bookmarks and subscriptions

[walkinTas]

mod: from here.

Is it possible to have email notification on a watched thread ??

One of my biggest complaints about this forum is a lack of a 'subscription' feature. I do not want an email every single time there is a new post in a thread. Rather, I want a list of threads that I am interested in (in one place) so I can easily keep track of them.

The "email every single time" is easy. UCP -> Board preferences -> Edit posting defaults -> Notify me upon replies by default: Yes. Which will subscribe a member to any topic they post in. This will only notify you of replies to topics you started or posted in. And notification is not really "every single time" either. I believe you are notified the first time someone response after your last log in - not certain.

http://www.phpbb.com/support/documentat ... _panel.php

• 5.3.1.1. Subscriptions
  
  Subscriptions are forums or individual topics that you have elected to watch for any new posts. Whenever a new post is made inside an area you have subscribed to, an e-mail will be sent you to informing you of the new addition. To create a subscription, visit the forum or topic you would like to subscribe to and click the 'Subscribe' link located at the bottom of the page.
  
  To remove a subscription, check the box next to the subscription you would like to remove and click the 'Unsubscribe' button.
• 5.3.1.2. Bookmarks
  
  Bookmarks, much like subscriptions, are topics you've chosen to watch. However, there are two key differences: 1) only individual topics may be bookmarked, and 2) an e-mail will not be sent to inform you of new posts.
  
  To create a bookmark, visit the topic you would like to watch and click the 'Bookmark Topic' link located at the bottom of the page.
  
  To remove a bookmark, check the box next to the bookmark you would like to remove and click the 'Remove marked bookmarks' button.

[walkinTas]

Don't forget, you can always list all the threads you have posted by clicking "View your posts" -

top of screen --> User Control Panel (# new messages) • View your posts

You can see your current subscriptions at UCP >> Overview >> Manage Subscriptions, and bookmarks UCP >> Overview >> Manage bookmarks.

I'll have to ask Son of a Beach if there is a way to add a quicker link to the top of the page for subscriptions. In tapatalk you can easily see your subscriptions and it is actually a better way to use that App to find a list of topics you are currently contributing to.

I'm not sure if any of this is exactly what you are after?

[Son of a Beach]

I think the features wT mentions adequately address the issues raised, but let us know if that's not the case. In particular, if you were to combine your browser's 'bookmarks' feature with the manage subscriptions phpBB feature, you would have instant access to all your subscribed topics without having to click through the links in the phpBB User Control panel first.

In addition to the email notifications, you can also use the RSS/Atom feeds, which in my opinion are better than email anyhow in most cases (except for private forums which require authentication).

[Mountain Rocket]

You are correct walkinTAS, the 'Subscription' feature only sends you an email the first time something new is posted in that thread.

Anyway, thanks for listening and actually acting on it so quickly I only have two little niggles with the new set-up.

One is I find the words 'Subscribe' and 'Bookmark' a bit ambiguous/confusing. On nearly every other forum I follow the 'Subscription' feature is the same as 'Bookmarks' here. Others use a phrase such as 'Follow thread', which I think is more clear. Perhaps you could reconsider the terms, or even amalgamate the two features? By that I mean have one page for your the threads you wish yo follow, from where you could elect to receive email notifications or not for each thread/sub-forum. I am not sure if the platform would allow it but you never know.

The second niggle is a very small one. Personally I like it when there is a little kind of breadcrumbs beneath each thread on your bookmarks page. All it would have to say is the sub-forum that the thread is in. This is handy because it allows you to easily identify which sub-forum a thread is in, as well as providing an accessible link straight to the sub-froum. This makes checking the site so much easier as you can easily browse sections of the site all from one web-page (bookmark).

They are my pre-coffe musings so forgive the ramble.

[Son of a Beach]

Wow... I never even noticed the "Bookmark Topic" link at the bottom of topic pages. And I've been on this forum since day one. Doh!

Anyhow, thanks for the feedback. I agree with most of what you've said, but I don't want to tamper too much with the standard installation of the forum software. We have occasionally considered migrating to different forums software, and that is something that we may seriously consider if we do look into moving away from phpBB at any stage.