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Sorry for the downtime last night, there was an issue with our SSL cert that has now been resolved.

On a positive note though, this happened. https://parkfans.net/threads/das-kaetzchen.1089/#post-44

Only a few of the older attachments are back, but I'm working on a solution that will hopefully not involve me having to edit over 15,000 records by hand. It's not a matter of if it'll be fixed, just when and I'm hoping to have a it all fixed within the next week.
 
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Gavin said:
Sorry for the downtime last night, there was an issue with our SSL cert that has now been resolved.

On a positive note though, this happened. https://parkfans.net/threads/das-kaetzchen.1089/#post-44

Only a few of the older attachments are back, but I'm working on a solution that will hopefully not involve me having to edit over 15,000 records by hand. It's not a matter of if it'll be fixed, just when and I'm hoping to have a it all fixed within the next week.
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Do you need some sort of script/line of code to edit those records? Stuff like that is a specialty of mine.
 
finalcloud said:
This is more of a point about the flagging system than COVID. How can a flag be justified when the post includes two government sites including the CDC which is referenced in the flagging statement? Post 2154 is what I'm referring too. Threads like this and the Dumpster Fire should remove from this site. I come here for theme park news and discussion then my 'What's New' is filled this shit. Really has ruined the experience. I could go on but then I'm only adding to the problem.
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Moving this here to address the recommendation about the non-theme park threads.

We have threads like Coronavirus Crisis and the Politic Thread, because in our experience these topics come up, regardless. The Admins determined that it would be better for the community have these off-topic and often divisive comments isolated in their own threads. We believe that it is better to provide a place for the discussions than to allow our primary conversations to be interrupted and derailed.
 
While I am in favor of getting rid of a politics thread and coronavirus thread on a theme park website, I would at the very least like a way to block or ignore those threads. It’s frustrating to come here for theme park news, log on after several hours away, only to find 50+ political or coronavirus posts and people badgering at each other back and forth.

Me personally, I come here for theme park news, announcements and information. I don’t come here for triple posts from someone’s Twitter favorites, conspiracy theories (both sides), anti mask views, pro masks views, student loan politics, etc. I could go on and on what some non theme parks threads have developed in to. If I want to read that stuff I can go on Facebook, which is one reason I avoid that site.

It would be nice not to see them or be able to block them so my what’s new tab doesn’t get overrun with posts I don’t come here for.
 
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We could add a thread or node-based content ignoring system, but anyone who uses it would end up with a broken “What’s New” counter. Frankly, that is the only reason we haven’t done it yet—anyone using it would be plagued with an issue that seems almost just as bad (and far more broken) than just skipping over the threads they’re not interested in while browsing the What’s New page.
 
Zachary said:
We could add a thread or node-based content ignoring system, but anyone who uses it would end up with a broken “What’s New” counter. Frankly, that is the only reason we haven’t done it yet—anyone using it would be plagued with an issue that seems almost just as bad (and far more broken) than just skipping over the threads they’re not interested in while browsing the What’s New page.
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Currently investigating a solution that may not have these issues.
 
Is there a “clear all unread threads” shortcut? Yes it still leaves it to the user to not enter the thread, but then they don’t have to in order to clear unread posts.
 
Pretzel Kaiser said:
Maybe that’s worth it?
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Is it though? Isn’t it effectively the same problem? People who had ignored threads would see that there are unread posts in What’s New, they’d click on it to see what those new posts are, and there would be nothing there. At least right now you can see where the posts are happening and mark all threads as read when you’re satisfied with having read everything you’re interested in.

My point is, either way, whether you click What’s New when there are new posts and only see threads you don’t care about OR if you click What’s New when there are new posts and see nothing at all, the user isn’t being rewarded. The second one is just a lot more broken.
 
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I honestly think that the ability to customize an experience is more important than arbitrary numbers being displayed if that’s going to be the roadblock to getting people the ability to customize their content.

Since the current rules are designed to let people say whatever they want no matter how stupid and annoying it is aside from a few exceptions, it’s the only fair for people to be able to opt out of hotbeds.

If the goal is to force engagement by showing alerts of new posts, then that’s a disservice to those who find conspiracies and CNN links annoying to be forced have to deal with them on a local theme park nerd forum.

I wish that users would have a choice between blocking threads and accurate post counts if a good fix can’t be found to do both. Forcing content people want for the sake of “engagement” is no better than Facebook.
 
I, personally, like the convenience of having all of the unreads in one list. For me, it isn't about "forcing engagement." It is about knowing easily what posts I have missed.
 
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No one is suggesting it’s not a problem @Pretzel Kaiser. I’ve literally spent longer trying to solve this problem than any other in the site’s history. I know it’s a problem. It’s a problem for our users, it’s a problem for our ability to best drive continued engagement, and it’s a real barrier to any hope of ParkFans expansion beyond VA.

We can’t just break What’s New to fix it though. That’s why the issue has been stuck at an impasse for so long.
 
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My understanding is that if it was implemented, users who decided not to block threads will be unaffected by the what’s new issue, as in everything will function properly? Is that correct?

The bug (for lack of a better term) would only effect people who block threads? I want to make sure my understanding is correct because the same thing happens when users block other users.
 
warfelg said:
Is there a “clear all unread threads” shortcut? Yes it still leaves it to the user to not enter the thread, but then they don’t have to in order to clear unread posts.
Click to expand...

Update on this: I just fixed the bug that sent users to /whats-new/ instead of /whats-new/posts when clicking on the What's New link on a phone or tablet. Whenever there are unread posts, a mark as read button should now be available on the What's New page no matter what device you're using.
 
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After some discussion, @Gavin flipped the switch on thread and forum ignoring and we'll see how it goes. A button should now appear at the top right of most nodes and threads allowing you to Ignore the current item. Consider it largely untested because it very much is.

Again...

USING THIS FEATURE WILL BREAK YOUR UNREAD POSTS COUNT!

This is a known issue and we have no current path to fixing it. Do not complain about this bug. If it becomes a problem for people, our only solution will be to disable content ignoring all together again.

The unread count will continue to count ALL POSTS, even if they come from a thread you opt out of being able to see in your thread list. This means that you will have unread posts from threads you will no longer be able to access. The only way to clear these invisible posts is by clicking on a "Mark All as Read" link.

One appears only when there are NON-IGNORED unread posts on /whats-new/posts. To bypass that, you can click the "x" on the "Show Only: Unread" filter on the /whats-new/posts page. The "Mark Forums Read" button should then appear. Another place to find one of these Mark as Read links is in the What's New drop-down in the top bar on the desktop or under "What's New" in the menu sidebar on mobile. I will look into ways to provide more convenient, clear options for manually clearing unread posts, but these are the current solutions. And again, THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO CLEAR THE PHANTOM UNREAD POSTS THAT WILL RESULT FROM IGNORING NODES OR THREADS.

Use the feature at your own risk. You've been warned.
 
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While this is a valid debate I've just grown accustomed to using the "Mark as Read" button for the threads I don't have any interest in, which there are a few.
 
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