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Why is the thread history on the cable forum so short?

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  • 23-04-2008 11:24am
    #1
    Onikage
    Registered Users Posts: 1,451 ✭✭✭


    Hi,

    I regularly check the Cable & MMDS & IPTV forum and I've observed a couple of things. The history only goes back about 2 weeks, so there is only ever about non-sticky 30 threads archived at a time. Some other forums seem to stretch back to the dawn of boards!

    This is a problem because:
    * Useful but not particularly active threads get dropped if they are inactive for what is essentially a very short time
    * People ask the same questions over and over because they cannot find the answers in the history, even though the questions have been answered before
    * Frequently, some silly person ignores the stickies and posts a new thread about illegal decoder boxes. The thread gets locked and more useful threads get pushed off the end of the history

    Now, who do I complain to? :)
    Post edited by Shield on


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    #2
    6th
    Registered Users Posts: 17,247 ✭✭✭✭6th


    See this: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055279908


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    #3
    Onikage
    Registered Users Posts: 1,451 ✭✭✭Onikage


    Bingo.

    Is there a default setting for each forum? Most other forums I use don't seem to have this problem setting, and I don't remember changing it!


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    #4
    6th
    Registered Users Posts: 17,247 ✭✭✭✭6th


    Not sure about defaults but I know this has been cropping up more lately so something might have changed?


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    #5
    Sherifu
    Registered Users Posts: 17,727 ✭✭✭✭Sherifu


    Onikage wrote: »
    Bingo.

    Is there a default setting for each forum? Most other forums I use don't seem to have this problem setting, and I don't remember changing it!
    You can specify Default Thread Age Cut Off in your UserCP.


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    #6
    Onikage
    Registered Users Posts: 1,451 ✭✭✭Onikage


    It is a very strange setting. What problem is it intended to solve? It does not reduce the amount of threads displayed per page, so it cannot be said to allow for quicker page loading. For the sake of having to download a few measly extra bytes, it would be worth scrapping IMO.

    Well my problem is solved. Thanks for the help!


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    #7
    Ron DMC
    Registered Users Posts: 5,297 ✭✭✭Ron DMC


    Onikage wrote: »
    It is a very strange setting. What problem is it intended to solve? It does not reduce the amount of threads displayed per page, so it cannot be said to allow for quicker page loading. For the sake of having to download a few measly extra bytes, it would be worth scrapping IMO.

    It's to stop noobs coming into a forum and dragging up a thread that had passed away long ago and bringing it into the present needlessly.


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    #8
    CuLT
    Subscribers Posts: 9,716 ✭✭✭CuLT


    Onikage wrote: »
    It is a very strange setting. What problem is it intended to solve? It does not reduce the amount of threads displayed per page, so it cannot be said to allow for quicker page loading. For the sake of having to download a few measly extra bytes, it would be worth scrapping IMO.

    Well my problem is solved. Thanks for the help!
    Whatever effect you think it would have on you, multiply that by 100,000 and you have an idea of the effect it has on boards.ie :)

    Off the top of my head, I imagine extending threads-per-page out by x would make the result set y amount larger (using more RAM), taking z more CPU time. Not by a large amount or anything, but at boards.ie's 400 queries per second or so that might cause a bit of a problem (or just bring us that bit closer to needing more hardware sooner). Honestly I wouldn't know without testing, and seeing as it's an option one can set in their CP I don't think it's really worth investigating as a global change.


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    #9
    Onikage
    Registered Users Posts: 1,451 ✭✭✭Onikage


    Fair points although I would regard getting a record count as a computationally "cheap" operation, or at least the order of equivalence to a TOP or LIMIT operation. I can't test this on boards db, though! As the old adage goes, "if it's not broken, don't fix it".

    From a usability perspective it isn't clear to the user that, yes, the history is available. As long as you select this option, click here, go to settings and change this option... etc.
    That's why I ended up here!


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