# Hidden flag? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [September 7, 2010, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-flag/552901 "2010-09-07T08:35:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![komolono](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/komolono/32/532_2.png) [@komolono](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/komolono)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-flag/552901/1 "2010-09-07T08:35:56Z")
I frequently read GQ messages, but I can’t find an easy way to hide those threads I’m not interested in. I don’t mean subscribing those I want to read, but to hide the others. Can it be done on the first page listing of GQ headlines, or do I have open threads and mark them read? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-flag/552901/2 "2010-09-07T11:52:46Z")
All you have to do with threads you don’t want to read is to not read them. There is no way for you to not see the thread titles, if that’s what you’re asking. ---
**Author:** ![komolono](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/komolono/32/532_2.png) [@komolono](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/komolono)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-flag/552901/3 "2010-09-07T12:39:01Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > There is no way for you to not see the thread titles, if that’s what you’re asking. A little button next to thread’s title to hide it forever for the logged visitor would be great. Usually there are 10% interesting and 10% new topics, but you have to read them all… ---
**Author:** ![komolono](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/komolono/32/532_2.png) [@komolono](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/komolono)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-flag/552901/4 "2010-09-07T12:46:18Z")
I know that implementing such a feature would increase database transactions and vBulletin-db could not store the hidden data forever, but usually threads don’t live longer than one week in GQ. So it would make about 80_7_4 bytes in the database for each guest. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-flag/552901/5 "2010-09-07T13:01:33Z")
Why bother? You are the first person to complain about something so insignificent since I’ve been here. ---
**Author:** ![komolono](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/komolono/32/532_2.png) [@komolono](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/komolono)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-flag/552901/6 "2010-09-07T13:36:50Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Why bother? You are the first person to complain about something so insignificent since I’ve been here. My opinion insignificant:eek: Where is that thumb down button!:smack: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=12885847#post12885847](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=12885847#post12885847) ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-flag/552901/7 "2010-09-07T13:41:18Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Why bother? You are the first person to complain about something so insignificent since I’ve been here. Wrong > **[Please consider this comprehensive ignore system add-in to new VBulletin](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=481950)** > > I posted this during the lost weekend, so that’s why this might look familiar. I would find this add-on useful primarily for the ignore thread functionality. I’d like to be able to keep threads I’m not interested in, especially ones with... I’ve long wanted an “ignore thread” option. If you use Firefox, there’s a pretty good solution, described in that thread: [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7023/](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7023/) It worked well for me, but since I switched to Chrome I can’t use it anymore. I haven’t checked for a Chrome version yet, that may exist too. ---
**Author:** ![komolono](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/komolono/32/532_2.png) [@komolono](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/komolono)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-flag/552901/8 "2010-09-07T13:55:58Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > I’ve long wanted an “ignore thread” option. If you use Firefox, there’s a pretty good solution, described in that thread: > [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7023/](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7023/) Thanks, I’ve been ie-user since doing web-administering of my Windows 2003 Server. Maybe it’s time to change my preferences… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-flag/552901/9 "2010-09-07T13:58:32Z")
Sometimes I accidentally click on a thread I’m not interested in, and sometimes I read a thread and find it uninteresting. I’ve wished for a ‘Mark thread as unread’ option. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-flag/552901/10 "2010-09-07T19:35:20Z")
Do you ask the phone company to delete all those names and numbers in the directory of people you’re never going to call? Do you insist that a restaurant give you a menu that only lists what you want to eat? Maybe libraries should burn all the books you don’t want to read? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-flag/552901/11 "2010-09-07T20:33:17Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Do you ask the phone company to delete all those names and numbers in the directory of people you’re never going to call? Do you insist that a restaurant give you a menu that only lists what you want to eat? Maybe libraries should burn all the books you don’t want to read? If anybody was asking for the Admins or SDMB to magically know which threads we would never read and block them from us, instead of simply asking for a mechanism for the user to hide threads we ourselves know we aren’t going to read, these might not have have been completely idiotic, utterly inapplicable analogies. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-flag/552901/12 "2010-09-07T20:50:57Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Why bother? You are the first person to complain about something so insignificent since I’ve been here. So you’re aware of all the complaints anyone has ever made since you joined? How do you do that? ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-flag/552901/13 "2010-09-07T21:15:43Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Do you ask the phone company to delete all those names and numbers in the directory of people you’re never going to call? Do you insist that a restaurant give you a menu that only lists what you want to eat? Maybe libraries should burn all the books you don’t want to read? This is a truly bizarre post. The op is asking for something that procedurally works better for him/her than the current system. Computers are good at this stuff (in case you were not aware of that fact). He/she is probably asking for the same reason I would like it: because most of the time I am skimming past the same old threads that I didn’t visit previously and still don’t want to. It’s inefficient. I was tempted to write my own (because I understand the sdmb has very limited technical resources), I have never used grease monkey but, if I remember correctly, it seems like that might be a solution. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-flag/552901/14 "2010-09-08T00:10:39Z")
No flag, no post! These are the rules…that… I just made up. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-flag/552901/15 "2010-09-08T02:53:17Z")
Raftpeople–if you are using Firefox, the above mentioned [extension](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7023/)\* is good enough. If you are using Chrome–good luck. Based on the number of crappy extensions, it must not be that easy to use. And you’ll be missing a lot of the functionality of the original GreaseMonkey if you try to use that. \*If you are like me, you may want to use version 2.2.4, as the New UI may be a little wonky, and immediate action (without a refresh) was removed. Use the “[Old versions](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7023/versions/)” link at the bottom to find it. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-flag/552901/16 "2010-09-08T03:02:22Z")
Oops–should have included a link to a comment[http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=833168](http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=833168) from the developer of FfvB. Extensions in Chrome are inherently more limited. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-flag/552901/17 "2010-09-08T05:02:29Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Raftpeople–if you are using Firefox, the above mentioned [extension](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7023/)\* is good enough. If you are using Chrome–good luck. Based on the number of crappy extensions, it must not be that easy to use. And you’ll be missing a lot of the functionality of the original GreaseMonkey if you try to use that. > > \*If you are like me, you may want to use version 2.2.4, as the New UI may be a little wonky, and immediate action (without a refresh) was removed. Use the “[Old versions](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7023/versions/)” link at the bottom to find it. Using FF, tried Chrome when it first came out and hung up my system, haven’t tried again. Thanks for the tip.