Topic: 'Unsubscribing' from a thread

[Madiel]

(Apologies if I've located this in the wrong part of the forum, it seemed as if this was the most likely home for this sort of 'technical' issue but I may have missed something.)

So... this has bugged me from time to time ever since I started on the site.

We have that lovely link that says "Show new replies to your posts", yes?

But it's not the case that every single post ever made to a thread after I posted on it is a 'reply to my post'.  Some threads I might post on once, or twice, but not actually be interested in further additions to the thread 2 years down the track.

So there must, surely, be a way of saying to the system, 'actually, I'm not interested in that thread any more, thanks, don't show it to me as a thread I will be particularly interested in'.

I just haven't found it yet.

The alternative is that the list of threads I see when clicking "Show new replies to your posts" just grows and grows and grows and I have no means of pruning it. That notion has actually discouraged me, at times, from adding to a thread when it's of short-term interest but not long-term interest.

[k a rl h e nn i ng]

Next to the REPLY link, do you find an UNNOTIFY link?

[Madiel]

Next to the REPLY link, do you find an UNNOTIFY link?

On the contrary, I find a NOTIFY link.

[k a rl h e nn i ng]

On this thread, or on the thread from which you wish to unsubscribe? (Sorry to ask a silly question . . . .)

[Madiel]

No, it's not a silly question. I've just checked with several of the threads that turn up on my "Show new replies to your posts" list, and they all have a 'NOTIFY' link.

[Madiel]

Checking further, it appears that 'NOTIFY' is all about getting e-mails from the system to inform you of new replies. I've never done this. Which is why all the threads are giving me 'NOTIFY' as an option, not 'UNNOTIFY'. I'm talking about a different issue.  The board just seems to assume that every thread I have ever posted on should be on the "Show new replies to your posts" list.

[North Star]

You could delete your posts from those threads...

I haven't really ever thought of this, but it could be nice to have an option to mark interesting threads, and then view those of them that have new posts.

[Gurn Blanston]

Checking further, it appears that 'NOTIFY' is all about getting e-mails from the system to inform you of new replies. I've never done this. Which is why all the threads are giving me 'NOTIFY' as an option, not 'UNNOTIFY'. I'm talking about a different issue.  The board just seems to assume that every thread I have ever posted on should be on the "Show new replies to your posts" list.

Yes that is what it does. If you ever posted in a thread, it will include it in there. As far as I can tell, there is no way to modify this behavior. Therefore, I never use that function, I only use 'Show posts since your last visit'. In threads I am actually interested in, like Haydn Haus, I elect to receive an email. If you only do that for the things you really want, it doesn't get overwhelming.

[kishnevi]

What I do: 

click on "show unread posts".  Sometimes there is as many as three pages of thread listings if I've been away for longer than usual. 
Open threads that interest me, or might interest me. 
Click on "unread posts" at the end to show any posts made while I was reading those other threads.  Finally,  click on "mark all messages as read" to clean up the threads which I ignored

[Madiel]

What I do: 

click on "show unread posts".  Sometimes there is as many as three pages of thread listings if I've been away for longer than usual. 
Open threads that interest me, or might interest me. 
Click on "unread posts" at the end to show any posts made while I was reading those other threads.  Finally,  click on "mark all messages as read" to clean up the threads which I ignored

This may be the most sensible option available. Although grovelling to the powers that be to find a fix would also be nice... 

[Dungeon Master]

This may be the most sensible option available. Although grovelling to the powers that be to find a fix would also be nice... 

No amount of grovelling will fix this. Not because I don't want to, but because it is too difficult.

The "Show new replies to your posts" will list every thread that you have posted in, which has any unread posts. After months or years, those replies may no longer be replies to your original post, but replies to posts after yours. But they are still unread replies in a thread you posted in.

There is no way to "unsubscribe" or "forget" a particular thread within this set.

The best I can say is, if you don't like it, don't use it.

A slightly different concept would be to "like" or "follow" a particular thread, whether or not you have posted in it. That way, you would have a set of your favourites, which you could activate or deactivate. I'll look into this.

Rob

[Moonfish]

Hmm, I have the opposite problem. Somehow my "Show posts since your last visit" disappeared. The area at the top of my screen that showed those options is gone. How do I reactivate it?   

[Dungeon Master]

Hmm, I have the opposite problem. Somehow my "Show posts since your last visit" disappeared. The area at the top of my screen that showed those options is gone. How do I reactivate it?   

There is a little white arrow at the top right, next to the "Good Music Guide Classical Music Forum" title that toggles that Profile area on and off.

Rob

[Moonfish]

There is a little white arrow at the top right, next to the "Good Music Guide Classical Music Forum" title that toggles that Profile area on and off.

Rob

Ahh, so simple. Thank you Rob! For some reason the arrow blended in so nicely with the rest of the interface. Very subtle! Thanks again!
This makes life posting much easier!   

[Ken B]

Ahh, so simple. Thank you Rob! For some reason the arrow blended in so nicely with the rest of the interface. Very subtle! Thanks again!
This makes life posting much easier!   

Rob! What have you done?!?

 

[Moonfish]

Rob! What have you done?!?

 

Hmm

[El Chupacabra]

Not because I don't want to, but because it is too difficult.

A slightly different concept would be to "like" or "follow" a particular thread, whether or not you have posted in it. That way, you would have a set of your favourites, which you could activate or deactivate. I'll look into this.

Rob

Have there been any implementations for any of these? Disability to deselect a posted thread is weird. 

[Sean]

There is an undated version of this forum's software with such features, for example

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/