Change 'active subscriptions' to 'notifications'

[nacbrie]

Title:
Change 'active subscriptions' to 'notifications'

Area:
notifications, account settings

Summary:
Change all references to 'active subscriptions' to 'notifications', for consistency and to avoid confusion with reading page subscriptions.

Description:
Dreamwidth (and its FAQs) uses 'notifications' to refer to 'things which the site tells you has happened', and 'subsriptions' to refer to 'things which show up on your reading page'. However, on the account settings page the notifications are referred to as subscriptions: "You are using 11 out of 500 active subscriptions." This, I imagine, is terminology left over from LJ. I suggest that all references to 'active subscriptions' should be changed to 'notifications' (or 'active notifications), for accuracy, consistency and usability.

Poll #2560 Change 'active subscriptions' to 'notifications'

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 40

View Respondents

This suggestion:

View Answers

Should be implemented as-is.
21 (52.5%)

Should be implemented with changes. (please comment)
2 (5.0%)

Shouldn't be implemented.
7 (17.5%)

(I have no opinion)
7 (17.5%)

(Other: please comment)
3 (7.5%)

Comments

[azurelunatic]

This would then conflict with "notifications" as the items that are sent out (to email and the inbox) when something from that list happens.

I support possibly changing it to something besides subscriptions, to avoid confusion about reading page subscriptions and subscriptions that generate notifications, but I absolutely do not want the subscriptions that generate notifications to themselves be called notifications. "Notify me about", sure. "This is a notification", no.

[cesy]

Can we just call them "notification subscriptions" or is that confusing, too?

[sorchasilver]

I think "subscriptions", even if there is potential for it to be confused with reading page subscriptions , is still way better than "notifications" which to me are the emails and inbox messages themselves. I don't actually find it that confusing though - both ARE forms of subscriptions.

[ratcreature]

Yes. I don't find it confusing either.

[ratcreature]

Maybe "tracked items"? or "tracked conversations"? though personally I don't find it confusing to have two kinds of subscriptions on the site.

[ursamajor]

God, yes, pleeeeease. This was something that was very much confusing my brain trying to write up the code tour last week. >_>

[kyrielle]

If it has to be changed, this. I think 'subscriptions' is clear but if it's not clear to everyone, then this terminology would be what I'd prefer.

[msilverstar]

Use vocabulary consistently, and people will be happier. Inbox vs. Message area vs. notifications vs. reading page vs. subscriptions -- I just get lost.

I particularly dislike using the same word for what shows up in the reading page and what shows up in the inbox. They are very different to me.

[aveleh]

Yeah, I like "track" or "event" or "follow" for root words for a notification subscription. Notifications (as a word, by itself) should definitely be reserved for an actual notification, as opposed to the request for a notification.

[jesse_the_k]

And instead of nounify those verbs, their results could be
track alerts
event alerts
follow alerts

or "signals" instead of "alerts"

(I don't know if this is related, but it sure would be cool to be able to get this info over an RSS feed instead of in my DW inbox.)

[ninetydegrees]

I disagree. To me, subscriptions are events, entries, tags, journals, etc. I can subscribe to, and notifications are the messages I get about things I've subscribed to.

[nacbrie]

The problem is, on the acount page it refers to 'messages you get from Dreamwidth about stuff you follow' as active subscriptions ("you are using X out of Y active subscriptions) but on the FAQs as 'notifications' ("Paid accounts can have Y notifications"). It's using different terminology for the *same thing*, which is a source of intense confusion.

[nacbrie]

But the very same thing is given different names in the account settings and in the FAQs, which is a problem.

[ninetydegrees]

Then I think the FAQs should be changed - and not all of them; FAQ#67 is using "notifications" for messages you get as it should.
Not the other way as you suggested.