The discussion centers on whether the ‘Unread’ section’s explanatory text should dynamically reflect individual user preferences rather than static default settings. Zeemah initially suggested the text is misleading if preferences are customized (e.g., setting ‘Tracking’ after 10 minutes of reading), but JammyDodger clarified the text explicitly states ‘By default,’ meaning it’s intended to describe baseline behavior, not personalized settings. Zeemah agrees, noting the message is rarely seen since the ‘Unread’ tab hides when empty, and concludes dynamic text isn’t worth implementing. sam acknowledges that while site operators can alter defaults (or translations), there’s value in personalizing the message for users—especially as the ‘Unread’ page is now more frequently accessed. They propose enhancing the text to reflect user-specific settings, such as tracked tags/categories, and suggest a more tailored list: ‘Topics are considered unread if you tracked, created, replied to, or read them for >10 minutes, or visited topics in specific categories like bug, #feature, etc.’ The idea is to make the UI more relevant to individual behavior rather than relying on generic defaults.
Hi,
I believe this should be dynamic based on user preferences. For example, if I read a topic for more than 4 minutes and I have changed my preferences to a set a topic to Tracking after 10 minutes. This statement is false and no longer applies.
I wouldn’t see topics in the unread section if they aren’t set to Tracking or Watching, would I?
Kind Regards,
Zee.
The blurb says ‘By default,’ at the start, so I think it’s currently meant to just list the default settings, and then offer a link to your Preferences/Notifications where you can tweak them to suit. The ‘replied to the topic’ one can be changed as well, so that text could be considered false for some too.
A dynamic one might be good, but I’m not sure how many people read that message more than once?
You’re right! Completely missed that part actually.
Probably not many considering Unread is hidden if you don’t have any topics in there. It was mostly a correction at first, but as you pointed out it is a statement based on default settings, so this topic doesn’t make sense any more. A feature adding dynamic text here probably isn’t worth it at all.
Thank you 
Technically a site operator could change the default there, but I guess they could also change the translation so we are sort of covered.
I do though like the idea of a “per user” blank Unread tab. @codinghorror / @andrei .
This is actually a fairly common page to reach now (cause you can easily clear unread) so it would be nice to call out your specific settings vs calling out the site default.
We could also call out “tracked tags and categories” for example:
Topics are considered unread and will show unread counts if you:
- Tracked the topic
- Created the topic
- Replied to the topic
- Read the topic for more than 10 minutes
- Visited a topic in categorized: Contribute > Bug, Contribute > Feature and 3 others.
Something like that … not sure.
