Suggestion: An personal message for the website

[+razor151987]

Personal Message system. (PM)

 

Who am i?

 

Hi, i am Michel Romijn, i coming out of the Netherlands and my biggest hobby is Geocaching. I'm just married and working on a media business related to journalism.

 

What do i think?

 

I think it would be better if there will be a system inside the website what let you send a personal message to a other person on Geocaching.com. Also it must have a system that a Geocacher gives the option to decide not retrieving mail on the website. The personal message must also sending to the persons he's/she's email adres.

 

On the website there can be a little counter on the right, next to the username of the user. This would show the actual messages that you have in your inbox. I do not mean a p2p chatbox but a real personal message system what can give the retriever the option to read the message. Even if the other person is not online.

 

Why do i think this?

 

Because i think a person not check they email everyday, so i. I'l check my email once a week. Because i linked my account to an other email than my root email. For C:Geo and the offical Geocaching app® this would also be a good option to add to. I believe that there will be much users that think the same as me.

 

What is your opinion about having a PM MESSAGE system into the Geocaching.com website so you can retrieve questions from cachers, mainstance emails, and logs from visitors at your cache?

[+Semper Questio]

No thanks. The currently available communications options works fine for me.

 

I'd much rather see them work on implementing the items they have talked about over the years such as:

- Improved trackables handing.

- An improved pocket query schema.

- Implementing the nano size.

- Improving Wherigo's.

- Enhanced online searches.

- A new GPX schema.

- Continued improvements in system reliability, availability, and performance.

 

Or maybe some of the things their customers have been clamoring for that actually relate more directly to improving the geocaching experience.

 

I'd rather they did not use their seemingly limited resources to develop their own communications sytem or integrate something off-the-shelf into the site.

 

Here's a simple answer for you. Check your email more often. Or send the gc.com email to your "root email" and put together appropriate filters. Whatever it takes to make it work for you. My gc.com email goes to an alternate email as well, but I have filters set up there to weed out what I don't want to see and forwards the rest to my personal email. Easy stuff.

[+cerberus1]

Not sure what on Earth c:geo has to do with anything on this site, but I think the current system works fine, thanks.

[+The A-Team]

If you aren't checking your email more than once a week, you're unlikely to be visiting geocaching.com very often either, so you won't be seeing the messages any sooner under the proposed system. The message will still be sitting there waiting for you to look for it, in exactly the same way as with the email sitting in your inbox.

 

The current system of emails works fairly well. All they need to do is deal with the HTML/plaintext issue and force mandatory periodic email verification, and we'd have a really good communication system.

[+dprovan]

I can't help but pile on:

 

Because i think a person not check they email everyday, so i. I'l check my email once a week.

If you want to see when you have e-mail, check your e-mail. If you want to look at caches, look at caches. I don't see any reason to provide yet another e-mail system, surely far inferior to any real e-mail system, just so you can automatically check your e-mail when you look at caches.

 

I actually think this would, for most people, have exactly the opposite effect of what you're thinking: the geocaching PMs would tend to be overlooked and forgotten by most people because they expect people to communicate with them through their real, non-geocaching e-mail account where they regularly look for communications. I've encountered such auxiliary messaging systems a few times, and they're almost always ignored because no sender wants to send with them, and no receiver bothers to check them for new messages.

[+Walts Hunting]

You can send emails through the persons profile page. Nothing else is needed.

[+kunarion]

I think it would be better if there will be a system inside the website what let you send a personal message to a other person on Geocaching.com. Also it must have a system that a Geocacher gives the option to decide not retrieving mail on the website. The personal message must also sending to the persons he's/she's email adres.

 

This Forum area already has the structure to do most of what you ask, in a system called "Messenger". Click the little green arrow next to the name of a person who has posted a reply here, and a window pops up where you can send a "PM". The messages and replies are saved in a list.

 

It might even allow emails when a Personal Conversation is sent, but I have not bothered to check on that.

Edited September 6, 2014 by kunarion

[+tozainamboku]

I think it has been pointed out in other threads that email is on its way out. Many (younger) users prefer a messaging systems either using a well known app like Twitter or built into to the apps they use everyday.

 

Groundspeak's "E-mail Another Player" is so 2000's. I'm pretty sure that the users of this 1990-2000 era forum system will say there is no need to have something beyond the current "E-mail Another Player", as well as insist the Groundspeak require that everyone have a verified e-mail in order to use the Apps or even to have an account on the website. The day will come when most people won't have email (or will stop checking their old email accounts) and we will have move to the next method of communication. Eventually those messaging apps will be replace by something as well. Change is inevitable. It makes no sense for Groundspeak to remain static in this area. "E-mail another player" should be "contact another player" and allow several methods for contact, perhaps including a notification when you log on to the website or app that you have a message waiting. Players could enter e-mail, twitter, or other accounts if they want to be contacted that way, and you could always attempt to contact someone through Geocaching.com.

[+MartyBartfast]

...

It makes no sense for Groundspeak to remain static in this area. "E-mail another player" should be "contact another player" and allow several methods for contact, perhaps including a notification when you log on to the website or app that you have a message waiting. Players could enter e-mail, twitter, or other accounts if they want to be contacted that way, and you could always attempt to contact someone through Geocaching.com.

 

Actually that has been available for several years, we all have the option on our profile page to select an Instant Messenger contact, those available at the moment are:

• 
   
  
• AOL
  
• iChat
  
• ICQ
  
• Jabber
  
• MSN
  
• Skype
  
• Yahoo
   
  

A bit old hat, but it shouldn't be too much of a leap for GS to add twitter, facebook, etc....

[+Bear and Ragged]

...

It makes no sense for Groundspeak to remain static in this area. "E-mail another player" should be "contact another player" and allow several methods for contact, perhaps including a notification when you log on to the website or app that you have a message waiting. Players could enter e-mail, twitter, or other accounts if they want to be contacted that way, and you could always attempt to contact someone through Geocaching.com.

 

Actually that has been available for several years, we all have the option on our profile page to select an Instant Messenger contact, those available at the moment are:

• 
   
  
• AOL
  
• iChat
  
• ICQ
  
• Jabber
  
• MSN
  
• Skype
  
• Yahoo
   
  

A bit old hat, but it shouldn't be too much of a leap for GS to add twitter, facebook, etc....

 

If it's a verifiable process, so players can contact new users, and not find "Not Validated" as member status, why are we waiting? Do it!

[+funkymunkyzone]

I agree with the OP. Having a simply in house messaging system (that can by default forward out to people's email accounts as per status quo) would solve one thing that often annoys me: People who do not tick the "Send my email address" check box. I totally understand users' wish for privacy, but when they are asking me a question, it's annoying I have to go from my email to another app/site in order to reply, and because my reply is simply me contacting them, the history is lost unless I copy/paste it in. So I just never bother to reply to these people. An in house messaging system allows me to reply directly to them, with a history of the contact automatically there, and they retain their privacy, and all the nay-sayers can still just use their existing email if they like. Win win win.

Edited September 7, 2014 by funkymunkyzone

[+funkymunkyzone]

No thanks. The currently available communications options works fine for me.

Good for you. It doesn't work well for everyone.

 

I'd much rather see them work on implementing the items they have talked about over the years such as:

- Improved trackables handing.

- An improved pocket query schema.

- Implementing the nano size.

- Improving Wherigo's.

- Enhanced online searches.

- A new GPX schema.

- Continued improvements in system reliability, availability, and performance.

 

Or maybe some of the things their customers have been clamoring for that actually relate more directly to improving the geocaching experience.

None of which bears any relevance to what the OP suggested, but let's have a look and use nay-sayer logic:

- Trackables can already be grabbed, retrieved, dropped and discovered so no need for any changes there.

- Pocket queries already work.

- Nano size is included in micro size. No need for a change there.

- Plenty of Wherigo builder and player apps out there. No change needed.

- You can already use google to search for caches, or use the gc.com search tools.

- There's already a GPX schema that works.

- The website is up, no problem.

[+ecanderson]

You can send emails through the persons profile page. Nothing else is needed.

Unfortunately, this assumes the email address is any good, and the thread discussing email verification indicates that this is often not the case.

 

That said, a message that appears here, as PM does for most boards, wouldn't ever reach those who do most or all of their work from a phone app, GSAK, etc. having given up on the UI provided at geocaching.com.

[+J Grouchy]

You can send emails through the persons profile page. Nothing else is needed.

Unfortunately, this assumes the email address is any good, and the thread discussing email verification indicates that this is often not the case.

 

That said, a message that appears here, as PM does for most boards, wouldn't ever reach those who do most or all of their work from a phone app, GSAK, etc. having given up on the UI provided at geocaching.com.

 

In-app notifications. Welcome to 2014.

[+dprovan]

An in house messaging system allows me to reply directly to them, with a history of the contact automatically there, and they retain their privacy, and all the nay-sayers can still just use their existing email if they like. Win win win.

It's not a win for the people that have to develop and maintain an entire messaging system (with history!) that only 4 people use because they're worried about being able to respond to people that don't include their e-mail address.

 

You can send emails through the persons profile page. Nothing else is needed.

Unfortunately, this assumes the email address is any good, and the thread discussing email verification indicates that this is often not the case.

I think it's safe to say that not a single person that had an unverified e-mail address would ever look at a geocaching.com supplied messaging system.

[+funkymunkyzone]

...that only 4 people use because they're worried about...

Wow, what a polite response, and not belittling at all.

 

I think we should alert all those other site/app developers in the world that have in-site/in-app messaging that they've wasted their time because only 4 people use it... :/

Edited September 9, 2014 by funkymunkyzone

[+NYPaddleCacher]

You can send emails through the persons profile page. Nothing else is needed.

Unfortunately, this assumes the email address is any good, and the thread discussing email verification indicates that this is often not the case.

 

That said, a message that appears here, as PM does for most boards, wouldn't ever reach those who do most or all of their work from a phone app, GSAK, etc. having given up on the UI provided at geocaching.com.

 

In-app notifications. Welcome to 2014.

 

Yes, we're more than half way through 2014, yet virtually every major e-commerce site (amazon, orbitz, expedia, etc. etc. etc) uses email to confirm registration and for notifications when and an order has been, placed, etc. Email is still a very viable form of electronic communication and it's not going to go away any time soon.

 

Just yesterday I was reminded of one of the downsides of an instant messaging system. For the past couple of years we've been using a real nice IM tool that was designed for collaborative software development. It's been invaluable for a small team to collaborate on a software project that we've been working on, especially since one of the devlopers e-commutes from about 150 miles away. Yesterday I came in in the morning planning on working on some things related to a different project. Within 5 minutes I got a message asking for help about that collaborative project. Then another, and another. An hour and a half later I had a meeting so I was able to "cut the other person off" and I was finally able to start working on what I intended to work on yesterday.

 

The advantage of an IM system is that it's more "instant" than email, but it also creates the expectation of an instant response. It becomes the e-equivalent of someone coming into your office to answer a question every 5 minutes. With an IM system, some impatient geocacher that wants an extra hint "now* while searcing for a cache, and because the CO is online at the time, expects and answer *now*.

[+MartyBartfast]

 

Yes, we're more than half way through 2014, yet virtually every major e-commerce site (amazon, orbitz, expedia, etc. etc. etc) uses email to confirm registration and for notifications when and an order has been, placed, etc. Email is still a very viable form of electronic communication and it's not going to go away any time soon.

 

 

Such organisations aren't going to go towards an in app only solution, and neither should Groundspeak. The problem with in-app solutions is you only see the messages when you're in the app, whereas with an Email solution you only have to log into your Email account and all messages from all services are delivered in one place. Even the likes of Facebook notify you by mail when you have a person-to-person message.

 

It wouldn't be useful for me, and I suspect for lots of others, and unless it's a very trivial thing to implement I too would rather they spend the development time on some of the things listed earlier in the thread.

[+J Grouchy]

 

Yes, we're more than half way through 2014, yet virtually every major e-commerce site (amazon, orbitz, expedia, etc. etc. etc) uses email to confirm registration and for notifications when and an order has been, placed, etc. Email is still a very viable form of electronic communication and it's not going to go away any time soon.

 

 

Such organisations aren't going to go towards an in app only solution, and neither should Groundspeak. The problem with in-app solutions is you only see the messages when you're in the app, whereas with an Email solution you only have to log into your Email account and all messages from all services are delivered in one place. Even the likes of Facebook notify you by mail when you have a person-to-person message.

 

It wouldn't be useful for me, and I suspect for lots of others, and unless it's a very trivial thing to implement I too would rather they spend the development time on some of the things listed earlier in the thread.

 

In-app CAN also equate to on-site. They are not mutually exclusive.

 

It doesn't have to be a total move...why not a choice? My bank, for instance. It has both in-app and on-site notifications. It allows me to choose between SMS, email and in-app notifications.

 

Personally, I like having options and I don't believe in the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy when it comes to this kind of thing. Just because you might not use it doesn't mean there aren't lots of other folks who would really welcome it.

[+tozainamboku]

Just yesterday I was reminded of one of the downsides of an instant messaging system. For the past couple of years we've been using a real nice IM tool that was designed for collaborative software development. It's been invaluable for a small team to collaborate on a software project that we've been working on, especially since one of the devlopers e-commutes from about 150 miles away. Yesterday I came in in the morning planning on working on some things related to a different project. Within 5 minutes I got a message asking for help about that collaborative project. Then another, and another. An hour and a half later I had a meeting so I was able to "cut the other person off" and I was finally able to start working on what I intended to work on yesterday.

 

The advantage of an IM system is that it's more "instant" than email, but it also creates the expectation of an instant response. It becomes the e-equivalent of someone coming into your office to answer a question every 5 minutes. With an IM system, some impatient geocacher that wants an extra hint "now* while searcing for a cache, and because the CO is online at the time, expects and answer *now*.

I have no problem setting my status to 'away' or 'do not disturb', or even turning off the IM application altogether. Of course that takes more "work" then just ignoring my email for several days.

[+funkymunkyzone]

Yes, we're more than half way through 2014, yet virtually every major e-commerce site (amazon, orbitz, expedia, etc. etc. etc) uses email to confirm registration and for notifications when and an order has been, placed, etc. Email is still a very viable form of electronic communication and it's not going to go away any time soon.

 

Do any of those have user-user communication?

 

See eBay for a good example: An in-site messaging system exists within which you can communicate freely without giving away your personal contact details, with previous messages quoted automatically, but every message also goes out to your email and you can reply from there too.

Edited September 9, 2014 by funkymunkyzone