Instant Reply/Quote Notifications
 

Stemming from a suggestion made in 2013 in this thread in the Tech Support forum, and re-requested by me in post 56 in this thread in the Talkboard Forum, I would like to start a formal discussion regarding instant quote/reply notification for the site.

For those not familiar, this function is in place on the site slickdeals.net, and it gives you a little unobtrusive popup in the bottom right of your screen when someone has quoted you in a post they have made and provides you a direct link to that thread where it occurred. Post #1 in the first link I posted above shows a screenshot of what it looks like when this occurs (note that in the screenshot the quote notifications are only the green boxes, I have no idea what the blue boxes are, but I don't seem to get those on my screen). In the settings on Slickdeals, this can be turned off by selecting "Hide the notification when someone quotes you in a post". I'm not aware of any way to customize them with regard to appearance, color, location, etc., nor am I aware of any way to disable it on a thread-by-thread basis in case you don't want to turn it off site-wide, but only in certain threads. There may be ways to do those things, but I'm not aware how if so.

While FT provides a thread and forum subscription service and MyFT works very, very well to keep me abreast of threads that I'm interested in, there might be times when I don't necessarily want to subscribe to a thread but I have made one post and would like to know when someone quotes me in case they ask a question or make a comment. This proposed feature would make this possible.

IBobi stated in the second link above that the feature is doable and I would highly encourage support for it. Since I'm quite familiar with the way it behaves on Slickdeals, I can try to answer any questions/comments about it here if there are any.

FWIW, MP has this feature and, in fact, has had the quote notification feature since the beginning. It appears on the same list as recent likes that a member's posts have received, with a flag and number in the upper right area of the page.

I just read the first thread you linked to, so to quote myself:

"I post a lot on FT & I don't want to get a gazillion emails/notifications if someone has quoted me."

MarriottInsiders (Marriott's version of FT on its own website) has that function & it drives me crazy when I get a lot of emails saying someone has mentioned/quoted me/clogs up my inbox. I also don't need a bunch of pop-ups telling me the same thing.

Cheers.

Well I'm going to assume if we implemented it, there would be the ability for the user to turn it off if they feel as Sharon does, correct?

That's a legitimate question, but in the threads linked above there was some debate on how it works. For example, if I turn off the notifications for quote/reply, does that also turn it off for threads I've subscribed to (where I do want notifications)? Is it an all or nothing? Can it be done thread only, another question raised?

As a TB member I'm willing to keep an open mind on this, but as an FTer I wouldn't want it implemented if I was stuck w/ getting a gazillion notifications w/o an ability to opt-out.

The MarriottInsiders notifications drove me up a wall/clogged up my inbox, and even MP back when I used to go on it. I also would not be happy if, by opting out, I also have to opt out of thread subscriptions. While I don't subscribe to a lot of threads, the ones that I do are ones I do want info on.

Cheers.

My understanding is that enabling quote notifications would be completely separate from your subscribed threads/forums, that one would have nothing to do with the other, and given the right settings you can participate in both, neither, or just one or the other.

Slickdeals* also has a page in the user's Control Panel (their equivalent of MyFT) where one can look at all of the times they were quoted on the forum in a single list. If I'm not mistaken, one can disable the instant notifications but still have access to this list.

*Sorry that I keep coming back to Slickdeals, but right now IMO it has the best of example of what I'd like to see here.

IIRC on MP you can opt in for email notifications, but I'm not sure whether the notifications for quotes versus likes can be separate from each other. I don't get email for either type.

If users will have the ability to turn this on and off at their choice then I'm all for it. However, if it's mandatory then I'm of the same opinion as Sharon and I don't want it.

That was my assumption, as well.

One concern I have is this......but then the response was this......so we have to ensure that there is significant support for this functionality in order for that “high-level discussion to occur.”

The second concern is what SkiAdcock expressed......and I would arrive at a similar assumption to CMK10 and dchristiva...I believe that one condition of recommending this feature is if it was possible to incorporate a way to turn it off.

From what I understand of it, this is not a feature I would particularly use myself; but the good news is that if there is significant demand — no, I cannot quantify what I mean by significant at this time — then this feature of instant replies and quote notifications being implemented into FlyerTalk is indeed possible, as Internet Brands has technical people with whom I have personally interacted; and they have done a great job on FlyerTalk...

...but because they do have a long list of requests, this one would have to be prioritized somehow should it be recommended by TalkBoard — and I would think that prioritization would depend on the demand for this feature.

Those are my thoughts at this time. Like SkiAdcock, I am also keeping an open mind and want to hear from more FlyerTalk members.

I completely agree. Full configurability would make this feature a winner.

I use the 'my threads' link in the quick links to see if there was any activity in the threads I have posted in. In my case it points to http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/searc...02&mythreads=1

Some vbulletin forums have this integrated in the usercp (aka 'MyFlyertalk'), so the recent responded threads show there automatically, but I suppose that would put unnecessary strain on vb search, which is already rather http://emojipedia-us.s3.amazonaws.co...da6956784b.png

Wow, I didn't even know that was there, oliver2002, thanks for that tip!

I think you mean IF, not MP. @:-):cool:

When I use this feature it searches for threads containing posts made by every user with the string "mia" anywhere in the Username, rather than only for my Username.