OT Thread View History Feature

[JBS]

I need some help here... is this a feature that you would use?

It shows the last threads that you have viewed so you can remember what you were looking at. You can see it at the link below...

https://chalkbucket.com/forums/history/

 

[Janneke]

No, I don't use it. I usually click on "New Posts", open the posts that look interesting in a new tab and then mark everything else as read so it doesn't keep resurfacing. It works for me

 

[gymgal]

Like Janneke, I just use "new posts" and "mark as read" buttons. There aren't enough posts that I can't keep track of what I have been reading.

ETA - I do like that my little avatar is shown on the threads that I have commented on though. It helps me to know whether I have responded. Sometimes I think about responding for a couple of days, before actually doing it and then I forget whether I did or just thought about it. Yeah, I know - memory is going.

 

[JBS]

Interesting... I'm actually surprised that more are not interested in this one.

Please take a look at the feature and vote in the poll if you have not already. I just installed this as a test last night.

 

[gymgal]

Interesting... I'm actually surprised that more are not interested in this one.

Please take a look at the feature and vote in the poll if you have not already. I just installed this as a test last night.

I can get all the information listed on that page right on the "new posts" page. For me, the new post page is well designed. It also allows me to hover over the title of each topic and get the first several lines of the OP, which is very helpful.

 

[Mish]

I also prefer to just use the "what's new" and "new posts" features for this. I also love how you can hover to get the gist of the topic.

 

[JBS]

I do understand that everyone like the "new posts"... I use that all the time.

However... please understand that "new posts" and "history" are completely and totally different things.

When I look "new posts" and "history"... I see completely different posts the way I use the site.

 

[Janneke]

I had a look at the history, and yes it is different. It seems to show everything I have recently viewed. Generally this would be new posts, which of course is covered but the new posts button. It could also be something I have specifically search for using the search function. If that is the case I generally search until I have found an answer or am fairly convinced there are no posts covering my question. In both cases the history button is unnecessary for me.

I guess the bigger question is not necessarily do people like "history" or find it helpful, but how much extra work is it for you? Or is there extra storage/memory involved because the system now needs to remember who looked at what? If there are costs, whether they are financial/time/other, then is it worth it? If it makes no real difference, then it is a great feature for those who want to use it.

By the way, really appreciate the effort going into creating this forum and keeping it going. It is a great resource!

 

[JBS]

I guess the bigger question is not necessarily do people like "history" or find it helpful, but how much extra work is it for you?

It's already installed... so none at this point.

Or is there extra storage/memory involved because the system now needs to remember who looked at what? If there are costs, whether they are financial/time/other, then is it worth it?

It looks like anything extra will be very minimal.

If it makes no real difference, then it is a great feature for those who want to use it.

True... I'll leave it on for a couple of months and see if anyone is really using it.

By the way, really appreciate the effort going into creating this forum and keeping it going. It is a great resource!

Thank you... it's the CB Staff and all of you that really keep this place going though. I look forward to the future!

 

[Deleted member 26368]

This thread has drawn my attention to the "History" tab, which I had completely overlooked before. I typically check CB from my phone and just refresh "Forums", without bothering to look at the other options that appear in the Menu. I may start playing around with this more. And, I didn't realize that hovering over the "New Posts" would show you the first sentence or so of the post - again, a feature I don't usually notice because I'm using CB from my phone. I can only access this feature from my laptop.

Which makes me wonder if this is worth asking as a question, @JBS - How many users access CB from their mobile devices vs. a computer? I think that may affect how certain features are used (or not used!).

 

[JBS]

This thread has drawn my attention to the "History" tab, which I had completely overlooked before.

It's brand new... it was never there before.

Which makes me wonder if this is worth asking as a question, @JBS - How many users access CB from their mobile devices vs. a computer? I think that may affect how certain features are used (or not used!).

Yes... device makes a big difference.

2022 so far...

 

[JBS]

Now if you look at only "logged in members". They are less... 54% mobile.

No matter how you look at it though... mobile is growing.

 

[gymgal]

not to get too off topic but I don't like viewing CB on mobile. It's fine if I am just checking but it does strange things when I am typing for a comment. ex. it doesn't allow me to select a string and delete it. I have to delete letter by letter. And sometimes it will go back up to the top of the comment box when I am typing so I cannot see what I am typing. It's just too frustrating. It's not just CB that does this. I have found it on a few other sites.

 

[Deleted member 26368]

Agreed @gymgal, I have those same issues. But I do usually just read posts from my phone. Typing responses on it is a hot mess.

 

[JBS]

It's not just CB that does this. I have found it on a few other sites.

Can you link to some of the other sites? Are they using the same software?

 

[JBS]

@gymgal @PreciousJ These mobile issues were supposed to be corrected in the most recent upgrade of the software. We have only been upgraded for a few months… have you tried the mobile editor recently?

 

[Deleted member 26368]

I've typed a response from my mobile in the last few days, but I think I opted to "Post Reply" without replying to an actual message. Hitting "Reply" on someone's message, and trying to edit their message, is where the problem arises, so I've stopped doing it lately.

 

[gymgal]

@gymgal @PreciousJ These mobile issues were supposed to be corrected in the most recent upgrade of the software. We have only been upgraded for a few months… have you tried the mobile editor recently?

I have not tried in several mi ths b/c it's always a pain. Using it for this post now and it seems OK so YAY! Thanks for responding. I likely will use it more now.

 

[gymgal]

I have not tried in several mi ths b/c it's always a pain. Using it for this post now and it seems OK so YAY! Thanks for responding. I likely will use it more now.

Ok, just tried to edit the above note b/c it should "several months" (another reason I don't like using my phone for long comments but that's not CB related). And I couldn't edit. It was right after, so the 5 minute rule didn't apply. There are three dots with an arrow at the bottom of the Comment box, but it didn't open to options to edit.

 

[Deleted member 26368]

There are three dots with an arrow at the bottom of the Comment box, but it didn't open to options to edit.

Trying now from my phone. I could delete a block of text from the previous @gymgal response, didn't always work before. Fingers crossed that this keeps working the way I want it to, LOL.

Edit: I am also able to edit....