I’ve been wondering about this for some time now, so decided to ask about it. Now usually, if I see that option, it’s in a post that I’ve already visited. But sometimes, it will appear in a thread the first time I go into it. Which would mean that the first unread post would be the original post. But that’s not what this option is for, I suspect. Why does that happen? It’s not supposed to happen, is it? BTW and ftr, it’s a good option and very useful when you want to catch up on postings made since the last time you viewed a thread.
This question comes up here from time to time. The database does not keep track of which threads you have visited and read. This would take up a huge amount of database storage and would cause the already overworked hamsters to have a nervous breakdown.
What the database does track is the last date and time that you visited the boards. You can see this in the upper right corner of most of the pages right under your username.
Any threads which have posts after your last visit will have the “view first unread post” icon, and the post that will be loaded is the first one after your last visit.
It’s definitely not a perfect system, since no one reads every thread every time they log in, but it’s the best that can be expected under the circumstances.
Except that “view first unread post” doesn’t really work. It just takes you to the end of the thread. At least that’s what happens to me. I always have to scroll up the the real first unread post.
It will take you to whatever post has been lodged first after your last log-in. That may well be the last post in a thread, if you frequently come in and out. Sometimes, this board will log you out when you are still in, just because it gets futzy.
It will take you to whatever post has been lodged first after your last log-in. That may well be the last post in a thread, if you frequently come in and out. Sometimes, this board will log you out when you are still in, just because it gets futzy.
By the way, don’t confuse the “go to first new post” button (found near the left side of the list) with the “go to last post” button, found just to the right of the name of the last poster in the thread.
