Important question about e-mail notifications

After reviewing some of our server performance factors, one item that has always been a moderate impact on performance has been increasing lately... e-mail notification from threads. On average, our server sends 5,000+ e-mails every day the post count is over 1,000. We've had one day (11/19/2003) where 18,172 e-mails were sent as a result of new posts on threads where members have selected e-mail notification. Now this is becoming a performance issue for the server. Before I decide what to do... I'd like to know how many members rely on the e-mail notification, and how it would impact your "ATS experience" if the service was removed.

As for me, I don't use the feature at all. Considering the large amount of posts being posted everyday, I don't really need to know what's new since theres to much stuff.

The Todays Posts page works well enough for me.

I must admit that I get loads of e-mails for the subjects that I've subscribed to , I just immediatly delete them without reading most of the time because it's just as easy to click on subscriptions to see what has been replied to.
I am on here most days so I wouldn't miss out by not being e-mailed with recent posts.
although I do find the "you have e-mail" announcement from my inbox helpful when I'm browsing other threads.
I could live without it though.
perhaps I should add threads to favorites rather than subscribe to them . I must get between 20 and 40+ e-mails a day depending on how active I have been in new threads . I do try to deleat subscriptions as the threads grow tired.
I'll do it more often now that I know it puts a strain on the server.

[Edited on 2-1-2004 by pantha]

Never used it.

I can see how people who use it well could depend on it.

But I won't miss it, and I feel somehow that would apply to the majority.

William,

I do use them, but I will learn to live without them. Will we still be able to "subscribe" to a thread so that we can have our "short list" of threads of interest? That would help us be able to quickly find these threads when we know longer have the email alerts.

Never use it and dont use my ATS email either.

I dont use them, and i cant say i'll miss them

I tried using them once, but there was such a massive pouring in of email that I just deleted them instead of reading them.

I think the most current posts section works great. That was pretty much all I relied on. I just wish it could be longer even with the ATSNN stuff on top. Post a long reply in a thread, and when you get back to the home page, all of the stuff you were watching is gone, and some others, too...

I do use it but I could definitly go w/o it.

I've disabled the feature for now. Let's see how it goes.

I won't miss it. The only times I have ever used it was by accident.
I find the favorites tool much more handy.

did you turn it off for BTS too cause I just got a notification.

I didn't even knew there was this function. So no, I won't really miss it.

And if it's a performance issue, to hell with it! Lazy peoples just have to check back more regularly hehehe..

I never use it. I skip between todays posts and searching for my previous posts in my profile.

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord
how it would impact your "ATS experience" if the service was removed.

Would this mean that "SUBSCRIBE" and "FAVORITES" would be gone?

(I always click on them by accident.. then i must ASAP undo that selection.. (via control panel..) and this sucks.. and i hate those buttons.. they are nuisance..)

And anyhow at least i dont NEED / USE this feature for anything.. it just causes me trouble and more mouse work to me..

I would gladly rid ATS of those..



Simply:

I DONT WANT / NEED THEM..

Be gone ****** ******!

i would realy miss it and i realy kinda mad now!

I dont see why you couldnt have tryed makeing it 1 emeal for 1 replay or more insted of 1 email perreplay..

(So I get a email, go to the thread then it detecs i saw the thread so afer i leav the thread it would send another email saying there were replays then i go see the thread and it repeats if theres another replay)

i would think that would be best of both worlds as little bandwith posible with keeping the updates


Thanks for having such a cool site, i dont want to be a pain in the ass

[Edited on 2-1-2004 by Dmsoldier]

That would require a significant overhaul in the way this (and any other) discussion board is programmed. There was little anticipation that a board would exceed 500 posts per day, much less 1,000 or 1,500 like we have. Some threads get 10 responses a minute, others 10 a week. It's not going to be easy (near impossible) to determine some new arbitrary way to send e-mails to subscribers.

I would not mind if you cut the service. I thought it would come in useful, but ended up getting email after email especially on popular subjects.

Thanks for the great board though!

I would think the way this site works www.ataricommunity.com...

and i tryed putting it in words in my last post would be cool but if its to much work

Never use it. Axe away.