Keep Unread November 11, 2011 12:33 PM   Subscribe

Pony request: "Keep unread" for MeMail.

I know, I know, it's supposed to be Spartan, but I've got a memory like a... er... what do you call that thing? Collander? Sieve! I have a memory like a gosh-darn sieve and tend to forget "take care of at home" MeMails after reading them at work. So it would be awesome to have a keep unread feature!
posted by griphus to Feature Requests at 12:33 PM (34 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite

I can say with a certain amount of confidence that this is going to fall into the "we're not adding any more features to memail" bucket. It seems like something that's just not going to give much bang for the buck.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 12:38 PM on November 11, 2011


If you're getting enough MeFi Mail that you need to work into a workflow, you might try to switch to standard email where there are more options available to you. Maybe you could put your email address in your profile so people know how to contact you that way.
posted by pb (staff) at 12:42 PM on November 11, 2011


You could just enable the "Forward MeFi Mail to email" option, and do the "take care at home" from your email inbox.
posted by bjrn at 12:51 PM on November 11, 2011 [2 favorites]


Google Docs and Google Maps previews in MeMail would be awesome.
posted by KokuRyu at 1:12 PM on November 11, 2011


Personally I just leave notes to myself scattered about the site itself.

pick up some soy milk on the way home you dickless bastard
posted by shakespeherian at 1:20 PM on November 11, 2011 [1 favorite]


This should be possible to code using something like Greasemonkey.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 1:22 PM on November 11, 2011


This should be possible to code using something like Greasemonkey.

Yeah, but it'd be a pain. You could simulate the unread status in the messages list fairly easily, but I think it'd be a pain to get the new message count/indicator correct in the header.
posted by pb (staff) at 1:25 PM on November 11, 2011


If you're getting enough MeFi Mail that you need to work into a workflow...

That's not the issue. The issue is "I need to read this email right away to see if it is high priority" and then "No it isn't, so leave it unread so I remember to do it later".

And I can't favorite this request enough. I dread getting MeMail because of the lack of this feature. I know I'll have to immediately compose a reply, which kind of defeats the purpose of asynchronous communications.
posted by DU at 1:38 PM on November 11, 2011


You can Search MeFi Mail here.
posted by pb (staff) at 1:43 PM on November 11, 2011


I dread getting MeMail because of the lack of this feature.

Can you check the option to "forward MeFi Mail to email"? You could mark it unread there, or star it, or whatever your email client supports.
posted by pb (staff) at 1:45 PM on November 11, 2011


The issue is "I need to read this email right away to see if it is high priority" and then "No it isn't, so leave it unread so I remember to do it later".

That is a workflow, isn't it? You're asking the system to give you a means of tracking priority (albeit in the way that most people leverage standard mail clients to provide that means, even though that isn't the intended purpose.)
posted by davejay at 1:50 PM on November 11, 2011


I don't want to put my email address because I don't want mefites to know my full name (sorry) and I don't want to have another separate email address for metafilter

I'm pretty sure you can do the "forward to email" thing without having your email be displayed.
posted by kmz at 2:05 PM on November 11, 2011


Has the age of electronic communication really destroyed the basic human ability to organise oneself, even at the simple level of, oh, I dunno, keeping a bloody notebook or something? The idea that code should be changed to cater for something as simple and undemanding as this is pretty excessive.
posted by Decani at 2:11 PM on November 11, 2011


MeMail needs an IMAP server interface. Would be nice if it could be an IMAP client, too.
posted by finite at 2:18 PM on November 11, 2011


Huh? Why would we need an IMAP server interface? Can't you just forward to an account with an IMAP server interface and client?
posted by koeselitz at 2:30 PM on November 11, 2011


If you're getting enough MeFi Mail that you need to work into a workflow, you might try to switch to standard email where there are more options available to you

I don't think it's an issue of volume, more that I keep sending him dirty pictures at work.
posted by villanelles at dawn at 2:55 PM on November 11, 2011


MetaFilter needs a conçierge service. Also, can I get a turn-down and a wake-up call?
posted by Devils Rancher at 2:55 PM on November 11, 2011 [1 favorite]


With or without happy ending, Devils Rancher?
posted by Hey, Zeus! at 2:57 PM on November 11, 2011


Also, can I get a turn-down and a wake-up call?

If you call me and wake me up I'll turn you down. How is that?
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 2:59 PM on November 11, 2011 [5 favorites]


Not really, no. It does what it's supposed to [and we really try to have mod/user communication happen over email anyhow, so that we can do the one-to-many thing that the contact form does], we just don't want to build any more features into it.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 3:04 PM on November 11, 2011


With or without happy ending, Devils Rancher?

At my age, waking up in the morning is the happy ending.
posted by Devils Rancher at 3:51 PM on November 11, 2011 [1 favorite]


One solution: nobody MeMail griphus? Aw, how cold!
posted by Cranberry at 4:33 PM on November 11, 2011


It sounds like this is a non-starter but I too would really love it. I have on a couple of occasions almost forgotten to respond to someone because I got the MeMail late at night or when I was really busy, or whatever, but just because I couldn't respond right then didn't mean that I didn't want to give the person a thoughtful response after they took the time to reach out to me. Plus I want to respond. Metafilter has a strange place in my online habits because it has no particular routine--it takes the space it's given, whether I have five minutes or a boring day in the office. It's not like getting through RSS feeds, or getting through email, and while it's easy to forget to respond it is something that I would feel really bad about doing.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 4:42 PM on November 11, 2011


Plus I want to respond.

Would the "Forward MeFi Mail to email" option help? I'm curious about why people aren't using this. Once the alert that you have a new message is in your email inbox it's easy to use your mail client tools to remind you to act on it later. It sounds like MeFi Mail is very valuable to people, but they aren't turning this option on.
posted by pb (staff) at 4:59 PM on November 11, 2011 [2 favorites]


Nthing that "Forward MeFi Mail to email" takes care of this problem neatly.
posted by Lexica at 5:22 PM on November 11, 2011


Forwarding to your email works for me.
posted by arcticseal at 5:25 PM on November 11, 2011


Not sarcastic: What's an example of a "high priority" MeMail?
posted by cribcage at 7:23 PM on November 11, 2011


MetaFilter needs a conçierge service.

That would facilitate my procurement of drugs and hookers immensely, I am in full support of this idea.
posted by Meatbomb at 9:24 PM on November 11, 2011


The issue with forwarding is that I still need to come to mefi to respond

Now I'm confused. I'm not sure how export would enable you to respond without coming to mefi... or, if you are talking about the original request (mark mefi mail as unread), you'd still need to be on mefi to see that or respond.

Anyway, regarding an "unread feature" I've always had my memail forwarded to my email, and I can "star" it there to remind me to answer later if I'm not answering immediately, but also if you check your memail messages via your email, they remain "unread" on the site, so when you come to the site, you'll see the active envelope alert reminding you that you have mail.

Your email doesn't have to be visible in your profile in order for memail to be forwarded to the email address attached to your account.
posted by taz (staff) at 11:34 PM on November 11, 2011


MetaFilter needs a conçierge service. Also, can I get a turn-down and a wake-up call?

And mints! Can we have mints?
posted by a humble nudibranch at 12:37 AM on November 12, 2011


Why not just wait and read your messages when you have time to devote some attention to it? Just because it's there doesn't mean you need to read it straight away.

But then I've been known to delete mefi mails unread so I'm probably an outlier.
posted by shelleycat at 2:00 AM on November 12, 2011


Would the "Forward MeFI Mail to email option help? I'm curious about why people aren't using this. Once the alert that you have a new message is in your email inbox it's easy to use your mail client tools to remind you to act on it later. It sounds like MeFi Mail is very valuable to people, but they aren't turning this option on.

Well...part of the problem for me is that I keep my anonymous MetaFilter life separate from my real-ID life.

So while forwarding good as a tickler (I really hate that term, sorry) in that I could guide it into my live email account where it would be noticed and eventually I'd get myself back to MetaFilter to respond, it is complicated and adds system complexity, and I like to avoid both that and mixing up identities. The other thing thing is that I use inboxes as to-do lists. So my personal email contains some to-do items, as does my work email, but those to-do items are related to separated areas of my life and I manage them separately--dealing with whatever is in my personal mailbox is just sort of a separate cognitive bucket.

For me, marking an item as unread in MeFi mail is the shortest distance between two points because then it appears on my radar when I'm in MetaFilter mode.

It's not a big deal, though, I'm just explaining why I'd be interested in it (and from reading other people's thoughts on the matter I understand I'm in the minority on it.)
posted by A Terrible Llama at 6:58 AM on November 12, 2011


a humble nudibranch: "And mints! Can we have mints?"

We don't have this? So where are all the mints on my pillow coming from?
posted by dg at 4:31 PM on November 13, 2011


We don't have this? So where are all the mints on my pillow coming from?

Metafilter is in your house providing turn down service.
posted by arcticseal at 8:57 PM on November 13, 2011


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