New forums problems

[PeterW]

Thanks, but also, hmm. That doesn't seem to show me the same results as clicking the forums and observing which threads are in bold. I'm not sure what its criteria are.

But of course some of those bolded threads may have been last changed before the software change. I'll try marking everything as read and seeing if it makes more sense in the future.

I agree, it's not quite the same. It used to be possible to display unread posts since last visit, i.e. new threads and new posts in existing threads. And from this view, the user could then mark these posts read. So I would display unread posts, view the ones I wanted to, then mark the ones I didn't want to look at as 'read'. So the next visit I knew I was only seeing new posts.

The 'mark channels read' seems similar but if you then click 'new posts' you will see the new threads again. Something isn't quite right!

 

[vbampton]

Yeah, I agree, it's not the same. I've been researching and vBulletin 5 (this software) appears to have removed that feature. The closest I can get is http://gettingthingsdone.com/forum/search?searchJSON={"unread_only":1,"date":{"from": 7},"view":"topic","sort":{"lastcontent":"desc"},"e xclude_type":["vBForum_PrivateMessage","vBForum_VisitorMessa ge"]}

It doesn't only show unread posts, which would be the old behavior. It shows threads have been updated in the last 7 days (you can change the number, depending on how often you visit) and the unread ones have bold titles. I think that's as good as it's going to get for now. (When you copy and paste that link, it's not supposed to have spaces in it. Yet another vB5 bug!)

 

[Folke]

I have been seeing a new problem today. On the intro page http://gettingthingsdone.com/forum/forum I see the blue markers on the left for new input, and indication on the right that the last post in that forum is s some spam post about kitchens in the UK. But when I click into the forum or thread there is nothing theer - probably deleted by an administrator. But the markers and spam thread name on the intro page are still there, and I cant make them go away.

 

[vbampton]

They're in moderation, so you shouldn't be able to see those. I'm about to delete them, so it would be interesting to know if you can still see them in 20 minutes or so.

 

[Folke]

Seems almost OK now, but perhaps not quite.

Just now there was a blue marker on the Gear forum and a link to a thread called Task Manager Help (last post was #2 by Gardener). I went into the Gear forum (not the thread) and the thread was not bolded as it should. I then entered the thread and then went back to the "home" page using the Forum link. The blue marker was still there, which it should not.

I then went into that thread straight from the Forum page, and then back using the Forum link. Only then did the blue marker go away.

 

[Folke]

Also, I just notice that even my own posts turn on the blue marker.

And, again, the marker only goes away if I use the direct link to the thread, not if I go via the Discuss GTD or Gear lists.

 

[Folke]

It seems that spam posts cause the marker to stay blue even after the post itself has been removed. No matter how many other threads I re-open, or how many times I do this, the marker stays blue all the same.

 

[PeterW]

I am really struggling with these new forums. It was so much easier being able to display only what has changed since my last visit in one list. I can't see that I can do that now.

The 'New Topics' link does what it says, i.e display new topics only. It doesn't show updates to existing topics.

The 'Latest Activity' link seems to display updates for a time period (e.g. last week, last month, etc). What I want to see is any posts that I haven't seen before. And the format of the 'Latest Activity' list is very difficult to read, i.e. instead of the topic heading being in bold and larger font, the forum name is in bold and there is too much information displayed. Just a list of topics would suffice with popup text of the message body when you roll over it with the mouse.

This has reduced my visits to the GTD forums because it's too difficult to navigate & read. If others are finding this too then forum traffic will drop and that's not a good thing for the community.

 

[TesTeq]

I am really struggling with these new forums. It was so much easier being able to display only what has changed since my last visit in one list. I can't see that I can do that now.

The 'New Topics' link does what it says, i.e display new topics only. It doesn't show updates to existing topics.

The 'Latest Activity' link seems to display updates for a time period (e.g. last week, last month, etc). What I want to see is any posts that I haven't seen before. And the format of the 'Latest Activity' list is very difficult to read, i.e. instead of the topic heading being in bold and larger font, the forum name is in bold and there is too much information displayed. Just a list of topics would suffice with popup text of the message body when you roll over it with the mouse.

This has reduced my visits to the GTD forums because it's too difficult to navigate & read. If others are finding this too then forum traffic will drop and that's not a good thing for the community.

Exactly! That's why now I am forcing myself to visit GTD forums. Now it's a frustrating duty - not a pleasure as it used to be... :-(

 

[Folke]

Maybe you all had discovered something at the old site that I hadn't. For me the difference is not all that big. I always go to the forum page http://gettingthingsdone.com/forum/forum, where I can see the two forums listed (Discuss GTD and Gear&Software). If there are any new posts or new threads in either of them I see a marker (now blue) on the left. I then go into it and see all the modified threads in bold text, latest modification/addition on top (except for the sticky threads on top). So it seems pretty much the same to me, except it is now a bit buggy.

But I agree I would prefer to have one single list with the most recently modified threads on top. I never had much use for the forum separation (discuss vs gear), but it is not a totally bad thing either. Most of all I do not want to have to see all the sticky threads that I have already read.

 

[PeterW]

Maybe you all had discovered something at the old site that I hadn't. For me the difference is not all that big. I always go to the forum page http://gettingthingsdone.com/forum/forum, where I can see the two forums listed (Discuss GTD and Gear&Software). If there are any new posts or new threads in either of them I see a marker (now blue) on the left. I then go into it and see all the modified threads in bold text, latest modification/addition on top (except for the sticky threads on top). So it seems pretty much the same to me, except it is now a bit buggy.

But I agree I would prefer to have one single list with the most recently modified threads on top. I never had much use for the forum separation (discuss vs gear), but it is not a totally bad thing either. Most of all I do not want to have to see all the sticky threads that I have already read.

In the old forum it was possible to click a single link and see any thread with unread messages. After clicking this I could see a list of threads and decide which ones I wanted to open/read. Once I was done, I just clicked the other link to mark the rest as 'read'. This made forum use very efficient. The current forum is a bit like leaving all of your email in your inbox... i.e. you have to waste time scanning the list which for a GTD forum is not best practice!

 

[Folke]

Wow. Single list. Threads with the newest posts first. No stickies on top unless they contain unread posts. And a mark-all-as-read feature. Perfect. I agree. (I never realized we once had all that, but I definitely agree it is much better that way.)

 

[TesTeq]

Wow. Single list. Threads with the newest posts first. No stickies on top unless they contain unread posts. And a mark-all-as-read feature. Perfect. I agree. (I never realized we once had all that, but I definitely agree it is much better that way.)

It was my main method of forum browsing. Now gone... :-(

 

[tawaters]

Yep, that was my main method of forum browsing too. Really miss it.

Tom

 

[mommoe436]

I use windows version on my laptop to read forums, after logging into the Forum, I click on the search link that someone posted here early on (sorry I don't recall who), and this provides me with a list of only those threads that have new messages since my last know. A few more steps but works for me. I have this search saved on my bookmark toolbar and after reading the thread, I click on again to go back to the list of new items.

http://gettingthingsdone.com/forum/..."},"exclude_type":["vBForum_PrivateMessage"]}

 

[TesTeq]

I use windows version on my laptop to read forums, after logging into the Forum, I click on the search link that someone posted here early on (sorry I don't recall who), and this provides me with a list of only those threads that have new messages since my last know. A few more steps but works for me. I have this search saved on my bookmark toolbar and after reading the thread, I click on again to go back to the list of new items.

http://gettingthingsdone.com/forum/..."},"exclude_type":["vBForum_PrivateMessage"]}

Thank you very much. It seems to work. I saved a bookmark to this url and will use it!