How does the software decide which threads you've seen?

[Eule 0]

Hello!

A question about the way the software flags unread posts and threads. Basically, does it start
marking things as read once you've been logged in for a long time? Read on for the details...

Previously, if I logged in to DZ.com and read posts at home, I would log out before I went to work.
Then, I would log in to DZ.com again from work. If I had caught up on everything at home, this was
fine. But if I had left some threads or messages unread when I logged out at home, the act of logging
out seemed to mark them as read. When I logged in at work, only the messages that had been posted
since I logged out at home would be flagged as unread.

On Tuesday, I did an experiment. I logged in at home, and read some of the new posts, but not all of
them. I then navigated away from DZ.com without logging out, made a copy of my cookie file, and
closed the browser. I then went to work and added the DZ.com cookies to the cookie file there, and
started the browser. This did what I wanted - DZ.com recognized me as being logged in already, and
all the posts that were unread at home were still showing as unread at work. I read a few posts at
work, then did the same thing in the evening - I didn't log out at work, took the DZ.com cookies
from my work browser, stuck them in my home browser, and picked up at home right where I left off
at work.

I still didn't get fully caught up at home on Tuesday night, so I prepared to do the same thing by making
a copy of my home-browser cookies for work on Wednesday. I took them to work, but I actually had
to work on Wednesday, so I didn't get to log in from work at all. When I got home on Wednesday
night, I went back to DZ.com with my home browser. It knew I was still logged in, but somehow
many of the posts had gotten marked read. When I left it Tuesday night, I had about the first two
pages of General left unread. Tonight, only about half of the first page of General was showing unread.

It's quite possible that I did something in the wrong order, or maybe I managed to not catch a
session cookie before it went away. But I'm curious to know if there are conditions other than logging
out where the forum software will start marking posts as read.

The meta-problem here is the time-honored argument between keeping state on the server vs. keeping
state on the client.

Thanks!

Eule

PLF does not stand for Please Land on Face.

[nate_1979 9]

I've always figured that the site marks all your messages as read a certian amout of time after last entering the discussion group , it's on the server I would assume since when I move from place to place, my status remains the same for groups that I have not opened. ..

But even sometimes when I stay logged in on the same computer, if I open bonfire, and then go into other groups for long periods of time, when I go back to bonfire it will be reset (I dont ever really logout) .. Works for me, only been a couple times that I wanted to not mark everything in the group as read (such as when I open it and then have to go do something else for awhile, come back and cant figure out what I have not read yet)

FGF #???
I miss the sky...
There are 10 types of people in the world... those who understand binary and those who don't.

[mr2mk1g 10]

I solve the problem by reading all the threads I wish to look at in a specific forum and avoid clicking on any I do not have time to fully explore.

Only posts in forums you look at are marked as read. If you open up gear and rigging for example your unread posts on safety will remain unread forevermore. (at least that's how it works for me).

This way if I have only a little time I might read only the camera forum. If on the other hand I have ages in front of the PC before I need to go anywhere I might open the general skydiving forum for example. Any forums I click on I make sure I fully explore because I know they will be wiped clean if I log off.

This way when I log off, those forums I've not specifically clicked on remain unread and I am safe to come back to them at a later date/log in without missing anything.