# Actual difference between "tracked" and "watching first post"
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/actual-difference-between-tracked-and-watching-first-post/61036
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [April 15, 2017, 2:43pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/actual-difference-between-tracked-and-watching-first-post/61036 "2017-04-15T14:43:54Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@nordize](https://meta.discourse.org/u/nordize)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2017, 2:43pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/actual-difference-between-tracked-and-watching-first-post/61036/1 "2017-04-15T14:43:54Z")
Are email notifications supposed to be sent if I set a category on “tracking” in my account? Currently it doesn’t.
EDIT: Bringing my post below up here:
The wording of the two mislead me to believe that “tracking” is supposed to do more (it’s also higher placed in the config pane). I can confirm that on my installation (1.8.0.beta10+57) the “watching first post” also shows a counter for new replies so it looks like “watching first post” includes the functionality of “tracking”. The config pane is a little confusing says:
> - _Tracking:_ You will automatically track all topics in these categories. A count of new posts will appear next to the topic.
> - _Watching first post:_ You will be notified of the first post in each new topic in these categories.
In that order. “watchign first post” also shows a count of new posts next to each topic. The above wording could be improved, and the order of the two perhaps also reversed.
This one also eludes me: “You will automatically track all topics in these categories.” … what does that mean, exactly? I haven’t noticed anything special.
---
### Author:  [@mcwumbly](https://meta.discourse.org/u/mcwumbly)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2017, 2:53pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/actual-difference-between-tracked-and-watching-first-post/61036/2 "2017-04-15T14:53:22Z")
Nope, for email notifications you need to set it to “Watching” or “Watching First Post”
---
### Author:  [@nordize](https://meta.discourse.org/u/nordize)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2017, 3:07pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/actual-difference-between-tracked-and-watching-first-post/61036/3 "2017-04-15T15:07:39Z")
Thanks. I see that both “tracking” and “watching first post” show a count of new replies (at least on 1.8.0.beta10+57) so apart from the email notification on 1st post, is there an actual difference between “tracking” and “watch 1st post”?
---
### Author:  [@mcwumbly](https://meta.discourse.org/u/mcwumbly)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2017, 3:13pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/actual-difference-between-tracked-and-watching-first-post/61036/4 "2017-04-15T15:13:00Z")
> [@nordize](#):
>
> apart from the email notification on 1st post, is there an actual difference between “tracking” and “watch 1st post”?
Nope, I believe that is _the_ difference between the two.
---
### Author:  [@nordize](https://meta.discourse.org/u/nordize)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2017, 3:21pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/actual-difference-between-tracked-and-watching-first-post/61036/5 "2017-04-15T15:21:42Z")
The wording of the two mislead me to believe that “tracking” is supposed to do more (it’s also higher placed in the config pane), but from the looks of it, it’s the other way around, i.e. “watching first post” includes all functionality of “tracking” - does it? The config pane says:
> - _Tracking:_ You will automatically track all topics in these categories. A count of new posts will appear next to the topic.
> - _Watching first post:_ You will be notified of the first post in each new topic in these categories.
In that order. “watchign first post” also shows a count of new posts next to each topic. The above wording could be improved, and the order of the two perhaps also reversed.
This one also eludes me: “You will automatically track all topics in these categories.” … what does that mean, exactly? I haven’t noticed anything special.
---
### Author:  [@mcwumbly](https://meta.discourse.org/u/mcwumbly)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2017, 4:20pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/actual-difference-between-tracked-and-watching-first-post/61036/6 "2017-04-15T16:20:19Z")
I met with two people yesterday who are using a category on our forum to run a short course and wanted to understand what notification level to advise users to set on the category.
We were similarly confused.
Maybe what I said above is wrong. I’m not sure that “Watching First Post” implies you will track all topics in the category. Maybe it doesn’t.
---
### Author:  [@nordize](https://meta.discourse.org/u/nordize)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2017, 5:17pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/actual-difference-between-tracked-and-watching-first-post/61036/7 "2017-04-15T17:17:20Z")
I can confirm that at least on my installation (1.8.0.beta10+57) the “watching first post” also shows a counter of new replies. It doesn’t seem that “tracking” offers any extras, and the descriptions aren’t clear in that regard. Maybe a team member can clarify my reply above.
---
### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2017, 2:35am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/actual-difference-between-tracked-and-watching-first-post/61036/8 "2017-04-16T02:35:37Z")
It just means you will be forcefully notified of the first post in every new topic in that category. After that it has normal tracking state. You are only watching the topic for the “first post”, if you will 😉
---
### Author:  [@nordize](https://meta.discourse.org/u/nordize)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2017, 1:17pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/actual-difference-between-tracked-and-watching-first-post/61036/9 "2017-04-16T13:17:55Z")
@codinghorror any comments on the two subscription levels I mentioned? It looks to me that the funcitonality of “tracking” is included in the “watch first post” (both show counts of new replies), but the config pane reads as if the “tracking” does more, and is positioned higher than “watch first post”:
> - Tracking: You will automatically track all topics in these categories. A count of new posts will appear next to the topic.
> - Watching first post: You will be notified of the first post in each new topic in these categories.
If that’s true, the wording above could be improved.
Also, what does “you will track all topics” actually mean? I haven’t noticed anything special at all … no email is sent when topic are created, nor when replies are posted (only when I’m mentioned, which is what “normal” does too).
---
### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2017, 8:52pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/actual-difference-between-tracked-and-watching-first-post/61036/10 "2017-04-16T20:52:19Z")
It says what tracking means right there
> A count of new posts will appear next to the topic.
---
### Author:  [@mcwumbly](https://meta.discourse.org/u/mcwumbly)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2017, 9:18pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/actual-difference-between-tracked-and-watching-first-post/61036/11 "2017-04-16T21:18:01Z")
Just noticed that on mobile it says this when you are tracking a topic:
> You will receive notifications because you are tracking this topic.
Seems like a ux bug.
---
### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2017, 9:19pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/actual-difference-between-tracked-and-watching-first-post/61036/12 "2017-04-16T21:19:10Z")
You will receive a _form_ of notification, that is, the topic will appear in your unread tab.
… and tracking is the current state of your notification preference for that topic.
---
### Author:  [@mcwumbly](https://meta.discourse.org/u/mcwumbly)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2017, 9:25pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/actual-difference-between-tracked-and-watching-first-post/61036/13 "2017-04-16T21:25:45Z")
Ugh… The term notify/notification is used to mean something much more specific everywhere else in the app (including the dropdown text).
Using it to mean something different here really muddies the waters in my opinion.
---
### Author:  [@nordize](https://meta.discourse.org/u/nordize)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2017, 12:53am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/actual-difference-between-tracked-and-watching-first-post/61036/14 "2017-04-17T00:53:12Z")
> [@codinghorror](#):
>
> It says what tracking means right there
>
> > A count of new posts will appear next to the topic.
But (like I said in my post) both “watch first post” and “tracking” show a count new posts next to the topic (tested in 1.8.0.beta10+57) … so I’m not sure what’s the difference between the two, it seems “watch 1st post” subsumes “tracking”.
---
### Author:  [@jomaxro](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jomaxro)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2017, 1:50am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/actual-difference-between-tracked-and-watching-first-post/61036/15 "2017-04-17T01:50:38Z")
> [@nordize](#):
>
> so I’m not sure what’s the difference between the two, it seems “watch 1st post” subsumes “tracking”.
Watching First Post will give you a notification, and assuming all email settings are default, an email when a topic is created in that category. After the first notification (and email), you are tracking the topic, so it appears with the unread post number, but no notifications or emails.
Let me try and explain this with an example. Let’s say we have the cat categoy. User Bob creates a new topic. Users Joe, Jane, Sarah, and Bob then reply.
**Watching:** You receive a notification in the user menu, as well as an email for _each_ post. Additionally, you will see “new” or an unread count for the topic.
**Watching First Post:** You recieve a notification in the user menu, as well as an email for the _first post only_. Additionally, you will see “new” or an unread count for the topic.
**Tracking:** You will see “new” or an unread count for the topic.
---
### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2017, 5:14am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/actual-difference-between-tracked-and-watching-first-post/61036/16 "2017-04-17T05:14:23Z")
He has a point that Watching First Post might be a superset of tracking, with the only watch level notification on first post only.
---
### Author:  [@nordize](https://meta.discourse.org/u/nordize)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2017, 4:20pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/actual-difference-between-tracked-and-watching-first-post/61036/17 "2017-04-17T16:20:17Z")
> [@codinghorror](#):
>
> He has a point that Watching First Post might be a superset of tracking, with the only watch level notification on first post only.
Indeed, and in that case I was proposing that the descriptions given in the preferences could be improved because right now they are confusing:
> _Tracking:_ You will automatically track all topics in these categories. A count of new posts will appear next to the topic.
> _Watching first post:_ You will be notified of the first post in each new topic in these categories.
The “watching first post” should be listed above “tracking”, and it should also state that a count of new posts is displayed. And I think the sentence “You will automatically track all topics” should either be used in both, or just removed altogether if the sentence about count of new rplies is used.
---
### Author:  [@jomaxro](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jomaxro)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2017, 6:17pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/actual-difference-between-tracked-and-watching-first-post/61036/18 "2017-04-17T18:17:38Z")
Consider me confused…
Back when Watching First Post (then Following) was first developed, it was _independent_ of Tracking. I requested that there be an option to choose tracking or normal after the first notification, but that was not shared as an option. From what I can tell on my instance, after getting the notification for watching first post, my notification state is normal.
**Discussion reference:**
> [@Get notified of new topics, but not posts](https://meta.discourse.org/t/get-notified-of-new-topics-but-not-posts/12809/51):
>
> Can this new notification level not be exclusive of Tracking? If I am understanding this correctly, if I choose to follow a category, I’ll get a notification (and thus an email) for every new topic, but will not receive further emails, nor will I see unread counts on the topic. I would very much like to receive an email for the first post only, while still seeing an unread count when I visit the site, without needing to track each topic after I get the first email.
> [@Get notified of new topics, but not posts](https://meta.discourse.org/t/get-notified-of-new-topics-but-not-posts/12809/52):
>
> No, it cannot. Adding Boolean complexity is unwelcome. The idea is that you haven’t decided if you care about everything in this category, so when you get notified on creation of each topic, at that point you personally decide on a topic by topic basis which you care about. Either by replying which is an automatic track, or an explicit click or tap on the topic’s notification controls.
**Screenshots:**
---
### Author:  [@tophee](https://meta.discourse.org/u/tophee)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2017, 8:04pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/actual-difference-between-tracked-and-watching-first-post/61036/19 "2017-04-17T20:04:45Z")
> [@codinghorror](#):
>
> It says what tracking means right there
>
> A count of new posts will appear next to the topic.
So the new post count counts as a notification? Because at the end of a tracked topic it also says
> You will receive notifications because you are tracking this topic
> [@jomaxro](#):
>
> Tracking: You will see “new” or an unread count for the topic.
Don’t I see the “new” indicator for any topic that matches my definition of “new” in my preferences, regardless of tracking status?
---
### Author:  [@jomaxro](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jomaxro)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2017, 8:13pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/actual-difference-between-tracked-and-watching-first-post/61036/20 "2017-04-17T20:13:59Z")
> [@tophee](#):
>
> So the new post count counts as a notification?
I would not consider the count a notification, but that does seem to be what the copy says.
> [@tophee](#):
>
> Don’t I see the “new” indicator for any topic that matches my definition of “new” in my preferences, regardless of tracking status?
Yes - overlapping settings. Assuming default settings (2 days), if you don’t visit the site for \>2 days, topics created \>2 days ago will not appear as new unless in a category you track (or watch).
[Next page](https://meta.discourse.org/t/actual-difference-between-tracked-and-watching-first-post/61036.md?page=2)