Another discussion area?

[MChalkley]

Glenn - You're definitely getting a little more ambitious there than I had in mind, though I certainly understand your point. It's the safety-related issues, the "what is HST and why do so many of you idiots think it obsoletes every other type of transmission?" threads that I'd like to see in an area that is clearly not brand-specific, so everyone, especially the new members, realizes this is important no matter what color you prefer.

MarkC

 

[Bird]

Let's see . . ., Mark, for breakfast, I usually have . . .no, no; you're trying to pull me off sides, er, I mean off topic, again./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Bird

 

[DVerbarg]

Mark's idea sounds good. As a NH owner I spend most of my time (on this board) reading the Kubota sections because most of these discussions do not focus on a particular brand but on issues that relate to any brand. I don't use the categories view because of this factor, instead I use the Past 24 hours or 48 hour views that allow me to see all the discussions going on.

Of course you have to read all the discussions because they often get off topic and you might miss a good discussion if you were to screen by the original topic.

DaveV

 

[Bird]

I like to read all the discussions (I learn more that way) and I've tried both ways and haven't been able to really decide whether it's faster going to the "new" messages on each forum (which I most frequently do) or using the 24 hour list (which means when I go to the current message, I usually then have to click on the "flat" button to see all the discussion).

Bird

 

[glennmac]

How do you use the "new" function? I see that word on different places and really dont know what it means or how to use it. We also dont seem to have our instructions link (or our archives link) any more. I know Muhammad is re-jiggering things.

 

[Bird]

Glenn, you could probably read the instructions that Muhammad wrote and get more out of it, but basically when you go to the discussion main index, if there have been messages posted in a forum, since you last clicked on that forum, in the "Posts" column is a blue number and the word new in parentheses <font color=blue>(x new)</font color=blue> which tells you how many messages have been posted since you last checked that forum. When you click on that forum title, the index will have the yellow open folders for the names of the threads that have new messages, and the new messages will have yellow folders. Did I say all that right, Muhammad?

Bird

 

[Roy]

We have the "Ag Tractors & Machinery" which I assumes covers general non-branded threads, but I interpret the problem is that posters can post wherever they desire. And I don't believe that any new category would resolve that issue. So what I read is that people would possibly like an addition to the Main Index page: "Show New" along with the 24 hour, 48 hour, and 7 day options? It would show you the messages since your last login, much like the other db queries do ("Messages Posted Since Your Last Login').

 

[Bird]

I think you have the right idea, Roy. I try to read all the "new" messages, but I occasionally miss some, and occasionally run across messages that were posted prior to the last time I checked, but were apparently not included in the "new" listing. My main index just now showed one new message in the off topic and just for fun forum, but when I went to it, I found two new messages that I'd never seen before. And of course I don't know whether the problem is my computer, my ISP, or what. At any rate, something that would just show all the "new" messages would be nice. However, I'm certainly not unhappy with the forum the way it is.

Bird

 

[Anonymous Poster]

The forum format that shows the first line of the post in the listing is the best in my opinion, although it is no longer available. That format makes it easy to determine if the post is something you are interested in. You can skip over the ditto type posts quickly. For those of us with slow modems, bad phone lines and no better internet access options, skipping posts without missing something of interest would be a real help. If I were to estimate the time it takes to view X quanity of posts with the current format vs the previous format, I woud say twice as long now.

Andy

 

[glennmac]

Roy, that's not what I was originally saying, although a new-posts-only format would be nice. I think I and Mark were saying that topics that are not brand specific should have a more logical set of homes in generic topics. I think most of our important topics are of this non-brand specific nature, but are often put in a branded catgory. To me the Ag Machinery topic is for giant ag tractors, but maybe that is just my interpretation.

As to the "new" feature we do have, mine is all screwed up. My system tells me I have new messages when I have read them many times. Of course, I usually read things in 24 hour mode before I log in, so maybe the system doesnt know what I have read and what I havent. Must you always be logged in to use this? Is there any way to purge all these "new" messages out of my system, given that I have read them all?