Sandi,

Is what you are doing changing the concept of how notifications will
function?

Yes in one major regard: you can now opt in to immediate ("push") notifications by web, and soon in the mobile device apps. See GMF's wiki page:
https://groups.io/g/GroupManagersForum/wiki/21482

Also, there are new per-user controls for muting or following notifications. See that same wiki page.

Up until now the owners/mods determine if something reaches the
attention of the members.

Not exactly. Members have long had the option of checking the Notify Members box on the File Upload page. This remains the same, plus now that checkbox also appears on Photos upload and Wiki page create/edit.

Will the eventual change mean that is negated? That notifications will
reach the member unless they log in and change a setting?

Probably not. But not everything is settled yet (to my knowledge).

We have no photos, database and just a few files. Have used the
calendar twice in our history. Have used the pool once. We don't make
use of hashtags.

So you won't have much to be notified about. ;-)

Whatever is being changed with hash tags, I hope I will be able to
prevent a notification reaching them for superficial edits ...

Right now you have to check the Notify Members box if you want a notification posted to the group. But this is one of the areas Mark has said he's still working on.

Shal

Chris,

I am also concious that the more "individual" notifications that there
are the more important it becomes that individual members can have a
pick list of those that they (might) want and those that they don't.

That's in the group's Hashtags page already.

The member sees a Mute/Notify button (grid view) or link (list view). That brings up a page where the member can choose whether to receive the related notifications by email (Mute or not) and choose to opt-in to Web/App notification (immediate "push" notifications).

Members who've chosen the Following Only setting for Message Selection (the Advanced Preferences panel in their Subscription page) will see Follow/Notify instead.

This raises another issue; someone chooses not to receive information
about photo edits (however defined) but would that choice also apply
to edits to a photo that they themselves had uploaded?

That's an interesting case. If it was they themself that did the edit I'd say no notification is needed. The only other option is (I think) that a moderator did the edit. I would want the member to be notified in that case, you and other group owners/mods may disagree.

Shal

On Thu, Jun 25, 2020 at 08:06 AM, Shal Farley wrote:

The only other option is (I think) that a moderator did the edit. I would want the member to be notified in that case, you and other group owners/mods may disagree.

Again I can see the validity of this view, although I am not entirely convinced!

It raises an issue of "what is an edit?" A change of album / photo name? The addition of (or change to) the descriptive text? (Silly but valid case... correction of a spelling mistake!) Unless the notification  includes some detail what has been edited may be less than clear, leading to "what has been done, what is this notification actually telling me?

Chris

"Up until now the owners/mods determine if something reaches the
attention of the members."

I would like to clarify the above sentence. If I as a mod make an edit I would like to have continued control over whether or not my action reaches the attention of those in my group.

Much of my wiki edits are "clean up". It's a waste of time to notify everyone when I clean something up and then spend more time in answering posts asking me what had changed or they can't find the "new" information.

It sounds like Mark may understand that aspect. I do understand that I am fortunate to have only one area impacted but that one area created a 3 day "migraine" for myself and a headache for the members of my group. 

Shal's interim fix and then Mark's temporary one worked perfectly for my need. I am very appreciative and hope Mark's permanent solution does the same.

--
Sandi Dickenson
ASG Volunteers Group.

On Tue, Jun 23, 2020 at 03:03 AM, Shal Farley wrote:

For edit I'd say the member deserves to know (and you likely deserve to fend off such questions). Maybe move too (if not notified the member might look and not find his/her content, and believe that it was deleted). I'm more willing to concede on delete: as J points out that's already a fact with messages.

I know that quite a lot of water has flowed under the bridge in the 7 days since the above was written, but...

This morning a member of the group I moderate uploaded some photos into an album he had created especially for the purpose.

He did not look to see if there was already a suitably titled album into which he could upload more photos.
He did not compose an album title that properly reflected the contents other than in a sense that was so broad as to be meaningless. .
He did not choose to notify the membership of anything, either by using the checkbox or by posting a separate message about his uploads.

He is not unique in taking a rather haphazard approach to making sure that uploads "make sense". I only found out about this uploading because I was looking in the Activity Log for something else entirely.

While I can understand the point about members being informed about edits, relocations and so on I cannot see any reason why I should have to "defend" myself for wanting to maintain some sense of order in our Photos section or anywhere else, especially when we have had a group wiki page about this sort of random uploading in existence for months.

I am still firmly of the view that moderators not only have the right but a duty to try to maintain order in a group's limited storage without having to explain their actions in detail on each and every occasion. It's also the sort of problem where the longer it's left the harder it is to do.

Chris

On Tue, Jun 30, 2020 at 04:22 AM, Chris Jones wrote:

am still firmly of the view that moderators not only have the right but a duty to try to maintain order in a group's limited storage without having to explain their actions in detail on each and every occasion.

Agree 100%.
 
--
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