0.3 used the cookies to track (though I seem to recollect stating to someone else that there did seem to be connection to the database entries on 'last read' and/ot 'last time on' .. based on logging in from another computer .. guessing that this 'new' cookie was built from database contents) .... However, 'here' in this Alpha, Matt has dropped the cookie thing and gone for a database entry ... (and though I've seen "it's fixed" a few times, I've got a couple of sub-forums that simply will not 'stay' read across logins ..??) No answers here, just providing that your problem isn't universal ...

You make no note of your browser, cookie management settings, etc ... have you ruled 'your end' completely out of the equation (or even comparing notes with the complaining users?)

Posted by: forsakenZen May 5 2005, 10:07 AM

It's not my browser or server settings, I wouldn't post on this forum before thoroughly checking out my issue and becoming aggrivated. I know it's a universal problem, have had all of my users test, and even did 2 clean installs of the last couple of versions to see that it wasn't something funky with mine in specific.

I've also used a different box that I co-locate out in Illinois to test this issue, using it's clean IE settings(and typical ones) to look at the issue, all procuring the same result.

Problem is I don't think you understand what I'm describing, let me try to be more clear:

Go into viewing a thread in outline mode.

Read a thread.

Have a user(or you under a different account on another box) post to that thread again, MULTIPLE times, making many new posts. Have some reply to posts in the "tree", and some just to the main post in general(so you can get a good idea of what I'm talking about here).

Done? Now go back under the original account and box you viewed the thread with. In the outline view at the bottom you should see little new folder icons with red stars on them indicating the new posts.

Now, this is the doozy... Click on one of the new posts. On the next page, then scroll down... Notice how ALL of those posts, even the one outside of the thread tree, are all now marked as read? How do you know which ones you read or not? You only clicked once and the rest of the new post icons disappear in the outline view. I have some topics with 100+ replies to them, there's literally no way for my users, as is, to be able to know what they've read. They click on ONE new reply, and the rest of the new icons go poof.

Or I can do you one even better. Go to a thread in outline view with new posts, don't even click on the posts - just refresh the page. Same thing.

It happens here, on your board, mine, and a colleague of mine has the same issue as well - it's not limited to my install, that much I assure you.

Outline view IS the preferred viewing method of my board, and this is just being a horrible pain.

I wish Matt or someone could at least reply with a quick way I could change the method for putting in cookies, or SOMETHING, that would fix this problem or give me a temporary fix. I highly douby this is how they would intend it to be working.

By looking at the code I can see WHY this is happening, I just don't have the know how to fix it. The reason why it's doing this is because it's using topic id to track the views, NOT the post id(which it needs to be for threaded view/outline view).

Could really use some help here :/.

[turetzsr]

...As far as I can remember, I haven't had the problem that's addressed in that IPB forum thread since the latest version was installed here. <g> As to Jeff G.'s complaint, IIUC, as long as I refresh the page after having viewed the actual (previously) unread items, the blue icon is displayed properly (either light for all read or dark for some unread).

[Wazoo]

I posted the other dialog to show that it was a different problem .. though should note that there is a lot of dialog going on over there .. Matt dropped the cookie tracking thing, going instead to a database bit .. and there are still more issues (I've got one sub-forum that just won't "stay" read between logins and I have no idea what else to try)

On Jeff G.'s scenario, I can only concur, the 'Back and Refresh' is the only way I can suggest .. though noting this has some 'false' results at times also ... just today, it decided to change two Forum sections to 'read' even though entering the Forum section showed a number of 'unread' Topics ....

[Jeff G.]

I've got one sub-forum that just won't "stay" read between logins and I have no idea what else to try

27639[/snapback]

I haven't got such a sub-forum - which one is it? Thanks!

[Wazoo]

I haven't got such a sub-forum - which one is it?  Thanks!

That would be a sub-forum over on the IPB support Forum .... I've got concurrence that the same sub-forum is wonky for them also ... Guess at this point is some weakmess/flaw in the SQL/databae handling in maintaining all the bits now used for Topic tracking (again, version 2.1 of this application ... (release is just around the corner <g>)