Remember "Subscribe to this topic" checkbox (Page 2 of 3)

make a mod then and ebay is a different thing completely

i either, vist the forum regularly (like this one i post in almost every topic) or i visit hardly ever and post in maybe 1-5 topics which i subscribe too, subscribing to 5 topics isn't hard so i'm happy, also if the default behaviour is for it to subscribe you to topics then the server load is gonna be huge

On the forum I spend the most time I have it set to subscribe to all topics I participate in. I have turned off mailing on reply in subscribed topics. Then, in the control panel, it shows all subscribed threads that someone have responeded to, that's perfect for keeping up with what has happened. Though it's a bit annoying that it also shows the contact list, containing all users that have participated in a thread I have, it's 392 persons and the list take some time to load and probably puts ineccescary strain on the server.

That function seems to be missing from this forum, hmm someone should fix that.

BTW: Ihe forum I'm talking about is sweclockers.com.

I just had a user request more ways to be notified of new posts / topics.

Is there anything in the works, here are some things that I believe could be considered and implemented... either with the base application or as hacks / mods:

1)  Default "Subscribe to topic" settings so you are automatically subscribed to every topic you reply to.
2)  "Subscribe to Category"  The ability to get emails whenever a new topic is started in a specific category
3)  Daily / weekly digests of new topics for a forum and/or for categories.

As I mentioned before I think all forum owners want more visitors, more participation, and more sticky users.   These things mentioned in this thread are the types of tools that will help us achieve MORE! 

The goal of punbb is to be fast and lightweight.  Can the programmer types comment on how each of the items above would impact how fast and lightweight punbb is?

Thanks!

1 and 2 depend on your provider and the general amount of traffic on your board.
Mine has like 2 postings in a week on average. (Which was the main reason for me to switch to a forum from a mailinglist)

Especialy 2 is quite harmless, as it only gives a mail for a NEW topic. You can decide on your own, if you want to subscribe to it later on.

I don't know if I agree or understand some of the logic above.   Sure, I agree that the items above will add more stress to the server, but so do almost all of the features of this great script.   If we really are trying to make something that will simply "function" without resource usage, then we should strip off the subscribe function altogether.  Of course I'm not serious, but hopefully you get my point.  Somewhere along the line it was decided that the ROI of having a subscribe feature and all the "stress"  (investment) it would add to the server would provide enough return on that investment.

I'm simply suggesting the same thing, the ability to add a bit more resource usage in exchange for more visits and sticky users.

In response to "What if a thousand people subscribe to that category?", I say HALLELUIA... that means I've got 1,000 members and also 1,000 members who will be getting an email THEY SIGNED UP FOR.  I figure a majority may come back to my forums that otherwise may not have.

Am I making any sense?   Where are my marketing buddies on here that can see what I'm saying??? Are most of you people here programmers? 

Will any / all of those three additions really make such a huge resource usage impact on the server?   I'll have to rely on the group's collective coding experience on this one.   Are we saying a 1%, 10%, 25% 50% or 100% increase in resource usage over what the forum script is already using?   

It is hard for me to figure out the pro's and con's without the proper information.   Or am I not looking at this the right way?

Also, I'm a bit mod adverse.  Not being a programmer I get frustrated when I hack a script and/or use a mod and then a new version of the kernel/base script comes out and my mod is broke and I don't have a way to fix it.

Despite being a programmer (but php isn't my language), I have the same problem:

When there is a new (security) release out there, I want to update as fast as possible. And having to retro-fit mods isn't on thse lines, really. That's basicly, why I run the plain version, no mods, no changes, etc.

I know, Rickard is doing a lot of work to make adding mods, etc. easier and I respect that work.

That's, why that feature should be user settable.

Although my interest mostly lies in "NEW topic notification"

auto subscribe would be in the user table, and so would be grabbed every pageview anyway

Oh... well, then, GO FOR IT!!!       I mean, heck, if the process will only add more emails to the sytem, but not resources during every post / pageview then it should totally be a user defined option.

almost_there said, "I hate being automatically subscribed to a topic just because I posted a reply."

I respect that opinion, but don't understand it at all.   Maybe I've just got too much time on my hands, but I ALWAYS want to know what people say in reply to my posts... you know, to see if they flame me or praise my greatness!

Don't most of you feel the same way when you look at your forum experiences... wouldn't you USUALLY want to see replies to a topic you replied to?