Unread posts displaying as read

[merrittgene]

I keep finding new threads that I've never read, but the icon doesn't show them as having new posts.

I could understand if I had marked the entire forum as read, but these posts are relatively new (one week or less) so I feel they should all display as unread, until I read them.

Is there some timelimit component to the "unread" icon performance?

[merrittgene]

This can't only be happening to me...my guess is that other people either don't notice it, or just live with it.

For example, kbasa's poll/thread about internet connection speeds showed the icon for read, even though I hadn't even visited the Forum since the message was posted.

I do have items that display read/unread properly, so I don't understand why the performance is not consistent.

Would one of the moderators care to comment?

Thanks.

[Rob Nye]

Do you access the forum from multiple computers?

- Rob

[kbasa]

I believe there's a time limit, though I'm not sure how it works. For example, I've been away traveling and I'll return to my desk, call up new posts and then start to work through them. I'll leave the new posts list up, go do some stuff for a while and come back. When I refresh the new posts list, it comes up with a much, much shorter list of threads.

Wierd, huh? I've got a bunch of admin stuff I need to do here and finding out how new posts works is one of them now, I guess.

[merrittgene]

Yes, I do use multiple computers.

[merrittgene]

Kbasa: I think you said you were going to research this a little bit...did you find a solution to the problem?

On a slightly different note, is there any way to mark the entire Forum as Unread? That way, I could undo the automatic "Read" status that get's assigned while I'm away.

My personal preference would be for all new members to join with all messages Unread, and for any automatic downgrading to be turned off.

Thanks!

[kbasa]

I've done some research, but this is poorly documented in vBulletin. I believe that the forum will time you out if you have the New Posts thread open for more than 15 or 20 minutes. The time period that makes this happen isn't specified, nor does it seem to be controllable from the vBulletin console.

There's not a way to mark threads Unread.

That's all I know, Gene.

[DarrylRi]

I have one of these keyboards with extra, programmable keys on it. One of them is set to go to new posts on the forum. I've noticed that if my finger slips and I hit the button twice in a row, I get two explorer windows; one has new posts and the second says you can't do two searches in less than ten seconds. That's fine and good, but if I close both windows, wait 10 seconds, and then search again, there will be no new posts available. All of the previously new and unread posts will be marked as read. Pretty odd behavior.

[merrittgene]

[If I] wait 10 seconds, and then search again, there will be no new posts available. All of the previously new and unread posts will be marked as read. Pretty odd behavior.

Well, frustrating as that is, I get the impression that vBulletin is designed that way, at least for now:

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/bugs.php?do=view&bugid=3197

I take this to mean that "New Posts" is designed to mean "since last visit" not to be confused with "unread".

While I understand that interpretation of "New" I don't think that's a very useful feature, at least in its' current form.

Personally, I took "new posts" to mean "globally unread," and with any luck, the vBulletin people will change the programming likewise. There are a lot of bug reports on this topic on the vBulletin site.

-

I suppose the only workaround would be "don't log off, and don't refresh your browser window until you've read all the new posts." Ick.