AskMeFi email notification?

November 25, 2005 8:54 AM

AskMeFi email notification?

I understand for threads that get a lot of replies - an email per response is way too much, and would be more of a hassle than it's worth.

What about a nightly cron job that notifies AskMeFi posters who have checked an "email me to let me know about new replies" box a notice that X number of replies have been posted to their thread? The box could be unchecked by default, of course.

I've found that sometimes, AskMeFi threads that are days old end up getting responses from bored folks who scroll through several pages, so I think this would be useful.
posted by twiggy to Feature Requests at 8:54 AM (11 comments total)

I actually thought this suggestion was a great idea, and might be easier to implement and less of a server strain. But oldtimers seemed to feel that Matt was agin the idea, for some reason.
posted by Gator at 9:04 AM on November 25, 2005

Your My Posts page (now linked from the header) should do the trick for now.

Now, if it put up a little gmail style (5) next to the link in the header to indicate that five of your posts have had recent comments added, that would be fancy indeed, though I imagine not worth the programming or database-querying hassle?
posted by nobody at 9:19 AM on November 25, 2005

A nightly cronjob would be pointless. Posts generally fall off the front page in less than 24 hours, and therefore rarely get any responses after that period. So you'd only get one email.

Just check it the day after you post it.
posted by Plutor at 10:15 AM on November 25, 2005

I'm adding a RSS feed for every thread next week, so you could just use bloglines to track your question's progress. I don't really want to open up all the headaches that sending out loads of email causes.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 10:28 AM on November 25, 2005

A "Questions, not on the front page, with recent posts" page would do the job. It could be a static page generated regularly, and live at a known place, out of the way for those who don't care, reachable for those who do.

I like the idea that questions should have a slightly longer shelf life than their currently all to brief stay on the front page. If there was a way for something like this to generate interest in slightly older questions it would encourage people who have, or find, an answer but don't chance across the question within the first few hours to share it, to the benefit of all.

Checking up on your own previous questions is not the same thing at all.
posted by Quinbus Flestrin at 10:28 AM on November 25, 2005

Quinbus Flestrin, what you're asking for is a recent comments sort for the homepage, which I will add soon too (it's already on the main MeFi homepage).
posted by mathowie (staff) at 10:53 AM on November 25, 2005

Thanks for the responses all, and mathowie of course.. Rock on. I figured email might be headachey.. didn't think about an RSS feed or a recently-commented-on page.. great idea.
posted by twiggy at 11:19 AM on November 25, 2005

i remember when i used to get a nightly cronjob.
posted by quonsar at 12:13 PM on November 25, 2005

that cronjob of yours really knew how to rotate the logs, if you know what i mean.
posted by ori at 2:36 PM on November 25, 2005

quonsar is a filthy man fscker, and roots his cats to boot.
posted by loquacious at 2:53 PM on November 25, 2005

I'm adding a RSS feed for every thread next week...

Cool. Does this go for both MeFi and AskMe?

What about a nightly cron job that notifies AskMeFi posters who have checked an "email me to let me know about new replies" box a notice that X number of replies have been posted to their thread?

This may suit you, twiggy.

1. Make a feed from any MeFi or AskMe thread via MetaRSS.
2. Go to RssFwd or RMail and subscribe to your MetaRSS feed via email.
3. Lastly, check your email for any replies. You should get them every hour or so.

The linked sites above all have bookmarklets too, which make it really easy to perform the task of subscribing.

Anyway, looks like you'll only need to wait a week for per thread feeds though. Yes, this will most likely eliminate the need for MetaRSS entirely.
posted by sjvilla79 at 3:26 AM on November 26, 2005 [1 favorite]