So I am logged in and when I click a thread title, it always takes me to the first post and then I have to click on the show new replies for it to go to where I read last. Where can I click on the page with the list of threads and automatically go to the first unread post ? On any other message board, clicking the thread title takes the user to the first unread reply, but not this one. What am I missing to click on ?

Also, after reading a thread and going back to the page with the thread list, the thread just read doesn't unbold and I have to manually mark it read. Why doesn't the site recognize I've read all the replies ?

Is this site just different from every other forum or am I missing a setting in my user profile or what ?

Thanks

 

The little arrow to the left of the title will take you to your unread posts. If you leave the subheading and come back your read threads will no longer be in bold.

This site is an older type of forum. The owners might not want to upgrade it as often it loses content. I have come and gone over the years and I just put up with it. This is the only forum I use that doesn't have a "dark mode"

 

thanks, didn't even notice that little arrow icon.

 

There are different options this software provides for determining what is new (unread) and not new (read) so as to display it correctly to the member. The default setting was recording recent topics read into the user's browser cookies and then everything X days old was automatically marked as read. The problem with that is members don't always use the same (one) device and thus it didn't keep as accurate track of read/unread. The other option is recording recent topics read in the database and then everything X days old is automatically marked. This is the current option F150 is using, and has been for some time, as it allows viewing the site across multiple devices with more accurate read/unread results as it's based on the account and not the device.

To actually track every post for every member is not trivial when you consider the amount of members and amount of posts F150 has. F150 has over 6 million posts and 350K members at the time of this message. I don't think it's common for any site similar to F150, with the amount of posts and members, to actually record every post that was or was not read. That's why the system uses a mixture of actual read and post date to narrow down the data to be manageable.

Regarding the issue where you return to the thread, I'm assuming you're using the browser's back button, and the thread topic isn't unbold. That is a browser cache issue at play. Your browser is retrieving previous stored data from the cache for quicker display and that would include the read/unread markup. Hit the refresh button in the browser so the browser retrieves new (live) data and you will see it change.

 

Thanks for the info. I do not use the browser back button. I use either of these two buttons on the site; the navigation link at the top to go back to thread listings or the back to subforum navigation button after the most recent post.

 

If you are on a PC, hold CTRL while you click the arrow, or right mouse click the arrow and choose open in new tab.

I start out with 'new posts' then right click or ctrl click through all the pages that have been active since last read. I'm often late to the party as tab #10 might take 20 minutes to get to and others have already answered that I won't see until AFTER I make post and that thread is refreshed.

 

What you describe is still your browser pulling data from the browser's cache. As noted, you can refresh the page and will see the new results. Some browsers allow you to change the cache. This could also possibly occur due to ISP/Network/Proxy settings which can also serve stale (not updated) content for quicker display by not actually re-downloading the content of the site.

Because your browser is pulling data from the browser's cache, it's not current. That's why you don't see the updated Read/Unread markup (bold or not bold) shown.

 

I have been going to message boards for over twenty years, currently visit about a dozen different forums a week between automobiles, firearms, RVs, and various other topics. This site is the only one that has this weird behavior. But if you want to blame it on my computer, sure, whatever.

I'll just deal with it on this site since there is no interest in fixing it.

 

It's hard to fix a problem that's not there, or not known, or unable to be replicated. I'm not aware of the Read/Unread status being broken by my own results or from following reports in the network.

It's not that the markup (bold/unbold) for Read/Unread behavior is broken. The weird behavior you describe is your browser calling stale data from the cache and you're seeing the same contents just prior to you having started reading threads. I understand the "this is the only site" comment but it's not that simple. As to why it's doing it, it can be anywhere between your end or F150. The websites can set instructions as to the cache policy but the browser does the work. There's also different ways to instruct cache usage and, again, browsers can execute that different from the next browser. This means it's between both the website and browser to work correctly. I don't know what browser you're using, what type of network/proxy settings you're using, what your browser settings are, etc., but all are factors. Third party plugins to the browser can also be a factor.

Next time it happens, note and look at the time stamp in the footer. Assuming enough time passes for it to advance to the next minute, you will note the time in the timestamp will be from the last page visit. Again, because it's from your browser's cache.