Notifications Stuck on 4

[jimji]

I apologize for not using the search tool y'all admin folks have set up because results are just not so precise and I don't know how to improve my technique at this time.

Problem though, or sort of a problem, is the Notifications thingy has been stuck on 4 and even after logging out and then back in a few hours later it is still showing me 4. And there are no new notifications indicated when I click on that bell thingy.

I can probably just hit that all read thingy, but thought it might be polite to let you admin folks know that your site is developing AI abilities and is expressly poking fun at me because everyone here knows I am such a trouble maker and so the AI for your site is following the humans with that new behavior.

Now, do I get a Webmaster World Shakespeare award for turning such a simple problem into a longish tirade? Well, this isn't a tirade, actually. Just seems polite to make note of oddities. Sometimes the little things add up to allow you to solve a problem.

But yesterday an odd thought came to me when I received that response about the Hot Threads situation; this site feels sort of like an older aircraft that still is safe and operates just fine, BUT requires just a tad bit more input of the flight controls to get the aircraft to do as you wish it to do. Guess that would be like a ground vehicle, too.

See; got it a little longer and safely and working hard for my Shakespeare award. Of course, some of you might wish to make that the "He's An Idiot" award, right? Don't blame you for that.

[not2easy]

The Notifications go away when you click on them.

Or you can mark them all read, so only new ones will be shown next time you stop by.
_(afaik)

[jimji]

I'm afraid it was not working in that way. I was seeing the number four when one thread had a new post and after I read that post it remained at four. The next notification was 107 days ago. I am familiar with how it is supposed to work, but over the past 11 hours it wasn't doing its job right. That 11 hours is from the listed time of that particular notification. Your post here put it back to '1' as I had hit the 'all read' button right after I did the post here.

Edit: Just as I was finishing this post it was showing '2' and then when I hit the submit button it jumped back up to '4'.

[jimji]

And I have just noticed that the list under "My Threads" is missing a thread, but nobody has responded, so maybe that is why?

Edit: In fact, it isn't even listed when I click on "My Threads". Do y'all do shadow banning that could cause the thread to be hidden, except for me and the admin/mods? That thread isn't a covert ad attempt. I am quite serious about that question as it may actually end up in the hands of law enforcement and I want to be able to state I did all I could to gather information before I make that decision. Sorry, the 'edit' got so long.

[phranque]

i mostly ignore the notifications flag on WebmasterWorld.
its presence and the number it contains is always irrelevant to the facts.
it may change from one click to the next or it may remain the same for days.
i am currently seeing 2 threads listed from 3400+ days ago.
it is in your best interests to develop a blindness to its occurrence.

[jimji]

Oh, sorry to give the wrong impression. I don't mind. In fact, I think it's kind of cute. I only posted to help if any of you might be doing any troubleshooting.

And you seeing a listed thread going back 3,400 days means one thing, the site likes you and wants your attention. You see, AI is here and you probably don't know it. It snuck in somehow and is having some fun. Back at some AI pub where they make fun of zip programs they are probably making jokes about me posting about this and one of them is upset that you aren't paying attention to it, even after it puts that 3,400 banner up for you to ponder. I think that might be AI being in love with a human. Well, maybe just liking you so much.

Sorry, got carried away there.

I don't mind the quirkiness. It's cute.

[not2easy]

after I read that post it remained at four.

No, you would need to click the Notification and see the post, it won't go away by reading the post.

[jimji]

I know how the system works. But thank you for the extra effort to explain things.

Edit: So like just now it was showing '1' while I was typing this post and as soon as I hit 'Submit' it jumped to '5', where it is as I type this edit.

[jimji]

It just hit me what might be happening, and I should have thought of it earlier. I was using another browser earlier yesterday, my time. The last few times I logged in using IE11. IE11 might be causing some troubles. I'll log in using FireFox next time to see if that happens with an updated browser.

[phranque]

it's not a browser issue - i am, seeing the same incorrect/irrelevant notifications on android/chrome as i am on linux/FF

[jimji]

it's not a browser issue - i am, seeing the same incorrect/irrelevant notifications on android/chrome as i am on linux/FF

That feedback is appreciated.

Truthfully, I just wish it would use another number to be sort of stuck on. Four in Chinese has a very bad meaning. But not such a big deal.

Edit: I suppose "very bad" takes the definition too far. Has a meaning that can be unpleasant in some circumstances is a more polite way to phrase that.

[tangor]

I've been stuck on "3" for two months. Clicked every one of the 50 in the list, still no change. Clicked MARK ALL READ, no change.

Desperate, clicked MARK ALL UNREAD, screen went to a stats page. I then opened Notifications (the Bell) and clicked MARK ALL READ and ...

Voila!

Back to zero.

We'll see if that holds.

[tangor]

It holds!

Three log outs, three log ins.

Brett might want to look into this oddity, but in real life this is NOT a significant glitch!

[jimji]

I think that number '3' is a key here. When I first logged onto the site a moment ago there was the number '1' which indicated you had posted here. Then I went to check StickyMail and that notification number jumped to '4' and then when I clicked the link in the notifications list to come here that number is back to '1'.

I agree, it isn't significant, and I think I stated that earlier. In fact, I kind of hope it isn't fixed. It's entertaining, to be honest. OH! It just jumped back to '4'. I wonder if this is some secret AI code for only certain members here. Some warning. Maybe it really is just AI joking with some of us. But from the troubleshooting viewpoint, it wouldn't be too hard to figure out on the server log because we have specific accounts outlining what's going on with a rather close timestamp provided from us, like just now in this post. That will show in the log. Well, I might be wrong there. I haven't had to go into a server log since last year, so I may be forgetting something. That is getting easier to happen with all the stuff the docs are pumping into me.

Anyway, I like the glitch. It's fun. Now if it starts to climb to '5' and then '6' and so on, that could be a worry. Or more code from the AI.

Maybe the AI is sending just us two, tangor, some sort of message. If it hasn't come back in your case, you might have upset some higher form of brain-style-thinking in the AI world. I wonder if they have their own "world" now and some of us are getting messages about that. Secret messages. We can start an Asminov style story on this. Start with non-fiction right here and move into guessing. (Did I spell that writer's name correctly?)

[tangor]

Close enough: Asimov. Firm believer in future "AI" v mankind. :)

[lucy24]

OK, here's another headscratcher: Someone responded/reacted to a post of mine, causing a notification to be set. After this happened, the thread was moved to a different subforum, causing its original URL--the one associated with the notification--to become invalid.

Will I now have one “unread” notification sitting up there until the end of time because it’s impossible to clear it?

[tangor]

Had the same thing. For that one you just have to wait until it falls off the notification list (about 50 items). If there's enough activity with your stuff that won't take all that long.

As with most things that get complex, the complexity itself creates tiny "oops!" that are hardly worth the effort to stamp out!

[lucy24]

Oh, whoops, it turned out to be easier. I have never before scrolled all the way down to the bottom of the Notifications list; I don't think I even realized it had a bottom. But miraculously, Mark All Read made the red (haha) go away.

[tangor]

Would that all life's misadventures could be solved so speedily!

[lucy24]

Clean your spark plugs, empty your browser cache, replace your tenor. All is well.