Private Message or Email???
 

If you have a question of someone are you better off sending a private message or an email? I'm new to this and haven't used boards much. This is my first week. Also does anyone know how to put a "Report Bad Thread" on the bottom of your threads? Thanks for any help.

I usually send PMs, since many flyertalkers use an email address at sign-up that is not their primary email address... and therefore may not see your message right away.

Not sure what you mean by the "Report Bad Thread" part. It's customary here at flyertalk to PM the person who offends you (if their post was directed primarily at yourself). If you have an issue regarding a thread in general, you might try PMing the moderator of that board and discuss it with him/her. Sometimes things can be resolved best that way.

But I usually ignore offending threads unless they're horrific. And usually if they are, there are many more FTers who are addressing the issue. Follow their lead.

Good luck. And welcome to FlyerTalk. It's a great place
Rita

Generally PMs. They have the benefit of a return receipt, which I find doesn't work as well on email these days.

I only use email for the local FTers that I communicate with on a regular basis, and even then I'll use PMs if I'm someplace like an airport lounge where I don't feel like firing up the web-based email.

The report icon doesnt show up at the bottom of your own threads. Because ..well.. I can't imagine why someone would want to report their own thread. It does show up for everyone else though.

It's "Report Bad Post" rather than "Report Bad Thread."

If you think the whole thread (rather than just one post) is bad, you could still click on the "Report Bad Post" icon and explain in your message that you think the whole thread is problematic.

As for e-mail vs. PM, remember that there is a limit of 100 saved PMs in each person's maibox, so although the "confirm receipt" option is nice, you may be filling up someone's PM mailbox (or even find it is already full). For this reason I often prefer e-mail over PM.

Many people have been thorugh several e-mail addresses, so I would always PM them, then they will get it next time they sign in. You could do both too if you wanted, lots of people do that.

I'll usually see messages here first though.

I'm the opposite!
 

I HATE PMs!!!! I'm on email constantly & prefer to be contacted that way. PMs require me to log on to FT to get the messages, which eats up time especially when you get a lot of them. And being on dial-up it's a double-whammy cuz now it takes forever to load & I have to go multiple times to get the messages. Grr. So for my fellow FTers who know me well, email darlins' - email....

Sharon

Another reason to use e-mail (and we're talking about e-mailing via FlyerTalk here, which some responders may or may not have understood) is that a lot of us have access to e-mail even when we don't have access to the Web.

For instance, I can retrieve my e-mail messages via phone. (Sometimes the computer voice makes it difficult to understand them -- especially the ones for V1@gr@ from [email protected] ;) -- but it's a handy feature nevertheless.) But I cannot get PMs via phone. (I can also get SOME posts via e-mail -- if I've subscribed to a thread -- and therefore by phone.)

Ditto. I turned off the PM option from day #1.

I like the concept of PM's but am not impressed with it's clunky interface. It never opens up to a full screen, you can't tell who else was copied nor "Reply All" if all parties to the PM require an answer. I also find them a bit cumbersome to organize and manage.
The PM feature of this BB, while useful, could probably stand a user-friendly update.

And, to add to my anti-PM thoughts already expressed in two other posts on this thread: even if the limit of 100 saved PMs were increased to infinity, I STILL would prefer e-mail, as I archive all my e-mails in one place. I do realize that PMs can be saved to files as well, but they end up in a different file that is NOT integrated with my e-mail. :(

Thanks for your comments
 

To all of you who have answered my question. Thanks but now I'm still confused but a lot more knowledgeable. Thanks again.

Darlin', don't let the rest of us old timers (eek, does 18 mths count?_ confuse you. Either do PM or email depending on your own preference. Whatever. But some ways are easier to communicate. Cheers. Sharon...

PM if it's something that I want people to deal with when they are browsing FT.

Email if it is more important

Instant messaging with just a few, for moderating purposes, or just to chat with friends ;)

August 2002 to now is 28 months. (Two years and four months.) Sounds a lot better than 18 months, no? ;)

Another thing folks do not seem to realise is that your private mails CAN be read by others to whom they were not addressed nor intended to be read by. For months after it was sent, if needs be, do not forget that.

That is a fact, and I bet it is not widely known (or thought about).

I heard recently of someone whose FT account allegedly was cancelled due to something typed into a PM, and many FT'ers I am sure would squirm a little to read this recent notice carefully, as that would also cover that situation:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/annou...ouncementid=43

If you want to communicate with ANY other FT'er and be quite certain the only person reading your communication is that person, AVOID PM and use email at all times is pretty good advice.

That's a fact :confused:

I am sure that a system administrator can read anyones email, as I have administered Exchange and Domino servers, I am sure that is possible with PMs. But just because you can, doesn't mean you should ;)

Besides, no moderator can read PMs

Math, or as Jethro Bodine would say, "ciphering," was never one of her strong points...

I use PMs with people I don't have a relationship with.

On the other hand, when accessing "FT Lite" on my cell phone, I can't read PMs, but typically I'll live.

I've had some perfectly fine conversations by PM, but
it's pretty unwieldy: I get this e-mail that says there's
a PM, then I have to log in (and that resets the pointers,
so I have to do my reading as well), then ...

I'll turn it off now; better to vote by action than blab alone.

Thanks.

Actually, not even that.

VBulletin requires a mass of hacks and modifications before even an admin can read a Private message of a user. In theory it's possible to manually extract stuff out of the database and then try and match the userID and senderID with it, but that is a huge amount of work.

The "threat" of sanctions based on PM content is IMHO there to warn you that a member can forward a PM to a moderator if they think it contains some kind of violation but moderators, admins or even Randy can not just pop into your account and check your PM's.

Then stop reading my PMs :mad:

:p

Ok, for those who side-tracked - yes, I can count. :p I registered in August '02, promptly forgot about FT, didn't go back until Feb '03, so I really count Feb 03 to be my timeline so maybe 20 mths - but hey, why quibble over a month here or there. Bottom line is (bringing it back on track), do whatever works best for you - PM or email. But if you're contacting me, then email :) Cheers. Sharon