How to exclude forums from "New Posts"

[Currawong]

I thought I'd post this for the benefit of everyone who uses the New Posts link at the top of the forums. There are quite a few features in VBulletin (which Head-fi runs on) that are obscure and not readily accessible by default. One of them, which I've used since I found out about it, is the ability to have New Posts not include forums of your choice.

To understand how to use exclude forums with this feature, we have to look closely New Posts url:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/search.php?do=getnew

Note that it uses search.php (which is where you go for Advanced searches) but with ?do=getnew tacked onto the end, thus: search.php?do=getnew.

The second thing we need to know is the forum number(s) of the forum(s) we wish not to see when we do a New Posts search. To find these, go to the main forum page and move your mouse over the link to the forum you wish to exclude. For example, the url for the Feedback forum is:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f12/

Note the last part: f12 which tells us the forum number of the feedback forum is 12. With this, we will tell the search function to exclude that forum from the New posts by editing the url we looked at above, by adding &exclude=12:

search.php?do=getnew&exclude=12

To add more forums, just separate them with commas, eg, the Vender Feedback forum is f92, thus, to exclude both feedback forums:

search.php?do=getnew&exclude=12,92

Now, to save this, the easiest way is to bookmark the New Posts link by right-clicking on it and selecting Bookmark this link or similar, then edit the bookmark to add &exclude=12,92. Then you have your own custom New Posts url, but without the forums you aren't interested in.

Unfortunately there's no inverse, that is, ability to include individual forums. For that, you need to exclude all the others, which is quite tedious. If you want, say, to peruse all the latest gear for sale, then you need this url:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/search...2,24,45,6,9,11

Note that I haven't updated this url in a while, and may not exclude the very latest sponsor forums.

Anyway, I hope that for some people it makes Head-fi more useful.

[KingStyles]

Thanks for the info. It will be useful in the future.

[krmathis]

Thanks a lot for the guide!
I use the "New Posts" feature all the time, so will certainly play around with these flags.

[Graphicism]

Is there a button I can press that shows me my posts only? Rather than searching posts by username, just a one click solution that brings them all up for easy access, if not why not?

[mrarroyo]

Using the mouse left click on your user name. Then click on: "Find all posts by ...."

[Graphicism]

Originally Posted by mrarroyo

Using the mouse left click on your user name. Then click on: "Find all posts by ...."

I'd like to see the entire thread not just my posts, for instance I would like to see if someone commented after I did, in order to reply etc. Possible?

[Currawong]

Possibly an advanced search for "Originally Posted by Graphicism" would work, showing posts, not threads. I usually just go to User CP and it shows the threads that I have posted in (and thus been "subscribed" to).

[Sherwood]

Easiest way, Graphicism, is just to subscribe to every thread you post in (this is an option in your user CP).

Then you simply hit User CP in the upper left corner, and see the action in every thread you've written in. You can unsubscribe to tedious threads from there as well.

[Graphicism]

In user CP under Edit Options I changed Default Thread Subscription Mode 'Do not subscribe' to 'No email notification' then when I click User CP again it says 'There are no subscribed threads to display in this folder for this time period'. ~ even though an advanced search for my username reveals several, perhaps from hereon out they will show up, I'll keep checking back with it. Thanks!

[Sherwood]

It doesn't do it retroactively, unfortunately, but every thread you write in from here forward should automatically subscribe you.

[Graphicism]

Originally Posted by Sherwood

It doesn't do it retroactively, unfortunately, but every thread you write in from here forward should automatically subscribe you.

Yeah its working perfectly cheers!

[Currawong]

Originally Posted by Graphicism

In user CP under Edit Options I changed Default Thread Subscription Mode 'Do not subscribe' to 'No email notification' then when I click User CP again it says 'There are no subscribed threads to display in this folder for this time period'. ~ even though an advanced search for my username reveals several, perhaps from hereon out they will show up, I'll keep checking back with it. Thanks!

Click on "View all subscribed threads". Unfortunately the forum is set to only mark threads unread by the date/time in the cookie on your computer. Despite my best efforts, Jude wont switch it to forum database marking, probably because of possible performance issues, though it would make the forum considerably more usable, saving (within a set period) your viewed status on all the threads you've viewed.

[wavoman]

Originally Posted by Currawong

...To add more forums, just separate them with commas, eg, the Vender Feedback forum is f92, thus, to exclude both feedback forums:

search.php?do=getnew&exclude=12,92

Now, to save this, the easiest way is to bookmark the New Posts link by right-clicking on it and selecting Bookmark this link or similar, then edit the bookmark to add &exclude=12,92. ... I hope that for some people it makes Head-fi more useful.

This is terrific! Thanks!!

[grawk]

That is a very useful feature...thanks curra

[Currawong]

Bumping this so more people see it.