Denied Subscriptions

[spoxxy]

Ain't I supposed to receive notifications of my subscribed forums (not threads) ? I really Wanted to receive a notification every time a new thread is created on a forum that I subscribed to (not every time a reply is made), even better is if I could select to be notified only if a thread is created by a specific author, for example on the 'Torrents' forum I wish to get notified if a thread is created there by girlcelly.

 

[corocoro]

This is not possible due to the way the forum is set up.
If you subscribe to a forum, you'll receive notifications not only of new threads, but also of all replies made to them.

What you want to do is use the RSS feed(s) instead, which (with a bit of filtering) provide exactly what you want.

 

[spoxxy]

I don't seem to be getting any notifications at all to forums that I subscribed to, I see on my settings that I'm subscribed to a forum but apart from that I'm getting nothing. I'm only getting notifications for individual threads that I subscribed.

 

[Checkmate]

I don't seem to be getting any notifications

Forum subscriptions is only notified via email or user control panel (depending on your settings), not the user bar (the notification bar on top of the forum).

 

[spoxxy]

Well on the configuration settings I only have this option ''Default Thread Subscription Mode'' which is set to ''Through my control panel only'', I assume this also affects forum subscriptions despite not explicit saying it because I don't see any other options to configure forum subscriptions. Anyway on my control panel I don't have new notifications regarding my forum subscriptions, I only see ''Subscribed Threads with New Posts'' which does indeed lists the threads I'm subscribed to with new posts in it, below that I see ''Subscribed Forums'' as if it was only telling me that I am subscribed to said forums but isn't showing any new posts/threads created within it.

 

[Checkmate]

below that I see ''Subscribed Forums'' as if it was only telling me that I am subscribed to said forums but isn't showing any new posts/threads created within it.

Subscribed forum through control panel list give you the list of forum you subcribed. From there, when you click to visit the said forum, it will present you a list of posts/threads. New replies/threads are marked as a bold title.

 

[spoxxy]

Humm ok... I just expected that by subscribing to a forum I would get a list of the threads with new posts on my control panel, what you mention already happens to all forums whether I'm subscribed to them or not I will always see threads with new posts in bold so I guess is kinda useless to subscribe to forums.

 

[Ignis]

Just to clarify, there's no such a thing as a default option for forum subscription settings. The default option for thread subscriptions that you can configure through your user control panel only matters when you reply to a thread or post a new one. If you set your control panel option to subscribe to threads by default, whether through control panel only or through email, you'll be automatically receiving notifications for all threads you post or reply to from that point onwards. You can override this default configuration by manually subscribing to a thread and adjusting the options. In the case of forum subscription, however, this is moot as you can't reply to a section.

While forum subscriptions are indeed not very useful by design (that's just the way the forum software is crafted), short of tailoring RSS feeds, you can achieve the result you want by simply using the advanced search feature. This isn't as burdensome as it may sound: you can save your search preferences and directly see your saved preferences the next time you use advanced search. Using your example of getting a notification every time girlcelly makes a thread in the Torrents section, the search preferences would look like this (minus the notification part and plus a bit of manual labour on your part):

 

[spoxxy]

Thanks for the tip but I'd rather just go to the Torrent forum manually and sort if by thread created time and check for the new ones in bold. Thing is sometimes I forget if I already checked a thread or not because once a new post is made the thread changes to bold again which is burdensome I guess that something like this would be wonderful to have.

 

[corocoro]

GreaseMonkey is installed user-side. So that decision would be yours to make, not ours. ;)

 

[spoxxy]

I know, I was just hoping for something similar to be implemented on the website by default thou, I'm not even sure if that script works here at AS or if it is even allowed, one thing for sure it hasn't been updated in ages.

 

[corocoro]

GreaseMonkey still works, though I prefer FlexGet. ;)

 

[spoxxy]

Still it's a 3rd party tool, I wish AS would do it by itself from anywhere I log on. Alternative, what if AS were to 'fix' it's current icons to something more easy to spot/identify, and add a new icon type for 'New thread never checked' ? Atm the icons are:

Icon Legend:
-Contains unread forum posts
-Contains no unread forum posts
-Forum is a category
-Forum is a Link

I think it would help me a lot, on the other hand I'm not sure if it can be done to sub-forums since you already have those thumbnails on the side, dunno if one thing would invalidate the other or not. Perhaps an even better solution (k just me assuming that it's a problem when it probably isn't and ppl don't give a dam) is instead of highlighting new threads in bold just like happens when it has new posts, why not highlight them in a different way, like a different color scheme or something and use bold only after new posts are made on a thread I already checked at least once.

 

[Ignis]

Sorry, I think you're asking a wee bit too much for a necessity that a little diligence on your part could perfectly take care of. Frankly, negligence to make mental notes on the user's part is only thing I can think of that would make grouping "threads with new posts" into "threads with new posts that have been viewed by user at least once" and "threads with new posts that have never been viewed by user at all," as well as the difference thereof, meaningful. As explored above, there are already ways for you to accomplish this, whether by using the aforementioned GreaseMonkey script, an aggregator tool like FlexGet or simply utilising the forum's built-in features such as advanced search and thread sorting.

However, making such features centrally available requires much more effort with no guarantee that it will even work as some of what you suggested would likely require tweaking the forum software's core. Which means that we might as well code a different site engine from scratch. The notion that we must spend such effort with our limited manpower to alleviate what boils down to a little end-user laziness does not interest us.

I don't know how you define "new thread never checked" in regards to your suggestion about section icons, but assuming that you want a new icon indicative of the difference I mentioned (threads with new posts that you've never checked at all vs. threads with new posts that you've checked at least once), it's simply not a logical category in the case of section icons. To any user, a given section most likely has threads of both categories, which would make the new icon you're suggesting overlap with the usual "contains unread forum posts" icon, unless and only unless you've never viewed any thread in said section at all.

 

[spoxxy]

Thanks, that was a nice way of you to recall my stupidity! I will refrain myself from further opinions about AS that might lead to 'to much work' and instead keep on lurking.
#Dumb

 

[Will98]

I would like to add to this by saying that you do not need to "refrain" yourself from voicing opinions and ideas that sound/seem like/or already is too much work. Opinions and ideas keep our forum active and exciting for all members and gives the staff goals to work for in providing new features to the forum members.

What I believe Ignis is saying, is that the features you are wanting for your user experience are mostly taken care of by the programs that corocoro and Ignis have suggested. Because these 3rd party programs mostly take care of your needs, there is not a need to implement their features into the forum itself.

 

[Ignis]

Indeed. If the old threads in this section are any indication, we've often been willing to implement a feature or otherwise do some tweaking that is time-consuming and technically challenging if we think the benefit outweighs the costs or if it's in the interest of many users. We still do a cost-benefit analysis for every change proposed, however, and what we consider 'necessary' or 'beneficial' obviously won't always align with what other users think. Some will like what we changed, some will miss the old feature, some will ask for a new one, some will see no need for that.

But a place for suggestion is a marketplace for ideas. As long as everyone plays nice and doesn't boast around a sense of entitlement, everyone is welcome to propose a change. If it's good and considered necessary, we'll look into it unless we're walled by the technical barrier (which, more often than not, is a limitation on how the forum software itself works); if it doesn't align with our view or interests, we'll say so; if it requires too much work or is otherwise hard to impossible to accomplish, we'll say so. We always try to elaborate why we think a suggestion is not viable as well as the rationale behind our decision. We respect all suggestions and don't just say "sorry, this won't work, don't ask why, it just won't."

In short, anyone can give a shot at proposing a suggestion and doesn't need to be shy just because they think they're asking something 'stupid.' Even if we can't implement what you're asking, there's a decent chance we can still offer you a suggestion or two to accomplish what you seek without making it a feature on the site.

As you've so courteously implied that you're dropping the suggestion, I shall consider the enquiry addressed and lock the thread.