Forums » Suggestions
Forum suggestion?
It would be nice if you received email notifications if a thread you made was replied to ect. Thoughts?
-1
I feel like this would stop a lot of players from ever checking the forum on a regular basis.
I feel like this would stop a lot of players from ever checking the forum on a regular basis.
I feel like this would stop a lot of players from ever checking the forum on a regular basis.
I mean, the suggested case is only for people who create new threads. Most players don't do that. Does it seem like it would really cut down user activity, just from that?
Yoda's infrastructural comment has merits, although in some cases it probably would be worthwhile. The PCC forum was always a big one where I wanted to add email notifications, mostly so people could be aware that a new mission-series was available for testing, and that people had responded to the related commentary threads, etc. But, that's a much more controlled sub-set of the forum usage than everywhere else.
Anyway, it would be a fair amount of work, but there might be some engagement benefit in some cases. Aggregating update-notices to be no-more-than X per day, and the like.
We're probably going down a road where external user notifications will be of value to some people ("Your station is under attack!"), which might make for a robust, double-opt-in confirmed email option that could also be used by this kind of stuff.
I mean, the suggested case is only for people who create new threads. Most players don't do that. Does it seem like it would really cut down user activity, just from that?
Yoda's infrastructural comment has merits, although in some cases it probably would be worthwhile. The PCC forum was always a big one where I wanted to add email notifications, mostly so people could be aware that a new mission-series was available for testing, and that people had responded to the related commentary threads, etc. But, that's a much more controlled sub-set of the forum usage than everywhere else.
Anyway, it would be a fair amount of work, but there might be some engagement benefit in some cases. Aggregating update-notices to be no-more-than X per day, and the like.
We're probably going down a road where external user notifications will be of value to some people ("Your station is under attack!"), which might make for a robust, double-opt-in confirmed email option that could also be used by this kind of stuff.
Some of us already get text notifications when stations are under attack, i think email be to slow of a response.
Yes, I didn't meant it would be the only way, but it would be one channel. What channel would be preferred would be up to the user.
But the point was, there may be alternative reasons to have an email system for notifications, which might counter some of Yoda's concerns. (Not to debate what notification system works best for.. station attacks. That's an unrelated topic).
But the point was, there may be alternative reasons to have an email system for notifications, which might counter some of Yoda's concerns. (Not to debate what notification system works best for.. station attacks. That's an unrelated topic).
As this seems like it isn't a concern for you guys, then it isn't anything to worry about?
Well, keep in mind we already push a fair amount of email just for account signup "conversions" (quite a few per day), password recoveries, friend keys and associated randomness.
Adding notifications for thread-creators would probably not be a burdensome addition to that. But your point is still noteworthy.
And, obviously, if I was really un-concerned about the extra development work to do this, I would probably have done it years ago, when I thought of it. But it's just not been very important.
Still, it's mainly the implementation time that's the issue for me, rather than emails themselves, as we already have to deal with that.
Well, keep in mind we already push a fair amount of email just for account signup "conversions" (quite a few per day), password recoveries, friend keys and associated randomness.
Adding notifications for thread-creators would probably not be a burdensome addition to that. But your point is still noteworthy.
And, obviously, if I was really un-concerned about the extra development work to do this, I would probably have done it years ago, when I thought of it. But it's just not been very important.
Still, it's mainly the implementation time that's the issue for me, rather than emails themselves, as we already have to deal with that.
Since there aren't a huge number of forum posts per day, why not just set up RSS feeds for new posts? You could have one feed for all forums (excluding the PCC ones), and one feed for each individual forum (password protect each PCC forum feed). Simple to set up, and easy on resources.
The goal is pretty different from the OP, for one thing.
He was just looking for thread-creators to be notified when someone posts to the thread they started.
What you're suggesting is something to monitor forum activity in general, across entire forums.
Also, a lot of people don't even know what an "RSS" is, so it isn't the most accessible form of notification, for the OP's intended use case.
He was just looking for thread-creators to be notified when someone posts to the thread they started.
What you're suggesting is something to monitor forum activity in general, across entire forums.
Also, a lot of people don't even know what an "RSS" is, so it isn't the most accessible form of notification, for the OP's intended use case.
Agreed, but general notification of forum activity now would be much better than nothing, and it would be very easy to implement. Then, when you have free development time, you can set up email notifications. Just a thought...
You do make a valid point about RSS being less well known.
You do make a valid point about RSS being less well known.
Rather than only emailing the thread creator, I'd prefer if anyone who wanted to could subscribe to a thread. That would be particularly helpful for bug and plugin threads.
+1 I agree. I'd like to see an email notification when/if someone posts a reply to a thread that I have flagged or have contributed to. Having moderated forums in the past, I know that this actively keeps a community hopping.
Would be nicer if the forum software adhered to one of the standard forum types, so we could use a forum reader app on our phones, but it is what it is.
Would be nicer if the forum software adhered to one of the standard forum types, so we could use a forum reader app on our phones, but it is what it is.