# I want to read every post and every topic on my Discourse
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/i-want-to-read-every-post-and-every-topic-on-my-discourse/54202
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [13 בדצמבר, 2016, 10:34pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/i-want-to-read-every-post-and-every-topic-on-my-discourse/54202 "2016-12-13T22:34:33Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Rob\_Waters](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Rob_Waters)
#### Post date: [13 בדצמבר, 2016, 10:34pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/i-want-to-read-every-post-and-every-topic-on-my-discourse/54202/1 "2016-12-13T22:34:33Z")
I logged in for the first time in nearly 2 weeks after a vacation to see if there were any unread messages. The UI shows none, but there was one clearly marked in the Latest tab:
Is this a bug, or do I have some setting set incorrectly?
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [13 בדצמבר, 2016, 10:53pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/i-want-to-read-every-post-and-every-topic-on-my-discourse/54202/2 "2016-12-13T22:53:23Z")
Unread is only topics you are tracking or watching.
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### Author:  [@Rob\_Waters](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Rob_Waters)
#### Post date: [13 בדצמבר, 2016, 11:11pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/i-want-to-read-every-post-and-every-topic-on-my-discourse/54202/3 "2016-12-13T23:11:00Z")
Thanks, Jeff. What is the intended or easiest way to get an indication or notification when there are posts you haven’t read but aren’t watching?
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### Author:  [@cpradio](https://meta.discourse.org/u/cpradio)
#### Post date: [13 בדצמבר, 2016, 11:24pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/i-want-to-read-every-post-and-every-topic-on-my-discourse/54202/4 "2016-12-13T23:24:00Z")
Watch the category they are in.
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### Author:  [@Rob\_Waters](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Rob_Waters)
#### Post date: [13 בדצמבר, 2016, 11:43pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/i-want-to-read-every-post-and-every-topic-on-my-discourse/54202/5 "2016-12-13T23:43:54Z")
Categories is our default view because we have more than one category for different audiences. As an administrator / mod, I want to be able to tell at a glance when any category contains a post I haven’t read.
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### Author:  [@cpradio](https://meta.discourse.org/u/cpradio)
#### Post date: [13 בדצמבר, 2016, 11:45pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/i-want-to-read-every-post-and-every-topic-on-my-discourse/54202/6 "2016-12-13T23:45:31Z")
Then watch every category. Visit each category (or your User Profile Preferences) and make sure you are watching all of the categories (top right there is an icon on the category topic listing page) or in your user preference at the bottom there is a Watching Categories box you can fill out.
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [13 בדצמבר, 2016, 11:49pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/i-want-to-read-every-post-and-every-topic-on-my-discourse/54202/7 "2016-12-13T23:49:42Z")
An easier way to do this, if you really plan to **read every single topic ever created** , is to set your user preferences (under “Other”) such that:
- automatically track topics I enter → **immediately**
- consider topics new when → **I haven’t viewed them yet**
That’s how I have my preferences set here. Then just make sure you actually enter every new topic (they will be marked new, if you haven’t visited them yet) and you’re set.
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### Author:  [@Rob\_Waters](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Rob_Waters)
#### Post date: [14 בדצמבר, 2016, 12:18am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/i-want-to-read-every-post-and-every-topic-on-my-discourse/54202/8 "2016-12-14T00:18:47Z")
Thank you, Jeff. This is what I needed. I don’t know if it’s sustainable for me, but right now the community is small and we’re trying to help it grow. We didn’t understand the tool well enough to make sure we were seeing all new posts in a timely fashion, so our own blind spot was serving as a momentum-killer.
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### Author:  [@JammyDodger](https://meta.discourse.org/u/JammyDodger)
#### Post date: [23 ביוני, 2022, 10:08am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/i-want-to-read-every-post-and-every-topic-on-my-discourse/54202/11 "2022-06-23T10:08:55Z")