Cookies, newpost, lastpost #anchor jumping

You're going to hate this one, I do already.

I have these messages from users, all precisely matching the date that I installed vbseo:

Originally Posted by User1

I didn't know where to post this quandary so I'm putting it here. Since Monday, I have been having problems with, I think, cookies. So I wasn't on Bowlie all weekend. I last logged in last Wednesday. I log in Monday and go to my User CP and click on the 'arrow' next to my subscribed threads. Now, this arrow usually takes me to my first unread post. But it hasn't been doing that. It has been taking me to the very end of each thread - showing the last two posts.

I thought this may be something with my work computer cos it's old and funky. But I'm at home now and it's the same thing. I have a lot of unread posts, both subscribed threads and threads in all the forums and I am having this problem when I click on the arrow of every single one.

Is anyone else having this problem? What is going on?

Originally Posted by User1

Another problem is that sometimes when I click on the arrow, it will take me to the post before I posted. So if I click on the arrow to take me to the last unread post, if I have just posted on that thread, instead of taking me to the last unread post, it will take me to just above my post.

Oh please help; this is so frustrating.

Originally Posted by User2

Hey, David, when you were doing all of those updates to make the site more "Search engine friendly" last week, a couple really weird/slightly annoying things started happening to me, that are probably not at all related to what you were working on:

- If I try to log on on a computer that isn't mine (friend's, school library's, public library's...) and I don't click "remember me", I cannot log in. I can only log in if I click "remember me".

- Suddenly bowlie thinks that I haven't read any posts since over a year ago, and sometimes as long as two years ago. When I try to "read new posts" in a thread that I haven't looked at within the last 7-10 days (whenever it started, I don't remember exactly), it sends me back to the beginning of the thread if it's relatively new, or to a really old date, like mid-2002 or late 2003 if it's a really old thread. Once I've been to the thread, and it doesn't matter where in the thread, I'll get sent to the ACTUAL new post in the future. Older posts that were posted before I last read the thread still show up as "read" (little red icon), and actual new posts show up as "unread", but I don't get directed to the right part of the thread.

Those were the most descriptive complaints... I've got quite a few "me too!" type PM's and posts... but the above describe the weirdness the most.

I've seen it too. If I don't mark forums read (I usually do after every time I check New Posts) I very soon start to see that on the really busy threads I'm getting jumped to the wrong place. A page and half of replies, and I jump to the last page and only see the half page of replies and not the prior page.


If I uninstall vbseo (product and .htaccess) then I do jump around correctly. So this is vbseo, the time of the error appearing suggest so, and the bugs vanishing on uninstall confirm so.

However, I know that this is a horrible bug... I simply have no idea where you'll start, because it's a bitch to reproduce.

I'm in a quandary, because I don't want to lose the SEO advantage that vbseo gives, but I don't want to further piss off my users with the strange navigation symptoms.

I'll help as much as I can

Thanks

DavidK

I've never seen it get the whole page wrong (other than that small bug in 2.3.0), but there has always been a mysterious issue with jumping directly to anchors.

first new post link

Hello David,

could you please try the solution posted in this thread:
Forum Thread problem

Already have I've been using the database since I moved to the 3.5 betas.

/* NOTE: This bug report has been placed in our internal tracking system. We will post an update when it has been confirmed and/or corrected. Any additional information is encouraged. */

I don't know if this is a bug or not, but the first visit jumps to the anchor of last visible post. Test at Charities - Page 4 - FxFisherman's Forex Resources

I'd like it to be normal, "don't jump for first visit"

Neo,

Please set your vBulletin to use the database to store read markers instead of cookies. That should correct the issue.

Just checked. All fixed--first visit jumps to first post's anchor. Thanks!

Anyway, is it possible not to jump to any anchor for the first visit? The page used to show an ad banner on the top before i installed vbSEO. Because it jumped over the ad, I moved the ad to below first post instead. I've received low CTR since then.

Thanks