First Unread - Wait for it...

[POA1]

When you click the blue dot or blue star on the Topic Lisyfor First Unread Post, you need to wait for the page to load fully. This is particularly important if you are using your phone. 

 

If you start scrolling before the page fully renders, you won't be dropped to the anchor point for the unread post. For me, it's much more of an issue on my phone than my computer, but your results might be different. 

[rkacruiser]

I only use my desktop when I am accessing Cruise Critic, but since the new site started, occasionally I also find that the "first unread post" slow to load.  Sunday afternoon, those posts were very slow to load quite frequently.  I attributed this to so many people accessing CC, perhaps.  Today, everything seems to be "normal".

[POA1]

3 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

I only use my desktop when I am accessing Cruise Critic, but since the new site started, occasionally I also find that the "first unread post" slow to load.  Sunday afternoon, those posts were very slow to load quite frequently.  I attributed this to so many people accessing CC, perhaps.  Today, everything seems to be "normal".

A lot of it is a function of where the last unread is on the page and how big it is. The whole pase has to render first and then you get dropped in at the anchor for the post.

[OlsSalt]

Finding the same thing - long delay before the blue star click takes you  to the first unread - however there is now a "hovering" explanation now for the blue star means. Got to give credit to the responsiveness of the CC tech people on this new website - they have almost duplicated the old comforts even though they now have "changed it".  

 

Can't say the same thing about the HAL website which still seems to want you to hate it and not figure it out. Wish HAL had taken the same approach as CC - keep it familiar and comfortable and don't get carried away with adding annoying glitz.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for the info. 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for the information.

 

I always click onto the topic -- not the blue dot and it loads fast.

 

If it is a thread I am following, then I click onto the last listed "time".  Really don't like not having the actual time a person posts.

[POA1]

8 minutes ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

Really don't like not having the actual time a person posts.

Me either. I've always set my software to show the actual date and time instead "15 minutes ago" or "yesterday." However, I don't think that's even an option with the new software. 

[PSR]

11 hours ago, POA1 said:

Me either. I've always set my software to show the actual date and time instead "15 minutes ago" or "yesterday." However, I don't think that's even an option with the new software. 

 I just now clicked on the "posted xxxx" time and it shows the posted DATE and TIME. Not sure why I tried it, maybe cause of KK's and POA's posts!

[POA1]

1 hour ago, PSR said:

just now clicked on the "posted xxxx" time and it shows the posted DATE and TIME. Not sure why I tried it, maybe cause of KK's and POA's posts!

Was this in your normal forum view? I see the real date and time when I mouse-over the "Posted 1 hour ago" but that doesn't help the phone people.

[PSR]

7 hours ago, POA1 said:

Was this in your normal forum view? I see the real date and time when I mouse-over the "Posted 1 hour ago" but that doesn't help the phone people.

 

Yes, it was on my desktop. I have not tried on my iPad and I don't have a smart phone.

[DC1979]

I always view from my iPad and have not figured out how to view the first unread message. I’m not seeing a blue star anywhere, just a dot but nothing happens when I click on it

[POA1]

2 hours ago, DC1979 said:

I always view from my iPad and have not figured out how to view the first unread message. I’m not seeing a blue star anywhere, just a dot but nothing happens when I click on it

The blue dot should take you to the first unread post. The click zone is pretty small, so you have to be precise when tapping the dot or star. On my phone, it's hard to click because of my case. However, I can get it if I'm really careful. 

[catl331]

15 hours ago, POA1 said:

 I see the real date and time when I mouse-over the "Posted 1 hour ago" but that doesn't help the phone people.

When I hover there I see a time four hours into the future ... that is, it thinks I'm in Iceland.  I can't figure out how to tell this silly system what time zone I'm in. 

[POA1]

18 minutes ago, catl331 said:

When I hover there I see a time four hours into the future ... that is, it thinks I'm in Iceland.  I can't figure out how to tell this silly system what time zone I'm in. 

According to the Invision Community software documentation, the board is supposed to pick up your time zone from your computer automatically, based on the system. I switched my PC clock to US Pacific, opened a new browser and the CC board picked up the new time. (I'm in US Eastern normally.)

 

IIRC, Iceland is on GMT year round. If that's correct, just check your computer's time zone settings. I should work.

[RuthC]

25 minutes ago, catl331 said:

When I hover there I see a time four hours into the future ... that is, it thinks I'm in Iceland.  I can't figure out how to tell this silly system what time zone I'm in. 

When I first read POA's post (very handy tip, btw. thanks, Brian), I thought the time was correct.
But later in the evening, every time I checked it was four hours ahead of eastern time. You're right. It was very confusing as it got closer to midnight and the day change, too!
I figured when one thing was fixed the time got broken, and it, too, will be fixed in due time.

In the meantime, I can still just do the adjustment. It's a lot better than knowing how many hours a post was made.

[catl331]

33 minutes ago, POA1 said:

According to the Invision Community software documentation, the board is supposed to pick up your time zone from your computer automatically, based on the system.

 

If that's correct, just check your computer's time zone settings. I should work.

 

Nope. Three computers (running Win 10, Win 8.1, and Win 7) all correctly set to EDST have the same problem.

 

edit: when I'm not logged in the time shown is correct. Whether I use Chrome, Firefox, or Edge makes no difference.

Edited October 25, 2018 by catl331
update

[POA1]

I'm seeing the correct time when I mouse-over your "Posted 10 minutes ago", but it's entirely possible that the older times - the ones we see once a post is more than24 hours old - are messed up. I'll have to pay more attention to what time I'm posting stuff.  The old times seem correct, but I honestly didn't write them down. (Because, seriously... Why would I do that??)

 

If the times are wrong and they're consistently off by the same number of hours for everyone, that means that the web server's time offset is wrong or the time sync is wrong.  By way of geeksplanation (a word that absolutely should be in the dictionary, despite the fact that spell check hates it):  Server run on UTC (Coordinated Universal Time, which is kind of like GMT or Greenwich Mean Time, although the latter is a time zone in London and the former is a time standard.)  Web servers are supposed to sync to UTC and the administrators then provide a time offset, typically a time zone.  For example: My company has clients all over the place. Some of their servers are set to US Eastern, some to US Mountain, some to Hawaiian, and so on. Once the time zone offset is in place, the web server software handles daylight savings times for those time zones that have them. 

 

However, if we mess up the offset, everything on the server appears to be out of sync with the real, local time.

 

The bottom line for this horribly long explanation is: Once we can figure out what the offset error is, we can put in a Bug Report with CruiseCritic.  I realize that this isn't technically our job, but someone's got to do it.

 

 

Edited October 25, 2018 by POA1

[catl331]

Here's another strange thing: if I look at my Account Settings Recently Used Devices it gives me a latitude/longitude of 37.75, -97.82    That's in the middle of Cheney Reservoir, 27 miles west of Wichita Kansas ...  UTC-5, not Central FL UTC-4. (Not using VPN)

Edited October 25, 2018 by catl331

[POA1]

1 hour ago, catl331 said:

Here's another strange thing: if I look at my Account Settings Recently Used Devices it gives me a latitude/longitude of 37.75, -97.82    That's in the middle of Cheney Reservoir, 27 miles west of Wichita Kansas ...  UTC-5, not Central FL UTC-4. (Not using VPN)

That's just the reverse IP lookup location. My computer shows up in either Miami or Fort Lauderdale based on the AT&T IP. My phone seems to fly around the country based on on my T-Mobile IP. (Unless I connect via my LAN.) I get different go-locators if I connect on IPv4 vs IPv6. (Raise your hands if you have a the foggiest Idea what I'm saying. ) 

[RuthC]

4 hours ago, catl331 said:

edit: when I'm not logged in the time shown is correct. Whether I use Chrome, Firefox, or Edge makes no difference.

You're right. The time is correct when not logged in, and four hours ahead when I am.
Thanks for the explanation of what I saw last night.

Brian, yes it is consistent on the four hours. I check that often (so happy to learn of the feature), so I can gauge how far down the last post I read is when I am not logged in.

[sail2sea]

I think this particular forum software is set up this way.  I have seen the same behaviors on some other forums. VBULLETIN always shows the full time stamp whIle many others dont.

[catl331]

1 hour ago, RuthC said:

You're right. The time is correct when not logged in, and four hours ahead when I am.
Thanks for the explanation of what I saw last night.

Brian, yes it is consistent on the four hours. I check that often (so happy to learn of the feature), so I can gauge how far down the last post I read is when I am not logged in.

 

Just out of curiosity, please check your  Account Settings - Recently Used Devices to see if it gives you a longitude in the Central time zone, as it does for me.

[RuthC]

2 hours ago, catl331 said:

 

Just out of curiosity, please check your  Account Settings - Recently Used Devices to see if it gives you a longitude in the Central time zone, as it does for me.

Latitude/longitude aren't listed. It lists my home town, although the zip code is slightly off. The zip code listed is in my city, but not section.

[catl331]

6 minutes ago, RuthC said:

Latitude/longitude aren't listed. It lists my home town, although the zip code is slightly off. The zip code listed is in my city, but not section.

 

Hmmm ... there goes that theory! 🙂 Thanks.

[DC1979]

On 10/25/2018 at 8:36 AM, POA1 said:

The blue dot should take you to the first unread post. The click zone is pretty small, so you have to be precise when tapping the dot or star. On my phone, it's hard to click because of my case. However, I can get it if I'm really careful. 

 

Thank you!! I’m not sure why I couldn’t figure that out on my own, I’m usually technically astute! But that makes it much easier navigating the site. 🙂