# Is it Possible to Mark Sub-Forums or Threads so I Don't See Them ?



## rhysonsax (Nov 30, 2003)

I usually access SOTW on PC by clicking on "New Posts" to just see the threads that have changed since my previous visit. Along with threads of interest to me, I see a lot of threads that I never want to click on, such as those endless "games" that run to hundreds or thousands of postings.

Is there a way that I can mark a forum or a sub-forum or a thread so that it will never again be shown to me when I click on "New Posts" ?

Rhys


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## motteatoj (Nov 14, 2014)

boy i hope so!


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## LostConn (Feb 14, 2014)

If you click on New Posts or otherwise browse SOTW without being logged in, you won't see any of the subforums that are open only to members. This includes the Lounge (with all the word games) and the Marketplace. Of course, you won't be able to reply to posts in the subforums that you do see, but you'll be able to read them.


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## rhysonsax (Nov 30, 2003)

LostConn said:


> If you click on New Posts or otherwise browse SOTW without being logged in, you won't see any of the subforums that are open only to members. This includes the Lounge (with all the word games) and the Marketplace. Of course, you won't be able to reply to posts in the subforums that you do see, but you'll be able to read them.


Er, how does that help me ? I want to be able to choose what I don't see.

Rhys


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## LostConn (Feb 14, 2014)

rhysonsax said:


> Er, how does that help me ? I want to be able to choose what I don't see.


Er, it helps you by eliminating from your view the threads about "endless games" that you specifically complained about in your OP. It's obviously a partial solution, not a panacea.


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## Pete Thomas (Sep 12, 2004)

I also dislike having those in the new posts view (when logged in). Individual threads cannot be removed from New Posts, but a subforum can, but can only be done globally and not for specific members.

But if enough people want this, and the people who use those threads don't mind, then I would be happy to look into how possible this is. But don't hold your breath!


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## mijderf (Jan 4, 2016)

I too would like to see the word games not show up under new posts.


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## dtedsax (Mar 27, 2014)

+1
Word games have nothing to do with saxophones or music


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## milandro (Dec 22, 2006)

Pete Thomas said:


> I also dislike having those in the new posts view (when logged in). Individual threads cannot be removed from New Posts, but a subforum can, but can only be done globally and not for specific members.
> 
> But if enough people want this, and the people who use those threads don't mind, then I would be happy to look into how possible this is. But don't hold your breath!


Great Idea, subforum " games" ! If you want to play you do and if you don't want to see them you don't.

Maybe an idea also for " for sale"?


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## Dave Dolson (Feb 2, 2003)

Maybe create a new section for those game-threads. On occasion, the section where the games are now listed also will have a subject more interesting to me. So, I still check that section just because of that. I'd rather avoid those games and not have to open the games-section. DAVE


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## milandro (Dec 22, 2006)

but really the same goes for the for sale section, if one is not interested in buying anything, why would one be subject to the plethora of daily anniversary and special offer and thank you rounds of ads? It is an almost daily occurrence!


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## AddictedToSax (Aug 18, 2007)

+1 on both games and sales. If there is a way to screen them out of the New Posts that would be great. In fact I suggested that in the long discussion on re-vamping the For Sale rules.


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## sopsax (Feb 3, 2003)

I don't want to see the games, ever. However, I am always interested in seeing what's for sale.


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## motteatoj (Nov 14, 2014)

I would like all non-sax related topics not show up in new posts....
I use the new posts page as my starting point daily to see what is going on, including what is for sale, however, its not hard to go click on a "new for sale' posts page.
Games are i guess good for some folks, but not sure why they are here at all? 
No one comes here looking for games, they come here looking for sax info and items.


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## milandro (Dec 22, 2006)

sopsax said:


> I don't want to see the games, ever. However, I am always interested in seeing what's for sale.


Bu that's precisely the point. If oyu are interested then you click a button and go on the for sale section, but to impose sales on those who aren't buying is not particularly respectful of the membership who is not interested (in the same way that you , and I, aren't interested in games).

Mind you I am saying this from the perspective of someone whom occasionally sells something here, but frankly speaking the last couple of years, the continuous offer of especially mouthpieces, almost daily, has gone through the roof!


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## Pete Thomas (Sep 12, 2004)

Seeing as (as I mentioned above) as far as I know none of this can be done on a per user preference basis, if we could do this (and that is *IF*) then we'd want some kind of majority consensus on what we do.

I suspect we won't please half the people half the time. Not even a quarter of the people a third of the time.


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## rhysonsax (Nov 30, 2003)

Pete Thomas said:


> Seeing as (as I mentioned above) as far as I know none of this can be done on a per user preference basis, if we could do this (and that is *IF*) then we'd want some kind of majority consensus on what we do.
> 
> I suspect we won't please half the people half the time. Not even a quarter of the people a third of the time.


As per my original question, I would like to be able to personally mark a Forum / Sub-Fourm / Thread to indicate that I don't want it to appear on "New Posts". I don't want to impose anything on other forum members or end up with an inflexible system.

It isn't just the Games threads, I also get fed up with many of the For Sale and Wanted threads and some particular threads where they descend into tedious argument or ranting.

There seems to be an automatic system of flagging up where I have started or contributed to a thread. Not understanding the mechanics of what is "under the hood" of the forum I don't know whether what I want is easy or even possible, but it would make my SOTW experience a lot better.

Rhys


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## milandro (Dec 22, 2006)

well, there has to be some common meeting ground (in the sense that if you start cliccking anything you don’t want there will be nothing left) otherwise this wouldn’t be FORUM which is by definitions a meeting place, a square.


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## sopsax (Feb 3, 2003)

Agreed, the best solution would be to empower each individual member to flag threads that they personally don't wish to see. We already have the ability to flag members whose posts we don't wish to see.

I would not wish to restrict anybody else's access to their preferred content. I would very much like to streamline my own access to the content I value most at SOTW.


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## Pete Thomas (Sep 12, 2004)

rhysonsax said:


> As per my original question, I would like to be able to personally mark a Forum / Sub-Fourm / Thread to indicate that I don't want it to appear on "New Posts". I don't want to impose anything on other forum members or end up with an inflexible system.
> 
> It isn't just the Games threads, I also get fed up with many of the For Sale and Wanted threads and some particular threads where they descend into tedious argument or ranting.
> 
> ...


That's right. When you start or contribute to a thread you are subscribed automatically. You can also subscribe to threads or forums manually (so you get notified even if you haven't contributed)

But to have threads or forums discudsed from your very own personal New Posts list is not something that is possible in this clunky old forum software



sopsax said:


> Agreed, the best solution would be to empower each individual member to flag threads that they personally don't wish to see.


See above, ideal but not possible with this software.


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## rhysonsax (Nov 30, 2003)

milandro said:


> well, there has to be some common meeting ground (in the sense that if you start cliccking anything you don't want there will be nothing left) otherwise this wouldn't be FORUM which is by definitions a meeting place, a square.


For me it's a question of balance. If there are a few things going on in the meeting place that annoy people to the extent that they never come back, it would seem sensible to give them a way of staying but filtering out the nuisance.

Rhys


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## Dave Dolson (Feb 2, 2003)

I just returned home from an Alaskan cruise - with awful internet service on board. On the ship when I saw there was a new post in the Member's Lounge, I felt compelled to open that section to see if the post involved some interesting-to-me subject other than the numerous word-games. Almost always it was yet another post in those endless game-threads. This took time (and frustration) I didn't like experiencing.

It seems simple enough for the admins to create a separate section for the games so that those who are interested in playing them can do so without me (and the others who don't play the games) having to open the Lounge every time there is a new post. This imposes no losses or restrictions on any of the forum members. It merely creates a section that we can choose to ignore without hurting those who use it. 

It seems to me that the FOR-SALE threads are of more interest to more of us than the games-threads. Still, if we don't want to buy anything, we can forego opening those sales-threads. DAVE


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## Tryptykon (Feb 8, 2005)

Dave Dolson said:


> I just returned home from an Alaskan cruise - with awful internet service on board. On the ship when I saw there was a new post in the Member's Lounge, I felt compelled to open that section to see if the post involved some interesting-to-me subject other than the numerous word-games.


You were on an Alaskan cruise vacation and you still wanted to check out SOTW ? Hilarious, Dave !!


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## Dave Dolson (Feb 2, 2003)

Been there before . . . needed some down-time from all the splendor. What better than to relax with a jack-on-rocks and questions about matching a metal mouthpiece to a c-melody? DAVE


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## Pete Thomas (Sep 12, 2004)

This thread is about people having their own filters for what they see. I don’t think it is possible. It may be with a third party plugin but only VS (the company that owns the forum) can install those.

However I seriously doubt there is anything that would work well with the current antiquated software.

Recently there was a thread suggesting to update the forum, but I think the overwhelming response was against that. I may be wrong, need to look for that thread.

But again, only BS can do that.


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## Tryptykon (Feb 8, 2005)

Dave Dolson said:


> Been there before . . . needed some down-time from all the splendor. What better than to relax with a jack-on-rocks and questions about matching a metal mouthpiece to a c-melody? DAVE


Yeah, sure .. why not ?


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## soybean (Oct 26, 2007)

>

I never look at the Games, but find it quite easy to refrain from clicking on them. It's even a bit satisfying! (Obviously, people enjoy them.)


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## Dave Dolson (Feb 2, 2003)

It isn't about clicking on one or all of the games, it is about clicking on the Lounge when it shows there are new posts. It is only after you open the Lounge that you see that the only new posts are in the games-threads. 

While I am no expert on how to design a forum, I recall that other subjects over the 20 or so years I've been on SOTW have been created to narrow the subject matter - why not all of those word games? They seem to have enough participation that a specific games-thread would allow those with games-interest to continue their postings there without involving those of us who don't participate. DAVE


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## B Flat (Mar 26, 2011)

Imagine being able to block repetitive, self promoting, bump styled posts from Vendors touting the same thing over and over again.
It sounds too good to be possible.


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## warp x (Aug 12, 2007)

These days I browse the forum without logging in (if at all), so I see no games and no for sale threads. Works fine for me.
If I think I need to buy something I log in, same for replying to a post. (Sometimes I have to log in 4 times in order to make a post, but there's another thread about that I believe)


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## Sigmund451 (Aug 8, 2003)

B Flat said:


> Imagine being able to block repetitive, self promoting, bump styled posts from Vendors touting the same thing over and over again.
> It sounds too good to be possible.


As vendors, in the vendor area, we are not subjected to rules having to do with bumping. If I want, in theory, I can post half a dozen posts and bump them twice or three times a day to create what is essentially a free bill board. I dont think its fair that vendors who dont necessary provide any service to the community, stand without rules when individuals are admonished for bumping behaviors. I dont know that they should be the same set of rules but I get the feeling that individuals are being punished for the behaviors of vendors...I cant prove it but I suspect it.
Shall I prepare a billboard to test the theory...
I dont have the time but Im tempted.


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## milandro (Dec 22, 2006)

Sigmund451;3960002. said:


> I don't know that they should be the same set of rules but I get the feeling that individuals are being punished for the behaviors of vendors..


well the continuous touting is creating certainly an atmosphere of real stress. I don't like unrequested ads, If I am interested in anything that I look for it.

My position on this is that vendors should simply advertise their site ( or BUY a banner!) and hold their sales OUTSIDE the forum.

They should simply have a link in the signature ( as you do Phil) with a site where one can go and buy. I am not in the market for mouthpieces, but if I were I certainly wouldn't buy one puhed to my " attention" almost every day. VERY annoying!


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## rhysonsax (Nov 30, 2003)

B Flat said:


> Imagine being able to block repetitive, self promoting, bump styled posts from Vendors touting the same thing over and over again.
> It sounds too good to be possible.


Yup, that's what I was thinking about when I started this thread, just as much as the Games threads.

It's like walking into a pub for a nice drink and a catch-up with friends and having someone constantly bothering you, trying to sell you stuff of no interest or a group of people endlessly playing a game that you can't escape.

I'm not trying to stop their fun, just hoping for a way to let me selectively filter out stuff I decide I don't want to be bothered by when I look down the New Posts. I know I don't have to click on those threads, but they relentlessly come back on the list and obscure the interesting new postings.

Rhys


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## vries1 (Jun 7, 2006)

B Flat said:


> Imagine being able to block repetitive, self promoting, bump styled posts from Vendors touting the same thing over and over again.
> It sounds too good to be possible.


Hear, hear!


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## milandro (Dec 22, 2006)

sure, of course we are all free to enter any thread but to see the continuous flow of ads (and games, yesterday they even invented a new one) to which I have no interest whatsoever.


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## Pete Thomas (Sep 12, 2004)

See here we have a poll about Games in new posts list:

https://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?361168-Word-games-to-not-show-in-new-posts-lists


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## B Flat (Mar 26, 2011)

rhysonsax said:


> Yup, that's what I was thinking about when I started this thread, just as much as the Games threads.
> 
> It's like walking into a pub for a nice drink and a catch-up with friends and having someone constantly bothering you, trying to sell you stuff of no interest or a group of people endlessly playing a game that you can't escape.
> 
> Rhys


This brings to mind our experience on a recent holiday overseas.
We were sitting quietly in a bar enjoying a few drinks and some good conversation when we were bombarded with souvenir salespeople trying to sell us the same thing over and over again.
The big difference here was that after they saw you around for a couple of days, they left you alone and we're then quite friendly and just happy to chat with you.


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## milandro (Dec 22, 2006)

I think that the insisting and persisting vendors seriously underestimate the hostile climate they create towards themselves with the plethora of ads and the intense bumping


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## B Flat (Mar 26, 2011)

milandro said:


> I think that the insisting and persisting vendors seriously underestimate the hostile climate they create towards themselves with the plethora of ads and the intense bumping


Absolutely.
Speaking for myself, it has made me even more unlikely to deal with them regardless of how interesting their product may seem.(which they aren't for me anyway).


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## Minnesota (Feb 27, 2017)

I would LOVE the ability to ignore any given thread and the ability to ignore any given forum.


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## click (Apr 17, 2009)

Pete Thomas said:


> This thread is about people having their own filters for what they see. I don't think it is possible. It may be with a third party plugin but only VS (the company that owns the forum) can install those.
> 
> However I seriously doubt there is anything that would work well with the current antiquated software.
> 
> ...


Leave well enuff alone.

Scroll down and do not click on what is not desired.

Hunting for "perfect" could wreck what works well enuff to go on with.

Most of what is out there in every arena is not for everyone.

No big deal.

Leave it be.

Don't go poking the sleeping monster Chaos.

That is my vote.


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