Email Notifications

Could you guys make Email notifications on by default that you then turn off?
I'm pretty new to forums and just recently got dependable internet. So imagine my surprise when I realize Hexus notifications don't show up unless you're in the forums. Normally this is no big deal but I just saw that I had won a prize from Fractal. A prize that I did not claim. A prize that will haunt me for quite a while to come. Especially since I'm not sure what it was.

This is my mistake. I get that.

I've just uncurled myself from the fetal position at the loss of a Fractal product.

For the sake of anyone else stupid enough not to familiarize themselves with a site they frequent, could you find a way to show notifications on the main site? Or enable email notifications by default?

IF I remember correctly, it can be enabled by default, though i'd have to check to be sure.

Trouble is, we'd then get deluged in complaints from people that notifications were 'spamming' their in-box when they hadn't asked for them, so why can't they be opt-in, not opt-out?

To be honest, I'd probably be one of them. I don't want ANYTHING, anything at all, emailling me unless I asked for it.

It's not my decision, or at least, not solely my decision, but I'm far more comfortable with notifications by email when people opt to have them rather than defaulting them in unless they opt out. I suspect that would be the majority view.

Makes sense. What about notifications showing up on the main site?

Is that a possibility?

Agree with Saracen, last thing I want is Opt-out emails spamming my inbox. Opt-in with a clear option upon registering seems the best bet to me. Judging by the user CP we can subscribe to threads, might be possible to have a notification saying "You've received a new priority email from Hexus" in that, which would show under the notification button at top right.

Might be a bit of work as I doubt something that specific is included by default. Alternatively just have the Hexus account/designated mod also PM you on site, as well as sending out the email. That way the PM notification will trigger.

If you mean the 'review' site as opposed to forums, then I have two thoughts.

1) It's outside my remit, which is forum-only. So 2) is a guess, and personal opinion.

2) It's no doubt possible, but it'll be a question of programming, and of time/effort involved, priorities, effect on upgrades, etc.

Changing the forum default, if it's where I think it is, means going to the control panel and flipping a switch. But there's a lot of customisation to integrate between the forum engine and the main site, and that is not a two minute job. My guess is that at best, it'll go on a to-do list, if the powers-that-be decide to do it at all, given that it's really easy for members to opt-in to email notifications. Even if it's put on the main site, you'd need a provision for those that don't want it to opt out.

Doing it, I suspect, would also require a significant number of extra forum database queries generated from the main site to the forum db, just to see if there are any, thereby increasing the load on the forums, with a performance hit that'd need to be quantified.

With enough user demand, maybe it'd go forward. But I suspect it's a non-trivial exercise, unlike changing forum default which would be trivial to do, but probably undesirable in backlash.

But as I say, not my remit.

ALWAYS opt in, if anywhere is forcing me to opt out as my choice I will seriously consider not going back.

I could see it doing more harm than good I'm afraid.