Posted by Rachel/ORWA on 8/17/07 3:43pm
Msg #206271

Harry, we need a highlight function activated...

if that's the right way to phrase it!

I know this has been suggested before (PAW??), but I would love to be able to be able to log back in after several hours and be able to tell which posts I've already read in any given thread. Some of them get pretty long and it's time-consuming to go back through, sometimes clicking on posts one's already read.

I'm sure there are other priorities, but I can't be the only one who would love to see this.

Thanks!

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 8/17/07 3:49pm
Msg #206273

Re: Mine already works that way

Threads and posts are dark blue - when I read them they shade to light blue...when I come back later..or tomorrow...new ones are dark blue..just have to scroll through the pages..

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 8/17/07 3:51pm
Msg #206274

Re: Bah..okay..I lied..

I just tried and now it's not working..but it WAS!!!...Honest...<G>

Reply by LJ on 8/17/07 4:12pm
Msg #206278

Re: Bah..okay..I lied..

As I read the posts, they lighten. When I log off and back on, they are gone. I would love to see this changed also. Would save a lot of time. Thanks

Reply by CopperheadVA on 8/17/07 4:54pm
Msg #206287

That happens to me, too! n/m

Reply by MikeC/NY on 8/17/07 6:57pm
Msg #206300

Re: Mine already works that way

This has to do with your browser settings - it sees the messages as URL links, and will "remember" the ones you clicked on before, showing them as light blue. Depending on how you've got your browser configured, it may "remember' these previously viewed links for days, or completely forget about them when you shut your browser down.

I agree with PAW - NotRot should implement a system that will show you which messages you've seen and which you haven't. Ideally, the threads with the most recent messages you haven't seen should bubble up to the top for you when you log in.

What's nice isn't always easy or practical, however - I know from 20 years experience in IT that the stuff a user thinks should be a simple change often turns out to be a nightmare for the programmer. I'm sure Harry and staff would quickly implement this type of change if they could; my guess is that it's not that easy to do.

Reply by Dorothy_MI on 8/17/07 9:26pm
Msg #206314

Except that

one of the rival boards has always done it that way, so it must not be impossible. Of course, it might be one of those things that fairly easy to construct if you're building from the ground up, but very difficult to add on later. A little like putting a basement in a house. Relatively easy and inexpensive before any other construction is done, but next to impossible and very expensive to do after the buiilding is built.

Reply by christiSocal on 8/17/07 10:17pm
Msg #206326

Have you checked out the linear mode

That's one way of seeing new threads, but I like your idea better.

Reply by Harry [NR] on 8/18/07 2:33am
Msg #206356

Done...sort of. Let me explain...

There are several different ways to handle this, though two are more practical and more common than others. They are: 1) Leverage your browser's cache, and 2) Store your click activity in our database.

Under the first approach, your web browser keeps track of which links (messages) you've clicked and which you haven't. By default, links you have not clicked are blue and links you have clicked are either purple or gray. (Note that we have a little control over the color.) In order for your web browser to keep track, the link addresses must be identical from day to day. Until now, that has not been the case. As long as you are using the same browser and have not cleared your cache, generally, it will now keep track of what you've read and what you haven't, coloring the links as appropriate. (This was about a 1 hour change I started a long time ago at PAW's request, but hadn't finished until now.)

Under the second approach, we would record every single message you click as "read" and would store that activity in a special table in our database. Then, whenever messages are displayed to you, we could ask the database if you've already read them. (This is similar to the way Private Messaging works in our system.) This approach offers a lot of flexibility and would not be affected by clearing your browser's cache or even changing browsers. The downside is the "expense" of recording and storing everyone's actions (thousands of views per day) and then reporting the status whenever messages are listed.

The approximate time to implement the second method would be around 2 hours. I'll give that approach more consideration if people aren't happy with the first approach, but only after I'm able to take a closer look at the potential system impact. (That could be A LOT of database updates.)

Harry
Notary Rotary

Reply by Charles_Ca on 8/18/07 3:35pm
Msg #206425

Re: Harry, we need a highlight function activated...FWIW

I have no problems with the way your system works, and to me the highlighting has been adequate for quite a while now.

Reply by ZeeCA on 8/18/07 4:45pm
Msg #206430

Harry
I think you go above and beyone completely.
a suggestion I have and I will start a new thread to reiterate it (sp?) is that I email myself a message # if I want to get back to it.... I put it the message # in the subject line as a reminder. or you can PM it to your self...

works great for me.....

now speaking of PM... a delte button IN the message area would be WONDERFUL....

thx Harry for evthing you give us
Zee