Newsletter (Anyone remember DNTK?)

sceptre

^ what the logic expression said

Might be worth a try, let's do that.

flogen

ecksor wrote:

Ye do realise that spam is Unsolicited Commercial E-mail? Not "Thing that I signed up for and then realised that I didn't want after all". It doesn't help already overzealous spam filters if they're being trained with non-spam.

I'm not encouraging people to list it as spam, its just likely that the dormant users will do it if they dont want it, that is if they still use the e-mail account they signed up to boards with 3 years ago.

flogen

DeVore

When we did it last time we included a link to the userCP with instructions on how to NOT get it again. If they've forgotten their password they can use the "I forgot my password" option which will resend it to them so they can access it.
Its entirely within their hands.

Alternatively I kinda do like the PM version but not everyone reads their PMs... in fact I'd say at least half of Boards doesnt. Its an option though.

DeV.

SantaHoe

ecksor wrote:

Ye do realise that spam is Unsolicited Commercial E-mail? Not "Thing that I signed up for and then realised that I didn't want after all".

Spam is by no means limited only to commercial interests.
And in this case a regular newsletter would be unsolicited, since (at least when I registered) any administrator email checkbox certainly didn't suggest I would be signing up for any kind of regular email newsletter that didn't concern my account directly.
Of course this is all open to interpretation.
Techically speaking I'm sure there's no problem sending mass emails to people with dead accounts that couldn't care less whats happening on boards.ie, since technically they are recieving email from an administrator.
All I'm suggesting is a bit of consideration for other people and maybe a responsible attitude towards mass emailing.

DeVore

SantaHoe wrote:

Spam is by no means limited only to commercial interests.
And in this case a regular newsletter would be unsolicited, since (at least when I registered) any administrator email checkbox certainly didn't suggest I would be signing up for any kind of regular email newsletter that didn't concern my account directly.
Of course this is all open to interpretation.
Techically speaking I'm sure there's no problem sending mass emails to people with dead accounts that couldn't care less whats happening on boards.ie, since technically they are recieving email from an administrator.
All I'm suggesting is a bit of consideration for other people and maybe a responsible attitude towards mass emailing.

er...

1. "Allow Administrators to email me".... thats pretty damned clear to me!
2. I think we are being *extremely* considerate. We started this thread, we are only emailing people who have that option set to yes and they have a perfectly clear way of opting out.... show me a "spammer" who does that.... Jaysis H Christ, we're talking about a monthly or bi-monthly mail to people who said it was ok! Not genocide!

DeV.

ecksor

I agree. I still want to know what you think that tickbox meant? Ok, you didn't think it meant a newsletter ...

I'm quite alarmed that someone would call this spam or suggest that this is irresponsible mass-mailing. I tend to associate actual spam with dictionary attacks that breaks a large proportion of the the country's e-mail capability in the vague hope that two or three people will buy a few boxes of viagra or sign up to a dodgy porn site. An occasional mail with actual information content sent only to people who actually agreed to let you e-mail them isn't quite there.

SantaHoe

DeVore wrote:

1. "Allow Administrators to email me".... thats pretty damned clear to me!

Surely I can't be the only one who didn't think it read "Sign me up for the boards.ie email newsletter"?

ecksor wrote:

I still want to know what you think that tickbox meant? Ok, you didn't think it meant a newsletter

Well I would have assumed it would be a once-off email directly concerning my account for some reason.
tbh I don't think it should be left up to the user to read between the lines.

DeVore wrote:

they have a perfectly clear way of opting out

Granted, but a significantly less clear way of opting in.

I've had to sign up for various things before, where upon registration they give you these checkboxes, you opt out of them all, and months later they still send you a newsletter... sure there are ways to opt out by signing into your control panel and disabling it from there, if only you could remember that password... granted this boards.ie newsletter includes a password recovery option which is more than I can say for some of the newsletters I get... but getting newsletters you never explicitly signed up for is god damn annoying, and with such a wide scope for interpreting "allow administrators to send you email notices" there are bound to be people who'll be annoyed by recieving your email, and in their eyes you'll be nothing but another spammer they have to either set a filter for, or take time out of their day to have their password recovered and poke around some website control panel.

Not me though, I love the newsletter.

Victor

SantaHoe wrote:

Well I would have assumed it would be a once-off email directly concerning my account for some reason.

So would I.

How about just sending a '5 line' e-mail that says :

"October's newletter is at http://www.boards.ie/newsletter/200410.html

You have been sent this e-mail because you ticked the box at .........

To unscubscribe from this newsletter uncheck that box or click here ....."

PcP

Is the 'allow admin to mail' thing on or off by default? If it's off by default (opt in) and the newsletter clearly shows how to unsubscribe for anyone who didn't expect a regular mail/newsletter then I can't see any problem with it.

People who only used the site for a short while probably used a spam mail account when registering anyway. I tend to when signing up to interwebby stuff so my main mail account doesn't get spammed.

I think it's a great idea, look forward to reading it.

SantaHoe

Is the 'allow admin to mail' thing on or off by default?

Tough question, boards has gone through so many incarnations I doubt the signup and control panel default options have stayed the same all that time.

I'd love to know, just out of curiosity, how many accounts are set to recieve this newsletter vs how many have logged in during the past 6 months.
It just strikes me as a bit lazy that the powers that be can't exclude unused accounts to spare those people some annoyance. (please don't ban me, I still love you)
But there again, it happens all over the intarweb every day, it's no big deal... it might even make some people remember that old boards.ie site they signed up for and come back full time. (the plot thickens!)

Maybe it's yet another reason to delete all those old accounts, although I know you love to hang on to them incase they come back some day... but half of them are probably bubbles anyway.
Actually I recall seeing one of my own troll accounts from my early IGN boards days still in the member list (for the love of God don't ban me!)

Imposter

Would it be a lot of work to put an extra option in the CP and also in the new user sign-up?

Set this option to 'Don't send me a newsletter' by default. Existing users who want the newsletter can change it in their CP and new users can decide when signing up or change it later using their CP if they wish.

DeVore

And then use the "allow Admins to mail me" checkbox for what? We never mail people except for DNTK! Anyway, maybe a PM would work better. I'll have a think.

DeV.

Gordon

Let bubbles co-write it with you!

SantaHoe

DeVore wrote:

And then use the "allow Admins to mail me" checkbox for what?

Just leave it as the super-special-non-specific-surprise-checkbox* that it's always been!

*Biddy: "I checked that 'allow admins to mail me' checkbox the other day Mary, bejyasis I dunno WHAT'S gonna happen!"

DeVore

SantaHoe wrote:

Just leave it as the super-special-non-specific-surprise-checkbox* that it's always been!

*Biddy: "I checked that 'allow admins to mail me' checkbox the other day Mary, bejyasis I dunno WHAT'S gonna happen!"

That seems dumb and pointless.
Hack the system to put in an option that effectively says "let the admins mail me" ... and leave the current options entitled "Let the admins mail me" for a surprise.


Um. Yeah.


DeV.

amp

Well I don't mind Admins mailing me, but I'd like to have the choice of being signed up to a newsletter or not. In the same way that I don't remember giving Suited Aces permission to mail me newsletters. Not that I mind of course but it'd be nice to have been asked.

I really don't understand why, with the vast technological wonder that is boards.ie, with it's webserver and database server and with the vast wealth of webdesign skills that boards contains, why you want to e-mail people, and the only way they will be able to prevent it is by blocking ALL admin e-mail.

I'd prefer if boards had a content area, with a main news section, were people could write columns, were Pix n Mix photoshoppers could be rewarded with their work being displayed. It would generate revenue from google ads, etc and attract more people to boards, especially those not interested in forums.

Just my 2c

DeVore

Thats not a bad idea itself, but content isnt our problem. Its the fact that people have to know about it to go and get it and that most people read email or PM's faster then announcements or stickys.

I'll think about it some more. Frankly I'm not sure I can be bothered now tbh.

DeV.

Agent Smith

what is/was DNTK? thats what i want to know...


altho i back this idea, i think a pm version might not go astray, i'd prefare it then a e-mail....

amp

DeVore wrote:

Thats not a bad idea itself, but content isnt our problem. Its the fact that people have to know about it to go and get it and that most people read email or PM's faster then announcements or stickys.

So pm them about the new content pages, word of mouth will do the rest.

I'll think about it some more. Frankly I'm not sure I can be bothered now tbh.

Um why? You wanted feedback and people gave it.

DeVore

Actually they did. You're right.

A couple of people objected, most were enthusiastic. Why I got bogged down arguing, looking for 100% agreement I dont know. If you dont want a newsletter, turn off your Admin Email option now. It will arrive by PM.


DeV.

delly

I go straight to the /vbulletin page, so i wouldn't see anything on the main page, just so you know. Others may do the same

About 2 weeks or so ago DeV had a sticky on the top of every forum asking us to take part in the ireland offline Q&A, i found that pretty useful in terms of bringing my atention to something currently active

smoke.me.a.kipper

DeVore wrote:

Actually they did. You're right.

A couple of people objected, most were enthusiastic. Why I got bogged down arguing, looking for 100% agreement I dont know. If you dont want a newsletter, turn off your Admin Email option now. It will arrive by PM.


DeV.

horray!!

SantaHoe

DeVore wrote:

That seems dumb and pointless.

Such is life.

po0k

I enjoyed reading DNTK back in the day

Lost all my old copies of it.


Speaking of which, PsycoBabble.

DeVore

wow... Psychobabble... I still have my old copies of that and sometimes reread my writing (purely for the toecurling clumsyness of my language back then!). 5 years from now I'll be looking back at my journal on Boards in much the same way!

DeV.

Raphael

Or

even...

Victor

Look, it's Bubbles, high priest of resurrection.

SyxPak wrote:

Mercury_Tilt

This post has been deleted.

Agent Smith

what is/was DNTK? thats what i want to know...



please!

Victor

agent smith wrote:

what is/was DNTK? thats what i want to know... please!

You don't need to know, so I'm not telling you.