# 'Mark as read' needed within categories

**URL:** <https://meta.discourse.org/t/mark-as-read-needed-within-categories/94743>\
**Category:** Feature\
**Tags:** bulk-actions\
**Created:** [August 14, 2018, 8:38pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/mark-as-read-needed-within-categories/94743 "2018-08-14T20:38:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 1

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**Author:** ![Beckfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ec9cab/32.png) [@Beckfield](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Beckfield)\
**Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 8:38pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/mark-as-read-needed-within-categories/94743/1 "2018-08-14T20:38:05Z")

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I have read the threads regarding the need for a “Mark as read” button in Discourse, and I vehemently disagree with the stance of the Discourse staff that this function signifies a “cop-out” or “giving up.” It is a _convenience_, enjoyed by forum users in _other_ forum applications, produced by people who allow their customers to decide how to manage their forum behavior, rather than dictate how their customers must operate.

I don’t use the “New,” or “Unread” lists. I, like many real-world users, go to the forum Category(ies) that I am interested in. I like to see the whole list of topics in the category, so I can decide which ones to open, read, and perhaps respond to, and which ones I won’t. When I am finished with the current session, I generally click ‘Mark all as read’ (again, on _other, feature-complete_ forum apps), so when I return, I can see what has changed only since my last visit, and I don’t have to re-evaluate posts that I’ve already decided to skip.

The screenshot below shows what I’m talking about. Topics with new/unread activity are in bright white, and topics with no new activity are gray. I can see at a glance that I don’t need to re-visit the gray topics, but I can’t tell if the white topics have new activity since my last visit or not. If I could have marked them all as read on my last visit, it would save me quite a bit of time. That is not a ‘cop-out,’ and it is not ‘giving up.’

 ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/3X/6/8/6820efa00a591bbb9215703cb9ad64f26a0b214d.png)

I am requesting a ‘Mark all as read’ button within forum categories so I may continue to use the forums in the efficient manner to which I am accustomed.

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_[View the full topic](https://meta.discourse.org/t/mark-as-read-needed-within-categories/94743)._