Why can't I unfollow threads in the forum?

babowa wrote:

That is the way to do it - two steps:

1. Unfollow within that thread

2. Click on your name > click on Preferences in the popup > UNcheck whatever you do not want.

Screenshot of mine:

https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/b5f9b3f5-aaaf-4318-9e05-b1e4346aaba4

FWIW, it isn't a "bug". That is how the site was designed to work - whether you or we like it or not. The mods are aware of it. Asking us why it "isn't fixed" does not help - we do not work for Apple.

Sometimes you do need do that more than once until it "sticks". I've not had a problem with it - the only ones I get are the ones I am actively participating in.

Ummm... Thanks for replying, but it really looks like you simply glossed over mine before doing so. There are factual inaccuracies in what you say.

Solution #1 – as I even indicated is how it is supposed to work – is to simply click the Following box to uncheck it. The same way you would normally Follow the thread. EXCEPT it doesn't work. When you do so, you initially see the box change back to "Follow", but upon refreshing the page, it just changes back to "Following".

Here's the kicker: after typing the above, just for fun I went to test it on the two threads that I was following at one point, and I am now able to unfollow one of them! After refreshing the page, it does not switch back, and when I go to My Subscriptions afterwards, the thread disappears from the list! So it seems to work now!

But not the other thread... It refuses to play along. Go figure! This is literally the definition of a bug! LOL

I wonder if the bug has something to do with not being able to do so within xx days of your last post in a thread…

And in this thread, before "Posting" this reply, I was able to unfollow this thread, and it wouldn't switch back. I will try it again after I click Post, to test the above theory of mine.

And "Solution #2"... Sorry but that's not even a solution. That's just a workaround / sledgehammer approach to solving a problem. I want to get emails for some threads that I am still interested in, and not for others. This "solution" is simply turning off the functionality – not fixing the underlying problem.

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So I just tried to unfollow this thread by clicking the Following box and then refreshing the page to see if it would revert back, and it didn't!

So there you have it. It is 100% a bug, and a random one at that.

Doesn't even have anything to do with how many days have passed since you posted within a thread.

deggie wrote: Yes, it is a bug, the hosts are aware of it. It has more to do with how many posts you have, sometimes you can tap to unfollow, refresh and keep doing it until it finally sticks.

OMG! It finally happened!!! As you say, it's totally random in terms of how many times you have to click unfollow, before it actually sticks... On another thread, as I mentioned above, it worked the 2nd time, but this one thread that I have probably clicked 20 times, nothing happened – until today!

I am officially free of updates (which were garbage alas, thanks to a prolific troll in that thread) from that thread!!! Fingers crossed!

Interesting! In other words, this is the exact sequence you did it? F5 and then when the page has loaded just enough for you to see the Unfollow box but before it has finished, click it? You don’t exactly say.

If that’s the case, then there are two ways to do so. On the threads I was having trouble on, I definitely would not have refreshed before clicking the button. So it's random and by using your method. I’m afraid to follow any threads, just to try your theory though! 😂

If you truly have discovered a consistent method to Unfollow, then you should be able to reproduce your results once more on a thread that is buggy. In other words, try to Unfollow the “normal“ way a few times, and if it doesn’t work (switches back to Follow after you refresh the page), then try your method and see if it is fullproof.

Have you tried?