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Read/Unread Indicators


Morrigan
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So a pet peeve of mine with newer skins is that read/unread indicators are disappearing. For the most part post people keep them in the topic list but you lose them in the main forum site which has always been my way to know to go check a forum that I posted in to see if I have a post.

 

Yes, I know there are about a dozen other ways to check for new posts, included the "View new posts" (or activity stream here) but I hate having to do that. It feels inconvenient then an easy little icon that indicates new posts. Am I alone in this? It's almost as big of a pet peeve as not seeing the last post date on the forum index.

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People have been getting rid of these? 0_0 I must be getting old......

 

I love the forum indicators! It allows me to add an extra little splash of color to the skin without busying it up. WHILE at the same time being useful.

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6 minutes ago, CovertSphinx said:

People have been getting rid of these? 0_0 I must be getting old......

 

I know right? It makes me feel like I can't keep up. I have to rely on notifications and things which isn't the best way being at any given time I could have 20+ threads open.

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0_mainsignature.jpg

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Profile set made by myself and original Artwork by Fae Merriman, my daughter.

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

I must pay less attention than I thought since I never noticed they were disappearing. Normally I depend on people I roleplay with to just yell at me when I wait too long, or on the off chance a forum has notifications that appear regularly I'll use those.

 

I did at one time depend on the "unread" or the dating system, but eventually I stopped because Push Notifications were an easy click and I'd have a good twenty tabs open anyway.

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  • 1 month later...

I am guilty of getting rid of these! Sometimes, anyway. I like the idea of them in theory, but it's not always as easy to figure out a way to fit them into a skin in a way I find appealing.

 

But in the end, keeping track of posts is one of those things that everyone does differently and has different preferences for. It can be difficult at times to get all of the bases covered when designing.

 

I try to create a way to distinguish in the threadlist which threads have new posts (usually the topic is bolded), and sometimes I will have the forum indicator present as well. Always, I make sure that the link to today's posts and the posts made on the forum since your last visit are easily accessible. I tend to stick a link to the page that pulls up any threads you are subscribed to somewhere where the member's quick UCP options are (like changing account), or someplace else readily available. I also always use the ProStats plugin (which shows the latest posts). By default it shows the account name that posted last, the name of the thread, the author of the thread, and where the thread was posted.

 

And best of all, sometimes members don't use any of those things. xD Some prefer to just bookmark their threads and peek in every now and then, or others opt for e-mail messages when they get a reply.

 

So! It can be tough to know where to put your efforts when designing something new!

 

Personally, I tend to just use ProStats. In the past I've used e-mail notifications as well.

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It depends on how I use a site. On the site I'm on right now, having forum indicators is meaningless since I read every single new post and there's a refreshable recent post list that is nestled right beside the cBox on different pages. 

 

However, on sites where I am far more selective in what I read, having the new post indicator is very important to me because I won't notice new posts otherwise. On a site I mod, I make heavy usage of the new post indicators and the "Mark Forums Read" feature. 

 

When designing skins, I've switched from using graphic assets for the indicators and instead use a CSS block that uses optional animations. The indicator takes up the full height of the forum section and switches colours slowly like a power signal when there's a new post in that area. 

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