The broken "Latest topics" widget on the forum

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moater
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The broken "Latest topics" widget on the forum

Post by moater »

I don't know about you, but I use the "Latest topics" widget on the right sidebar to see what's new. However, it gets pretty darn annoying because:
  • The links it produces are wrong, making it out of sync with forum pages. E.g. if a post has 11 replies, it will take you to a page showing ONLY the 10th and 11th replies, and you won't be able to easily navigate to see previous replies because as far as the forum is concerned the post only has one page and you're on it.
  • The links all open in the same tab. E.g. clicking a link will open a new tab. Clicking another link, without closing the first, will replace the content of the first link instead of opening another new tab.
It got frustrating enough for me to do something about it with a userscript, and I thought I'd share.

EDIT: the original widget had been fixed, a userscript is no longer required.
Last edited by moater on Fri Sep 30, 2016 8:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
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buksida
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Re: The broken "Latest topics" widget on the forum

Post by buksida »

Yes, the script is a third party add-on, not part of the original forum software. Right clicking the link will open in a new tab and it goes directly to the last post - not the first so people don't have to read ten pages to get the latest post.

I think Admin has stated many many times that it is not really a navigation tool, more of a topic syndication one, used on other websites to drive readers to the forum.

To navigate the forum efficiently use the view new posts link.

Though if the script above fixes these minor issues, they may hard code it to the board.
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
moater
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Re: The broken "Latest topics" widget on the forum

Post by moater »

Of course you can bypass both annoyances. The point of this script is to make it convenient to use the widget, so you don't have to use Ctrl+click (which is much better than right-click plus open in new tab, btw) or URL editing.

I think you misunderstood the first issue, re-read please. My fix will STILL take you to the last reply, but it WON'T mess up the paging.

The PHP script itself is trivial to fix, much easier than creating the abovementioned JS script. I can fix it for them if they're struggling, just PM me the source of lasttopic.php.

I know about the "new posts" option, but I much prefer the widget.
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buksida
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Re: The broken "Latest topics" widget on the forum

Post by buksida »

Cheers, will get them on it.

FYI the widget doesn't show topics from all sections of the forum (current affairs, sports, entertainment etc are filtered out as they're nothing to do with Hua Hin), the new posts link does show them all - so you maybe missing some content by using the widget alone, forum navigation was not its intended purpose.
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
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huahin4ever
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Re: The broken "Latest topics" widget on the forum

Post by huahin4ever »

I go "Quick Links" and "Unread posts". This works as a charm, showing me all new posts and threads after last time I was logged in. I don't know if it's needed though, but I always mark the Forum "Read" before I log out.
YNWA
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