# New & Unread Topics can be random topics
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-unread-topics-can-be-random-topics/292918
**Category:** UX
**Created:** [January 25, 2024, 2:54pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-unread-topics-can-be-random-topics/292918 "2024-01-25T14:54:04Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Moin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Moin)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2024, 2:54pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-unread-topics-can-be-random-topics/292918/1 "2024-01-25T14:54:05Z")
The section labeled “New & Unread Topics” can be misleading as it simply lists topics when there is no new or unread content. And I would not call a topic from January 2023 “new”.
I’m not sure how topics are chosen nowadays but I found
> [@On what based the suggested topics are displaying?](https://meta.discourse.org/t/on-what-based-the-suggested-topics-are-displaying/133276/2):
>
> > [@sam](#):
> >
> > Our algorithm is:
> >
> > - Pick unread for user
> > - Then pick new for user
> > - Then try top pick a bunch of random topics from the category
> > - Then if we are still stuck and have room:
> > - If `limit suggested to category` is ticked, bail out
> > - If it is not ticked, just pick random topics across categories
>
> Check the above topic for more details.
I cannot check the topic for more details. Is this still the way “New & Unread Topics” are picked? Why was the title changed form “suggested topics” to “new & unread topics” when those topics can also be random topics?
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### Author:  [@twofoursixeight](https://meta.discourse.org/u/twofoursixeight)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2024, 3:34pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-unread-topics-can-be-random-topics/292918/2 "2024-01-25T15:34:59Z")
> [@sam](#):
>
> Then if we are still stuck and have room:
>
> - If `limit suggested to category` is ticked, bail out
> - If it is not ticked, just pick random topics across categories
Perhaps they could remove this from the algorithm to help improve the New & Unread Topics. Nobody would consider random topics to be “new”
> [@Moin](#):
>
> And I would not call a topic from January 2023 “new”.
My idea for this would be to delete “new” topics from the “new topics” tab after about a week so that users don’t stumble on old topics in their “new” tab by accident. [perhaps make this adjustable for users]
They can also dismiss the new topics though.
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### Author:  [@awesomerobot](https://meta.discourse.org/u/awesomerobot)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2024, 4:10pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-unread-topics-can-be-random-topics/292918/3 "2024-01-25T16:10:54Z")
> [@Moin](#):
>
> was the title changed form “suggested topics” to “new & unread topics” when those topics can also be random topics
I think this happened when we wanted to add a “related” tab… so we have “suggested” and “related” which seems unclear. I agree that “new & unread” doesn’t capture all the possibilities… but it’s a tricky naming scenario.
> [@Moin](#):
>
> would not call a topic from January 2023 “new”
Was the topic already read?
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### Author:  [@Moin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Moin)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2024, 4:17pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-unread-topics-can-be-random-topics/292918/4 "2024-01-25T16:17:51Z")
> [@awesomerobot](#):
>
> Was the topic already read?
I think so. I think all topics that were shown were “topics from that category”, which I had already read. How can I check whether I have read a topic?
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### Author:  [@RGJ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/RGJ)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2024, 4:19pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-unread-topics-can-be-random-topics/292918/5 "2024-01-25T16:19:34Z")
Along the same lines, the “New” and “Unread” tab have a line at the bottom stating “there are no more XYZ topics”, instead of “there are no more **new** XYZ topics” and “there are no more **unread** XYZ topics”
TBH I think the whole new/unread and top/hot/latest distinctions and nuances are very confusing to the average user.
- “Unread” should be just a filter on latest and capture both new and unread
- “Top” is pretty useless
- “Hot” can be handy for the hacker news type of ordering
So basically all you need is Latest and Hot.
Do you have usage data that gives you insights in how much all those options are being used?
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### Author:  [@Jagster](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Jagster)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2024, 4:38pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-unread-topics-can-be-random-topics/292918/6 "2024-01-25T16:38:17Z")
I should start new topic, but can we take a small and fast sidestep? What the heck is _Hot_? I know how to show it, but what there should be?
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### Author:  [@RGJ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/RGJ)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2024, 4:42pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-unread-topics-can-be-random-topics/292918/7 "2024-01-25T16:42:36Z")
> [@Jagster](#):
>
> What the heck is _Hot_?
It’s _top recent_! Not to be confused with Top.
This is exactly what I mean. It’s confusing even for seasoned users.
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### Author:  [@awesomerobot](https://meta.discourse.org/u/awesomerobot)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2024, 4:43pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-unread-topics-can-be-random-topics/292918/8 "2024-01-25T16:43:39Z")
> [@RGJ](#):
>
> - “Unread” should be just a filter on latest and capture both new and unread
This is the idea behind the “new new” tab, which is an opt-in experiment at the moment and would eliminate “unread” for a combined /new route (which could be filtered to topics/posts if desired)
Related topic: [The "new new" has been enabled on Meta](https://meta.discourse.org/t/the-new-new-has-been-enabled-on-meta/278811/1)
> [@RGJ](#):
>
> - “Top” is pretty useless
It might not be useful day-to-day, but it’s shown to returning users if they haven’t been around for a while. The idea being “this is the most active stuff you missed while you were away.” I use it to catch up occasionally.
> [@RGJ](#):
>
> - “Hot” can be handy for the hacker news type of ordering
Hot is very new (only added within the past week) and still something we’re experimenting with (the algorithm might change, we’re going to try including AI summaries, the topic list layout may be different, etc)
So I think you’re probably right, but we’re still figuring it out.
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### Author:  [@ToddZ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/ToddZ)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2025, 2:26am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-unread-topics-can-be-random-topics/292918/9 "2025-12-21T02:26:07Z")
I’ve just been playing around with the “suggested” settings that seem relevant to the “New & Unread Topics” block, and it seems that the number set in `Suggested topics` takes precedence over things actually being New or Unread.
Regardless of changes to `Suggested topics unread max days old` or `Suggested topics max days old`, you’ll always get X number of topics here, even if some are old and quite read:
Perhaps it would be better to have a parameter `Max suggested topics` and limit the list to topics that really are New or Unread?