I am trying to create a notification list for my website which is a small social network. The idea is that the notification list will list all new users who sign up who have similar interests as you, and all questions posted on a forum, which are related to your interests.
This is a general question - obviously I know how it COULD be done but I wonder are there efficient ways.
My immediate (and stupid approach) would be simply to list the 'events' that pertain to the user by pulling the data from the database (MySQL, btw). The problem is this:
How can you easily implement a system where by the user can then mark these as 'notified' (much in the same way as you mark and email as read). Is the only way to do this to have a separate database table that keeps tabs on all possible notifications for all users and you simply delete them off as a user marks them. This would mean that on notification may well have to be in the database hundreds of times, for the hundreds of users it relates to. This seems very inefficient to me. There must be something i am missing.
Any thoughts? I appreciate that this may technically not be UX, but in many ways it is.
Many thanks.....