Why are my Enquiries getting Marked As Read?

Sometimes our members will go to their enquiry inbox on our site and find that new enquiries (ones they have not read) can only be found when browsing the enquiries that have been marked as read. Why is this happening?

Whenever this happens, the most likely culprit is an RSS Feed Reader. Because we offer our members the option of checking enquiries via an RSS Feed, member enquiries can be downloaded to client computers in a format similar to Email—but without the possibility of getting blocked as spam by ISPs and email hosts. Whenever an RSS Feed Reader downloads an enquiry, our server automatically marks the enquiry as having been read in the member’s inbox—this is how we keep track of what new enquiries to send the next time a Feed Reader requests new enquiries. Since a feed reader may be set up to download feeds automatically at predetermined times, an owner may find that the site’s inbox stops showing new enquiries as Unread—because the feed reader is automatically downloading new enquiries and the site is marking them as having been Read.

To stop your feed reader from checking for feeds automatically, please refer to the documentation for your particular feed reader program. You should be able to find settings for download frequency.

The feed reader functionality is an option that many members find convenient. At the same time, some members have found that it is not their preferred way of receiving enquiries. Each member should weigh the benefits and downsides to using the RSS function to fit their specific needs.

Other Notes

Another factor that may cause you to "miss" inquiries is that after your feed reader downloads feeds, it may only store them for a short while. If your feed reader is automatically downloading your inquiry feed and then deletes old inquiries before you get a chance to view them, you may be missing out on inquiries. To check if this is the case, look at your feed while viewing the site inbox. If there are items in your site inbox marked as "Read" and you never saw them in your RSS feed, you may want to check your feed reader settings to make the feed keep inquiries longer.