[4.0.x] Chameleon: no more first unread post links

[Jacob]

Sorry to say this so bluntly, but if the link to the first unread post is removed I won't be updating to 4.0. (Or upgrading or whatever.)

As a point of reference: when logged-in, a topic's title in XenForo's "viewforum" page links to the first unread post. There's no special icon to click because it's assumed that most users want to resume reading the topic where they left off.

That's how it should be in phpBB as well.

[JoshyPHP]

Not upgrading because of a link is like refusing to eat because there's no ketchup on your fries. Editing a template doesn't take much more time than opening the little packet of ketchup that usually goes with the fries.

Even if every link on the front page were blinking and all led to a random page, that wouldn't be a good reason not to upgrade. It takes between a few minutes and a couple of hours to configure things, create a custom style or whatever. In comparison, it takes thousands of hours to create and maintain software the size of phpBB. Every minute a developer spends arguing about easily-modifiable details is a minute not spent doing valuable work for free.

Don't fret about those details and reevaluate whenever phpBB 4.0 becomes available.

[Jacob]

I'm not angry or anything.

I value a lot phpBB and the people who contribute to it.

My comment is intended to shock, because I think is shocking to remove the most useful link in every forum software. It doesn't make sense.

[JoshyPHP]

In that case I would suggest a different approach by turning a negative into a positive. For example, you could say "if the default style does not make it possible to access the first unread post directly, I will create a style that implements it because this is an important feature for me."

[david63]

"if the default style does not make it possible to access the first unread post directly, I will create a style that implements it because this is an important feature for me."

But in order to do that it relies on that data still being supplied by the "back end" - which at this point in time is an unknown fact.

[JoshyPHP]

Both URLs are already available in templates right now, why would that change in 4.0? Are you all reacting to hypothetical scenarios?

[DavidIQ]

Sorry to say this so bluntly, but if the link to the first unread post is removed I won't be updating to 4.0. (Or upgrading or whatever.)

This was already clarified, but I'll try to make it clearer. Currently we show this icon to go to the first unread:

first-unread-icon.png (5.58 KiB) Viewed 26688 times

Both this icon AND the topic icon to the left of it go to the first unread. After you go there it goes away:

no-first-unread-icon.png (8.65 KiB) Viewed 26688 times

Taking the "paper icon" away does not mean the functionality is being removed, as you can see. There really is not much reason to keep the icon.