Comments on old thread not showing up as recent

November 11, 2001 5:44 AM

The "recent comments" version of front page doesn't show comments made on old threads, apparently.
posted by andrew cooke to Bugs at 5:44 AM (7 comments total)

At least, this didn't turn up, as far as I could see.

Reason I'm posting is because if this did work, maybe people would be more likely to post to old but related threads rather than start a new front page entry for something already largely covered.

posted by andrew cooke at 5:47 AM on November 11, 2001

I think it depends on how many days you want on your front page. Mine's customized to 10 days and your comment showed up fine. Good link, too, btw. I guess less selfish members, wanting to save bandwidth, customize their front page to include less days. The default is set at 7 days, I think, so your comment must have just missed the deadline.

I have no idea if my link to my own "recent comments" will work but, believe me, it's there and shining brightly!
posted by MiguelCardoso at 6:02 AM on November 11, 2001

For exactly the reasons andrew cooke points out, I wonder whether it might not be better to base the personal view settings on "threads with new posts in the last X days" rather than "threads posted in the last X days"?
posted by rushmc at 9:08 AM on November 11, 2001

Of course you both know the scoundrel's solution to this problem. He posts a "ditto" or "pancakes anyone?" on any thread he's interested in following and then, months later, leisurely calls up the whole caboodle, via the expensive "my comments" query, which goes back to the very beginning of MetaFilter. ;-)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 1:01 PM on November 11, 2001

Ah, the penny just dropped. You're right - it's "sorted by" and I only have 2 days showing. I was thinking it would be a different select, rather than a sort on data already selected (or something along those lines, I don't know the DB details).

Miguel - that's what I did to find the thread to reply to, but without appearing on the front page after posting it seems like a waste of breath.

I've just got out of bed to post this. Maybe now I can sleep. :-/
posted by andrew cooke at 3:30 PM on November 11, 2001

Bingo, rushmc; when I saw this, my very first thought was it mucked up all of the 'take it to the original post' complaints that hit a follow-up link. I was curious whether a posting made today on a link 2-3 months old would show up under the current setup, but didn't carry out the experiment in case my test would dredge up a useless, old post onto the front page for some people, just so they could read my 'test'.

Does anyone know whether a post to a discussion further back than 30 days will show up as re-valid on the front, if sorted by 'recent comments?

And, if not, wouldn't that turn all of these 'original post' arguments turn into a zen koan about trees falling in forests if no one hears?
posted by Perigee at 8:56 PM on November 11, 2001

Does anyone know whether a post to a discussion further back than 30 days will show up as re-valid on the front, if sorted by 'recent comments?

Judging by the invisibility of various Deathless Threads, no.
posted by rodii at 9:05 PM on November 11, 2001