XF 2.3 Trending topic with 0 replies?

[PhineasD]

How is it possible that I set up a trending content widget to primarily show threads with replies, but the widget doesn't include any at all?

What am I doing wrong?

 

[philmckrackon]

How is it possible that I set up a trending content widget to primarily show threads with replies, but the widget doesn't include any at all?

What am I doing wrong?

View attachment 334978

I was in the middle of typing a length reply and messed up (on my phone) so I'll just paste in an AI reply. You need to adjust weights and tracking.

To prevent XenForo’s trending content widget from counting bot or guest views, adjust the trending content weights and disable tracking for unauthenticated users. Bots often appear as guests in logs, so reducing the weight of views in favor of user-generated content (replies/reactions) is effective.

Steps to Mitigate Bot/Guest Impact:

Reduce View Weight:
In the Trending Content widget settings, lower the weight of "View count" and increase weights for active engagement metrics like replies or reactions.
Disable Guest Tracking (via Config): While XenForo doesn't have a simple "ignore guests" toggle for the widget, you can configure the system to treat guest activity differently, or reduce the overall activity log length to purge old bot data faster.

Use "Hot" Ordering:
Set the widget to "Hot" instead of "Top" to prioritize recent activity, which helps prevent old, bot-clicked threads from staying at the top.

Use Add-ons:
Consider using specialized add-ons to better identify and exclude bots that are not recognized by default, as they can sometimes masquerade as guests.

 

[briansol]

It's def the guest hits. bots are tearing it up in views. turn off guest impressions. it helps a lot.

 

[PhineasD]

I don't think the problem is bots or guests views. The only active criteria is replies and is not affected by bots or guests.

 

[briansol]

did you just change it? it takes a rolling snapshot on counts, so it might take a few days/week

 

[briansol]

XF 2.3 Post in thread 'Trending Content shows very old threads'

Jun 2, 2025

It doesn't apply retroactively, so if you're using the default widget duration 7 days it will take 7 days for the views already counted to fall out of the window.

• Jeremy P