# How does "Go to first new post" work?



## ParadiseDave (Jun 8, 2000)

There is this neat, little arrow that supposedly allows you to jump past the posts in a thread that you have read. How does the software know how far down the thread I have scrolled? Is it dependent on the GO button at the bottom of each thread? If not, why does it only work SOMETIMES?

I hate using the GO button, because if I am on page 3 or 4 of the thread titles, it takes me back to page one. I use my browser's back button when I get to the bottom of a thread, so I return to the same thread title page. Is this defeating the "Go to first new post" feature?


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## hefe (Dec 5, 2000)

Where is this GO button you speak of? I don't see it.

Edit: On the Fourm Jump?


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## ParadiseDave (Jun 8, 2000)

Yeah, that's the one.


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## David Bott (Jan 1, 1999)

Hello... 

First I am lost for the FORUM JUMP with he GO button is to jump to another complete forum section, not somewhere in a thread. 

The Go To First New Post is based on the time stamp of your last visit to the site. It will clear within 20 mins or so after you have come back to the site. After that, it really does not know for the software does not track each thread you have visited. (That would be hugh amounts of data to store.) So it does it based on time of your last visit vs the time of the post. 

It is not the best thing, thats for sure, but that would be the answer.


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## ParadiseDave (Jun 8, 2000)

Thanks for the explanation of how the GTFNP works. I never thought of using the post times, but I did imagine the huge amount of data required if the forum software kept track of every thread visited by every member.  

When I am in any forum, that forum is the default in the Forum Jump box, so I use it as a shortcut back to the thread list in that same forum. It beats hitting the BACK button on the browser through all of the pages of the thread I am in.


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## Mike20878 (Jun 8, 2001)

But why is there no "go to new post" link *within* a thread? I only see it on the forum index. It would be helpful when using the thread subscription feature. I subscribe to the SP Alert forum and when I click on a link for an update to an old thread it takes me to the top of the thread.

Thanks,
Mike

Edit: Wait a second... as soon as I posted I saw such a link at the top of the thread. I'm not sure why I don't see it on the SP Alert threads when I click on them in the email alert.


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## Jonathan_S (Oct 23, 2001)

Mike20878 said:


> But why is there no "go to new post" link *within* a thread? [snip]
> Edit: Wait a second... as soon as I posted I saw such a link at the top of the thread. I'm not sure why I don't see it on the SP Alert threads when I click on them in the email alert.


Is it possible that you have been to the forum sometime since the last post was made in the SP Alert thread you were looking at?

I know that the 'view first unread' post link the in the thread goes away if the forum believes there are no new posts for you. (That your last visited time is newer than all the posts in the the thread)


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## Mike20878 (Jun 8, 2001)

Jonathan_S said:


> Is it possible that you have been to the forum sometime since the last post was made in the SP Alert thread you were looking at?
> 
> I know that the 'view first unread' post link the in the thread goes away if the forum believes there are no new posts for you. (That your last visited time is newer than all the posts in the the thread)


I don't think so. Typically I'm reading my email and clicking on the thread topic in the email alert. But it's hard to keep track since that's how it measures visits.


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