44 replies to this topic

[SandyMcKean]

Helene,

I'm wondering if there is a system-wide configuration setting for determining messages "Since my last visit" under "View New Content"?  The current situation on BA seems to mean this literally.  That is, if I go to the board under this option, I naturally see all msgs since the last time I was on the board.  What's different is that if I leave the site, and then come back just a minute later, I see no msgs under "Since my last visit" for "View New Content".  This is literally correct of course, but most boards I'm familiar with (including the old BA software) give a grace period (an hour maybe).

I wonder if there is a setting where the current 0 minutes grace period can be changed?  The reason I find this useful is that sometimes I leave the board only to find that I wish I hadn't (something forgotten perhaps).  By going back to the board just a few minutes later, I like to find myself right back where I was, not have the entire list of new content reset to zero.  I will admit that having a 30 or 60 minute grace period can cause problems too, since it's a bit inconsistent to come back to the board and see not the true new content, but the content that was new when you went there initially, say 10 minutes earlier.  But for me, that inconsistency is worth the ability to go back to the board quickly and not "lose my place".

[Helene]

The change was made because of so many complaints that the list was too far behind in the updates and showed content that was already read.

The way I read the documentation, the plan was to keep topics on the list until the member navigates to the last page of the thread, at which point it is considered "read".  I haven't tested this yet, but will later, since I don't know if this made it into the release.

However, you can switch your setting to "Past 24 hours" or a later time, to be safe.  Also, if you have notifications -- click the little icon to the left of your username -- you might find someone's reply on the topic in the list, and re-find the thread that way.

[SandyMcKean]

Quote

The change was made because of so many complaints that the list was too far behind in the updates and showed content that was already read.

OK.....I can live with that.  (I guess I'm in the vast minority on this one .)

[SandyMcKean]

A couple of other things........

1. Deleting a post - I take it there is no way for a member to delete their own posting (even if it is the last post in the thread).

2. Mark ALL as Read - the software allows me to mark threads in a forum or subforum as read, but I can find no way to mark ALL threads in a particular forum, and in all its subforums at once, as read; nor can I mark all posts across the entire board as read.

P.S. Perhaps this is as it has always been, but I don't remember that.

[PeggyR]

Helene, on 30 October 2011 - 11:08 AM, said:

SandyMcKean, on 30 October 2011 - 11:02 AM, said:

One can select the option of having the logon be automatic....then it is zero hassel.

For the "automatic" option, when you sign in, click the "Remember me" option, just under the password input box:

Yes, I do know about that but it’s never worked for me -- always have to sign in from scratch, even with that box checked (using an iMac with either Safari or Firefox, or an iPad with Safari).

And here’s another new wrinkle not experienced using the older version of Ballet Talk:  now, when I click ‘Sign In’, some boxes scroll across the top bar, then disappear and no sign in window shows up.  To log on, I have to type something in the Search box, click the search icon and when the error screen displays, then I can click ‘Sign In’ and get the sign in window.  This doesn’t happen on the iPad.

My Mac is running not the latest animal (Lion?), but the previous animal (Tiger?  Leopard?  I’ve lost track.  One wonders where they go from Lion:  Killer Whale, Blast-ended Screwt?  But I digress...)  It may be this will all go away when I upgrade to the lastest whatever it is.

Anyway, I’m well aware that having your house foreclosed is a ‘hassle’; this is the tiniest of minor annoyances.  ‘Tis a curiosity though.

[SandyMcKean]

Quote

always have to sign in from scratch, even with that box checked

I'd bet dollars to donuts that this "automatic login" facility depends on you allowing your browser to form cookies on your machine.  If you have disallowed cookie formation, then that might explain what you see.  (BTW, I am on a PC.)

[Bonnette]

SandyMcKean, on 30 October 2011 - 01:48 PM, said:

2. Mark ALL as Read - the software allows me to mark threads in a forum or subforum as read, but I can find no way to mark ALL threads in a particular forum, and in all its subforums at once, as read; nor can I mark all posts across the entire board as read.

Hi Sandy. If you scroll all the way down to the bottom of whichever page you're on, beneath the Amazon search box you'll see (in small grey letters) the words Mark Community Read. This is the familiar Mark All As Read command, with new wording. That command used to be at the top of the page, in a more prominent font and location.

[Helene]

Just be careful, because that isn't the same as "Mark the Forum Read" or "Mark the Thread Read" or "Mark All New Content Read".

It will mark everything read.

[sandik]

PeggyR, on 30 October 2011 - 01:57 PM, said:

One wonders where they go from Lion:  Killer Whale, Blast-ended Screwt?  But I digress...)  It may be this will all go away when I upgrade to the lastest whatever it is.

I like Blast-Ended Screwt -- it expresses what so many people feel about technical troubles.

[Helene]

SandyMcKean, on 30 October 2011 - 01:48 PM, said:

A couple of other things........

1. Deleting a post - I take it there is no way for a member to delete their own posting (even if it is the last post in the thread).

The delete options changed in this version and reverted to "no".  Senior Members can now "soft delete" their own posts, which means that Moderators will be able to review the deletes and hard delete them.

[carbro]

SandyMcKean, on 30 October 2011 - 01:20 PM, said:

Helene,

I'm wondering if there is a system-wide configuration setting for determining messages "Since my last visit" under "View New Content"?  The current situation on BA seems to mean this literally.  That is, if I go to the board under this option, I naturally see all msgs since the last time I was on the board.  What's different is that if I leave the site, and then come back just a minute later, I see no msgs under "Since my last visit" for "View New Content".  This is literally correct of course, but most boards I'm familiar with (including the old BA software) give a grace period (an hour maybe).

I wonder if there is a setting where the current 0 minutes grace period can be changed?  The reason I find this useful is that sometimes I leave the board only to find that I wish I hadn't (something forgotten perhaps).  By going back to the board just a few minutes later, I like to find myself right back where I was, not have the entire list of new content reset to zero.  I will admit that having a 30 or 60 minute grace period can cause problems too, since it's a bit inconsistent to come back to the board and see not the true new content, but the content that was new when you went there initially, say 10 minutes earlier.  But for me, that inconsistency is worth the ability to go back to the board quickly and not "lose my place".

I guess we lost that when we lost "Today's Active Content" which would have pulled up everything in the past 24 hrs, week, etc., once you got to the menu.  Is TAC still available, Helene?

Another thing, Helene, and so trivial that I'm almost (but not quite) too embarrassed to mention, so don't make it a priority.   I can't find a settings option to customize page length.  Is one available?  I'm accustomed to my old setting of 40 posts/page, and since I'm still on DSL, pages sometimes need a few seconds to l-o-a--d-.

[Helene]

"Today's Active Content" was removed in this release.   "View New Content" is the new paradigm.

Sandy has since replied that this is no longer happening, and that there is a lag time.  (It's possible that the system needed some time to reset itself.   There is no setting for a "grace period", and we haven't been able to figure out the algorithm that is used.  The documentation suggests that the initial behavior that Sandy describes is the intended behavior.

The way to get everything in the past 24 hours is to select the "Past 24 hours" option instead of "Since my last visit".

I think a number of individual settings were removed from "My Settings" (in User Control Panel).  The only settings I see are global.  I'll check the support forums to see if I can find a confirmation or, if we're lucky, their new hiding place.

[ViolinConcerto]

Helene, I don't seem to be getting emails when a topic is updated (where I formerly was getting notified).  Is there a way to reset this?  I really like the new look.  

Thank you.

[SandyMcKean]

Helene said:

Sandy has since replied that this is no longer happening, and that there is a lag time.

Yes.  At first going to "View New Content" reset the list of listed posts to zero on every visit (even 2 minutes later).  But that has since changed (maybe when the default was made to be "Since Last Visit").  Whatever the case, I have been doing some testing over the last several days, and I can report that over 30 visits or so, with time intervals from 1 minute to 24 hours, I have not missed a single message, and the system behavior is consistent except that I can't figure out how it determines when to reset to a new last visit.  Sometimes it resets in an hour, sometimes in 4 hours (I don't think I saw an instance of a reset time outside those bounds).  Perhaps in addition to lapsed time, the reset also depends on how many posts are posted, or some other variable.

Bottom line is that in my testing, "View New Content" works, and works just like in did in the old version of the software (with some additional bells and whistles).

[Helene]

ViolinConcerto, on 04 November 2011 - 08:20 AM, said:

Helene, I don't seem to be getting emails when a topic is updated (where I formerly was getting notified).  Is there a way to reset this?  I really like the new look.  

Thank you.

The same thing happened to me.

With the upgrade, at least some, if not all, of the old notification options defaulted to "off" because of a new notifications paradigm.

If you click the little down arrow to the right of your login name at the top right of the site, you should get a menu.

• Click "My Settings".
  
• From the left menu, click "Notification Options"

There are two choices for notifications:  the Facebook-like list that is triggered by the little icon directly to the left of your login name, and email.  Well, really three, because under "Personal Messenger", there a check-box that allows you to enable and disable getting a pop-up message whenever you have a new PM (or "Conversation" in some of the wording).   You can check either/or.  I find the site notifications valuable, because 1.  there's a counter and 2. it retains the list.  Once you click the notifications icon, the counter goes away, even if you haven't clicked any, but the ones you haven't clicked remain bolded.

At the top of the page, there's also a drop-down box to set the default notification timing (immediately, "offline" -- not sure what that is -- daily digest, weekly digest).  This doesn't automatically create a notification when you click the "follow" button at the top of threads/topics and forums, but it sets the confirmation box value.