[bd]

Hi all,

Having had confusing experience and various advice about new replies since last logon, I finally discovered today that clicking on the 'Forums' link in the blue sidebar will update your folders and lite bulb feature.

I am using IE5 so I don't know if other browsers will work the same way but since it involves a ubb code feature I think it should
[even if it doesn't] Bob

[bd]

test

[D'dubyaO]

Bob, you must have turned cookies on, or adjusted your preferences. Since I installed IE5, I could turn on cookies for only certain sites, and I decided this was a friendly site, so I take the cookie. That's when I noticed the folders started to work.

[rh71]

Either browser uses cookies to determine the last time you were on this techguy discussion forum. By comparison of current time & date, it knows which are new posts and which are not. With you clicking on Forums on the left, it merely re-loads the forums and shouldn't effect those icons in theory.

[bd]

Hi Guys ,
Thanks for the replies.
I have always accepted cookies and I haven't figured out all the details yet but when I click the forums link ,it does reload and kill the red folders resulting from my own replies and others and turns all the bulbs white.
Refreshing from any page does not.
I will check it out further as time permits .

rh71 is right that clicking 'forums' in the blue bar WHEN ON The Main Page just reloads that same page and does not affect the icons of the red folder ,light bulb, feature - but if it is clicked from a forum page it goes to the Main Page and acts as a log on/ update.
In fact ,now that I think about it, I believe that clicking the forums link and going to the main page is probably the action that the board uses for log on update when coming to this site initially from any page.
This would account for the difference between coming here from an email link direct to a forum topic and logging on through the intro page. [That idea will require further checking { or verification by someone who already knows} ]

Bob



[This message has been edited by bd (edited 08-09-2000).]

[RandyG]

You hit it on the head, bd. The address from the Forum link is http://www.helponthe.net/cgi-local/bb/Ultimate.cgi, which is the same one that I set as my Favorite shortcut. Remember I said that by using my Favorite, everything refreshed properly? Now I know why. When you click the Techsupport Guy Bulletin Board link from inside a particular forum, it takes you to http://www.helponthe.net/cgi-local/b...assCookie=true , which is bypassing the cookies, which holds the latest Time Stamp for accessing the site. Your time stamp doesn't update until you hit a page that checks it, which would be the main forum page using the link I use, or the Forum link on the left. This link difference makes sense , to utilise the red folders and light bulbs to the fullest. You wouldn't want the entire site to refresh, and lose all the lightbulbs, in all the forums, just because you answered one question.

I'm not a techno whiz, but this would support everything we've seen.


That is, you would understand if I didn't ramble on so . . .

BTW, rh71, the main page does refresh when utilising this link, regardless of where you are. Since it updates the timestamp within your cookie, and the lightbulbs and folders would be time relevant, ie they show the ones that appeared since the last time you updated your cookie . . .


Again, I feel I cracked this one, and if I am wrong, I will feel like a bit of a jackass, but Tech Guy, or any other CGI scriptor, help me out, and tell us if this could be causing the refreshing difficulties we've been experiencing!


(waiting in anticipation to use if I'm right)



[This message has been edited by RandyG (edited 08-09-2000).]

[bd]

Hi Randy,
As I said somewhere before, seeing the difference in the addresses made me curious.[specifically the words
'bypass cookies =true '
caught my attention]

It's a good example of things that go on right in front of our eyes all the time and we don't notice or don't think they have any significance.

It is also a very good feeling to find out and start to understand their functions instead of sitting impatiently waiting for them to finish .

Bob

BTW : I also know the feeling of suddenly thinking you may be rambling beyond your reader's range of interest and /or willingness to follow.



[This message has been edited by bd (edited 08-09-2000).]

[RandyG]

Okay, Okay, Okay . . .we'll share credit, because you did mention that "bypass cookies" on another thread, but it was during one of your rambling phases . . .

Seriously, you suggested others check, and I was adding my 2 cents worth. I was verifying your awesome deductions, and as an old professor of mine once said, "The one who gets the credit is the one who figures it all out, not the one that thought maybe it might be . . ." (paraphrasing in my own rambling fasion)

[bd]

Hi Randy and all,
I don't claim any credit. As you say, I did only say maybe and I am still not sure of the all details. I referred to the main page and intro page and didn't make clear definitions of what I meant and part of the time I referred to the main page when actually [I think] the board calls it the summary page.
I also said that it didn't update the logon if you click the forums link while on the main page when I meant on the summary page but I think now that it does but I was confused by the fact that it didn't change the page when it reloaded.
I now believe that the lack of change was due to the fact that it was already up to date so naturally there would be no change,
but I don't remember for sure.

That will be all the rambling for now.

Bob