A better method of notification?

[Greg Robson]

This is my third idea so far: I can't wait to learn PHP and MySQL so I can code my ideas )

I noticed that when being notified of replies you often get several e-mails relating to the same post when it's popular. This is annoying as you only need to click one to see your posts.

Post idea: BETTER NOTIFICATION
Purpose: To stop in-boxes being filled with e-mails relating to the same post.

What would it do: (good question!)
This mod would change (or a least give an option to change) how the mod system worked. Instead of sending an e-mail to the user every time a post was made a tally could be kept in the notifications section (might require changing the database ).
When a notification is required the notifications page is updated with the new total. Also it is checked whether an e-mail has been sent in the past [day/3hrs/whatever-the-user-wants] if no e-mail has been sent during this time then an e-mail is sent detailing how many replies have been made on the posts they are being updated about.

This would enable users to cap the e-mails they got each day, and take some of the load of the mail server (granted not that important but there you go)

WHY? Because it saves you having to delete copies of e-mails before checking the new posts.

Any comments or ideas about this post?

[Razgo]

good ideas Gandalf. I think it was mentioned in this thread here. and I think someone is working on this one alrewady for the next release?  


http://www.yabb.info/community/index.php?board=141;action=display;threadid=2589

[Greg Robson]

I think you're right?

I don't know whether this super IM mod will include this, we'll have to wait and see....

[Damien]

FlashKit uses a similar mod.....

You get an email saying that someone has posted a reply, and you do not receive any more notifications until you click the link in your email......

Their site www.flashkit.com

[Greg Robson]

To summarise what I said above:

The general idea is to only send a message every so often (say every 6 hours or a day). When a notification is made it is checked when the last was sent out.
If nothing has been sent out then it is logged that a topic has been updated.
If it [6 hours/a day] since the last e-mail then one is sent out with the following layout:

SUBJECT: 3 Topics have been replied to since your last update!

MESSAGE:
The following messages have been updated since your last update:
1. Topic of discussion x (1 reply)
2. Topic of discussion y (5 replies)
3. Topic of discussion z (8 replies over two pages) 4 5

This way all the very busy topics won't flood your inbox.

[irbrian]

Okay, I was thinking about this last night for some reason.

I like what Gandalf has suggested; however, I don't think keeping a running tally is important, necessarily. All thats important to me is whether or not a particular thread has been updated. So, maybe the mod could just keep track of which threads have been updated. Still, it wouldn't hurt anything to count the number of replies.. and if we're going to do that, we could even keep track of WHO is posting in it.

So:

There should be an option in User or Notification Settings that allows the user to specify the number of days or hours between notification updates. This number, as Gandalf suggested, is a minimum time, not a timer.

The notification function should do the following for each user IF this post has been marked by this user for notification:

1) Check the user's current notification queue to see whether this thread has been added yet. If not, add this thread's subject to the list.
2) Check to see if this poster's name has been added to the notification queue for this thread. If not, add the poster's name to the queue.
3) Increment the Number of Replies for this thread

Now that the list, or "Notification Queue" has been updated, lets find out if its time to send it to the user.

IF the amount of time specified has passed since the last time this user has received notification, then:
1) Set the LastNotification time to the current time
2) Go ahead and send a notification email, including all information about all threads that have been updated.
3) Clear the Notification Queue for this User.


How does that sound?

[Razgo]

there is also another option for this as the cool feature on the xnull XlMinc forum has it that you can actually recieve the the post itself in your email so you can read it without having to go to the site.

[Greg Robson]

Thanks irbrian for your input, I think you've got the idea of what I'm saying. I recognise the fact that the number of posts does not seem important, however, it gives the user an idea of how busy the topic has been since the last visit.

Cheers for the input Razgo although it would be nice to send the message, I think it would be best to provide a link as people may edit their message, thanks for you input anyway, it's always appreciated.

[Razgo]

no worries Gandalf.

no I you can't edit the actual message that arrives in your email. and it is optional. I think it was Zeff Hammel who designed it? I'm not sure. but someone from xnull could explain it better than me anyway.

[Daniel Hofverberg]

There should be an option in User or Notification Settings that allows the user to specify the number of days or hours between notification updates. This number, as Gandalf suggested, is a minimum time, not a timer.

The notification function should do the following for each user IF this post has been marked by this user for notification:

1) Check the user's current notification queue to see whether this thread has been added yet. If not, add this thread's subject to the list.
2) Check to see if this poster's name has been added to the notification queue for this thread. If not, add the poster's name to the queue.
3) Increment the Number of Replies for this thread

Now that the list, or "Notification Queue" has been updated, lets find out if its time to send it to the user.

IF the amount of time specified has passed since the last time this user has received notification, then:
1) Set the LastNotification time to the current time
2) Go ahead and send a notification email, including all information about all threads that have been updated.
3) Clear the Notification Queue for this User.


How does that sound?

That sounds like a very good idea - And necessary to avoid drowning in e-mails if you request notification for more popular threads.

I believe vBulletin uses something similar, although I think their way is that you only receive the first notification until you actually visit the thread in question (which may actually be an even better idea).

Is someone working on something like this (either way - Just something to stop people from drowning in e-mails), or?

[Greg Robson]

I will! (If nobody else is and I can learn PHP as quick as other languages).

[Big P]

Sure, can be done fairly easily. Some nice ideas there too.   I know there is an advanced notification mod, but i dunno if it has what your looking for, i'm not that it does, and thats for perl anyway. I'll take a looksee at the code and see what i come up with.  

[Greg Robson]

Just to echo the IM I sent. Cheers! You make someone learning PHP very happy, I hope to repay everyone's help in mod coding!

[Daniel Hofverberg]

I know there is an advanced notification mod, but i dunno if it has what your looking for, i'm not that it does, and thats for perl anyway.

As far as I can tell, the Advanced Notification mod does not have anything like that - It will still send out e-mails of every new post (so you will probably drown on more popular threads!)...

[irbrian]

That sounds like a very good idea - And necessary to avoid drowning in e-mails if you request notification for more popular threads.

I believe vBulletin uses something similar, although I think their way is that you only receive the first notification until you actually visit the thread in question (which may actually be an even better idea).[./quote]

I thought about this too, because I've seen it in action. That would work very well, too. Though, it'd be nice to be able to actually control how often you receive the messages... so, either way.

Is someone working on something like this (either way - Just something to stop people from drowning in e-mails), or?

They're working on an advanced IM system.. but it won't be completed until some time after the maintenance release has been issued. I think the problem is, no one wants to work on a mod that could be made obsolete or at least broken by a) the maintenance release or b) the IM system update.

Its best to wait until AFTER these have both been released, as they are both likely to change the relevant code significantly.