Email Notification vs. Message Content Delivery

FromLine · 6 Jun 2002, 02:57 PM

Each time someone replies to a thread I participate in, I get a "notification" email telling me

a) The title of the thread

and

b) Who replied

If I want to read it, I then have to click on the link just to "read" the message.

Most of the time, I go to the forum just to "read" the message, but I have no need to reply.

What would be ideal is the following:

In addition to both a) and b) above, the content text of what's in the message message so I can read it immediately without clicking on the link. Then, if I want to "reply", I can then click on the link.

Also, if this was the case, each reply would need to be emailed, not just the first one (any subscriber should know what I mean by this).

Perhaps vBulletin should be aware of this and implement message delivery.

Unless you insist we visit the web site just to "read" the message, this would make things far more efficient.

Please feel free to forward this posting to vBulletin as a modification suggestion.

I will be keeping tabs and reading all the replies to this thread. However, I'll have to come to the web site each time.

FromLine · 20 Jun 2002, 05:04 AM

Just curious, does vBulletin offer this as an option? The ability to have the text of the postings delivered rather than just the link, for quick reading?

I like the ability to post a question in a forum, click "email me replies to this thread", and have all responses, in readable form, in my inbox.

Of course, replying requires clicking on the link to return to the forum, but for "read only" mode, if this is possible, it would save a lot of time.

lux · 20 Jun 2002, 05:10 AM

I have to disable this option because I get lots of emails telling me the same thing (click on the link to "read" the message)...

FromLine · 20 Jun 2002, 05:18 AM

Clicking on the link is an additional unnecessary step, especially if not interested in replying.

It's very simple to deliver the content of the message. That's why I'm wondering, are they doing this intentionally to drive us back to the web site?

What I'm trying to find out here is if there's anything the administrator can do to provide message content delivery, it should be done.

**psalzer** · 20 Jun 2002, 06:36 AM

"Should be done" is a judgement call on the part of the owner of the forum. Plenty don't, so I'm guessing that the default is just to notify the subscriber that a subscribed topic has a new post and that's it. It may well be a hack to include the text and Edwin may not want to get into hacking the board, which is a whole kind of hobby unto itself and can cause complications when you need support for the software, so it's not for everyone.

FromLine · 20 Jun 2002, 06:42 AM

I have to disagree a little on that one. Very very few members here subscribe to message delivery. It works for me because I use filters.

I don't think there's any vulnerability to this site to allow me to read what was posted rather than visiting the site.

Perhaps we can hold off on a discussion on this. For now, I would like to confirm whether or not this is possible.

***Edwin*** · 20 Jun 2002, 07:29 AM

It's not possible in the default configuration, and I am not willing to "hack" the software.

It's funny, I'm fairly sure this question has come up several times before but I can't find the references. Perhaps I'm going mad...

**psalzer** · 20 Jun 2002, 07:30 AM

I think you misunderstood me. I wasn't talking about vulnerablity to the site. The script comes one way out of the box. Some of the features you see on various sites are hacks. Each popular forum has a whole development community developing hacks for them, some of which become features in future versions. I'm just saying that if it's a hack and not a feature, Edwin might not want to get into that. It doesn't always go smoothly and as it alters things in the code, probably wouldn't be supported by vBulletin. So, whether something's possible or not is not always a simple yes or no answer when it comes to things like forum scripts.

FromLine · 20 Jun 2002, 07:36 AM

Thanks Edwin and psalzer. Wasn't familiar with the hack terminology.

I've been following the email delivery postings fairly regulary and I don't think this specific matter has been addressed before.

We started discussing lack of email delivery before we even had notification by email, then you updated the software and it got fixed.

We did once have a thread about "posting and replying" to messages by email (like in Yahoo! Groups, MSN Groups, etc.) and that matter was resolved with that it was not supported.

To the best of my knowledge, I don't recall the specific matter of "read only" message delivery, but then again, I could be going mad.

When I started this thread, it was primarily an emphasis that I think this is something that vBulletin should consider implementing into it's software and was hoping that maybe this thread could be forwarded to them for consideration.

***Edwin*** · 20 Jun 2002, 07:47 AM

Actually this is something that has been discussed several times on the VB support forums, and some people are pushing (inconclusively so far) for it to be included in version 3.0. It's a common request.

FromLine · 29 Jun 2002, 02:28 AM

This seems like a no-brainer. If vBulletin is capable of offering this, they should fully implement it instead of strategizing by forcing users to visit the web site each time.

It's a waste of time to have to click on a link each time just to read a couple of words of text where someone might post "I agree"

Also,

Is this forum:
http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/

Limited to subcribers of the service only?

Anyway, I emailed this thread to info@vbulletin.com

esTester · 29 Jun 2002, 02:58 AM

This topic seems so familiar to me too Edwin. I am pretty sure the answer stays no though, as long as they don't implement it into the software themselves.

FromLine · 29 Jun 2002, 07:22 AM

Edwin,

I sent this thread to vBulletin.com by email and got the following response:

Quote:

From "vBulletin Support Team" <contact@vbulletin.com>
Date Fri, 28 Jun 2002 12:14 PM
To fb19@fb19.com
Subject: Re: [SID-15834-8d747780] Email Notification vs. Message Content Delivery - vBulletin Issue

Thank you for your suggestion. Currently this can already be done by adding the appropriate variable to one of the templates. In fact I have done exactly this on one of my forums. If the vB owner needs more information, please have him/hetr contact us.

Please let me know if you require any further assistance.

All the best,
Steve Machol
Support Team, vBulletin

http://www.vbulletin.com/
mailto:support@vbulletin.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you would like to post a followup (or reply) to your query via email, please email contact@vbulletin.com being sure to include this text in the subject:
[SID-15834-8d747780]

To view your query online, please visit this address:
http://www.vbulletin.com/contact/iss...hcode=8d747780

***Edwin*** · 29 Jun 2002, 10:23 AM

Ok, I didn't realise there was a work-around... But there is a second reason for not doing it - put bluntly, I don't want to end up running a mailing list!

This is a discussion forum. People come, they browse around and then post or leave. If even a couple of hundred people switch primarily to email format out of the over 3,000 registered users, then given the volume of posts I'd be pumping out tens of thousands of emails a day - not a pleasant prospect!

As things are now, people (generally) only subscribe to threads when they post to them, and the email volumes are MUCH lower.

FromLine · 29 Jun 2002, 06:37 PM

Edwin,

I think you're getting the wrong idea about this. This is NOT going to be an "Email list".

People would not be "posting" messages by email.

People would only be receiving messages of forums the participate in.

I just got an email notification that you replied to this forum thread as follows:

Quote:

Subject: Reply to post 'Email Notification vs. Message Content Delivery'

From: "EmailDiscussions.com Mailer" <info@emailaddresses.com>
Date: Fri, 28 Jun 2002 21:23:17 -0400

Hello fb19,

Edwin has just replied to a thread you have subscribed to entitled -
Email Notification vs. Message Content Delivery - in the About this
site... forum of EmailDiscussions.com.

This thread is located at:
http://www.emaildiscussions.com/...4&goto=newpost

There may be other replies also, but you will not receive any more
notifications until you visit the board again.

Yours,
EmailDiscussions.com team

If what's requested is implemented, what I would receive instead is:

Quote:

Edwin has replied as follows:

Ok, I didn't realise there was a work-around... But there is a second reason for not doing it - put bluntly, I don't want to end up running a mailing list!

This is a discussion forum. People come, they browse around and then post or leave. If even a couple of hundred people switch primarily to email format out of the over 3,000 registered users, then given the volume of posts I'd be pumping out tens of thousands of emails a day - not a pleasant prospect!

As things are now, people (generally) only subscribe to threads when they post to them, and the email volumes are MUCH lower.
----------------
To reply to this, go to
http://www.emaildiscussions.com/...3360#post43360

I participate in the Criagslist forums at http://forums.craigslist.org - there's an option to receive emails to READ the replies by email of threads that you participate in.

IT DOES NOT IMPACT THE NUMBER OF POSTINGS IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM.

In fact, if anything, it would REDUCE the number of postings. People would simply be able to READ the content of what was posted WITHOUT having to visit the web site, whereby going to the web site (as we are FORCED to do currently) we MUST visit the web site.

You are by no means whatsover running an "Email List"

Facts:

1) People would ONLY receive notifications (as we do now) of only threads we participate in.

2) Those that "elect" to do so, would receive what is typed when someone replied to a thread only with the text.

THEY WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO REPLY BY EMAIL. If the user wanted to reply, they must then click on the link, and go to the web site.

This is extremely common in forums for READ ONLY MODE to get emails of what's typed in forums you participate in.

I get notified by email each and every time someone replies to a thread I participate in, as demontrated in quote 1 above. It is such a pain in the nect to FORCE me to click on a link, visit the web site, to read the message.

If I have no interest in "replying" to what's posted, there's no reason for me to waste time visiting the web page.

This has absolutely no bearing on the volume of posts whatsover.

If you need clarification or input on this, please take a look at the Craigslist forums as an example. Also, Craig Newmark - craig@craigslist.org - could provide some valuable input on this.

This is quite simply receiving quote 2 by email instead of quote 1. More than 1/2 the time, I don't respond to posts, I just come her and read them. I shouldn't have to come to the web site to read the message, especially if I have absolutely no interest in replying. Reply would require clicking on the forum link.

Posting should only be done on the web site (and that's the current format). But users should not be FORCED to visit the web site just to READ a reply, and this would only be people that ELECT to receive responses by email delivery.

I recall some dicussion we had sometime ago on this and I think you were confused about that part of it before.

I'm sure many users on this forum would appreciate this as an option so as not to be FORCED to visit the web site for READ mode only.

Not interested in responding - delete message.

Interested in repsonding - click on link

Currently, one must come here regardless just to find out what, if anything, was typed.

This DOES NOT make it a "Mailing List" and only those that choose to would receive messages ONLY to threads they participate in.

In fact, you might be costing yourself more in bandwidth by visiting the site, and the emailing (which this forum is doing now) is all automated anyway based on the preferences we choose.

Check Box Option:

Quote:

Email Notification: emails sent to you whenever someone replies. Only registered users are eligible.

(only if the box is checked)

P.S.

Please don't take the "3,000" users as a means of traffic on this board. There are many idle users and users come and go. There's maybe a dozen or two that actually post here religiously and there are many many many idle members.

You're "pumping out" the emails anyway - except, you're pumping out useless notification messages instead of message text content (quote 1 vs. quote 2). The volume would only pertain to dedicated users who want email delivery - only to threads they participate in.

Here's what an email delivery in the Craigslist forum looks like. I post a question, I get a reply as follows:

Quote:

From "craigslist forums" <nobody@craigslist.org>
Date Tue, 18 Jun 2002 9:07 PM
Cc recipient list not shown@, @
Subject lots of options!

this just in at "Eateries & Cuisine" :

----------------------------------------------

lots of options! <Article27> 2002-06-18 22:07:06

Here's a bit of information I found while researching health tips for my parents recently:

First, don't count out herbs! Many, such as oregano, dill, thyme and rosemary are burgeoning with cancer-fighting antioxidants. Thyme also helps circulation.

Cumin, used widely in Indian, Mediterranean and Latin American cuisine, is also believed to be an anticancer agent (and soooo tasty). This is definitely my favorite spice.

Finally, try using citrus juices, like orange, lemon and lime. They add a lot of flavor and their health benefits are plenty. Try drizzling it over your food while it's cooking to add a tasty zing.

All of these suggestions are great for steak and chicken.

Happy cooking!

----------------------------------------------
view: http://forums.craigslist.org/login/?ID=1710005
----------------------------------------------

In the above food forum, I posted a question about what no-salt low-sodium spices I can add to chicken or meats. Because I elected "email me replies", I get the above by email to read the message. If I want to reply, I must then visit the forum.

In that forum, they send me the reply itself.

In this forum, you send me an email telling me, "You have a reply, but we're not going to tell you what it is. You must visit the web page, becuase we're not going to make this easy for you. We're emailing you anyway, but we're omiting the content so must visit the web page, whether you want to reply or not, just so you can read the response of the thread you participated in".

You're sending me an email link anway. Just add the content to it.

Although some services like Yahoo Groups and MSN Groups do allow users to "Post" messages by email, this is not that at all. This is reading the replies by email and posting still requires visiting the page.

6 Jun 2002, 02:57 PM	#1
FromLine The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 2,620	Email Notification vs. Message Content Delivery Each time someone replies to a thread I participate in, I get a "notification" email telling me a) The title of the thread and b) Who replied If I want to read it, I then have to click on the link just to "read" the message. Most of the time, I go to the forum just to "read" the message, but I have no need to reply. What would be ideal is the following: In addition to both a) and b) above, the content text of what's in the message message so I can read it immediately without clicking on the link. Then, if I want to "reply", I can then click on the link. Also, if this was the case, each reply would need to be emailed, not just the first one (any subscriber should know what I mean by this). Perhaps vBulletin should be aware of this and implement message delivery. Unless you insist we visit the web site just to "read" the message, this would make things far more efficient. Please feel free to forward this posting to vBulletin as a modification suggestion. I will be keeping tabs and reading all the replies to this thread. However, I'll have to come to the web site each time. Last edited by FromLine : 7 Jun 2002 at 03:09 AM.

29 Jun 2002, 02:28 AM	#11
FromLine The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 2,620	vBulletin Forum Participation This seems like a no-brainer. If vBulletin is capable of offering this, they should fully implement it instead of strategizing by forcing users to visit the web site each time. It's a waste of time to have to click on a link each time just to read a couple of words of text where someone might post "I agree" Also, Is this forum: http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/ Limited to subcribers of the service only? Anyway, I emailed this thread to info@vbulletin.com Last edited by FromLine : 29 Jun 2002 at 02:57 AM.

20 Jun 2002, 05:04 AM	#2
FromLine The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 2,620	Just curious, does vBulletin offer this as an option? The ability to have the text of the postings delivered rather than just the link, for quick reading? I like the ability to post a question in a forum, click "email me replies to this thread", and have all responses, in readable form, in my inbox. Of course, replying requires clicking on the link to return to the forum, but for "read only" mode, if this is possible, it would save a lot of time.

20 Jun 2002, 05:10 AM	#3
lux The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 2,274	I have to disable this option because I get lots of emails telling me the same thing (click on the link to "read" the message)...

20 Jun 2002, 05:18 AM	#4
FromLine The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 2,620	Clicking on the link is an additional unnecessary step, especially if not interested in replying. It's very simple to deliver the content of the message. That's why I'm wondering, are they doing this intentionally to drive us back to the web site? What I'm trying to find out here is if there's anything the administrator can do to provide message content delivery, it should be done.

20 Jun 2002, 06:36 AM	#5
psalzer Moderator Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 2,654	"Should be done" is a judgement call on the part of the owner of the forum. Plenty don't, so I'm guessing that the default is just to notify the subscriber that a subscribed topic has a new post and that's it. It may well be a hack to include the text and Edwin may not want to get into hacking the board, which is a whole kind of hobby unto itself and can cause complications when you need support for the software, so it's not for everyone.

20 Jun 2002, 06:42 AM	#6
FromLine The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 2,620	I have to disagree a little on that one. Very very few members here subscribe to message delivery. It works for me because I use filters. I don't think there's any vulnerability to this site to allow me to read what was posted rather than visiting the site. Perhaps we can hold off on a discussion on this. For now, I would like to confirm whether or not this is possible.

20 Jun 2002, 07:29 AM	#7
*Edwin* Administrator Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: UK Posts: 3,118	It's not possible in the default configuration, and I am not willing to "hack" the software. It's funny, I'm fairly sure this question has come up several times before but I can't find the references. Perhaps I'm going mad...

20 Jun 2002, 07:30 AM	#8
psalzer Moderator Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 2,654	I think you misunderstood me. I wasn't talking about vulnerablity to the site. The script comes one way out of the box. Some of the features you see on various sites are hacks. Each popular forum has a whole development community developing hacks for them, some of which become features in future versions. I'm just saying that if it's a hack and not a feature, Edwin might not want to get into that. It doesn't always go smoothly and as it alters things in the code, probably wouldn't be supported by vBulletin. So, whether something's possible or not is not always a simple yes or no answer when it comes to things like forum scripts.

20 Jun 2002, 07:36 AM	#9
FromLine The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 2,620	Thanks Edwin and psalzer. Wasn't familiar with the hack terminology. I've been following the email delivery postings fairly regulary and I don't think this specific matter has been addressed before. We started discussing lack of email delivery before we even had notification by email, then you updated the software and it got fixed. We did once have a thread about "posting and replying" to messages by email (like in Yahoo! Groups, MSN Groups, etc.) and that matter was resolved with that it was not supported. To the best of my knowledge, I don't recall the specific matter of "read only" message delivery, but then again, I could be going mad. When I started this thread, it was primarily an emphasis that I think this is something that vBulletin should consider implementing into it's software and was hoping that maybe this thread could be forwarded to them for consideration.

20 Jun 2002, 07:47 AM	#10
*Edwin* Administrator Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: UK Posts: 3,118	Actually this is something that has been discussed several times on the VB support forums, and some people are pushing (inconclusively so far) for it to be included in version 3.0. It's a common request.

29 Jun 2002, 02:58 AM	#12
esTester Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 968	This topic seems so familiar to me too Edwin. I am pretty sure the answer stays no though, as long as they don't implement it into the software themselves.

29 Jun 2002, 10:23 AM	#14
*Edwin* Administrator Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: UK Posts: 3,118	Ok, I didn't realise there was a work-around... But there is a second reason for not doing it - put bluntly, I don't want to end up running a mailing list! This is a discussion forum. People come, they browse around and then post or leave. If even a couple of hundred people switch primarily to email format out of the over 3,000 registered users, then given the volume of posts I'd be pumping out tens of thousands of emails a day - not a pleasant prospect! As things are now, people (generally) only subscribe to threads when they post to them, and the email volumes are MUCH lower.