Thread: Forum bug - everything becomes read

  1. #1
    Math wizard
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    Forum bug - everything becomes read

    If I'm typing a long message, researching something while trying to answer a question, just reading through a long thread, or doing something in the background, after some time, every single message that was previously unread becomes read and it's a pain to find out which messages have not been read yet. It seems to happen after about 15 or so minutes. Could this be increased to at least an hour, or, preferrably, up to 3 hours or even when the browser is closed?
    High elevation is the best elevation. The higher, the better the view!
    My computer: XP Pro SP3, 3.4 GHz i7-2600K CPU (OC'd to 4 GHz), 4 GB DDR3 RAM, X-Fi Platinum sound, GeForce 460, 1920x1440 resolution, 1250 GB HDD space, Visual C++ 2008 Express

  2. #2
    Deathray Engineer MacGyver's Avatar
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    Open a tab of the forums. Leave it open. When you want to go read through the forums at your leisure, do so via a separate tab.

  3. #3
    and the hat of int overfl Salem's Avatar
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    It's what tabbed browers were invented for
    - Find new posts
    - ctrl-click on each interesting looking post
    Easy money.
    If you dance barefoot on the broken glass of undefined behaviour, you've got to expect the occasional cut.
    If at first you don't succeed, try writing your phone number on the exam paper.

  4. #4
    Math wizard
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    That's not the problem. If you take 15 minutes to type a message or read a thread, or while you're doing other things in the background (such as my case where I'm working on my next project - creating a terrain map for my 2D game), all forums have each message within them marked as read, even though there are many unread messages (and still unread). Other forums don't have this. I have multiple windows open of Firefox, 3 to actual websites and another being a file stored on my hard drive that functions as a "bookmarks" thing. If I browse other websites but not these forums, then return here after at least 15 minutes, all messages that were once unread become read, even if I merely just refresh the page or click any link.

    Even if I don't refresh the page for 6 hours, log out, close my browser, or even turn off my computer (and leave it off for days), any messages at these forums that were unread remain as unread. Even some threads as old as 2005 are still unread as of today.

    What this is about is the mentioning of this bug (and annoyance).
    High elevation is the best elevation. The higher, the better the view!
    My computer: XP Pro SP3, 3.4 GHz i7-2600K CPU (OC'd to 4 GHz), 4 GB DDR3 RAM, X-Fi Platinum sound, GeForce 460, 1920x1440 resolution, 1250 GB HDD space, Visual C++ 2008 Express

  5. #5
    Lurking whiteflags's Avatar
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    I'm not so sure it's a bug. Sometimes I can be logged out automatically, only to see all threads marked as read. It's because you've seen the page before. Being logged out automatically doesn't bother me, but clear your cookies, or better yet, have the forum remember you; that may help more.

  6. #6
    Math wizard
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    I have it so that the forum remembers me and clearing the cookies doesn't do anything. It's just 15 minutes of not clicking a link to a place within the forums that this happens. It thinks that I go offline after 15 minutes which is way short. In fact, I could be typing a long reply, or I could be doing something in the background that doesn't require the browser. The Winamp forums also get this, but it only occurs after 2 hours. That's 8 times longer and would not be a problem at all. 15 minutes is way too short. Winamp uses vBulletin as well as these forums and the problem is unique to vBulletin as far as I know (Winamp just uses a much older version - version 2.3.9 - this is 3.6.5). In my phpBB2 forum I had, there was an option to change "inactivity gap" to whatever. These forums seem to have 900 seconds (which is 15 minutes), but 7200 should be sufficient enough.
    High elevation is the best elevation. The higher, the better the view!
    My computer: XP Pro SP3, 3.4 GHz i7-2600K CPU (OC'd to 4 GHz), 4 GB DDR3 RAM, X-Fi Platinum sound, GeForce 460, 1920x1440 resolution, 1250 GB HDD space, Visual C++ 2008 Express

  7. #7
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    It's a "feature" of the vBulletin software. When I have run into this problem in the past, I generally try to have a separate tab open with a forum page and remember every 10 minutes or so to refresh it or click a link or something so that vBulletin knows I'm still around and doesn't mark all the posts as read.

    Sometimes when the boss walks in and has a 15 minute conversation with me, I lose the unread posts. It would be nice if that could be changed, but it's been that way since I started browsing on vBulletin based forums and it hasn't bothered me enough to complain yet.
    Last edited by Daved; 05-10-2007 at 08:55 AM.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Daved View Post
    It's a "feature" of the vBulletin software. When I have run into this problem in the past, I generally try to have a separate tab open with a forum page and remember every 10 minutes or so to refresh it or click a link or something so that vBulletin knows I'm still around and doesn't mark all the posts as read.

    Sometimes when the boss walks in and has a 15 minute conversation with me, I lose the unread posts. It would be nice if that could be changed, but it's been that way since I started browsing on vBulletin based forums and it hasn't bothered me enough to complain yet.
    Man, sometime you gotta put your boss in his place.

    "Look B-Man, I know you just looooove hearin' the sound of yo' voice... but I got some serious forum posts to take care of. Dis kid, he's got a linked list problem, and I got's to help. So why don't you just go make yourself busy or something?"

    If he insists on getting all up in yo grill, just hand him some smackdown. You shouldn't have to repeat yourself.
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  9. #9
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    >> just hand him some smackdown.
    Where can I find this smackdown you speak of?

    Oh wait. That's slang, right? Does that mean you want me to shoot him? Wouldn't that be a little bit harsh?

  10. #10
    Registered User hk_mp5kpdw's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Daved View Post
    Oh wait. That's slang, right? Does that mean you want me to shoot him? Wouldn't that be a little bit harsh?
    Nah, if he meant that he'd say to pop a cap in his a..
    "Owners of dogs will have noticed that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they will think you are god. Whereas owners of cats are compelled to realize that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they draw the conclusion that they are gods."
    -Christopher Hitchens

  11. #11
    Math wizard
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    What I'm suggesting is that the time between this happening just gets increased to about an hour or so instead of the rather tiny 15 minutes.
    High elevation is the best elevation. The higher, the better the view!
    My computer: XP Pro SP3, 3.4 GHz i7-2600K CPU (OC'd to 4 GHz), 4 GB DDR3 RAM, X-Fi Platinum sound, GeForce 460, 1920x1440 resolution, 1250 GB HDD space, Visual C++ 2008 Express

  12. #12
    Woof, woof! zacs7's Avatar
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    /filthy propaganda follows
    With Opera I don't have any problems Since its undoubtably the best browser in the world. And the most portable, not to mention the fastest browser ever.

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