The Doll Forum

In long, multi-page posts I like to make use of the "go to first unread" option. I'm sure this was working before, but the past few days all the new posts are staying marked as unread for me, with little flashing icons next to them, so I can't do this anymore.

Try clearing cache? All seems ok for me here...

Yes, most likely clearing cache from your browser will help.

Ah thank you, that's fixed it well not clearing the cache as such, but clearing cookies for this site did.

Great! Oh yes, I should have known that this needed cookies to be cleared ...

Essentially this same problem keeps happening to me, even after I clear all TDF cookies, or just manually remove just a few of them specifically for the threads/forums that are problematic. (problem will be fixed for a session or two, then comes back.) Windows10, browser is Chrome Version 86.0.4240.111 (Official Build) (64-bit). I have the UBlock Origin addon to help me remove distracting and problematic elements from the screen, to make more space for the post text, but the problem happens whether or not this addon is enabled or not. No other PHPBB forum I've tested with it has this issue.

The specific sequence:

I login, and stay logged in, leaving the browser open with a few tabs of TDF (subscribed threads UCP, PM inbox, Forsale forum, Repairs and mods forum), and just hibernating the computer when not using it.

In subscribed threads UCP, I middleclick the "latest new post" icon for each subscribed thread, which opens each in a new tab. I'll then go read each one, and close that tab, eventually bringing me back to the STUCP page.

I then refresh the STUCP, and it will normally show all threads as read. However, when this problem occurs, some of the threads (not all!) will still show unread.

When a thread "breaks" this way, then for that specific thread, the "latest new post" is then "stuck" at that same post from then on (unless I clear the cookies), meaning it will then only take me to that post, and not to the actual latest new post.

Even if, when I am at that incorrect-latest-new-post, I then click the link to the page with the actual latest new post and then find that post and click on it's "subtitle" link within the post (so that the forum should now "know" I read it, for sure), going back to the UCP and refreshing it still shows the same results.

So, for instance, right now the thread
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=132666
doesnt' have this problem, so it's link
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=132666&view=unread#unread
takes me to the actual new posts, while the thread
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=131833
does have this problem, so it's link
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=131833&view=unread#unread
takes me to this post:
viewtopic.php?p=1815872#p1815872
every time.

While clearing forum cookies does fix it temporarily, the problem keeps recurring, so there is a root problem that needs to be solved, whether that is within my browser or within PHPBB itself (or one of the mods or addons applied to TDF's version of it).

If I can provide any further details, or do any specific testing that will help resolve the issue, please let me know.

I could explain it in every technical detail, but let's stick to the easy workaround for now.

As soon as you have read every topic you are interested in please open Unread posts and click on Mark forums read.

Thanks--that does work...but now I'm curious what is different about how that works vs what happens when I click individual threads?

And...do you happen to know why some threads "break" but not others (and I don't think it's always the same ones)?

(I like "technical". )

I thought that you like "technical", your error description is very precise.

Okay, it's very easy.

Right now this forum software stores the information about read topics in a session cookie in the browser. That is common practice and nothing harmful.
The size of a cookie is limited and rather small. The more topics you read, the more is stored in that cookie and at some time it reaches its limit. From that moment on no more topics can be remembered as read. That explains why it happens and why the affected topics are random.

So, what does "Mark forums read" do? It clears that cookie and stores the actual timestamp instead. Everything older than this timestamp is read, no need to remember the topics itself.

Ah. That all makes sense...except that this is the only PHPBB forum I've had this problem with (even though in some of them I may have hundreds of subscriptions and threads I read and even more that I don't).

My guess is that something about this specific PHPBB version, or some mod/addon or custom code (if any) on TDF may have something to do with it, perhaps adding extraneous data to the cookies, or perhaps using the cookies in a different way than the other forums do.

I have not tried TDF on other browsers, but the other forums work fine on older and different browsers as well as this one, if that helps any.

Either way, at least there *is* a usable workaround, though I would prefer to not mark anything read that I have not actually read, so I can know where I left off (without keeping track of it separately in notepad) when simply poking around all the years' worth of useful and interesting stuff here on TDF.

It's not because of this phpBB version or any mod. It's a simple setting. I found that myself long ago.

We discussed this setting and changed it a few minutes ago. The read marks are no longer stored in a cookie, they are now stored server side.

Advantages:

• No limit
• No need to "Mark forums read" (but in my opinion still very helpful)
• Cross browser. What you read on browser/device A is marked as read on browser/device B too.

Small side effect:
All your read marks from before the change are gone. But that happens only once.

Ah; that explains why the other PHPBB forums I use behave differently from this one--they must already have it set that way. Thank you for "fixing" this. It will be helpful.