I have probably the least efficient method of navigating this website possible. I just literally click from forum to forum seeing if any of my favored threads are bolded. Sometimes it becomes a mindless loop of futile clicking.
Then someone in ATMB said:
[QUOTE=LSL Guy]
I suppose my habit of opening a forum’s table of contents then Ctrl-clicking all the interesting threads on the first page of 100, then reading & posting one by one from the accumulated pile of tabs contributes to sometimes being out of phase with the latest post. Sometimes I think to refresh a thread before reading, but often not.
[/QUOTE]
This blew my little mind.
I know there’s a subscription feature but I rarely use it.
How do you Dope? What have you found is the most efficient method for reading and responding to posts?
I used to do it like you Spice Weasel but then someone on this board got me started on just clicking “New Posts” and I’ve been doing it like that ever since.
It’s flawed though, sometimes I’ll click on “New Posts” and a thread will pop up that’s already two pages long. And I’m like “I know that thread wasn’t there five minutes ago!”
I used to subscribe to certain threads back in the day. I never turned off the feature until I started getting a ton of notifications fairly recently. Some of the threads dated back to the early 2000s :eek:
I jump around too and click on anything which seems interesting. If I post in a thread I’ll return to it (especially if it’s still on the first page) to read any new comments.
I never go to Great Debates. I’ve seen enough fallout in the Pit over the years, LOL.
I do most of my posting on my days off. If I’m working, whether I actually visit the Dope or not depends on my work schedule. I might lurk a bit before or after but I won’t get myself involved in a thread knowing full and well there will be stretch of time before I can return to it.
90% of the time, I’m just clicking on New Posts and opening anything that sounds interesting in a new tab. Then I work my way through all of the open tabs (but I never open more than about 10 at a time).
The other 10% of the time, I’m using Search by User Name to find threads I’ve posted in and see if anything interesting has come up since I posted.
I follow all of my subscribed-to threads. When none of them have been updated, I start perusing individual forums, usually starting with IMHO, to see if anything catches my eye.
It is admittedly not the most innovative methodology out there.
I look for bolded threads in each forum I visit, and visit them on a loop throughout the day (I have an order).
When I’m not at my desk I use Tapatalk on my phone. First I check out what is in “Participated” and then I go to “Unread.” So that kind of eliminates the forum names.
I have subscriptions (no email notifications) turned on, so I first hit User CP to see any threads I’m interested in. (I also subscribe to threads I simply want to follow using Thread Tools and unsubscribe to threads I get bored with.)
After that, I use New Posts.
Then I check out the forums I mod for any interesting action.
I have been doing the “new posts” thing for the last few years, but I recently got a new computer and it* doesn’t remember my login. So now I check the boards by ordre of interest and post even less then I used to. Had to login just to post this reply.
*I know it’s not the computer itself, but the browser. Just too lazy too change settings;).
I log in every day. Not sure why I have to. It only takes a second.
To the OP, I hit “new posts” and scan the topics.
If I’ve been gone awhile, I’ll hit my name, hit “see all posts by Procrustus,” and then see if there’s been any action since my last brilliant post. I guess subscribing would be easier, but I don’t use the email account I joined with anymore.
You don’t need email to subscribe. You can set it up without notifications. Even if you have notifications, the threads are listed when you hit User CP
User CP to see if any threads I’ve posted in have seen action.
Then new posts to see what’s hot.
Then back to the User Cp.
Then back to new posts.
Etc.
If nothing new pops up in either, I go down the forums to see if there’s new threads since my last visit that just haven’t seen action in the last 20 minutes.
I use new posts. I thought they were the new posts since my last visit. But, that is not the case. There may have been new replies, but they don’t always show up by clicking on “New Posts”. Not sure of what the “New” means in New Posts. Anyone know?
They’re literally the things that have just been posted, without regard to when you last visited. Check out the list of times of posts. It is 4:23 my time at the moment, and the first page of new posts shows threads in which the most recent post was between 2:53 and 4:21.
