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Read "XX" Times No longer Shown on Top of Threads

Started by Michael Vail, June 28, 2022, 09:23:32 PM

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Michael Vail

Hello SMF Friends,

Unlike SMF 2.0, the number of times a thread has been read is no longer visible on the top of each thread in SMF 2.1. In order to see how many times a thread has been read, I now need to go to the category index of the thread where the info is displayed for all threads in that category. Having this feature shown at the top of each thread was very useful to me and it was conveniently located in a place I was already in rather than having to move elsewhere to get it. Is there a setting to restore this feature that I'm missing? If not, is it worth making a request for that feature back in? Also curious as to why it was removed.

Thank you in advance.

lurkalot

Hope you get the answer to why it was removed from it's original location.  I asked the same question back in May 2021 and that was never answered.  I would have preferred as a preference setting rather than just removing it,

Arantor

It was removed because it's pointless. I'd have removed it from the list of topics too if I could.

You see, the number is never going to be useful except on *totally closed communities*. And even then it's questionable.

On a community that has things open to guests, the number will be *vastly* inflated by search engines meaning that any topic that has been around over time will be inflated by search engines visiting it.

Topics that are longer tend to get more disproportionately more views, too, because the logic of "you are on page 1, now you go to page 2" is a best-guess whether it counts as another page view (too quickly, and it won't because normal viewing and going from page to page would be "the same view")

With that in mind, *you simply cannot rely on it for anything useful and it is not meaningful or practical to actually fix*.

Fixing it potentially requires keeping search engine tracking on, while it is off by default, and the list is more than a decade out of date. Even SleePy's list is more than a decade out of date.

Finally, I give you the top ten most viewed topics on this site. Please let me know if you think this list is in any way representative of what topics are most likely to be actually most viewed by *real people*.

Kindred

#3
And, to answer the question, there is no setting to turn it back on
Слaва
Украинi

Please do not PM, IM or Email me with support questions.  You will get better and faster responses in the support boards.  Thank you.

"Loki is not evil, although he is certainly not a force for good. Loki is... complicated."

Arantor

And if you *really* just have it... no, it shouldn't be a setting because then you might as well have a setting for every single line that can be displayed and no one needs that.

Themes/default/Display.template.php

Code (find) Select
// Show new topic info here?
echo '
<div id="display_head" class="information">
<h2 class="display_title">
<span id="top_subject">', $context['subject'], '</span>', ($context['is_locked']) ? ' <span class="main_icons lock"></span>' : '', ($context['is_sticky']) ? ' <span class="main_icons sticky"></span>' : '', '
</h2>
<p>', $txt['started_by'], ' ', $context['topic_poster_name'], ', ', $context['topic_started_time'], '</p>';

After:
echo '
<p>', $context['num_views_text'], '</p>';

And we can then add yet another change to the list of things I wish in hindsight I'd never bothered to do in the name of actually improving SMF.

At this point I should just submit a pull request for reverting every single change I made because you would all honestly be happier.

@rjen

Quote from: Arantor on June 29, 2022, 06:23:33 AMAnd if you *really* just have it... no, it shouldn't be a setting because then you might as well have a setting for every single line that can be displayed and no one needs that.

Themes/default/Display.template.php

Code (find) Select
// Show new topic info here?
echo '
<div id="display_head" class="information">
<h2 class="display_title">
<span id="top_subject">', $context['subject'], '</span>', ($context['is_locked']) ? ' <span class="main_icons lock"></span>' : '', ($context['is_sticky']) ? ' <span class="main_icons sticky"></span>' : '', '
</h2>
<p>', $txt['started_by'], ' ', $context['topic_poster_name'], ', ', $context['topic_started_time'], '</p>';

After:
echo '
<p>', $context['num_views_text'], '</p>';

And we can then add yet another change to the list of things I wish in hindsight I'd never bothered to do in the name of actually improving SMF.

At this point I should just submit a pull request for reverting every single change I made because you would all honestly be happier.

Please don't. There will always be a few that want everything the way is was. There's a far larger group of people who are perfectly happy the way it is now...
Running SMF 2.1 with latest TinyPortal at www.fjr-club.nl

Steve

If you're referring to Arantor's last comment, I'm pretty sure he was being sarcastic.
DO NOT pm me for support!

Arantor

Nope, I don't think I was. At this point I think the only things left that I changed in 2.1 that don't have a net negative response are bug fixes.

FrizzleFried

Arantor... you must remember... happy people rarely post about how happy they are with something.  Support forums are all about the "squeaky wheel".  This place's intended purpose is to attract folks who are not happy with how things are going with their forum so they come to look for a way to "fix" what they are not happy with (by and large... not entirely but you get my drift).

You simply can NOT judge how "the masses" feel about your tweaks/changes/etc. based on those "squeaky wheels" that come here to complain... (of which I count myself as being guilty of being one!)

Arantor

Well, it's probably a good thing that a) the team didn't want me going further and b) that I haven't been in the dev team in over 8 years. Imagine what it'd be like now.

FrizzleFried

Quote from: Arantor on June 29, 2022, 09:53:02 AMWell, it's probably a good thing that a) the team didn't want me going further and b) that I haven't been in the dev team in over 8 years. Imagine what it'd be like now.

...better I suspect.  You truly seem to discount your contributions here... in error.

:)

lurkalot

Thanks for the info, the reason for its removal was all I was after, and this answers that question.

And to add, I'm perfectly happy with 2.1 as it is.  ;)

Doug Heffernan

Quote from: FrizzleFried on June 29, 2022, 08:53:42 AMYou simply can NOT judge how "the masses" feel about your tweaks/changes/etc. based on those "squeaky wheels" that come here to complain...

I find this a bit offensive to be honest. There is nothing "squeaky wheels" or complaining in this topic by the OP. What I see here is a legit question.

FrizzleFried

My apologies to the OP if he felt I was was offensive in my "general assessment" (I figured it was pretty obvious that my "general assessment" was just that... a general assessment and not specific to the OP)... it wasn't intentional.  I am not sure how YOU could find my "general assessment" offensive,  however if you did,  again... it wasn't intentional... in the slightest...

Michael Vail

Quote from: Arantor on June 29, 2022, 03:31:04 AMIt was removed because it's pointless. I'd have removed it from the list of topics too if I could.

You see, the number is never going to be useful except on *totally closed communities*. And even then it's questionable.
Thank you for all the replies. My question seems to have garnered a lot of strong responses. I certainly hope asking questions like this isn't being received like it appears to have been. My question wasn't meant to offend or sound like I a squeaky wheel, complaint or being negative. I've been VERY happy with SMF and have used it for over a decade on multiple websites and I'm always respectful when asking things here. 

The SMF sites I administer are in fact closed and the posts are hidden from search engines. Guests have no access to the topics posted so the times read numbers are accurate enough that they are indeed useful to me. I'm very active follow every topic on my sites closely. The number of times read is something I look at on a daily if not hourly basis to gauge how widely a topic was received and reviewed by the members, and to gauge interest on what was being posted so we know what interests the most number of users. We adjust our posting methods accordingly based upon how often things are read.

The feature I was inquiring about was put into SMF and used for many years so there was obviously enough interest to have it there at one time. People get used to things they way they are and when a feature suddenly disappears that people use often, it's natural for them to wonder why. That's all my post was about. Clearly it's not coming back and that's fine. I will adapt and appreciate the information shared.

Take care.

Diego Andrés

Do not worry, your comments and questions are perfectly valid.

As it is, the topic might contain some sarcastic comments and rants, but also very useful information, including how to manually add back this feature.

SMF Tricks - Free & Premium Responsive Themes for SMF.

Steve

Quote from: Michael Vail on September 21, 2022, 12:33:49 PMPeople get used to things they way they are and when a feature suddenly disappears that people use often, it's natural for them to wonder why. That's all my post was about. Clearly it's not coming back and that's fine. I will adapt and appreciate the information shared.
In light of that, marking solved.
DO NOT pm me for support!

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