Originally Posted by Silver Fox

But had you been in the thread before is the key!

Originally Posted by chgoeditor

Perhaps it's specific to certain user accounts. I'd be happy to share my login credentials, because I'm confident you'd recreate it using my account to log in. I'm typing this from my work computer. It's less than three weeks old. Dell laptop running Windows 10 Pro and Chrome Version 53.0.2785.143 m (64-bit). I was already logged in. I went to http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/omni-457/ because it was saved in my browser, then clicked the breadcrumb to go back to http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/omni-366/ then selected http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/omni-games-699/, which is a forum I don't frequent, then selected the "view first post" icon (blue box with down arrow) of the People Association Thread and was taken to http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/omni-...l#post27353807

Still on my work laptop, I opened Flyertalk.com on Microsoft Edge (version 38.14393.0.0), which is a program I never use. I clicked on the My Flyertalk icon and was prompted to log in. I selected the Destinations forum from the "Jump to Forums" menu at the top of the page. I selected http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/central-america-479/, which to the best of my knowledge is a forum I've never previously viewed. I clicked on the "View First Post" icon on this thread http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/centr...avel-blog.html. I was taken to http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/centr...l#post27360928

Then -- just to emphasize that this seemingly has nothing to do with my hardware and software -- I logged onto FT using my new Google Pixel phone, running Android 7.1, which is all of 27 hours old. I'd never used it to access FT before. Because Chrome does sync my browsing history across devices, I went to http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/omni-457/ and logged in, then went to the top-level list of forums. I again selected Omni and then the Omni Games forum. I clicked on the Music Association thread. it took me to http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/omni-...l#post27353822

Originally Posted by Finkface

I do the same thing every single time. On an ipad air2, using Safari.
1) I am always logged in. Never log out.

2) I open Safari on my ipad, where I have an FT icon (saved as a favorite). I click on the icon and it opens to the forum.

3) I click on 'New Posts' and scroll down until I see something that interests me.

4) The first thread I click on invariably takes me to the mobile skin (even if I have been on FT 5 minutes prior - whenever I open FT, the first post I try to read always takes me to the mobile version. Very, very annoying, but not the subject of this thread). I hold the 'refresh' icon in the address bar and click on 'request desktop site'.

5) I read the thread, then back arrow twice (through the mobile skin) to get back to my list new posts. Keep scrolling down.

6) If it is a thread I have read before, I click the 'view first unread' icon beside the thread title. Which may or may not take me to the true first unread post. Sometimes (often) it works properly.

Sometimes, it a) takes me to the very last post in the thread even if there are posts I haven't read; b) takes me to the very first post in the thread, even if it was years ago; c) takes me to the first post of that particular day even if there are other unread posts; d) takes me to some random, already read post; e) takes me to the top post of some random page, usually the last or second last page, even though I have already read all but the most recently post. This is the most common occurrence.

Some threads, it happens everytime. Sometimes it is totally random and will, on the same thread, work fine at times and then will do one of the above the next time I see it and click on the 'view first unread' triangle.

After scrolling through a couple of pages, I hit 'New Posts' again and start the process as above. Same routine every time. Anything else you need to know?

Originally Posted by StayingHomeIsBetter

Data points

I am running Windows 7 Professional, on a laptop PC.

I used Internet Explorer 11, the latest build. To the best of my recollection, I have never accessed FT via IE. I do not typically use IE, but wanted to see if I could reproduce the problems I see on FireFox.

I am set up to view 40 posts per page.

I went to:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta...l#post27376101

I selected this thread since I never remember accessing it before. I also selected it because it would be a multi-page thread, at my 40 posts per page.

The link took me to post #1. Clicking View First Unread then took me to post #318, bypassing 316 other posts and 6 pages in between.


Next, sticking with IE, I went to this thread (since I have never, ever before gone to the Air New Zealand forum:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/air-n...neup-bids.html

I was directed to post #1 of a multi-page thread, but there was no option for clicking View First Unread.

I exited the thread, then returned to the thread. Still no option for clicking View First Unread.

Does this mean that after I visited the first page of a 22 page thread, your deficient software is believing that I have read all 22 pages?

I just noticed, every thread in the Air New Zealand forum thread list is showing the icon for No New Posts.

Again... I have never been to the forum before. You may have problems even more profound that what have been described here before.


I went to the Emirates forum (again, one I have never been to before). I went to this thread.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/emira...e-rumours.html

Link took me to post #1. View First Unread took me from first page past 6 pages and 312 posts, directly to post #314.

But, at least, the other threads in Emirates are showing to be, as yet, unread.


I next went to Emirates, using FireFox Ver. 49.0.2.

Selected another multipage thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/emira...s-updates.html

Link took me to post #1. View First Unread to me from first page past 12 pages and 551 posts, directly to post #553.

I returned to the first page of the thread and the View First Unread button is now gone since I have obviously lost consciousness and speed-read thru 553 posts.

But that feat is not as impressive as when I read every post in almost all of the 7370 threads in the Air New Zealand forum. Yes... every thread is showing No New Posts for me in FireFox... except for 7 threads at the top of the first page of the forum thread list (went back to IE to check. Yes, these 7 threads show new content in IE also).

I also seem to have read virtually the entire content of all 8805 threads in the S.P.A.M. forum... with the exception of 5 threads near the top of the first page in the forum list of threads. But same experience... first visit to the thread takes me to Post #1. Clicking View First Unread takes me to the absolute last post in the thread, many pages later.

This has been a reproducible problem for me for multiple months now. I have just demonstrated that it is an issue across multiple forums and multiple browsers. Other people report here that they are experiencing the same or similar problems.

Other than bringing my laptop to your offices, I don't know what else I can do to point your tech folks towards the problem.

Originally Posted by StayingHomeIsBetter

Edited to add: OK, the pattern is now clear. Any thread in any forum that I go to shows "No New Posts" if the most recent post is earlier than about noon on 10/19.

Cookie issue? Intentional design issue for FT?

Anyway, this appears to be an issue separate from the "takes you to the last post regardless" issue.

Originally Posted by IBobi

That all seems to be functioning correctly (with one caveat -- going to the bottom of an unvisited thread rather than the top...).

Remember, again -- the software cannot determine what *post* you read or did not read when last you visited. It will take you to the *page* that the next most recent post (since you last looked) resides on.

EXAMPLE:

(you have your settings to display 40 posts per page in this example)

If the last time you checked a thread, the most recent post was post #45 (this would put you on page 2 of the thread, since you view 40 posts per page), and you go back to the thread after there are 77 posts in that thread, it will take you to page 2 again (somewhere on page 2 -- there is no way for it to know where your eyes scanned or scrolled). If there are now 85, or 850 posts in the thread, it should still take you to page 2, since you never viewed past that page. But again, it may not take you to the exact post you last viewed, because it cannot track this.

In the above cases, it looks like it was taking you to the last page in a thread, either because you had never viewed the thread before (in which case perhaps it should take you to the beginning rather than the end, I agree -- but it does not seem to do this for me -- at least this is consistent), or because that's the page you had last viewed.

Another wrinkle can come into the situation if you *ever* use the "mark forums read" link, in which case hitting the "first new post" button will act as though you have read up to the last page in *every thread on FT*.

Originally Posted by IBobi

Honestly, I believe the iPad and the mobile skin are problematic on FT, and I doubt we will be able to ever accurately troubleshoot your case.

Originally Posted by goalie

With all due respect, why was I not having any of the issues mentioned by me and others in this thread BEFORE the software "update" this past March/April?

Originally Posted by chgoeditor

Perhaps it's specific to certain user accounts. I'd be happy to share my login credentials, because I'm confident you'd recreate it using my account to log in. I'm typing this from my work computer. It's less than three weeks old. Dell laptop running Windows 10 Pro and Chrome Version 53.0.2785.143 m (64-bit). I was already logged in. I went to http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/omni-457/ because it was saved in my browser, then clicked the breadcrumb to go back to http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/omni-366/ then selected http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/omni-games-699/, which is a forum I don't frequent, then selected the "view first post" icon (blue box with down arrow) of the People Association Thread and was taken to http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/omni-...l#post27353807

Still on my work laptop, I opened Flyertalk.com on Microsoft Edge (version 38.14393.0.0), which is a program I never use. I clicked on the My Flyertalk icon and was prompted to log in. I selected the Destinations forum from the "Jump to Forums" menu at the top of the page. I selected http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/central-america-479/, which to the best of my knowledge is a forum I've never previously viewed. I clicked on the "View First Post" icon on this thread http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/centr...avel-blog.html. I was taken to http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/centr...l#post27360928

Then -- just to emphasize that this seemingly has nothing to do with my hardware and software -- I logged onto FT using my new Google Pixel phone, running Android 7.1, which is all of 27 hours old. I'd never used it to access FT before. Because Chrome does sync my browsing history across devices, I went to http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/omni-457/ and logged in, then went to the top-level list of forums. I again selected Omni and then the Omni Games forum. I clicked on the Music Association thread. it took me to http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/omni-...l#post27353822

Originally Posted by IBobi

That all seems to be functioning correctly (with one caveat -- going to the bottom of an unvisited thread rather than the top...).

Remember, again -- the software cannot determine what *post* you read or did not read when last you visited. It will take you to the *page* that the next most recent post (since you last looked) resides on.

EXAMPLE:

(you have your settings to display 40 posts per page in this example)

If the last time you checked a thread, the most recent post was post #45 (this would put you on page 2 of the thread, since you view 40 posts per page), and you go back to the thread after there are 77 posts in that thread, it will take you to page 2 again (somewhere on page 2 -- there is no way for it to know where your eyes scanned or scrolled). If there are now 85, or 850 posts in the thread, it should still take you to page 2, since you never viewed past that page. But again, it may not take you to the exact post you last viewed, because it cannot track this.

In the above cases, it looks like it was taking you to the last page in a thread, either because you had never viewed the thread before (in which case perhaps it should take you to the beginning rather than the end, I agree -- but it does not seem to do this for me -- at least this is consistent), or because that's the page you had last viewed.

Another wrinkle can come into the situation if you *ever* use the "mark forums read" link, in which case hitting the "first new post" button will act as though you have read up to the last page in *every thread on FT*.

Originally Posted by chgoeditor

Wait. Are you saying that "view first unread post" isn't actually intended to take you to the first post, but rather to the last page page in a thread? That is absolutely, completely ridiculous. So what we're all describing as "broken" is actually the way this is supposed to function? No wonder you can't replicate it...you can and are replicating it, but just haven't realized that it's complete counter-intuitive.

Originally Posted by IBobi

I can't stress enough our need for *click by click* reenactment of your path. Saying you "went to" a thread and then went to another is not click-by-click. HOW did you go there? Bookmark? Browse? Search?

I realize this sounds very persnickety, but without these details this is going to be hopeless.

Originally Posted by IBobi

As-designed.

Originally Posted by goalie

With all due respect, why was I not having any of the issues mentioned by me and others in this thread BEFORE the software "update" this past March/April?

Originally Posted by chgoeditor

And not to belabor the point, but I don't need the "view first unread post" button to take me to the last page of a thread I haven't previously read. There's already a feature that does that. It's the "last page" or page number link. I need a feature that will remember what threads I've read and which I haven't, and take me to the last unread post, regardless of whether that's post #1 or post #10,001.