Help talk:Watchlist

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Watching versus subscribing?

Could someone please add an explanation of the difference between watching an article or subscribing to an article? I see the words as synonyms. David Spector (talk) 20:17, 29 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I am still seing "subscribe" links on sections, but no explanation of how subscribing is different from watching. "Subscribe" seems to be undocumented and mysterious. If it is similar to Watching, why isn't it described in this Help article? David Spector (talk) 01:19, 27 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

"Subscribe" links on sections is a relatively new feature, from 2021–2022. See WP:SUBSCRIBE for details. —⁠andrybak (talk) 00:42, 8 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Subscribing gives you notifications for a single section of a discussion page, and watchlist shows all of the changes, even the ones that you are not talking about. Justjourney (talk) 17:15, 1 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hiding edits from a specific user

Is there any way to do this? JJMC89 bot III is killing my watchlist, and while there is the option to hide bot edits, there are other bots I would like to see (for example those dating tags).

Going further, can edits from a specific user be hidden but the latest edit by any other editor still be highlighted in a watchlist? Number 5 7 22:40, 27 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Automatic update to Watchlist?

My Watchlist used to update automatically as a I was reading it, but now it doesn't. I have to refresh the page periodically. Is there a way to turn the update function back on? Mr Serjeant Buzfuz (talk) 16:46, 9 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

You can get this feature back by clicking the ▶︎ Live updates button on your Watchlist.

by the way, this is a talk page to discuss improvements to this page. if you want any help in the future, check out the Teahouse instead!

Hope this helps! -Ahuman00 (talk) 04:31, 20 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Ahuman00: Thanks for the reply. I reason I posted here is that I tried the Help desk, without success. (Teahouse has politely told me in the past that I have too many edits for them, and I should go to Help desk.) One editor there also mentioned this "Live Updates" button. Where do I find it? It's not on my Watchlist page. I asked that as a follow-up question in my reply on the Help desk, and no-one responded. Mr Serjeant Buzfuz (talk) 04:08, 21 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

That's weird... It's under the "Filter changes" bar for me, right above the actual content of the watchlist.

Hope you're able to find a solution -Ahuman00 (talk) 04:32, 21 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Aha! I had to click on "Active Filters - Show" and that expanded to include "Live Updates"! If I click on "Active Filters - Hide", then the "Live Updates" button gets hidden. Thanks very much. Mr Serjeant Buzfuz (talk) 04:35, 21 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Glad you found it!

-Ahuman00 (talk) 04:21, 22 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for your help. Mr Serjeant Buzfuz (talk) 04:31, 22 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]