Unread Posts link question

[bobbart]

I had a member ask me about the Show unread posts since last visit link.
He says it does show him the Topics that have a new post.  However he states that when he clicks on a link in the list it does not take him to the last post in that topic that he has read.  It instead takes him to the first post in the topic and he has to scroll down thru pages to find where he left off.
He says that other boards he uses do this such as IP Board.

I hope you understand what I am talk about.

If so can you please tell me if there is a setting for this or a MOD?

[Kays]

Hi, it should take the user to the last post they viewed. Does it work proper for you?

If so, check what browser they are using and get them to try another browser.

[bobbart]

No it does not do work for me.

If I
Read a topic today
the next day click Unread Posts
I get the list of new posts in topics.
I click on the link to the topic I know I read. 
I expect to be taken to the last post I read in this topic, so i can continue where I left off and now read the new posts.
This does not happen.  I am taken to the first post of the topic.  Now I have to scroll down or changes pages to get to where I left off.

[Leppie]

there's the "new" button which AFAIK normally takes you to the first unread message
there's also the "last post" button (page with an arrow pointing to the right) all the way to the right (see attachment).

[bobbart]

Obviously SMF does not have this feature.

If you click Show unread posts since last visit.  You are shown a list of unread TOPICS not posts.  Now if you click the link of one of these topics your taken to the FIRST POST of the topic.  Not to the FIRST UNREAD post as you would expect.

If you click on the little arrow on the right of the topic link you will be taken to the LAST POST of the topic.  This does not mean its the LAST UNREAD post its jut the last post in the topic.

It would be nice to be taken to the last unread post so you do not have to look around thru pages of posts to find where you left off a few days ago.

[Spoogs]

Obviously SMF does not have this feature.

Err... its works as intended here and on my site.

What version of smf are you using and what mods do you have installed?

[bobbart]

I just upgraded from RC4 to RC5.  I only have one mod installed that is for registration and even if I remove it I still get the same resultes posted above.

I am using Firefox v 3.6.13

[bobbart]

Anyone?
Example
1. Read Topic A 3 pages deep
2. Come back the next day.  I click Show unread Posts since last visit.
3. I see Topic A in the list.
4. I click the Topic A link
5. I am taken to the Starting Post and not to where I left off reading. 
6. I now have to find where I left off and start again.

Please help me sort this.

[Arantor]

Obviously SMF does not have this feature.

If you click Show unread posts since last visit.  You are shown a list of unread TOPICS not posts.  Now if you click the link of one of these topics your taken to the FIRST POST of the topic.  Not to the FIRST UNREAD post as you would expect.

If you click on the little arrow on the right of the topic link you will be taken to the LAST POST of the topic.  This does not mean its the LAST UNREAD post its jut the last post in the topic.

It would be nice to be taken to the last unread post so you do not have to look around thru pages of posts to find where you left off a few days ago.

Obviously it does because I got directly to your last post here from unread posts by clicking the new icon, which works exactly consistently with the rest of SMF.

You click on the topic name to get to the start of the topic, and the new icon to get to the new stuff.

[bobbart]

Read my edit above you.

[Arantor]

And there should be a 'new' link right next to it, just like I found your next post directly from it...

[bobbart]

Yes but that takes you to the Last Post made so now if this were many pages since I last was here.  I now have to scroll back and find where I left off.

Other forums remember where you last read up to.  Does not SMF?

[Arantor]

No, it doesn't. It takes you to the FIRST NEW POST. Just like the message index does. And has done for years.

I'm talking about the orange 'new' link right next to the subject... I can attach a screenshot if you need more proof.

[bobbart]

All that does is show you the same thing as the Show Unread Posts Since Last Visit list.
If you click the Last Post icon on the right you are taken to the Last Post in the thread.
What I was looking for is a way for it to remember where I left off in a given topic.  So that I did not have to find where I left off in pages of replys.

[Arantor]

All that does is show you the same thing as the Show Unread Posts Since Last Visit list.

Clicking on the new link from the unread page is exactly how I got here. If your installation does not do this, it has been modified, and broken.

Let me put it this way. I've made 41,000 posts in under 2 years here. I could not physically do that if I could not remember where I'd got up to in the really huge topics. SMF remembers this and has done so without any problems that I can detect. Even if a thread jumps on a page or more that I haven't read, SMF remembers that too just fine.

You are actually clicking on the icon, right? Not the icon?

[Antechinus]

ROFLMAO. I did try to suggest this some time ago.

Ok, here's one that will get the chickens squawking and madly running around the yard.

The unread posts and new replies pages: why do they have little "New" icons on them at all?

I mean every damned thing on those pages is new. That's the whole idea of them. You only go to those pages to see new stuff. They have no other purpose.

Why not just scrap the silly, superfluous icons and make the topic title link straight to the first new post in that topic?

Easier to click than a little icon. Does the same job. Less markup. Cleaner looks.

The icon is also a very visual reminder that the topics are new to you - in a template which otherwise looks EXACTLY the same as messageindex, it would be confusing if no topics seemed "new".

I suppose it depends on what level of stupidity you wish to cater for. The message index doesn't list which boards topics are in, for obvious reasons. It also has different buttons, etc. I never have any problem telling them apart.

The two templates are already similar in layout. In fact removing the "New" icon from the unread/replies pages would server to more clearly differentiate them from the message index.

[Arantor]

Ant, the whole reason why it's the way it is right now is for internal *consistency*, the whole POINT is that it's supposed to be like the message index so that once you're familiar with the one, you'll be familiar with the other...

If we take it your way, the implication is that you might expect to get the first unread post in a topic if you click on the topic from the message index.

[bobbart]

I do not think I am getting the little new icon.  Perhaps its the theme blackrain?  Or is it a feature that was turned off?

[Arantor]

Which BlackRain theme, there are 3 different versions last I saw of it.

[Antechinus]

Ant, the whole reason why it's the way it is right now is for internal *consistency*, the whole POINT is that it's supposed to be like the message index so that once you're familiar with the one, you'll be familiar with the other...

If we take it your way, the implication is that you might expect to get the first unread post in a topic if you click on the topic from the message index.

They are different templates with different functions. Anyway I think some improvement is possible. As we can see clearly here, the so-called consistency is definitely not helping some users.