Notify if user does not receive copies of Private Messages in their email.

[starwatcher]

Title:
Notify if user does not receive copies of Private Messages in their email.

Area:
Profile page and private messaging

Summary:
A note that "this user does not receive emails of private messages" - or something like that - would allow other users to seek another method of contact.

Description:
On our profile page is a handy little link for another user to click and send a Private Message.

But some users are more savvy about using services / setting up their studios than others. Recently, a friend discovered that they'd never enabled delivery of private messages to their email address... and they did not know to check their inbox. When they discovered this oversight, some waiting messages were over a year old.

The setup to manage notifications looks pretty self-explanatory to me; I don't think you can improve it. BUT, if someone has NOT enabled email delivery of Private Messages - whether deliberately or through oversight - it would be useful to have an automatic 'warning' appear under the Private Message link. I'm thinking of something like, "This user does not receive emails of Private Messages."

This would serve two purposes:

1] Alert those who want to contact the user that another method might be more effective.

2] Alert the user (when they visit their profile page) that they need to change 'something' in order to receive PMs via email.

I don't suppose this is a major problem, but it affects how we socialize with other people. When we send a message, how long do we wait before pressing for an answer? If we're patient, did the intended recipient actually SEE the message? If we take another route to send a message (email, comment on post) after a few days, are we pushing someone who's already bogged down with more important issues? In this specific case, the user who discovered the mistake had months-old supportive messages; they were mortified that they hadn't answered the senders.

I can't think of any drawbacks; it seems a simple notification of the state of a particular DW studio, no different from the profile page showing who is subscribed or has access to who.

Poll #3902 Notify if user does not receive copies of Private Messages in their email.

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 44

View Respondents

This suggestion:

View Answers

Should be implemented as-is.
6 (13.6%)

Should be implemented with changes. (please comment)
2 (4.5%)

Shouldn't be implemented.
31 (70.5%)

(I have no opinion)
4 (9.1%)

(Other: please comment)
1 (2.3%)

Comments

[ratcreature]

I'm against this. What business is it of other people how I do or do not set up my message delivery? It's not helpful either, for all the other person can tell I might have set all DW email messages to go to a junk folder and never react to them any more than to the inbox. Or maybe even less.

Once a message is sent you just don't know whether the other got it before they react, unless you pick a confirmation option (akin to registered mail). There just is not guarantee, when someone speaks onto a mailbox they don't know how often people check or whether they just delete everything either. It's unfortunate when you miss the setup options for PMs and miss to adjust them for your convenience, but that's not fixed through telling everyone whether you get them mailed or not.

[turlough]

+1