Suppose I want to get the equivalent of the New Posts list, but limited to a specified set of forums. Is there a relatively simple way to do this? Advanced Search doesn’t work without content words or user names to search on. Thanks.
Yes, it’s quite easy, actually. Simply add an extra variable to the search link to only include or exclude specific forums:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/search.php?do=getnew&exclude=4,12
This would search all forums except MPSIMS and IMHO.
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/search.php?do=getnew&include=2,3,7
This would search only ATMB, GQ and GD.
It’s actually pretty easy to add a custom variable to people’s UserCP that lets them define their own custom New Posts link and have that one appear on the toolbar in place of the default, so you can simply click and automatically have only the new posts from the forums you care about. I’d be happy to show the staff how to do it if there’s any interest in such a thing.
Edit: Forgot to mention, those numbers are the forumids. To see what forum has what id, just go to the main page and roll over each forum link. You’ll see a link that looks like:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/forumdisplay.php?f=17
That last number is the forumid.
Thanks so much, Giraffe! Exactly what I wanted.
If anyone is interested, the forum numbers are,
About This Message Board - 2
Comments on Cecil’s Columns/Staff Reports - 1
Straight Dope Chicago - 20
General Questions - 3
Great Debates - 7
Elections - 34
Cafe Society - 13
The Game Room - 17
In My Humble Opinion - 12
Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share (MPSIMS) - 4
Marketplace - 35
The BBQ Pit - 5
The Barn House - 18