Unread posts minor nit....

[broadstairs]

Well I'm flummoxed now!!!!!!!!!!!!! When I posted this it was working OK but now it's not!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well I think I understand why I got confused, there is one thread which if it shows up in unread never disappears but only one and it must have been that one.

So while the fix below might work for some things and speed up FF it is not the fix for this issue!



OK for Firefox 4.01 there is a 'feature' called ‘Disable Back/Forward Cache’ which results in Firefox downloading recently visited pages automatically. If you disable this default feature then Mageia works like Mandriva. To do this do:-

1. Entering "about:config" into the address bar.
2. Double-clicking on "network.prefetch-next" to change the value from true to false.
3. Enter “browser.sessionhistory.max_total_viewers” into the filter field.
4. Double click “browser.sessionhistory.max_total_viewers” to change it's value from “-1” to “0”.

Then to make sure close Firefox and start it again. I think you will find that the forum now behaves like I would like it to. However what this does not explain is why Mandriva and other phpbb forums work without doing this.

Stuart

[ahmad]

I think the problem isn't limited to the unread posts page; test case:
- Go to any post with more than one page viewtopic.php?f=4&t=337
- Go to the second or third page in that topic
- Click Back, notice that the previous page is reloaded afresh

The point is, most web browsers keep the previous pages in the memory, for faster reparsing, but here the page is being reloaded afresh.

In comparison go to any other website, click a link in it, then go Back, notice that the previous page is showed instantaneously.

[wobo]

I think the problem isn't limited to the unread posts page; test case:
- Go to any post with more than one page viewtopic.php?f=4&t=337
- Go to the second or third page in that topic
- Click Back, notice that the previous page is reloaded afresh

No, can't confirm that with FF 4.01 (Mageia 1).
- I open the thread you linked (page 1)
- I went to page 2
- I hit the back button and I'm back in page 1 - the normal behavior.

Edit:
Tested the same steps with the same address in Opera - same result. Hitting the back button brings me to the previous page.

[ahmad]

I think the problem isn't limited to the unread posts page; test case:
- Go to any post with more than one page viewtopic.php?f=4&t=337
- Go to the second or third page in that topic
- Click Back, notice that the previous page is reloaded afresh

No, can't confirm that with FF 4.01 (Mageia 1).
- I open the thread you linked (page 1)
- I went to page 2
- I hit the back button and I'm back in page 1 - the normal behavior.

Edit:
Tested the same steps with the same address in Opera - same result. Hitting the back button brings me to the previous page.

I can reproduce the issue with Firefox (7 nightly build), Chromium-browser and konqueror.... I'll test in a clean Mageia 1 vm tomorrow.

Just note that it will always take you back to the previous page, but the difference is whether the page appears instant, or is loaded as if you clicked Back then refreshed the page.

[wobo]

Just note that it will always take you back to the previous page, but the difference is whether the page appears instant, or is loaded as if you clicked Back then refreshed the page.

Ah, so I misunderstood. So I can't say what FF does here because I've a fast connection and I see no difference, whether it loads new or just uses the cache. I have to test this with a constantly changing page.

[broadstairs]

I'd just say that on my own website I have a page which updates about twice a minute and using FF 4.01 when I go back to that page it does not update it uses the cached page, only updating when I manually reload the page, however I still have the problem on the Mageia forum unread posts pages. So this is not a general thing that FF does, in my view their is something on the page which causes this to happen.

Stuart

[wobo]

I'd just say that on my own website I have a page which updates about twice a minute and using FF 4.01 when I go back to that page it does not update it uses the cached page, only updating when I manually reload the page, however I still have the problem on the Mageia forum unread posts pages. So this is not a general thing that FF does, in my view their is something on the page which causes this to happen.

I do not use the "Unread posts" list in all the forums I read just because of this logic behavior. If a thread is read why should it still be listed in "Unread posts"?

If you want a thread to stay in your view although you read it, use the "Active topics" view. There all topics stay in the list, only the color of the icon shows whether you already read it or not, or if there is a new post. Try it out: search.php?search_id=active_topics - I have this URL as a bookmark in my favorites bar and this way I see all new topics and then I can chose which one I want to read.

I only wish we could have a link "Mark all forums read" in this view so I can just click to mark all the topics read which I do not want to read.

[broadstairs]

I think you have missed the pont. I know that if you reload the unread posts page it will be updated and any read posts removed, that is not the point. If you go to unread posts - read a post and then go back using the browsers back button what I expect is that the cached version of the page will display and therefore my just read post will still be there but on Mageia (and so far only on Mageia) that is not the case the page is automatically reloaded.

I use unread posts because it shows me just that, if I use new posts then I get all the posts even ones I have read which is not what I want I only want ones I have not read yet. However I dont want the unread posts page automatically updating because if I need to re-read a post I have just read (maybe because it is relevant to another post) then I can do so without having to search for it through a list of new posts.

As I said Mageia is the only forum which exhibits this problem which is why I raised the issue in the first place and requested a change.

Stuart

[Akien]

And why don't you open the unread posts you want to read in new tabs, keeping the unread posts page open?
This way you can read the posts which interest you, and if you want to go back to one of those formerly unread posts, you just have to check your first tab.

[wobo]

Ah, ok, now let me make a simple test.

I will use FF 4.01 without any changed settings (out-of-the-box)
I will do both tests in the same browser session, no local changes which could influence the results.

Steps to reproduce:
1. write a test post
2. log out and log in with a different ID
3. open "View unread posts" (shows the test message as unread)
4. open the message and read it.
5. hit the "Back" button of FF.

I did this test on
- https://forums.mageia.org : the message has vanished, meaning the back button causes a new reload of the page.
- http://mandrivauser.de/forum (same forum software): the back button causes a return to the previous page without reload.
From this test I can confirm broadstairs' description.

Now for the cause:
Not being sure about this but I guess the forced reload is caused by the type of access: Mageia forums use SSL (https://), MandrivaUser does not use SSL.

If this is true then you have to live with it, it's a consequence of a higher security level.

[broadstairs]

It would be nice to know conclusively that the SSL is causing this, can someone confirm that this is the case?

Stuart