Dear Marcus,

[az3579]

I was going to write in Dear Santa, but that wouldn't be appropriate anymore...

Currently, to view unread posts in a thread, you have to first click on the first page of a thread and then click "View Unread Posts". Is there any way to add a button for that on the thread listing instead of having to click an extra page just to view those posts? There is currently a button on the thread listing to view the last post, but nothing for the first unread post.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

BP, the best solution is to use the "New Posts" feature at the top of the site. It opens up every unread thread for you.

I don't know of anything that will allow you to skip to your first unread post -- which might be in the middle of a thread. That would be a cool feature, though. Don't think that exists.

Clarify for me if I am misunderstanding you.

[az3579]

BP, the best solution is to use the "New Posts" feature at the top of the site. It opens up every unread thread for you.

I don't know of anything that will allow you to skip to your first unread post -- which might be in the middle of a thread. That would be a cool feature, though. Don't think that exists.

Clarify for me if I am misunderstanding you.

Dayum. It's driving me nuts... thanks anyway though.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

BP, that would be a great feature though. The problem is we scroll through threads. I imagine someone would have to create a save feature, so that your every move could be remembered. The problem with that, of course, is that you'd probably have to save every thread as you exited it.

Sorry, BP. You know how much I enjoy providing solutions for you guys. This one just doesn't look achievable.

[az3579]

Only problem is for those of use that use laptops that don't have the handy "scroll" button in between the right- and left-click buttons on the touchpad/trackpoint. My home machine has it (ThinkPad) but my work one doesn't (Dell D-series). Right now, I'm sitting here at work bored because I'm waiting on others to get their job done so I could do mine, and browsing the net with this thing is proving troublesome without a scroll button. lol

[Marcus-SanDiego]

BP, I am doing a little reading right now. I think I may have found something. Stay tuned.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Here are the three options we have:

Thread/Forum Read Marking Type
This option controls how threads and forums are marked as read.

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.
---

We are currently using option three. Most users would prefer option three. But in your case you really want option two.

Tell you what. I'm going to do a little more reading. I want to see what downside exists for option two -- especially in light of option three being most usable for the group as a whole.

Will get back to you.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

One downside if we decided to change over to option two:

Every thread on the site would be reset to unread. Of course, I could always have everyone hit the "mark forums read" button. That's one way around it. Still, that really works for someone like me, who has read every thread on the site.

Another problem with option two: forums will be marked as unread after you've made your own new post. That sucks. You then have to go back into the thread to get the thread marked as read. I've seen that on other sites. Now I know why. They must have had option two enabled.

BP, I have more research to do. I like your suggestion. And I know it exists. I simply need to keep doing more reading.

[az3579]

This is not quite what I was talking about. I have no problem with the way the forums are marked as read. What I'm wondering is if there is a button that will take you to the first unread post (for a particular thread) straight from thread listing as opposed to having to click into the thread, then clicking on the 'view first unread post' option. A button just like the existing button that takes you to the last post in a thread (from the thread listing page), only it would show you the first unread post as opposed to the last one, having this button in addition to the one that's already there.

I would take a screenie and upload it to show you, but I can't access photobucket from here (at work)...

[Marcus-SanDiego]

If I was to enable option two, you would see the button you're asking for. Because I have option three enabled, there is no "view first unread post" button visible to you.