Bugs in read/unread tracking
 

I can't figure out exactly how this forum's "mark as read" functionality works. It definitely doesn't have anything to do with whether or not I've read the thread, because threads I know I haven't read don't show up as unread, and threads I know I HAVE read still show up as having new posts.

To make matters worse, each forum's main icon on the front index doesn't seem to be correlated with whether or not there are threads inside with unread posts. More than once I've clicked on a forum to find that all of the threads inside are marked as read.

It's rather frustrating because I'm a compulsive forumgoer; I refresh the index fairly frequently (every few minutes when I'm paying active attention, every couple hours otherwise) to see where the new activity is.

Yeah, it does that. I've just sort of learned to click everything, then go to the main page and hit the link that says "mark forums read". I'm one of those people that can't leave something unread, so if it's bolded I have to click it and it's annoying when I click something and find out I've already been there. I've started looking at the "Last Post" section instead of the forums read/unread alerts.

I have been trying to get it to change, the best way I can explain it tho is that every so often if you haven't read it it will mark itself as read, and then when you read something go back to the page with the link to that thread and it will mark it as read. If you go back to the main forum page it will just assume it isn't read.

This will be a priority when I get code access. :P

I also have a compulsion to never leave forums unread. I don't know what I'll do when we start getting more people posting more threads all the time. @.@

I've noticed that if you read a thread in a subforum then go straight to the main page, it will say there are unread threads in that subforum when there aren't. going to the subforum page makes it show up as read.
Same thing happens in a thread. if I post in a thread, even if that thread was previously registered as read, and then go straight to the main page, it says that the subforum I just posted in is unread, even though everything was read and I hopefully know what I just posted.

if I am online and sit looking at the main or subforum page too long without any activity (which happens to me a lot because I get distracted by other stuff), everything decides to get marked as unread. so I have to pay attention to the "last post" section.

I think I basically said what Fenris just did but with more words. =P

I always thought it was just a little quirk in the forum, and I didn't mind the extra one or two clicks to get everything marked as read. but if it can be fixed, that would be wonderful. 8D

Is there any chance of me getting to take a crack at the code for this? It's really starting to get frustrating. >.>;

It is based on your current cookie and the last time the server registers you as having logged in. Everything that was posted before the last time stamp your account is tagged with is counted as read. Between time stamps the site cookie marks which threads you have read.

so, if you clear your cookies before your account gets time stamped, all threads that have posts after the last stamp show up as read. (just tested this)

I don't know how long the server waits between stamps though.

I can't say if it has, seeing as Coda hasn't been allowed access to the coding yet. Hopefully soon though if it hasn't. Currently coder has sole access to the code and we haven't asked him to allow others to play with it just yet.

Yay, ka-fixed! :D