"Go to first unread"

Why is the "go to first unread" feature so random? There are dozens of topics with new posts (since the last time I was on the forum) but only some of them show "go to first unread". With the original forum software, it was VERY clear which topics had new messages since my last visit. With this new software I completely unable to find a way to mark every topic as read. I'm sure it must be here somewhere, but finding it is not intuitive.

Believe it or not, I'm not as resistant to change as my comments might make you believe. But change needs to make sense. Everything is SO completely different it's like learning a new language. Quite frustrating.

Mark

That I can see, the "Go to First Unread" is only an option for threads that I've actually looked at previously.

WhyFi wrote in post #17316053
That I can see, the "Go to First Unread" is only an option for threads that I've actually looked at previously.

Yeah, I figured that out. But the "old way", you could mark an entire forum read and then, next time you visited, you could EASILY tell in a QUICK glance which topics had replies since the last time you were here. Now, apparently, the only way to mark a topic as read is to actually enter the topic and read it. Every single one.

Forgive me, but I'm not going to read every single topic in the forum.

And what about new topics that were started since the last visit. I see no way to discern them from older topics other than the number of replies. But some older topics have few replies, so that confuses the issue too.

I'm trying to like the new layout but I simply don't understand why it's been made so difficult to use. EVERYTHING is more "wordy" and more difficult to read and understand. Even trying to go to settings isn't easy. "For your eyes only", what kind of way is that to title a link to your settings? Why not just call it "User Settings"?

Too many $10 words and phrases used when a 50 cent word is fine.

Mark

Mark Booth wrote in post #17316049
Why is the "go to first unread" feature so random? There are dozens of topics with new posts (since the last time I was on the forum) but only some of them show "go to first unread". With the original forum software, it was VERY clear which topics had new messages since my last visit. With this new software I completely unable to find a way to mark every topic as read. I'm sure it must be here somewhere, but finding it is not intuitive.

Believe it or not, I'm not as resistant to change as my comments might make you believe. But change needs to make sense. Everything is SO completely different it's like learning a new language. Quite frustrating.

Mark

If you skipped some pages in a long thread then you will get the pop-up asking if you would like to traverse unseen messages. It also gives you the option of marking all the posts in the thread as read.

I dunno. I guess that I've never felt the need to mark an entire forum as read. I typically work through a progression, first looking at threads that I'm following and then scanning the newest posts, and then scanning the thread titles of a few specific sub-forums. If I see something interesting on the first page or two of these perusals, it gets added to the followed threads, otherwise it's ignored.

WhyFi wrote in post #17316094
I dunno. I guess that I've never felt the need to mark an entire forum as read. I typically work through a progression, first looking at threads that I'm following and then scanning the newest posts, and then scanning the thread titles of a few specific sub-forums. If I see something interesting on the first page or two of these perusals, it gets added to the followed threads, otherwise it's ignored.

No, I said THREAD, not FORUM. If it is a very long thread that has 50 pages of boring ranting you may not care to suffer through the whole thing.

My point is this: When I go to a VBulletin forum, I can quickly and easily tell which topics in a given forum have new messages (since my last visit) because the titles of those topics are in bold text. Even topics I've never read will show that they contain new messages since my last visit. It's fast and reliable. It's EASY on the eyes. It's simple.

With the new POTN forum software, I don't see any of that. The only way to tell which topics have new messages is:

1) Go along and read (all or part of) each and EVERY topic and THEN you'll get a little "go to first unread" or "all read" notation for the topic.

Or

2) Pay careful attention to the date and time you last visited and then look closely for the date and time of the last post in each topic. Now, of course, the newest topics will be at the top. But without looking for the tiny little font showing the date of the last post, you don't know when to stop scrolling (or paging down) to reach the last spot where you were at when you were last on the forum.

It's not easy and its not intuitive.

Mark

Mark, this post and others that follow it may help:

https://photography-on-the.net …showthread.php?​p=17315104

Bill Boehme wrote in post #17316082
If you skipped some pages in a long thread then you will get the pop-up asking if you would like to traverse unseen messages. It also gives you the option of marking all the posts in the thread as read.

I wasn't replying to you - you posted as I was composing.

Mark Booth wrote in post #17316120
My point is this: When I go to a VBulletin forum, I can quickly and easily tell which topics in a given forum have new messages (since my last visit) because the titles of those topics are in bold text. Even topics I've never read will show that they contain new messages since my last visit. It's fast and reliable. It's EASY on the eyes. It's simple.

With the new POTN forum software, I don't see any of that. The only way to tell which topics have new messages is:

1) Go along and read (all or part of) each and EVERY topic and THEN you'll get a little "go to first unread" or "all read" notation for the topic.

Or

2) Pay careful attention to the date and time you last visited and then look closely for the date and time of the last post in each topic. Now, of course, the newest topics will be at the top. But without looking for the tiny little font showing the date of the last post, you don't know when to stop scrolling (or paging down) to reach the last spot where you were at when you were last on the forum.

It's not easy and its not intuitive.

Mark

My point is this: not everything that's posted interests me. If it does, I take the time to click "follow." Easy.

Even following your logic, though, I don't understand the desire to read only new posts to a thread that you haven't read, yet.