# \<--- That little envelope? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [April 10, 2004, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-little-envelope/239340 "2004-04-10T17:27:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Craneop2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Craneop2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Craneop2)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-little-envelope/239340/1 "2004-04-10T17:27:34Z")
It seems when I post to a thread the little envelope turns grey. Not the yellow one with the letter sticking out the top. Even when I opened a thread recently when I went back to the page it showed a grey envelope on the brand new thread. I posted to that same thread after some replies, went back to the page… grey closed envelope. have I done something wrong and am on probation or something?? IM SO CONFUSED!! ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Joe\_Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Random)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-little-envelope/239340/2 "2004-04-10T17:43:47Z")
> [@Craneop2](#): > > It seems when I post to a thread the little envelope turns grey. That’s normal. A gray envelope means that there are no unread posts in the thread. Since you just posted in the thread, you have seen all the current posts, thus you get a gray envelope. When someone else posts to the thread, the envelope will turn yellow again. Oh, and this really should have been posted in the “About This Message Board” forum. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-little-envelope/239340/3 "2004-04-10T18:51:51Z")
I wouldn’t count on the envelope marker working all the time. Sometimes, when I take a long time composing a reply, several threads will come up grey, although I have not read them. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-little-envelope/239340/4 "2004-04-10T19:36:32Z")
Yeah, it times out on you. If you log out and log back in, it’s going to assume that you looked at all the unread threads you wanted to and it will mark everything as read. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-little-envelope/239340/5 "2004-04-10T20:46:56Z")
Since it’s a question about this message board, I’ll move this thread to the ATMB forum. bibliophage moderator GQ ---
**Author:** ![Lobelia\_Overhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@Lobelia\_Overhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobelia_Overhill)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-little-envelope/239340/6 "2004-04-10T22:16:16Z")
There is a facility on these MB’s to have a black dot appear on the little envelope (open, closed, whatever) to let you know that you’ve posted on that thread - which is handy if an old thread gets revived, or you leave the board for a week or so … ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-little-envelope/239340/7 "2004-04-11T00:15:47Z")
And last year the Powers That Be activated that feature…briefly. Apparently the resultant stress on the server caused massive slowdown and shutdown. It was deactivated, and I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for it to be activated. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-little-envelope/239340/8 "2004-04-11T00:22:41Z")
They tried using that black dot thing once and the board slowed down to a stop. So that’s not gonna be re-implemented, i don’t think. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-little-envelope/239340/9 "2004-04-11T01:44:58Z")
The gray envelope means there were no posts to that thread _since you last visited the board._ The problem is that the software determines that in a way that doesn’t match our expectations. Obviously a weak spot in the software.