Forum Alerts Not Working on Firefox, Windows 7

[Bandersnatch]

Every now and then the forum stops giving me alerts from new posts in the watched threads. Once I viewed the thread, manually so to speak, the alerts start coming again.

I'm not sure whether it's an issue with the forum or maybe with something on my end. I'm on Firefox (34.0.5), windows 7.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

That is how it is designed :)

 

[Bandersnatch]

Oh.
That's... an odd design choice in my opinion, but fair enough.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Prevents you from getting swamped with alerts. You must visit the thread to get another alert.

 

[Bandersnatch]

O.k., I think I know what's going on (maybe).
What you're talking about is the (good!) feature where only one alert is generated regardless of the number of new posts in the thread since you've last visited. This is all fine, as you won't miss a posting, since the alert is hanging there and waiting for you. However, if I open the alerts box and not follow some of them to their respective threads, for whatever reason, the alert count is reset, but the new alerts still are not getting generated.
So each time you don't follow the alert you're effectively disabling all future alerts from this thread, despite it still being watched.
At least I think that's what's happening.

Perhaps the forum could be made to restart generating alerts not after opening a thread, but after opening the alerts dropdown menu(after resetting the number)?

 

[Bystander]

Alerts are acting up again. I'm working in Gen. Phys. right now with someone, checking main forum from time to time, and "watched threads." I see alerts in watched threads, but not everything is coming through under "Alerts" on the header. About half & half.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Did yo get this one?

 

[Bystander]

Did yo get this one?

Affirmative.

 

[Stephen Tashi]

I don't find an alert among my alerts for post #8 in https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/error-on-biological-assay-results.792633/#post-4981542

 

[Bystander]

Skipping again --- got the HW done, but didn't get the last post from OP saying so.

 

[Bystander]

Not "alert" type alert, but the message that says, "Messages have been posted, did you want to view them" while I'm composing a response to a thread --- just had a fender-bender with DrClaude in Intro. Phys. HW --- the page "jumped" as it does when "Messages ... " comes up, but it didn't actually deliver the message, leading me to the alternative conclusion for page "jump" which is cat playing with the mouse. No harm done, but something for the list of odd quirks that come and go with the software.