[clivington]

Anyone know why the Chai and Chat Forum doesn't appear on the Home Page or on the older discussions from the Home Page?

Also, why are the post timings all over the shop? Right now, at approx 22:10 India time, the time of the latest posting is shown as 17:30 - If that is India time then I'm absolutely sure that there will have been postings since then. Yesterday they appeared to change by several hours and then correct themselves. Are there server issues?

[theyyamdancer]

Clive, it is the "new policy" instituted by Nadreg about two months ago to put more emphasis on Travel and less on Chatter. And take a look at this discussion also:

Restrictions on Chai and Chat for new members

[clivington]

I did wonder if that was the case, did a search, but couldn't find mention of it, though perhaps I should have looked harder. Wouldn't it make sense to state that in the forum header?

[theyyamdancer]

I think the whole point was to phase it out gradually so that people might not even notice (only the hardened criminals like me...)

[Nick-H]

The two Chai and Chat forums do appear in the New Posts listings etc. which can be easily accessed from the box at top right of the screen.

For regular visitors, this is the easiest way to see all that has happened since your last visit.

The latest posts listing on the home page, even though recently improved by adding an 'older posts' link, is more of a taster for new or occasional visitors.

[clivington]

To the other point I made in my thread-starter: I've just come to the home page and, prior to logging on, the latest post is timed at 07:25. Now I log on and the same post is shown as 01:55.

This post is shown as 02:18 but it's actually 06:50 here in Kerala.

Ooh, Look! I've just logged out and then back in again and my "New Posts" has become zero.

[machadinha]

The site's time is set to IST (I think) (and that's Indian Standard Time, to others) when you just visit as a visitor. So all posts will be shown as relative to that.

When you log on, it should be set as corresponding to your time zone. So all posting times will switch to correspond to your relative time. So in your example, that post was made at 07:25 IST (or whatever the standard may be), and at 01:55 your time. (Since the difference with most countries includes half an hour, that would seem to add up just perfectly.)

Those should be the same for you if you're in Kerala I guess, but if your profile (not what you make public necessarily, but what you fed the server upon signing on or at any later moment) is set to Easter Island, it stands to reason the time would jump to there upon logging on. I don't know that, but it's possible. (The only other possibility would be for the server to actually respond to what time zone you're physically logging in from.)*

Could this explain something?

* Edit: Your post shows up as 02:18 my time too. Since you're from Britain where I'm not far from, I guess that does mean the server reacts to you being registered as being from there.

ps Yes if you log out and back on, of course your session will start counting as new, so any previous new posts won't be counted as such anymore. You can just scroll back through "latest posts" or whatever you like to use, they're all still there, they just won't be highlighted anymore.

[clivington]

Thanks Machadinha. I had configured for GMT and DST. That would make the difference between the UK and here 5.5 hours so there's still a missing hour in my post timings. Anyway, I've now configured for IST and all is well with the world again.

Yes, of course "New Posts" was reset to zero. I guess that I'm just going to have to stay logged in 24/7 if I am to find it useful.

[machadinha]

There should be an hour between UK and me (NL) too. What with our respective DST's I try to give it not too much thought, can never figure it out *

I managed here for almost four years now never even looking at "new posts," so it must be doable. Seriously, there are several ways to keep track here, we all have our preferences. Are you aware of the "Today's Posts" link at top right, just under your user name? That's what I use a lot. And then I use some personal menus, under my "Quick Links," top right again, on the red bar just beneath it.

What are you doing anyway, you're finally on your trip now, have you nothing better to do than worry about the intricacies of IM online life?

Enjoy your holiday/work visit/whatever, man! Have a swim, and some prawns! (Gentle nudge smiley here.)

* Come to think of it, my eternal confusement with it with regards to posts here may well indicate the server's not fully up to speed with it. It is rather tricky, since those DST's vary -- moreover the server I believe is in the USA, where DST's vary again... Confused? You won't be...

[Nick-H]

The time zone IndiaMike uses when you log on is the one that you specify in your profile settings. This confuses me when I go out of India!

It would be nice if it took the time-zone setting from the PC, but it doesn't --- that's how the vBulletin software is, I guess, so it is one of those things we just have to live with. On my last trip, a couple of weeks ago, I was online about three times in a week and it was just not worth finding the profile setting and changing it. Or, at least, I couldn't be bothered .

[clivington]

Originally Posted by machadinha

What are you doing anyway, you're finally on your trip now, have you nothing better to do than worry about the intricacies of IM online life?

Yeah, you're right. I should get a life or I'll turn out like Nick-H! Tee hee!

For the record, if I'd seen the proposed changes to C&C and understood the implications, and not been worried about moving here, I'd have voted against them. Whistling in the wind, I expect, but IM is a lot more than a "travel" forum.

Thanks for the tips. Very useful.

[Nick-H]

I'll turn out like Nick-H!

To be avoided at all costs!

Seriously, my last trips away from home have also been time off-line, and I found it very refreshing to be away from the internet for a week or so.