Carol,

For the record, we don't use hashtags. We have deleted them for a
reason. ...

So we have to have hashtags we don't want just to be able to lock or
moderate them? Doesn't feel like much of an improvement.

I think "we don't use hashtags" is a different class of problem, one which has its own topics here in beta (owners requesting ways to turn them off altogether).

Would a group Permissions setting for the Hashtags page, one that allows that page to be restricted to moderators, solve the problem for you? Then your moderators would still have access to the hashtag controls while not promoting them to users.

Perhaps that same setting should remove the Top Hashtags list from the home page as well.

Shal

> Isn't the whole point of uploading files being that your members can then access them? I'm confused. Mark

Good point, but as daid, sorta No.
Point being, A nice option.
Historically, YahOops had a box we had to check, to Notify Members.
It's already our habit to USUALLY check it... but maybe not. Even as mere members. We just are already used to right-hand threads, et al.

Now, if you wanted to needlessly increase complexity, give owners a switch to set their global/list preference to create a setting during a random time frame which they must manually set and reset. I wouldn't... but you're the Captain.

BillSF9c

Hi Duane, couldn't have said it better myself. 

I think with the large number of groups here, changes need to be taken into consideration so all groups have options to use or not use the function.

Thank you,
Judy F.
SW Florida  - USA

On Thu, Jun 18, 2020 at 11:08 AM, Duane wrote:

On Thu, Jun 18, 2020 at 06:09 AM, Sandi D wrote:

I don't want everyone in my group getting a wiki notification for every spelling and grammar error that I correct. Or for fixing a broken link.

I did an informal survey of some of my members.  No one wants any/all these notifications sent to them.  They don't care what goes on behind the scenes, they just want useful information that is posted to the group that may help them with problems.  Even as a moderator/owner, there are very few that I'd want to see, mostly when something on the group is changed - photos added, wiki page added/changed, file uploaded, messages edited, etc. (and then via email, not instant browser notifications) - but not notify the whole group.  There's already been a flurry of complaints on GMF due to the notices being sent to the groups.

Regards,
Duane

 On Thu, Jun 18, 2020 at 11:08 AM, Duane wrote:

On Thu, Jun 18, 2020 at 06:09 AM, Sandi D wrote:

I don't want everyone in my group getting a wiki notification for every spelling and grammar error that I correct. Or for fixing a broken link.

I did an informal survey of some of my members.  No one wants any/all these notifications sent to them.  They don't care what goes on behind the scenes, they just want useful information that is posted to the group that may help them with problems.  Even as a moderator/owner, there are very few that I'd want to see, mostly when something on the group is changed - photos added, wiki page added/changed, file uploaded, messages edited, etc. (and then via email, not instant browser notifications) - but not notify the whole group.  There's already been a flurry of complaints on GMF due to the notices being sent to the groups.

Regards,
Duane

Why wouldn't you want your members to know about files being uploaded?

On most of my groups, one of the rules is that you will NOT notify the group
when a file is uploaded.  After loading the file, a new topic with a link to
the file and a description of what it's for should be sent, possibly leading
to discussions.  Because not everyone names files well, nor provides a good
description, this works much better for us.

For our group, yes, we want members to know when a file is uploaded, and the checkbox is preferable to nothing. But like Duane, we would actually love members to announce their file rather than just click the notification for the same reasons.

For the record, we don't use hashtags. We have deleted them for a reason. I uploaded a test file just now and the #file was created. I deleted that hashtag, deleted the test file and reuploaded it. No new hashtag was created, but in both cases the notification went out. I deleted and reloaded the file for a third time to check, and the same thing occurred - no new hashtag but another notification.

So we have to have hashtags we don't want just to be able to lock or moderate them? Doesn't feel like much of an improvement.

Carol

I totally agree that it should be unchecked by default. 
Judy F.
SW Florida - USA

While these Notifications might be informative and perhaps useful to some, the additional email traffic they generate is unwelcome for many people, especially if their Inbox is already very busy. They are likely to be deleted without being read 'messages' and are as annoying as SPAM, plus their effectiveness may be like the "Boy Who Cried Wolf" all the time.

Automatic 'System Notifications' remind me of websites that require clicking through many pages to get to desired content, apparently to achieve a Marketing goal of high 'click rates'.

They may be good/great for those that want all the extra messages, but an unnecessary nuisance for others;
e.g. I have a Group that had 311 messages in 20 years for its monthly in-person meetings (Dances, and Musicians playing and/or singing), which Covid-19 has canceled indefinitely. I created 2 Wiki pages listing various online events that may be of interest which I've updated 313 times total in 69 days (as I discover them, often at the 'last minute').
These new notifications would have increased its message frequency rate from 2 to 136 per month!

Yes, after the 'shock' of the first #wiki Notifications, I have set: Hashtags > Edit Tag and checked the No Email box.
I do not look forward to having to do that for each new #hashtag surprise, and for each of my Groups


Hashtags (and Notifications) are like graffiti - some people like/love them, others want to remove and prevent them.

I already had Admin > Settings: Message Policies
set to:
-Hashtags Required (unchecked)
-Hashtags Permissions: "Messages from members can only be tagged with existing hashtags, new hashtags will be removed."

Please add:
-Hashtags Prohibited (checkbox)
AND
-Hashtags Permissions: "Messages from members tagged with hashtags, hashtags will be removed."
-Hashtags Permissions: "Messages tagged with hashtags, hashtags will be removed."
-Hashtags Permissions: "Messages tagged with hashtags, will be Moderated."
AND
Allow Moderators (with permission) to Edit Message (in Archives) to remove hashtags


Unless there is a Security need, features should be Opt-In (which is respectful), rather than require awkward and time consuming Opt-Out workarounds to curb Groups.io 'Junk Mail'.

Thanks,
Michael

On Thu, Jun 18, 2020 at 11:32 AM, Mark Fletcher wrote:

Why wouldn't you want your members to know about files being uploaded?

On most of my groups, one of the rules is that you will NOT notify the group when a file is uploaded.  After loading the file, a new topic with a link to the file and a description of what it's for should be sent, possibly leading to discussions.  Because not everyone names files well, nor provides a good description, this works much better for us.

On another group, for a club, everyone knows that I'll be uploading minutes as secretary, as well as banking information as treasurer, on a regular basis, so an announcement is just annoying clutter.

Regards,
Duane

On Thu, Jun 18, 2020 at 09:42 AM, Chris Jones wrote:

I would ask - plead even -  that moderators should have the option of turning individual motifications off at least until a better way of managing them can be identified.

Pleading and begging here also. We need at least a rudimentary "off" switch asap.
 
--
J

Messages are the sole opinion of the author, especially the fishy ones.
My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together. - Desmond Tutu

On Thu, Jun 18, 2020 at 04:08 PM, Duane wrote:

I did an informal survey of some of my members.  No one wants any/all these notifications sent to them.

OK; I haven't done a survey but I suspect that what Duane said about nobody wanting a blizzard of notifications is entirely correct.

After a member uploaded some photos to the group I moderate 2 notifications were generated. I then edited our photo archive index which is held (with links) in the group wiki; another notification sent out. On the plus side the notification about the photos enabled anyone to find them very easily, but the wiki notification only identified which page had been edited, so was of lesser benefit to the wider membership.

I suspect that a group membership may become at first frustrated and eventually actively annoyed at being over - notified. The more granular a notification system is the greater is the potential for annoyance on the part of a group membership, especially since anecdote tells us that many or most members never use the web UI at all. 

I would ask - plead even -  that moderators should have the option of turning individual motifications off at least until a better way of managing them can be identified.

What would be the practicalities of sending a "Notifications Digest" once per day per group? At least it would increase the daily message tally by just one rather than n, where n is a potentially large integer.

Chris

On Thu, Jun 18, 2020 at 09:36 AM, J_Catlady wrote:

Sometimes I work iteratively; sometimes I post temporary files; etc.

And actually there are simply some files - a lot of them, including every cat's labwork, which constitute the vast majority of files in our group - that I simply don't want to announce to the whole group have been uploaded. I will often just tell the individual member that their cat's labwork was uploaded. Not all files in every group are relevant to every group member or need to be announced when uploaded.
 
--
J

Messages are the sole opinion of the author, especially the fishy ones.
My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together. - Desmond Tutu

Mark,

I noticed you wrote at the beginning of all this:
"The Notify Members checkbox when uploading files is now checked by default, in preparation for removing it at some point."
What does that mean? Is the plan to remove it at some point, and if so, why have it checked now?

In answer to your question to Andy about wanting group members to see files, yes, we do. But that doesn't imply we want all group members notified at the particular moment we upload every file. Sometimes I work iteratively; sometimes I post temporary files; etc.
--
J

Messages are the sole opinion of the author, especially the fishy ones.
My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together. - Desmond Tutu

I created an event on our calendar to be every Tuesday and Thursday at 9:00am to 10:10am. After creating the event the decision was made to add a reminder to this event. (This was at least 2 days before the first day the event was to take place. I added a reminder for 18 hours before the event. Here is the event reminder detail.

The reminder was never sent. Neither for the first occurrence, this past Tuesday, nor the one for today.
My group is VillasofAda.

[Mod note: Added a subject]

On Thu, Jun 18, 2020 at 08:08 AM, Duane wrote:

There's already been a flurry of complaints on GMF due to the notices being sent to the groups.

I'm not surprised! There has to be a simple and quick way for mods to turn each notification, and later to specify details of how and to whom it is sent. Meanwhile I'd settle for a quick-and-dirty "off" switch for each one. Possibly they should even be off by default.
 
--
J

Messages are the sole opinion of the author, especially the fishy ones.
My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together. - Desmond Tutu

--
J

Messages are the sole opinion of the author, especially the fishy ones.
My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together. - Desmond Tutu

--
J

Messages are the sole opinion of the author, especially the fishy ones.
My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together. - Desmond Tutu