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ucbones

Hey,

[explanation- feel free to skip]
I'm currently working on a re-structure for a youthwork site that has got too big for the old design. Basically, the site is now split up into 4 sections (1 for each stream of work), and on entering the site, you choose your stream, and are displayed content that is relevant to you. This works wonderfully. So far.

I'm encountering a few problems, though, when it comes to forums. I've decided, that, as I've got lots of time to play with (I've got til Easter on spare time, which will amount to some 50 hours or so), I'll do it myself, because phpBB would seem tacked on, in the particular design I'm working with (the site is designed to look and feel small on the screen).
[/explanation]

Therefore, I need to work out a way for users of my site to see what they have and haven't read. I've done a little search for this on the site, but all of them seem to come up with huge tables, which I know (having looked into my D😎 that phpBB doesn't use.

My other idea was cookies, but that seems rather silly really.

I don't need code, I just need an idea of what sort of thing to do, so any sort of pseudo-code would be good.

I don't want to work by last login tstamps, because that means that when you login all posts are read, which is useless.

I want to keep my table-sizes small and efficient, so that as the site grows (it's gone up 50-fold in the last year) it will still be practical.

Many thanks,

Dominic

ucbones

cough

sid

i'm in a very similar situation right now and will convert my custim board to phpBB - simply because it IS a well written forum and it would take months to get anything that works as well, yet still would not be comparable. nowadays i really think if you arent seriously thinking about developing a full new bb or if you dont just need a small solution: stick to whats available.

ucbones

Yes, but the board I need needs to be carefully integrated with the PM'ing system, which needs to be moderated (it's a youthwork site, so for child protection reasons, it's important that it's not really private, to prevent unsavoury characters messaging young people we've met.

Also, due to the nature of the site, it's important that the information given is very targetted, hence young people who are interested in one board may not be interested in another. Also, I've found that phpBB takes up a lot of screen space, and I need to think carefully about how to make it not, without it seeming cramped and messy.

If anyone has any ideas of the read/unread thing that'd really help, else I'll delve into the phpBB code for some inspiration!

Many thanks,

Dominic