Auto-subscribing to a thread

Seanie,

I think the point you are missing is that different people have different requirements.
Some people want it, some people don't.
Saying that "people" wanted it and now "people" don't is missing the point.

In the "ideal" world, this feature would be adjustable by each user.
i.e. if I wanted to get notifications, I would just tick a box in my user profile.
Alternatively, if I didn't want to receive notification, I would untick the box in my user profile.

With the software we have at the mo, it would appear that this feature can only be changed as a global setting for all users by the administrator.

The idea of the poll, if we could even run one, was that the majority would decide what the global setting would be for all users.

Michael.

michaeloconnell wrote:

Seanie,

I think the point you are missing is that different people have different requirements.
Some people want it, some people don't.

Um, no, that is the point!

Seanie.

Seanie_Morris wrote:

People wanted a topic notification of some sort in place

And the 'some sort' of one that was there was grand.
EG
If you WANT to be notified of EVERY SINGLE reply to a thread - Tick Here.

Seanie_Morris wrote:

Now you DON'T want that.

No, what people DON'T want is to HAVE to UNCHECK a tick box for EVERY
thread they reply to.


If you are finding that there are two camps then
would it not be easier to just run a poll and be done with it
rather than again wagging the finger at us pesky users.

The old site had the option of each user being able to turn on/off notifications as s/he saw fit. This worked.

The new site doesn't currently have that ability. There is the ability, at admin level, to do this on a global basis. When the site first went live, the global setting was to allow notifications by default, with each user having to actively turn it off if they didn't want notifications. This was then changed on the basis of feedback from some users a few weeks after the new site went live.

Then there was more feedback that users wanted the global setting changed back. This has been done in the last few weeks.

Now we have more feedback from users that want it changed back to a "no notification by default" setting.

Or at least that's my recollection...


The choices we have, as far as I can see them, are this:

1. Keep to-ing and fro-ing between the two groups depending on who makes the most noise
2. Have a poll that determine what the majority wants (i.e. objectively figure out which group has the largest number in favour of their position)
3. Let the web team implement the new software gizmo in the near future and do away with the to-ing and fro-ing...

Option 1 will drive the web team nuts and the two groups will be at each other trying to make more and more noise in favour of their position
Option 2 will be a temporary fix that will annoy one of the two groups but would at least be democratic and based on real data
Option 3 will be a permanent fix satisfying everybody

Option 4 is that we can argue 'til the cows come home.

"Sure, you can just tick the 'notify me box'"
"No, YOU can just tick the 'DON'T notify me' box"
<repeat ad infinitum>

My preference is 'notifications on by default' followed by option 3. Your mileage may vary. But that's my own preference - I know others have a different need and I respect that completely.

For those commenting on "what people want is ...." - there is no empirical evidence either way of "what people want". We just don't know. Right now we're talking preference, speculation and opinion. Nothing more.

So, what do we do?

Hi,

I am looking into a way to set the auto-subscribe through your user profile rather than on the system level.

There is also a new release of the software coming soon that will allow folks to subscribe to a category to get all new topics started in the category as email
This will sort out the issue of new topic notifications

Regards
Darragh

dmcdona wrote:

So, what do we do?

Find out how long it will take to implement the new choices
and if it's gonna take more than say a month,
do a quick poll, go with the majority and
the few week will fly.
I'm sure if it's done in a democratic way
nobody can really complain.

or
we could all just have a big pie fight.

I'm easy either way.