Missing Threads? Investigating Why Old Threads Suddenly Appear

  • Context: Bug 
  • Thread starter Thread starter lisab
  • Start date Start date
Join the discussion
Registration is free. Ask a follow-up in this thread, or start your own.
Sign up Log in
15 replies · 4K views
lisab
Staff Emeritus
Science Advisor
Gold Member
Messages
2,050
Reaction score
614
I've been noticing this happening lately...I don't see threads until they are several hours old.

For example, this evening, at about 8:50, a new thread appeared (Calif woman gets 6 years for fatal texting crash). I clicked on it only to find there were already ~12 posts in it, and that it had started around noon my time. I've been on several times off and on today, but this is the first I've seen this thread.

Makes me think, how many threads am I missing altogether?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Sometimes when I've been off the site and I come back on it appears as it did the first time I'd been on that day until I refresh. I don't know exactly what you're doing when you come back on the site lisa, but perhaps that is a possibility?
 
Again today, with the the "How long will people continue to talk about Michael Jackson?" thread. (Btw I don't give a rip about MJ, it just happened on that thread ).

I was on PF several times at work, then several more at home...there was no MJ thread, I'd have noticed it, believe me. Finally I saw it at 8:22 (Pacific time), when it was many hours old. At work I use IE, at home I use Chrome.

And I refresh quite often. But more often I get timed out, and I have to sign in again...I've assumed that's the same as refreshing.

In any case, I do both, refreshing and re-signing in, several times through the day. Yet I sometimes don't see new threads until they're several hours old, with lots of posts already...I have no idea how many I never see.

Any ideas?
 
lisab said:
Makes me think, how many threads am I missing altogether?

27. Altogether, you've missed 27 threads.


:biggrin:
 
lisab said:
Yes...is it just me :cry:?

It certainly sounds a little strange. If it was one machine, I'd say do the usual (clear cookies etc. etc.), but I'm not sure this will help in this case. Maybe when you switch from one machine to the other you should use the "log out" which should clear all these things.

Say if you click on get posts > new posts, are the posts that you get in the list from the last few minutes, or from hours ago?
 
It could be something to do with how the browser is set up. If I remember correctly IE has an option where it will just load what is cached until the window is closed and the website accessed again.
 
Kurdt said:
It could be something to do with how the browser is set up. If I remember correctly IE has an option where it will just load what is cached until the window is closed and the website accessed again.

Ahh yes, that could be true. Unfortunately (well, fortunately really!), I don't have a windows machine so can't check either IE or chrome.
 
cristo said:
It certainly sounds a little strange. If it was one machine, I'd say do the usual (clear cookies etc. etc.), but I'm not sure this will help in this case. Maybe when you switch from one machine to the other you should use the "log out" which should clear all these things.

Say if you click on get posts > new posts, are the posts that you get in the list from the last few minutes, or from hours ago?

Looks like I get an updated list. I'll start checking 'new posts' frequently to see if that will work.
 
Perhaps try this. In IE 7, select Tools > Internet Options > General > Browsing history > Settings > Check for newer versions of stored pages, and see if "Never" is selected. If so, change this to "Automatically," or perhaps "Every time I visit the webpage." Press OK > OK. Restart your browser.
 
nvn said:
Perhaps try this. In IE 7, select Tools > Internet Options > General > Browsing history > Settings > Check for newer versions of stored pages, and see if "Never" is selected. If so, change this to "Automatically," or perhaps "Every time I visit the webpage." Press OK > OK. Restart your browser.

When I get to work tomorrow, I'll do that...thanks a bunch, nvn :smile:!
 
Just out of curiosity, are both machines on the same internet service provider? It could be that they're having technical glitches if so.
The closest that I've ever come to this problem is that threads with new posts since I'd last seen them used to show up with bolded titles. Now only some of them do. A minor nuisance at worst.
 
The only problem I've been having lately (other than buttons that show up as text until I mouse over them) is that when I read a single thread on a forum, when I return to the thread index page, everything is marked as if I've read it already...or everything but one or two threads...even when there were a dozen or so threads with unread posts when I first opened the page. It makes it a lot easier to miss new threads when they are not bolded as new threads or threads with new posts. Maybe that's what's happening to you too, that some new threads aren't showing up as new, so you don't notice them until finally they appear in bold again.
 
Dang . It happened again today, with the thread "Archeomagnetic Jerks & Abrupt Climate Change". And I *know* I checked that forum several times today, both at home and at work.

I'm 99% certain that it wasn't just not bold, but that it didn't show at all. But I've also experienced what Danger and Moonie mentioned, new threads or threads with new posts that don't show up as bold.