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This thread is carried over and continued in the Current Elsmar Cove Forums |
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This thread is carried over and continued in the Current Elsmar Cove Forums |
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 The Old Elsmar Cove Forums
 Forums - How Do They Work? Suggestions!
 Maintaining the 'Lightbulbs'
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| Author | Topic: Maintaining the 'Lightbulbs' |
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James Gutherson Forum Contributor Posts: 38 |
posted 30 July 1998 09:37 PM
   
Hi Marc, just a small annoyance with the forum software. I've learnt, from another forum which I can't seem to find at the moment, how to maintian the 'light bulbs' while moving between posts (stay away from the back button on the browser). I have come to rely on them now. My problem however is I might want to read only a few responces to my posts, but if I don't read all new responces in the forum from my last veiwing, I lose the new responce lightbulb. This is mainly because I get to lazy to read the actual time and date of the last posts. (I have to do a time conversion to East Australian time otherwise I get confused). Thanks for a great service. James Gutherson IP: Logged |
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Marc Smith Cheech Wizard Posts: 4119 |
posted 30 July 1998 10:37 PM
This is one failure mode of the software in my opinion. I was used to the old 'One Long List' where I could log in and see what was new. The lightbulb feature really sucks badly. I admit. I have found that when I stop bythe forum I have to use the little 'tree' at the top right of each page. If you look closely the address window shows something like: http://Elsmar.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi?action=intro&BypassCookie=true where the 'BypassCookie=true' (I think) keeps the same lights lit as when you first logged on. I haven't tried it yet, but I figure as long as you keep the bypasscookie=true in the address your 'cookie' won't update. The problem comes when you log back in at a later time. You are left wondering what you haven't read. Since I often want to read a few responses and maybe wait till later to respond to some, etc., I have come to look at the lights as just a rough indicator of new posts. I know it is a pain in the butt. The lack of a listserv like e-mail function is also a severe draw back. On the other hand, all the messages in a thread are in one html file making it easy to follow through a thread and this reduces server load dramatically. The other 'redeeming' feature is that posts are separated by 'forums' and 'topics' making for some cohesion and continuity. In the old 'one long list' format, folks were asking (quite often) the same questions. By logical grouping, it's easier to see what's already (to a better degree than before) been asked. Note that once you are into a 'forum', att the threads are listed by date and time so that the most recent is at the top. the only alphabetical sort is in the first splash - where the list of all forums and categories are. I'm sorry the new software is more complex and has some significant feature failures. Just trying to do the best I can with a very limited internet budget. So - for now - its what we got! I simply go by the dates. What I would love to see (and I know the software author is being bugged to do) is where you could ask for every thread you haven't read. You can see what the complaints and comments are about this software at: http://www.prime-web.com/Ultimate20/Ultimate.cgi IP: Logged |
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Marc Smith Cheech Wizard Posts: 4119 |
posted 05 August 1998 07:41 AM
Have you seen: Light bulbs? You see lightbulbs? ? IP: Logged |
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