Changes 4/16/07

[jagowar]

If you haven't noticed already all the posts probably just got marked as unread or something else weird like that. i changed the option about how new posts are marked from the cookie based system to database controlled so it should be pretty accurate now but it does take more server power to run so i am going to have to monitor it for a while to see how much extra power it takes.

What does this mean? This means that if you visit aggiefans and you aren't able to read all posts, when you return later the previous new posts will still be available under the 'New Posts' option. Currently if you leave and don't read all of the posts, they will automatically be considered read. Plus, under the setting I'm suggesting, after reading a thread/post it no longer shows up in 'New Posts' until another reply is made. To me, this makes it easier to get through all the posts in a forum.the other change was setting a new "default" theme. For our 2 yr anniversary we talked about phasing a new theme in for all those people who come to the site for the first time. This will not affect those who already are registered and set their own theme so a majority of you will not notice this change.

also just fixed the smiles box in quick reply as well as added the media icon to quickreply and the regular reply so it easier for everybody to use when posting video (esp those youtube flicks). just click the movie reel icon in quick reply and paste the youtube url between the media tags and it will embed the video.

[Vlyrock]

Does this mean if I don't read a post, it's always going to show up as a new post when I hit new posts?

[whitelightnin_23]

Does this mean if I don't read a post, it's always going to show up as a new post when I hit new posts?

yup...and I don't like it that way...I like seeing the most recent posts (like it was)...

but that's just me

[jagowar]

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.here are the 3 options.... i know it is good to have the post time out after a certain time for all posts but i never liked the inactivity based way because you had to view every post of every page in order for it to consider that thread read (and half of the time i didnt mark it read). so I spent alot of time clicking the "mark posts read" link at the bottom of the page.

there is a timeout option for the new one as well but you can only set it by the day. right now its set for 10 days but i could change that to 1 so if a thread/post is more than 1 day old it wont register as unread.

[Pflugerville Ag]

here are the 3 options.... i know it is good to have the post time out after a certain time for all posts but i never liked the inactivity based way because you had to view every post of every page in order for it to consider that thread read (and half of the time i didnt mark it read). so I spent alot of time clicking the "mark posts read" link at the bottom of the page.

there is a timeout option for the new one as well but you can only set it by the day. right now its set for 10 days but i could change that to 1 so if a thread/post is more than 1 day old it wont register as unread.

I like it the way it is. I rarely get on here during the weekend, so I enjoy going through 2-3 pages of unread threads every monday morning. If you set the default to 1 day, then I will miss out on a couple days of threads.

[PJAggiegrrl]

I like it the way it is. I rarely get on here during the weekend, so I enjoy going through 2-3 pages of unread threads every monday morning. If you set the default to 1 day, then I will miss out on a couple days of threads.

Why not make it a happy medium? Maybe 3-5 days? Personally I don't care, as I am on here all the time anyway, but maybe for some of the other people that would help out.

[whitelightnin_23]

can you put it in the user options?

maybe it's just overwhelming since I've been away for a week...
I still like seeing the posts I have recently read though...for example, when I'm done submitting this reply...it vanishes off the "new posts" list for me :sad:

[jagowar]

well i can set it to anything.... its set at 10 days right now but i was offering that up as a way to limit when posts expire as being new.

the real reason behind this is to get something that actually works when you read a post its marked as read. plus this is the way vbulletin is starting to go (the old way was designed for vbulletin 5 yrs ago and designed to work on the older versions where this new system is designed for vbulletin 3.5 and up)

and so far it has been working great.... much better than the cookie based system.

and it cant be a usercp level option because its a vbulletin wide system (it would get very messy if some users were on the cookie system and some on the database monitoring)

[Mole]

I like the change!

[Thisjeffguy07]

i don't like it... when i read a thread then hit "new posts" the thread that I just read isn't there anymore until somebody else posts... and if i don't know what forum it was on, it's pretty hard to find... it actually took me a while to refind this thread, because i didn't expect it to be in the customer service forum...

[Loftin]

I just got done clicking on 11 pages of old threads so that now when I click on new posts, that's what I get. Pretty irritating, but oh well it's done now...

[Thisjeffguy07]

man i really like the old way... the new posts button is almost useless to me now, when before it's pretty much all i used...

[jagowar]

i don't like it... when i read a thread then hit "new posts" the thread that I just read isn't there anymore until somebody else posts... and if i don't know what forum it was on, it's pretty hard to find... it actually took me a while to refind this thread, because i didn't expect it to be in the customer service forum...

why would you want it to show a post as a new post if you already read the thread? i know when i read a thread i dont want to read it again until the next post has been made.

and fyi the old system is supposed to work the same way as the new one (from my researching) but it doesnt because the inaccuracy of a cookie. (ie the cookie doesnt update fast enough)

[Thisjeffguy07]

sometimes i'll read a thread and not respond... maybe go do some research, or just think of something to respond with at a later time... this thread is a perfect example of that... maybe it'll take some gettin some gettin used to, but as of now i don't like it

[jagowar]

yeah i think its mostly getting used to how it works.... because it does have quite a few advantages over the old way but we still arent set on using the db way because im still seeing how much effect it has on server performace (i havent really noticed any yet but its only been used for 12 hrs).

what do people think about the timeout rule? i was thinking dropping it some to ~5 days because of the issues raised above.

[whitelightnin_23]

IMO - I'd say 2-3 days...anything else & it just gets cumbersome...

if you want to go back that far, you should go to each forum & see what interests you...

[Thisjeffguy07]

i'd say 3 or 4 days would be good... sometimes i don't get to things on the weekend, so yeah, 3 or 4 days

[Vlyrock]

I'm going to have to chime in here and say the same thing...I don't like the change.

When I reply to a post, it's completely gone from the "new posts" button. If i want to say more or go edit what I just posted, I have to hunt the post down.

I'm going to give it a day or two, but I really think I want it back the old way.

[Thisjeffguy07]

I'm going to have to chime in here and say the same thing...I don't like the change.

When I reply to a post, it's completely gone from the "new posts" button. If i want to say more or go edit what I just posted, I have to hunt the post down.

I'm going to give it a day or two, but I really think I want it back the old way.

exactly my thoughts... it's getting annoying... and i feel like i'm missing stuff, even if i'm not... that's what it seems like

[Vlyrock]

I could pull the "executive decision" and kill the change, but I want more feedback. It's not really my site (sure I own it), but it's more about what's best for you guys....

[WesTxAg]

gonna have to side with jeff on this one--but then again, it may be a month from now and i wouldn't remember how it used to be

anyways, that's my 2 cents

[Thisjeffguy07]

6 cents and counting... :gig:

[whitelightnin_23]

if there's a way you could combine the two (old way w/ a longer "time-out" maybe 2-3 days) I think it would be perfect.

hey, you guys hear that? Vly said it's my site! Bow down...:bow: ;)

8 cents

[jagowar]

i changed it back.... the overall perception of it wasnt positive and it creates a bit of extra load on the server so for now its back. i do think in a year or two we will be putting it back on because the only reason the inactivity system works well now is because there arent 200 new posts everytime you visit the boards.

once there is i think most people are really going to want vbulletin to mark thread read once you read them.

[Mole]

I liked the change. :sad:

[Pflugerville Ag]

I liked the change. :sad:

Me too. I guess our opinions don't mean anything! :(

[jagowar]

well it was a bunch of people on the other side.... wonder if we should do a poll instead.

edit:added poll.

[whitelightnin_23]

by "new posts change" do you mean the way it is now...or the way it was (temporary change)???

:confused:

[jagowar]

the temporary change was the new one... since we are back on the original version now.

i changed the options so you can vote for one specific type (db vs cookie)

[whitelightnin_23]

the temporary change was the new one... since we are back on the original version now.

i changed the options so you can vote for one specific type (db vs cookie)

oh ok...that makes it easier ;) :headslap:

[Vlyrock]

i changed it back.... the overall perception of it wasnt positive and it creates a bit of extra load on the server so for now its back. i do think in a year or two we will be putting it back on because the only reason the inactivity system works well now is because there arent 200 new posts everytime you visit the boards.

once there is i think most people are really going to want vbulletin to mark thread read once you read them.
I don't really see the difference.

1) If I'm gone for 3 days, I have 200+ threads to catch up on anyways. With the database version, the minute I reply it's gone and I can't keep track of it or find it with "new posts". With the cookie version, it shows as read (no longer bolded) but I can find it. Both will show the threads until I hit mark forums read... But I'd prefer the cookie so that I can find ones I've read or responded too that are "new" to me...

[jagowar]

I don't really see the difference.

1) If I'm gone for 3 days, I have 200+ threads to catch up on anyways. With the database version, the minute I reply it's gone and I can't keep track of it or find it with "new posts". With the cookie version, it shows as read (no longer bolded) but I can find it. Both will show the threads until I hit mark forums read... But I'd prefer the cookie so that I can find ones I've read or responded too that are "new" to me...

actually the way i understand it once you read the thread its marked read until somebody else posts in the thread. so you dont have to click the mark posts read to get it to actually remove it from the list. basically eliminates the need for the mark posts read. where the cookie based system is more on the active timeout limit.

[phatbc]

THANKS FOR CHANGING IT BACK!

waaaaaaaaay better:gig:

[Thisjeffguy07]

THANKS FOR CHANGING IT BACK!

waaaaaaaaay better:gig:


agreed... this is one of the reasons that i switched over from texags...

[TwelfthAG]

I confused on the poll. I liked the way it was before 4/15/07, which way was that?

[Vlyrock]

Answer no if you liked the way it was.