Invision Community 4: SEO, prepare for v5 and dormant account notifications By Matt Monday at 02:04 PM
Gauravk Posted January 31, 2023 Posted January 31, 2023 Is there any new function added lately to highlight the unread topic as displayed in this help support forum feed? I have been using a plugin for the same job for years, so wondering if IPS has added that functionality now, would love to know how to switch it on, please.
Randy Calvert Posted February 1, 2023 Posted February 1, 2023 What are you meaning by highlight unread topics? This functionality has ALWAYS existed within IPB. That dot to the left and the title being bolded indicate the topic has unread replies in it. If you're meaning the checkmark that shows up next to certain topics like what is down below... It is not an unread status indicator... instead it indicates a topic has been marked as solved.
Marc Posted February 1, 2023 Posted February 1, 2023 I must admit I'm not sure as to what you mean here. If you can point out the plugin, we can then advise accordingly. I think that would be the best way
Gauravk Posted February 1, 2023 Author Posted February 1, 2023 7 hours ago, Randy Calvert said: That dot to the left and the title being bolded indicate the topic has unread replies in it. This exact feature is not showing in our community. When we enable this plugin, we get that feature When we disable that plugin, we don't get this feature
Marc Posted February 1, 2023 Posted February 1, 2023 Ah, only in feeds. No, you would indeed need a plugin for that.
Gauravk Posted February 1, 2023 Author Posted February 1, 2023 29 minutes ago, Marc Stridgen said: Ah, only in feeds. No, you would indeed need a plugin for that. Thanks for clarifying @Marc Stridgen, hope it's not a big task for IPS to consider adding this small feature than showing a flat layout for signed-up users, as most communities must be using a topic feed at homepage like ours. So we can have one less plugin to fail.
Marc Posted February 1, 2023 Posted February 1, 2023 Please feel free to post that up within our suggestions area.
Daniel F Posted February 1, 2023 Posted February 1, 2023 There's already a suggestion and the explentation why it's not included.
Gauravk Posted February 1, 2023 Author Posted February 1, 2023 11 minutes ago, Daniel F said: There's already a suggestion and the explentation why it's not included. Thanks @Daniel F for the explanation. Wondering how did Dawpi and Adriano found a workaround for such a great feature.
Marc Posted February 1, 2023 Posted February 1, 2023 14 minutes ago, Gauravk said: Thanks @Daniel F for the explanation. Wondering how did Dawpi and Adriano found a workaround for such a great feature. There isn't really a workaround there. It's an addition. There are performance reasons we don't add this to the core platform, as mentioned in the topic above. While there may be sites who can use things like this, they are not necessarily always something that is good to add to the core platform. If this was the case, the marketplace wouldn't exist. This is where the 3rd party community comes in. Application and plugin developers develop for people who purchase their application or plugin. So by definition, in this case, the only people purchasing that addon are the people who need that added. We do the same, but have a broader audience. The people who are buying our product, are not only people who need that feature added. There is nothing wrong with that. Its just the way it is. I'm sure there is a store somewhere that sells leopard print car seat covers for Ferraris. I'm also pretty sure thats never going to come as a default option Jim M, Gauravk and Daniel F 2 1
Gauravk Posted February 1, 2023 Author Posted February 1, 2023 Very good sense of humor to brush things off. I hope IPS support treat plugin and app developer with the same respect as you offer @Marc Stridgen Simply because they treat third-party plugins like COVID patients.
Marc Posted February 1, 2023 Posted February 1, 2023 20 minutes ago, Gauravk said: Simply because they treat third-party plugins like COVID patients. I wouldn't say that is the case, and sorry to hear you feel that way. I believe the correct analogy you were looking for is you believe that they are treated like covid. This isn't really the case, unless they cause symptoms like it. To explain the above. We find that most issues in support are caused by 3rd party items and badly configured environments. So naturally, you eliminate those 2 items before anything else, which is why it appears that way. But to do otherwise would be like admitting a patient to hospital with chest issues, who is struggling to breathe, and not testing to see if they have covid first. So your analogy in that context actually fits better than perhaps you intended. Its not something against the authors, its simply logical steps. If we updated the editor and upload process, and there was an editor issue related to uploads, we would look at that first, as logic dictates that is likely where the issue is. Its nothing more than this.
Gauravk Posted February 1, 2023 Author Posted February 1, 2023 1 minute ago, Marc Stridgen said: If we updated the editor and upload process, and there was an editor issue related to uploads, we would look at that first, as logic dictates that is likely where the issue is. Its nothing more than this. Spot on @Marc Stridgen, I seriously wish, pray, and beg if such logical steps get followed in real life. In real life, it's 360 degrees. u have chest issue, support asks you to repaint your car, change your seatbelts, move plants in ur house and delete all contact from your phonebook, stand on one leg for 3 hours, before they take the first step. And cause downtime for 24 hours or limping site for 3-7 days. HIGHLY ILLOGICAL REASON WAS DISPLAYED AT EVERY SUPPORT INSTANCE I HAVE HAD IN 12 YEARS WITH IPS. That's why when I receive logical support (one in a million moon) I feel super happy, that happened yest, btw. With such RADICAL BEHAVIOUR toward third-party app "DEVELOPERS," customers like me wish not to install any plugin or even open marketplace ever in my life. Why evolve, keep sitting with stone-age men and wait for IPS to catch up?
Nathan Explosion Posted February 1, 2023 Posted February 1, 2023 Adriano Faria, Ramsesx, Marc and 1 other 2 1 1
Management Matt Posted February 1, 2023 Management Posted February 1, 2023 Building what we call "widgets" is very expensive. It adds significant database overhead, which is why we almost always cache them. It means that one process builds them, and this built version can be shared with hundreds and possible thousands of subsequent page views. The downside is that we cannot allow any personalisation of the widget based on the member that created the cache for it. This is why we cannot show unread topics in widgets (or feeds as discussed here). It is a logical resource problem, not an ideological problem. We have a duty of care to ensure that your site, no matter if it receives 100 clicks a day, or 1000 clicks a minute responds quickly and doesn't consume a disproportionate amount of resources to the point where performance degrades. Marketplace authors often write plugins that significantly increase the resource footprint in a way that would be unsustainable for customers with the busiest communities but offer more functionality such as unread markers for widgets. We allow it because they benefit some communities but it is not something we can offer in the core software because we simply cannot allow a community to degrade as it scales. Marc, Gauravk and abobader 2 1
Gauravk Posted February 1, 2023 Author Posted February 1, 2023 Thanks @Matt I totally hear your point. Perhaps IPS can still add this feature as a selectable button, displaying the disclaimer alongside. Facts: As a user of one, we are using this for a few years and have done rigorous page speed/load tests from all hemispheres and noticed no change with it on/off, as for us page load time is prime.
Management Matt Posted February 1, 2023 Management Posted February 1, 2023 I understand your reasoning but adding a resource hungry feature with the ability to turn it on rarely ends well. People will just turn it on and then send in a support ticket when their site is very slow or taking 15 seconds to load a page. This is from experience not hypothesis. 😁
Gauravk Posted February 1, 2023 Author Posted February 1, 2023 So in that case, maybe IPS should start offering its own "PAID" fully-tested plugins for the people who are willing to buy and afford the resource-intensive plugin for the sake of convenience. My end goal is "peace of mind" to use technological advancement (with or without plugins) without getting harassed by support as if we have done some crime by installing a third-party plugin.
Marc Posted February 1, 2023 Posted February 1, 2023 26 minutes ago, Gauravk said: So in that case, maybe IPS should start offering its own "PAID" fully-tested plugins for the people who are willing to buy and afford the resource-intensive plugin for the sake of convenience. Anything we create would be added to the core product, as a core item. We would not create 3rd party items. 27 minutes ago, Gauravk said: My end goal is "peace of mind" to use technological advancement (with or without plugins) without getting harassed by support as if we have done some crime by installing a third-party plugin. I'm not sure where you get the harassment from there. It really is as simple as needing you to disable 3rd party items to test things. We're not harassing you for not doing so. This is entirely up to yourself.
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