Need Help With TBN Addiction

[Harv]

Muhammad -

I keep trying to wean myself from reading every message that is posted, but I just can't help myself. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

Since I am now spending way more time reading TractorByNet than I really have time for, I was looking for a faster way to get through it each day.

I generally just use the "Past 24 Hours" link and then open each message I haven't previously read until I'm caught up. It takes a lot of time to open each message individually, so I was wondering if there's any possibility of having a "Flat" mode for this list of messages?

As long as I'm shooting for the moon, it would be super great if I could bring up a subset of the 24-hour list that consists of just the messages I haven't read yet, and then view them in flat mode.

I've tried all the other ways to read messages (forum by forum, etc.), but I keep coming back to the "Past 24 Hours" method.

If I'm the only one looking for remedy here, then I'll just seek professional help from a local Shrinkologist. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Thomas]

I've yet to find a cure for this addiction.
Even have TBN on both of my computers at work,and one always has TBN showing.
/w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Maybe when the weather warms up and spending more time outside.

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[Muhammad]

Yeah, I know... I've been dealing with the addiction for 4 years now, counting time on other tractor forums before TBN was around. Tough, huh? /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Ok, now down to business... /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Features are being worked on to deliver the unread messages faster.

1) Messages delivered by e-mail. Probably within 7-10 days we will be able to finish this up, once the time becomes available. The way it will work is....

You will subscribe to receive messages by e-mail, on a forum-by-forum basis. When a message in that forum is posted, you will receive an e-mail containing the message, and a link to the message.

2) Some type of new message check feature, so you can get a listing of new messages in a quicker to view format. Basically, what we plan (technical speed bumps aside) is a page that would look like the forum indexes do, but it would only show threads with new messages since your last login. Would most likely be forum-wide, but maybe in the future we could add options to select which forums to pull the new messages from.

I personally go into each forum with new messages (displayed on main index in blue) and then just check the threads that are marked as new in the forum indexes. This is much faster than going with the 24-hour check, since that takes you to the threaded/single message view. There is really no possibility (logical, anyway) to change that to flat view without causing too much of a stir technically. In other words, to change the searches to display in flat mode, many more calls would have to be made to the server, slowing everything up; especially with the volume we're talking about here.

I have found the fastest method to be going forum-by-forum... then since you can view in flat mode from there, and view the last page only if there are multiple pages, you will get what is new quicker. Plus, you can easily read back 3 or 4 messages in flat mode, if you weren't following that discussion. Also, you can set your preferences to display x number of posts per page, and x number of threads per page, to reduce loading times on those pages.

For the daily viewers, we know that we need to add a feature to display all new messages for easy reading. We just haven't had the time recently, with some other things being developed for the site.

 

[Muhammad]

Maybe we need to add an auto refresh feature, Thomas? The main index would automatically refresh every 5 or 10 seconds, for those of you who have it on all the time like a TV. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[Thomas]

Muhammad,
Maybe one of those clap on..clap off like on tv,or something in the lines of smoker's patch for the addiction so I can pace myself. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Sure glad there no chatroom on TBN...yikes. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[Harv]

Muhammad -

Sounds like you've got a never-ending stream of improvements in the works.

Don't get me wrong -- this is by far the best message board on the net. I just want to have my cake and eat it, too. And in a timely fashion. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Thanks for the detailed reply.

 

[Muhammad]

<font color=blue>Sounds like you've got a never-ending stream of improvements in the works.</font color=blue>

Yeah, that's safe to say! /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[Bird]

Muhammad, I think I read the messages as you're saying you do; go to the main index, click on the forum with new messages designated by the blue number, etc. However, the "Jump to" feature has the forums in alphabetical order and the main index is in another order. It seems to me that it would speed up my going through them if the "Jump to" list of forums was in the same order as the main index.

Bird

 

[gordon]

Harv there are alot worse things to be addicted to!!! Maybe if your tractor was closer to home. That might help, have you got any room in your garage?
Gordon

 

[Harv]

Gordon -

<font color=blue>have you got any room in your garage?</font color=blue>

I might be able to get it in my garage -- the wife's car would have to move out, of course. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Then, let's see... the front and back lawns combined take about 20 minutes with a hand-pushed electric mower, so with my L2500 and 5-foot brush hog I should be able to do the job in about 3 minutes.

And then I would get to haul it up to the property every couple of weeks. By golly -- I think you're on to something. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

 

[jfakerj]

I agree with Bird about the jump to feature. Also, it would help if there was a main index button at the bottom along with the top. This would save scroling all the way to the top after reading the last message in a long post. Don't get me wrong. This is great and I've learned alot here. Thanks

Jerry

 

[gordon]

See Harv stick with me and we'll go places---don't exactly know where but we'll go places./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Don't feel bad at least you've got a woodshop to keep your tractor in, my tractor sits outside./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif
Had a nice small barn at the last house with an equipment shed, sold it to buy this place. More land but no barn. I'll have one in time, a barn that is.
Gordon

 

[LarryT]

Guess I'll wade into this discussion myself. I don't know about the rest of you, but I find interesting things on almost every topic forum. However, I can't say I read every single message either. I like the 24 hour-all messages format. That way I can easily pick and choose which ones to read. I almost always read one message, then "back" page. If I do read a thread, same thing, always back. That way my "read" messages are highlighted and I can easily see where I've been. The only fallacy to that plan is when I change computers (work to home), then there is no record of what I've read (recently anyway). But it's not too hard to figure out where I left off by looking at the time of the posts. Honestly, I can't think of many changes I'd ask for. The only annoying thing I encounter is that every time I reply to a post, then return to the forum, the page has expired and I have to back page through 5 or 6 pages. Not too big a deal with my cable modem but would be if I had a slow phone modem connection. Other than that, keep up the good work Muhammed!

Larry...

 

[Rowski]

[[there are alot worse things to be addicted to!!! ]]

At least TBN is legal! At least in this state /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif.

Derek

 

[Jeff_In_NC]

I just have the forums I follow e-mailed to me on a daily basis...great feature....If there is something I wanna comment on then I goto TBN and hunt up the thread and add my $.02 Works OK if you don't have a lot of 'puter time.
jeff in nc

 

[Muhammad]

Jump to thread order will be changed to match the main index, soon... and if you use the 'Discussions' link at the bottom, that takes you to the main index. We might add the same links to the bottom as you find on the top... we'll see.

 

[Bud]

I probably should not say this, and I'm the first one to say I know very little about computers, so I may be doing something wrong about bringing up messages. I usually spend twice the time, or more, to bring up a message as it takes to read them. You first wait for the message, then you wait for the flat, then if it's something very long, you have to wait for the page. If the 24 or 48 hour could be loaded like it works on CTB, you could read all the messages and only have to load them once. I probably read less than 20% of the messages because they take so long to load.

 

[jfakerj]

Muhammad

Thanks, I never thought of hitting the discussions at the bottom. That works a lot better than scroling back to the top every time when I want to go back to the main index.

Thanks again.

Jerry

 

[RobS]

Count me among the addicts. Makes me wonder what I'll do when the weather improves and there is some "real" tractoring to do. I too use the 24 hour update key but after a weekend away it is pretty daunting trying to catch up. Maybe I'll give Muhamad's approach a try.

Shopping for a new PC for home! Can't wait to improve access from there /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Rob

 

[Bird]

Jerry, yep, clicking on "discussions" at the bottom of the page works, too. I hadn't been doing that, but instead of "scrolling" back to the top, I've just been hitting the "home" key on my keyboard to jump back to the top.

Bird