# 65534 unread messages



## Cath.S.

Hello, everybody, hello Mike if you're reading this.

The above image is a screen capture I've just made.
Odd, isn't it? 
In fact I have no unread messages at all...

Has anyone else encountered the same bug?
Can it be fixed?


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## panjandrum

65536 is 2**16
This is significant.

Somehow, the system believes that you have -1 unread message.

Metaphysically, this means that you have already read a message that you haven't received yet.  Rejoice, you and vBulletin have invented a time machine.


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## panjandrum

Please excuse my flippancy.
The unread message counter must live in a computer place that occupies 16 bits.
1 gets added every time a message comes in.
1 gets taken away every time you open an unread message.

Somehow, vBulletin has missed one of these processes.
As this number is assumed positive, vB is reporting it as one less than the biggest positive number it can hold in two bytes, which is 65535.

This kind of goof used to happen all the time, way back in the early days of computers. You would like to think that all the old code has been replaced, but of course it hasn't. All the old code has been recycled into new stuff - some of which supports core functions of our society - hospitals, power stations, defence systems, air traffic control systems ...

Still, it's a real bummer when your WordReference unread message count goes pear-shaped


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## Cath.S.

You mean tomorrow is no longer another day?


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## panjandrum

eguele: 
Only you can tell us that, for only you have read the message from the future 
If I send you the Lotto numbers immediately after the next draw, you will have already read them and sent them to me.  We will be rich


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## mkellogg

Hi Egueule,

Sorry for not seeing this earlier!  I just reset the number to zero.  I'm not sure and a bit scared that the counter turned-over like that...

Mike


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## Cath.S.

Mike,
 thanks for fixing it, although I don't feel half as popular now as I did for a couple of days...


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## Kelly B

Its baaaaaaaack: but I have an extra:

Unread *65535*


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## mkellogg

Hi Kelly,

I reset you to 0.

This isn't a good sign.   Hopefully vBulletin will acknowledge and fix the problem soon.  Any ideas of what lead to it?


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## Kelly B

I didn't do it - nobody saw me do it - you can't prove anything -

It looked normal when I first logged in - there were three unread messages at the time, which was correct. After I read them, it reset to ...  many.

Thanks!


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## tigger_uhuhu

A mi también me pasó hace unas semanas... sólo reinicié el WR un par de veces y desapareció.... es un misterio que nunca entendí... 
Saludos
Tigger


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## belén

A mi me está pasando ahora mismo..


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## cuchuflete

Estimados foreros,
Ésto se llama un software upgrade.


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