New message indicators (Page 2 of 2)

Actually it can. There is some invisible text inside the new post indicators which can be seen on text only browsers or if you turn your stylesheets off.

That is why I hope to use files, opposed to the database.

The script only makes changes if the array info differs from the markup that the php has generated. So yes, it only bothers to mark unread posts as unread after they've timed out ... since they are already properly marked as unread before the timeout.

Here are the possible states and what the script does about them...

Yes. Though it is possible to extend the persistent cookie expiration time but I've recommended in the install that it be set to mirror the forum's "Visit Timeout" (default: 600 seconds). And I'd be reluctant to suggest turning the expiration time up too much right now as the script treats a larger-than-4k cookie like a buffer over-flow and clears it. But as things stand (with the short time out), the cookie can track at least 250 posts (but probably more like 350+). To exceed the 4k limit, you'd need a forum with several hundred new posts at a time, so this isn't much of a problem with the short timeout and the current pruning.

(I do intend to add large-cookie-friendly pruning in a future version though--to support a more-or-less permanent persistent cookie. But this won't be the default setup.)

how are you testing it?

I have used my forum as the testing forum. I am testing it by checking server loads, script execution time, page generation time, and just generally monitering the file sizes on a moderatly active forum. It seems quite flawless at the moment, althogh I am not conformatable with realeasing it yet. Although the code is functional, I am sure there are some bugs there somewhere.

I might of found a good solution to the file size issue - Simply, instead of ziping / unzipping the read posts file on each page view, do it when the user logs off. Although, this could have problems if a user closes the browser window, or similar.