I don’t mind zombie threads getting resurrected (and I really like people coming back with updates), but I’m wondering if it would be possible to write some code or make a button or something that takes you to the first new post in a resurrected thread.
I’m confused. I mean, if you know it’s a zombie thread, why not just scroll down to the first new post. That’s what I usually do when I realize it’s a zombie thread (if it’s long). But the problem with zombies, and the reason, IMO, that people get so worked up about them, is that they don’t realize that they’re zombie threads to begin with, which would make the button pointless.
There was a zombie thread resurrected recently that has multiple new pages - I was scrolling and scrolling and scrolling to find where the old stuff stopped and the new stuff started, and I thought, “There has to be a better way than this.” Maybe there isn’t.
How about the background of old stuff gets a different colour? Then you’ll be able to see at a glance both that it is an old thread, and where the new stuff starts.
There’s also a “View First Unread” link at the top of the page. It works based on your last activity, so it should be fairly accurate in selecting the first new message for you.
It’s right below the “Post Reply” button at the top of the page. Although I’ve never understood why we actually *have *a “Post Reply” button at the top of the page.
Also, recall from umpteen earlier threads about this, that nobody ever really agreed on what constitutes a “zombie” thread, nor on which post resurrects such a thread. Are “zombie” threads defined, based on how long ago the thread was started, or on how long a time gap there is between the resurrecting post and the post just before that?
And once a zombie is resurrected, and several new posts have been added, then you no longer have a long gap between the latest post and the one just before that. So is the thread no longer a zombie? Do you have to search the entire thread for two consecutive posts anywhere in the thread, that have a long gap between them?
So, it turns out that “zombie thread” isn’t really well defined. It would get messy.
We have a “Post Reply” button at the top of the page? Holy moleys, look at that! I’ll have to try the “View First Unread” link - I wasn’t using that, either, since I haven’t looked at the page closely enough, obviously.
I still think old threads being a different colour would be great.
If you click on the little down arrow next to the Thread Title it will take you to your first unseen post, based on your last login time. It should do exactly what you want.
Q:What do you like most about the SDMB?
A: Knowledgeable members in a wide range of areas of expertise.
Q: What do you like least about the SDMB?
A: All the damn buttons.
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It would also be nice if the FAQ stickies that are currently at the top of ATMB were entered into the board’s built-in FAQ system so that link actually did something useful.
This works great if you know you want to go there from the thread list page. If it’s a thread I’ve visited before (and the link is a different color thanks to my browser/cookies), I use the arrow. If it’s a thread I haven’t visited, I click on the thread link itself. The problem is that if it turns out it’s a Zombie, sometimes people just want to see the new stuff to see what brought it back.