Changes to Forums notifications
Posted , 15 users are following.
Hi,
We wanted to let you know about some changes to the way that Patient.info Forum updates are set to be delivered.
After looking at our data along with feedback from a number of users, we realised that some users were receiving a huge number of emails from us as a result of activity on the forums.
While we realise that some users welcome regular updates, for the majority it was a bit of an issue and it also meant that some email providers stopped important updates from reaching our users.
As a result, we're making the following changes in the coming weeks:
- Browser notifications for Private Messages and Replies
Instead of (or alongside, if you choose) receiving email updates, you will now be able to opt in to browser notifications. This will reduce the number of updates that you get to your inbox and allow you to instantly access new messages.
Simply click "Allow" on the prompts when you next visit Patient.info Forums or visit your settings notifications page to update your settings if you want to opt into these notifications.
- Changes to forum emails
•You will now only receive emails for forum replies and private messages.
•New discussions from your groups will not trigger an email.
•You will only receive reply emails for messages posted directly to youinstead of all replies in a thread.
•You can still see all notifications (including new discussions and all replies) by visiting your notifications page.
These changes are designed to reduce the number of emails that our users receive and highlight the important messages that get through to you.
- Email frequency and format
As well as reducing the number of emails, we're also changing the format of a number of them.
Active users will still continue to receive all emails, however those that take some time away will see their emails grouped together if they have multiple notifications.
Generally, these will be grouped every 6 hours, 24 hours and 7 days, with a roundup including a highlighted comment and the total number of notifications.
Again, we're looking to reduce the number of emails clogging up your inbox and improving our communication with you to highlight the things that matter to our users.
We hope that you continue to enjoy the Patient Forums and if you wish to change any of your settings, you can edit all of your communications preferences here.
1 like, 74 replies
ptolemy Emis_Moderator
Edited
I use an iPad Pro and have stopped receiving any emails since your post. No replies, no new emails, also no pop-up.
Emis_Moderator ptolemy
Posted
Hi ptolemy,
You will not get the pop-up on an iPad - as per comment above iOS do not support browser push notifications at this time.
You may not have received emails because there have not been any replies directly to you in discussions you are following and as above you do not now receive them for new discussions. You should receive an email for this reply if they are switched on in your settings. Let me know if you do or if you do not I will check the situation tomorrow.
Alan
ptolemy Emis_Moderator
Edited
Looks like it worked OK. I must admit I am quite confused how I get emails. I would like to get emails for new posts and also all posts for items I have clicked that I want to receive as before, which seems is what you are trying to get rid of as some people don't like lots of emails.
EileenH Emis_Moderator
Edited
I have just come onto the site looking for something - and now see I have 12 unread posts/replies. The most recent is 3 hours ago, the oldest a day ago - I haven't had a single email notification and I have changed nothing. As I said, the pop-up thing did appear once but was meaningless to me as at that stage you hadn't told us anything. I obviously chose the wrong response and am being punished for my ignorance! I have no objection to the pop-up notifications, I get them for other sites but I don't want for here, I want to choose when I look without having them all mixed up with the ones I do use.
I get exactly what Nick means - I often get a few notifications for a single thread - I don't open all of them, I open one and delete the rest. And if there were a wishing tree it would be to turn back the things that have been changed on this forum over past years. Every single time this forum has slumped and then slowly built up again - only to be slapped down again.
I'm only still here out of a passion for work relating to PMR/GCA and a degree of nostalgia for the site that led to the founding of PMRGCANE and PMRGCAuk. I am a reasonably tech-savvy retired graduate who thought she was pretty bright despite PMR. But your post and your other replies are just so much gobbledegook to me. I am learning-by-doing person - reading it without a tutorial is not my way of learning. And I bet I'm not the only one.
Emis_Moderator EileenH
Posted
Hi Eileen,
See my post at the bottom of this discussion. Replying directly as I know you won't get a notification about my post as I replied to myself. This is a known reported bug not to do with the recent change. Can you let me know if you get an email for this reply please.
Alan
EileenH Emis_Moderator
Edited
I did, yes thank you. According to the post it arrived 10 mins after,
ptolemy Emis_Moderator
Edited
I am not impressed with the changes, before I had an email for all new items I was interested in and nothing else unless I had pressed FOLLOW which was great, now I get nothing unless I search for the URL for Patient.co.uk. I then get a list of notifications of posts. Once I have read the post I then have to go back to the notification URL to see if there is anything else. I have used this board for over five years and I really feel like giving up and finding some other source such as Facebook, God forbid.
lodgerUK_NE ptolemy
Edited
ptolemy
I migrated to PMRGCAUK on Healthunlocked. I have been on computers from when Merlin was introduced. This change this time.............forget it.
Emis_Moderator ptolemy
Posted
Hi ptolemy,
See my post at the bottom of this discussion. Replying directly as I know you won't get a notification about my post as I replied to myself. This is a known reported bug not to do with the recent change. Can you let me know if you get an email for this reply please.
Alan
ptolemy Emis_Moderator
Posted
Hi Alan, I did get a post about your reply OK. It is the initial posts that I don't get which I always have done until the changes took place in the last few days. It is a real pain having to use the Notifications and really wastes time.
EileenH ptolemy
Edited
You can say that again!!!
Emis_Moderator
Edited
Hi all,
This morning I have been talking about this discussion and your feedback/concerns with my manager. The outcome is I will be posting a new discussion in all of the most active forum groups asking users for their top priorities to make using the forums a better experience. We will take those suggestions to compile a survey that users can vote on and the most voted for ideas will be done and put live in one release to the site.
We will also share these changes (screenshots etc) for user input before we release them to make sure we get it right.
I have already asked that the notifications page is improved to include discussion titles and snippet text in each entry. I've also asked that notifications are deleted after a certain time (to be decided) as at the moment they just build up and may explain slowness.
Specifically re the notifications/emails changes - I have passed on the comments and this is being looked at to see if we can possibly reinstate on an individual user basis.
Please do not post suggestions in this discussion, I will get the new one up in the next day or two.
I cannot give you a timescale for this just now but I will keep users updated when I can and I do read all of your comments and pass on when required.
Thank you in advance for your patience.
Alan
EileenH Emis_Moderator
Edited
Being allowed the choice would be enough - not having the site dictate.
EileenH Emis_Moderator
Edited
And this has just illustrated the ridiculous situation: I arrived to find 8 new notifications. But no indication WHICH particular discussion. They were all "... has replied to Emis_Moderator in a discussion by Emis_Moderator" so it is fair to assume it is THIS discussion. But they could have been in 2 discussions or 4 discussions or even 8 discussion - WHO wrote the original post is immaterial. To see them all I must click on each individual one at 15 seconds a time plus reading time.
ptolemy EileenH
Edited
Not only don't we know who wrote the post originally, we don't even know what it is about. Did whoever designed the changes actually sit down and see how it would work?
EileenH ptolemy
Edited
Don't be silly!!!!!!
Emis_Moderator EileenH
Edited
The changes I have requested to the page are as below:
Examples:
Ptolemy has replied to Emis_Moderator in:
Changes to forum notifications
Not only don't we know who wrote the post originally, we don't even know what it is about. Did whoever designed the changes actually ...
.
EileenH has replied to you in:
Changes to forum notifications
And this has just illustrated the ridiculous situation: I arrived to find 8 new notifications. But no indication WHICH particular discussion. They were all "...
.
lbh has started a new discussion in the Polymyalgia Rheumatica and GCA group
Splitting the dose
Hi everyone, my clinical pharmacist has suggested that splitting my dose - I've managed to get to 7mg so take half am and half pm - is going to ...
.
The italic snippet text I've added is just for example, not sure how much we can put in. Let me know if this looks ok and/or suits your needs.
I don't know if it will help but while you are on notifications page on a laptop/PC if you press CTRL and click this opens each link in a new tab. You can then read each one in these tabs and when finished close them. Once back on notifications page do Ctrl/F5 or Ctrl/R to refresh the page. This will mark any/all opened in tabs as read without having to select each one and clicking the button. If you don't open any in a new tab they will remain as unread on page.
For iPad/Android - Touch and hold the link, then tap Open in New Tab. Or, tap the link with two fingers.
EileenH Emis_Moderator
Posted
"This will mark them all as read without having to select each one and clicking the button."
Does that mean that it will mark only the ones you have read as read if you break off in the middle?
EileenH
Posted
Forgot to say that yes, I think that would help - HU sends the first bit of the post, if it is less than a couple of lines you see it all, so that if someone has been polite and said thank you but nothing else you can ignore it.
Emis_Moderator EileenH
Posted
Does that mean that it will mark only the ones you have read as read if you break off in the middle? - Yes
I have posted the feedback discussion btw, pinned in group and unpinned this discussion. I am adding it to a load of other groups now.
Emis_Moderator EileenH
Posted
I've edited my post above about refreshing the page.
ptolemy Emis_Moderator
Edited
Why can't we just get the initial post emailed to us as before and the we choose if we want to see the replies. How many people were complaining about the number of posts? surely they want to see the initial post if they have signed up to that forum?
Emis_Moderator ptolemy
Posted
Hi ptolemy,
As mentioned further up the discussion we were sending over 3 million of these emails a month with less than 500 of them being opened so it was a huge waste of resources.
The problem was/is whenever a user posts a discussion they are joined to the group and may not post again, a lot of users sign up and only join a lot of groups but never post etc. So we end up with thousands of members across hundreds of groups not using the emails.
As I commented above - "Specifically re the notifications/emails changes - I have passed on the comments and this is being looked at to see if we can possibly reinstate on an individual user basis."
This is actively being investigated, I'll post the outcome when available.
ptolemy Emis_Moderator
Edited
I appreciate the problem. I think I would try and clear up the members rather than changing the system. I run a discussion board and anyone who has not used it for 1000 days gets an email saying we are going to zap them. We then zap them totally with an email if we have not heard anything after a period of time.
EileenH Emis_Moderator
Edited
All I can say is that a lot of those emails being opened must have been us!!!! I also explained why a lot aren't opened. Just one per day per thread when used would do. But sod this "find out for yourself" attitude!
nick67069 Emis_Moderator
Edited
How about reinstating email notification, but asking members to "opt -in" or out?
The default would be -no email notification. That would filter out all members who do not participate in the forums
nick67069 Emis_Moderator
Edited
Another improvement would be if we had "Mark as read" tick box as part of the post, in addition to notification page. For example as I read discussion between you , Eileen and Ptolemy I should be able to check off all those messages that I read, rather then go back and forth to notification page and thread I am reading.
Note: Duplicate post -Because I was going between thread and notification page I endup posting this comment to your other post.