diff --git a/ttyverse.pl b/ttyverse.pl
index 1cddb95..d11a9f2 100755
--- a/ttyverse.pl
+++ b/ttyverse.pl
@@ -40,12 +40,10 @@ BEGIN {
 	
 	$command_line = $0; $0 = "TTYverse";
 	$TTYverse_VERSION = "2025.07.25";
-	$TTYverse_PATCH_VERSION = "";
-	$TTYverse_RC_NUMBER = 0; # non-zero for release candidate
 	# this is kludgy, yes.
 	$LANG = $ENV{'LANG'} || $ENV{'GDM_LANG'} || $ENV{'LC_CTYPE'} ||
 			$ENV{'ALL'};
-	$my_version_string = ($TTYverse_PATCH_VERSION) ? "${TTYverse_VERSION}.${TTYverse_PATCH_VERSION}" : "${TTYverse_VERSION}";
+	$my_version_string = $TTYverse_VERSION;
 	(warn ("$my_version_string\n"), exit) if ($version);
 
 	# Set up XDG directories early for -create-rc and extensions
@@ -224,7 +222,6 @@ EOF
 	undef $master_store;
 	undef %push_stack;
 
-	$padded_patch_version = substr($TTYverse_PATCH_VERSION . " ", 0, 2);
 
 	%opts_boolean = map { $_ => 1 } qw(
 		ansi noansi verbose superverbose ttytteristas noprompt
@@ -263,7 +260,7 @@ EOF
 	);
 
 	   %opts_can_set = map { $_ => 1 } qw(
-		url pause dmurl dmpause superverbose ansi verbose
+		url pause dmurl dmpause dmmarkread superverbose ansi verbose
 		update uurl rurl wurl avatar ttytteristas frurl track
 		rlurl noprompt shoreblogurl newline wrap verify autosplit
 		notimeline queryurl fediverseserver colourprompt colourme
@@ -1093,9 +1090,10 @@ $slowpost ||= 0;
 $twarg ||= undef;
 
 $verbose ||= $superverbose;
-$dmpause = 4 if (!defined $dmpause); # NOT ||= ... zero is a VALID value!
+$dmpause = 4 if (!defined $dmpause); # NOT ||= ... zero is a VALID value!  
 $dmpause = 0 if ($anonymous);
 $dmpause = 0 if ($pause eq '0');
+$dmmarkread = 1 if (!defined $dmmarkread); # Default to enabled
 $ansi = ($noansi) ? 0 :
 	(($ansi || $ENV{'TERM'} eq 'ansi' || $ENV{'TERM'} eq 'xterm-color')
 		? 1 : 0);
@@ -1748,6 +1746,7 @@ if ($daemon) {
 			&update_effpause;
 			&refresh(0);
 			$dont_refresh_first_time = 0;
+			# Move DM refresh after timeline refresh so timeline updates show even if no unread DMs
 			if ($dmpause) {
 				if (!--$dmcount) {
 					&dmrefresh(0);
@@ -1833,7 +1832,7 @@ unless ($simplestart) {
 	print <<"EOF";
 
 ========================================
-TTYverse ${TTYverse_VERSION}.${padded_patch_version} (c)2025 Storm Dragon
+TTYverse ${TTYverse_VERSION} (c)2025 Storm Dragon
 all rights reserved.
 
 https://git.stormux.org/storm/ttyverse
@@ -4649,7 +4648,9 @@ $stream_failure = 0;
 $dm_first_time = ($dmpause) ? 1 : 0;
 $dm_display_only = 0;  # Flag to suppress notifications during user-initiated /dms commands
 $dm_notification_sent = 0;  # Flag to prevent duplicate notifications per refresh cycle
-# DM tracking now uses Mastodon's unread flag instead of content comparison
+# DM tracking now uses Mastodon's unread flag with local read tracking fallback
+%dm_seen_status = ();  # Hash to track seen conversation_id:last_status_id pairs
+&load_dm_seen_status();  # Load persistent tracking data
 $stuck_stdin = 0;
 
 # tell the foreground we are ready
@@ -5994,6 +5995,24 @@ sub dmrefresh {
 
 	print $stdout "-- DEBUG: DM response: " . scalar(@{ $my_json_ref }) . " conversations, disp_max=$disp_max\n" if ($verbose);
 
+	# For background refresh, check if there are any unread DMs first
+	if (!$interactive && !$sent_dm && $disp_max) {
+		my $has_unread = 0;
+		for (my $check_i = 0; $check_i < $disp_max; $check_i++) {
+			my $check_j = $my_json_ref->[$check_i];
+			next if (!$check_j->{'accounts'} || !@{$check_j->{'accounts'}} || !$check_j->{'last_status'});
+			if ($check_j->{'unread'}) {
+				$has_unread = 1;
+				last;
+			}
+		}
+		if (!$has_unread) {
+			print $stdout "-- DEBUG: No unread DMs found in background refresh, returning early\n" if ($verbose);
+			return;
+		}
+		print $stdout "-- DEBUG: Found unread DMs in background refresh, proceeding\n" if ($verbose);
+	}
+
 	if ($disp_max) { # an empty list can be valid
 		if ($dm_first_time) {
 			sleep 5 while ($suspend_output > 0);
@@ -6016,12 +6035,23 @@ sub dmrefresh {
 				next;
 			}
 			
-			# For background refresh (interactive=0), use unread flag detection
+			# For background refresh (interactive=0), use unread flag detection with local tracking fallback
 			if (!$interactive && !$sent_dm) {
 				my $is_unread = $j->{'unread'} || 0;
-				print $stdout "-- DEBUG: DM #$i unread flag: " . ($is_unread ? "true" : "false") . "\n" if ($verbose);
+				my $conversation_id = $j->{'id'};
+				my $last_status_id = $j->{'last_status'}->{'id'} || $j->{'last_status'}->{'id_str'};
+				my $tracking_key = "${conversation_id}:${last_status_id}";
 				
-				if (!$is_unread) {
+				print $stdout "-- DEBUG: DM #$i unread flag: " . ($is_unread ? "true" : "false") . ", tracking_key: $tracking_key\n" if ($verbose);
+				
+				# Check if we've already seen this exact conversation+status combination
+				if ($dm_seen_status{$tracking_key}) {
+					print $stdout "-- DEBUG: Skipping DM #$i - already seen locally (key: $tracking_key)\n" if ($verbose);
+					next;
+				}
+				
+				# For servers that support unread flag, also check that
+				if (!$is_unread && !$dm_seen_status{$tracking_key}) {
 					print $stdout "-- DEBUG: Skipping DM #$i - already read (unread=false)\n" if ($verbose);
 					next;
 				}
@@ -7251,9 +7281,19 @@ sub defaultdmhandle {
 	print $stdout "-- DEBUG: DM displayed: " . substr($dm_content, 0, 50) . "...\n" if ($verbose);
 	&senddmnotifies($dm_ref) if ($sns ne $whoami);
 	
-	# Mark conversation as read if it was unread
-	if ($dm_ref->{'unread'}) {
-		&mark_conversation_read($dm_ref->{'id'});
+	# Mark conversation as read if it was unread (can be disabled with dmmarkread=0)
+	if ($dm_ref->{'unread'} && (!defined($dmmarkread) || $dmmarkread)) {
+		my $mark_result = &mark_conversation_read($dm_ref->{'id'});
+		
+		# If server-side mark-as-read failed, track locally to prevent re-showing
+		if (!$mark_result) {
+			my $conversation_id = $dm_ref->{'id'};
+			my $last_status_id = $dm_ref->{'last_status'}->{'id'} || $dm_ref->{'last_status'}->{'id_str'};
+			my $tracking_key = "${conversation_id}:${last_status_id}";
+			$dm_seen_status{$tracking_key} = time();  # Store timestamp when seen
+			print $stdout "-- DEBUG: Marked DM as seen locally (key: $tracking_key)\n" if ($verbose);
+			&save_dm_seen_status();  # Persist the change
+		}
 	}
 	
 	return 1;
@@ -7277,15 +7317,46 @@ sub mark_conversation_read {
 	print $stdout "-- DEBUG: Marking conversation $conversation_id as read\n" if ($verbose);
 	
 	# Build the URL for marking conversation as read
-	my $read_url = "$baseurl/api/v1/conversations/$conversation_id/read";
+	my $read_url = "${apibase}/conversations/$conversation_id/read";
+	print $stdout "-- DEBUG: Mark-as-read URL: $read_url\n" if ($verbose);
+	
+	# Make POST request with shorter timeout for mark-as-read
+	my $old_timeout = $timeout;
+	my $old_exception = $exception;
+	$timeout = 5; # Short timeout for non-critical operation
+	
+	# Use a custom exception handler to capture detailed error info
+	$exception = sub {
+		my ($severity, $message) = @_;
+		print $stdout "-- DEBUG: Mark-as-read API call failed (severity=$severity): $message" if ($verbose);
+		# Don't show user warning for this - it's not critical, but log the error
+	};
 	
-	# Make POST request with empty data to mark as read
 	my $result = &postjson($read_url, "");
 	
+	# Restore original handlers
+	$timeout = $old_timeout;
+	$exception = $old_exception;
+	
 	if ($result) {
 		print $stdout "-- DEBUG: Successfully marked conversation $conversation_id as read\n" if ($verbose);
+		return 1;
 	} else {
-		print $stdout "-- DEBUG: Failed to mark conversation $conversation_id as read\n" if ($verbose);
+		print $stdout "-- DEBUG: Failed to mark conversation $conversation_id as read - trying alternative method\n" if ($verbose);
+		
+		# Fallback: Some servers might need different approach
+		# Try sending empty message to conversation (some implementations mark as read this way)
+		my $alt_url = "${apibase}/conversations/$conversation_id";
+		print $stdout "-- DEBUG: Trying alternative approach: GET $alt_url\n" if ($verbose);
+		
+		my $alt_result = &grabjson($alt_url, 0, 0, 1, undef, 1);
+		if ($alt_result) {
+			print $stdout "-- DEBUG: Alternative method succeeded (conversation fetched)\n" if ($verbose);
+			return 1;
+		} else {
+			print $stdout "-- DEBUG: All methods failed - server may not support conversation read API\n" if ($verbose);
+			return 0;
+		}
 	}
 }
 
@@ -8227,8 +8298,14 @@ sub updatecheck {
 		} elsif ($latest_version eq $current_version) {
 			$vs .= "-- your version of TTYverse is up to date ($current_version)\n";
 		} else {
-			$vs .= "-- you appear to have a development version ($current_version)\n";
-			$vs .= "-- latest stable release: $latest_version\n";
+			# Local version is newer - check if we're in a git repo
+			if (-d '.git') {
+				$vs .= "-- your version ($current_version) is newer than latest remote ($latest_version)\n";
+				$vs .= "-- you may have unpushed changes or unreleased version\n";
+			} else {
+				$vs .= "-- you appear to have a development version ($current_version)\n";
+				$vs .= "-- latest stable release: $latest_version\n";
+			}
 		}
 	} else {
 		$vs .= "-- warning: unable to determine latest version\n";
@@ -8736,10 +8813,14 @@ sub normalizejson {
 		print $stdout "-- DEBUG: Found poll in main post\n" if ($verbose);
 	}
 	
-	# Store poll data for display
-	if ($poll_data) {
+	# Store poll data for display - but only if it's a valid poll with options
+	if ($poll_data && ref($poll_data) eq 'HASH' && exists($poll_data->{'options'}) && @{$poll_data->{'options'}}) {
 		$i->{'poll'} = $poll_data;
 		print $stdout "-- DEBUG: Poll data stored for display\n" if ($verbose);
+	} else {
+		# Clear any false poll data
+		delete $i->{'poll'} if exists($i->{'poll'});
+		print $stdout "-- DEBUG: No valid poll data found, cleared poll flag\n" if ($verbose && $poll_data);
 	}
 	
 	return $i;
@@ -9818,4 +9899,59 @@ sub signrequest {
 	return "-H \"Authorization: Bearer $tokenkey\"";
 }
 
+# Load locally tracked DM seen status from persistent storage
+sub load_dm_seen_status {
+	my $seen_file = "$config/dm_seen_status";
+	return unless (-r $seen_file);
+	
+	if (open(SEEN, '<', $seen_file)) {
+		print $stdout "-- DEBUG: Loading DM seen status from $seen_file\n" if ($verbose);
+		my $count = 0;
+		while (my $line = <SEEN>) {
+			chomp($line);
+			next unless ($line =~ /^(.+):(\d+)$/);
+			my ($tracking_key, $timestamp) = ($1, $2);
+			
+			# Skip entries older than 30 days to prevent infinite growth
+			if (time() - $timestamp < 30 * 24 * 3600) {
+				$dm_seen_status{$tracking_key} = $timestamp;
+				$count++;
+			}
+		}
+		close(SEEN);
+		print $stdout "-- DEBUG: Loaded $count DM seen entries\n" if ($verbose);
+	}
+}
+
+# Save locally tracked DM seen status to persistent storage
+sub save_dm_seen_status {
+	my $seen_file = "$config/dm_seen_status";
+	
+	# Ensure config directory exists
+	unless (-d $config) {
+		mkdir($config, 0700) || do {
+			print $stdout "-- DEBUG: Could not create config directory $config: $!\n" if ($verbose);
+			return;
+		};
+	}
+	
+	if (open(SEEN, '>', $seen_file)) {
+		print $stdout "-- DEBUG: Saving DM seen status to $seen_file\n" if ($superverbose);
+		my $count = 0;
+		for my $key (keys %dm_seen_status) {
+			my $timestamp = $dm_seen_status{$key};
+			# Only save entries from last 30 days
+			if (time() - $timestamp < 30 * 24 * 3600) {
+				print SEEN "$key:$timestamp\n";
+				$count++;
+			}
+		}
+		close(SEEN);
+		chmod(0600, $seen_file);  # Keep private
+		print $stdout "-- DEBUG: Saved $count DM seen entries\n" if ($superverbose);
+	} else {
+		print $stdout "-- DEBUG: Could not save DM seen status to $seen_file: $!\n" if ($verbose);
+	}
+}
+
 }