A funny thing happened on the way to Dave's forum - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: billclay
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 04, 2013, 08:34:41 pm
content: Please tell me there is a better way to read this forum!Here's my issue, it takes too much effort to scan for new material. I want something like the old USENET news readerslike trn (I'm showing my years now). I was able to mark an interesting thread, and only view the NEW posts since I've last visited. I can also mark (or ignore) posts from specific users I like (or dislike). Also, I want to have to not have to read all the new posts in one sitting. If this forum logs me out, I lose all my unread posts. Grrr.Sorry kiddies, I miss the old days, where all the groups I was interested in where in ONE location. Now there are multiple electronics forums, each using a different system! For my interest in topic Y, it's a new set of sites with the same limitations.Thanks for reading my rant, just wondering if anyone else is frustrated by this, and has any solutions? If only there were some standard API.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 04, 2013, 08:41:45 pm
content: Top left corner, "Show unread posts since last visit.", that's what I use.I have that link bookmarked so when I open the forum, it only shows new posts.Dave.

author: billclay
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 04, 2013, 09:00:02 pm
content: Yes, I use that too.Two issues, it shows the entire thread with old AND new posts, not just new posts. I have to figure out what date I left off in the thread to find the new posts. Second, the forum sometimes logs me out if I suspend my laptop (even if I set it to never) and upon the next login all the previous posts are marked read.

author: fmaimon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 04, 2013, 09:14:55 pm
content: You can click on the "new" button to go to the first new message after your last vist.

author: billclay
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 04, 2013, 09:40:40 pm
content: Holy crap! I just saw that <NEW> icon. It's so small I didn't realize it was clickable and did anything.Now if you log out (or get booted out) of the forum and still have NEW posts, they should still be NEW, right?

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 05, 2013, 05:47:13 am
content: Depends if your browser kills cookies on exit. You do need to keep the EEVblog cookie as it is the thing storing state information.

author: justanothercanuck
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 05, 2013, 08:02:59 am
content: I know phpBB can do that, not sure about SMF though.

author: benemorius
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 05, 2013, 09:46:08 am
content: The NEW icon is more or less reliable here, but the major problem that remains is, as pointed out, the inability to mark interesting threads you wish to keep up with. Virtually all forum software supports this (it's usually called thread subscription) but the feature is tragically absent from SMF and for reasons I can't fathom no one seems to be doing anything about it.Periodically, I ask google whether anyone has written an addon to add this omission to SMF but I barely even see people talking about it. Almost all results are for a different kind of "subscription addon" - an addon to support paid memberships.I haven't found a solution yet aside from leaving all interesting threads open in a minimized chrome window.If there's a workflow that everyone else is using which obviates the need for thread subscription, I'd really like to be let in on it and so would the OP, I trust.

author: GeoffS
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 05, 2013, 09:49:12 am
content: If every member here sent Dave $1, then he would be able to install vBulletin which has all the features everyone seems to want.

author: justanothercanuck
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 05, 2013, 10:45:33 am
content: vBulletin... I feel so dirty.