Should I use Message or E-mail

[+NHAnimator]

Noob here. I've tried to contact a few people via Messages, but have not gotten a response from them. I expect there could be a number of reasons for this (they're busy, don't want to respond, etc.). My question is this: Is using Message the best way to contact a user, or is e-mail a preferred method?

 

Thanks.

[+cerberus1]

I think it depends on who you ask...

 

I prefer email, most of my friends use email, Reviewers require email.

The site says that the message center is the way to get hold of those folks who aren't validated (with "never" as their last time logged in).

Probably seems better for those folks who text too.

 

I just saw a post from a person who didn't start until May of this year.

- He called others newbies.

[+on4bam]

Noob here. I've tried to contact a few people via Messages, but have not gotten a response from them. I expect there could be a number of reasons for this (they're busy, don't want to respond, etc.). My question is this: Is using Message the best way to contact a user, or is e-mail a preferred method?

 

Depends. If you read thread about the message center you may have noticed different views on this "feature".

I made it clear on my profile I don't want MC messages and people contacting me that way may never get a reply. E-mail will be answered as fast as possible though.

[+kunarion]

Noob here. I've tried to contact a few people via Messages, but have not gotten a response from them. I expect there could be a number of reasons for this (they're busy, don't want to respond, etc.). My question is this: Is using Message the best way to contact a user, or is e-mail a preferred method?

 

Thanks.

Why not try both? The Message Center posts are sure to be delivered, they are right there for the reading (the passive-aggressive boycotts of the feature notwithstanding ). Email directly to an email address is a great idea, but if you mean "PM" and not email, that has its own problems. For each message (MC or PM) that you require a reply, send a real email address. I find that many people, companies, and organizations are not particularly responsive to most any form of casual communication, so as you say, maybe they're just busy.

Edited August 11, 2015 by kunarion

[Keystone]

I'm not seeing a bug report or feature request in the opening post, so I am moving this thread to the "How do I....?" forum.

[+NHAnimator]

I'm not seeing a bug report or feature request in the opening post, so I am moving this thread to the "How do I....?" forum.

 

Thanks for moving this to the appropriate section. The subheading of where I originally posted it said "Discussions about features, bugs, and ways to improve Geocaching.com." I figured this qualified as a discussion about a feature. I stand corrected.

[Pup Patrol]

Noob here. I've tried to contact a few people via Messages, but have not gotten a response from them. I expect there could be a number of reasons for this (they're busy, don't want to respond, etc.). My question is this: Is using Message the best way to contact a user, or is e-mail a preferred method?

 

Thanks.

 

Using the email method is no more a guarantee of a response than using the Message Center.

 

When using the email, make sure you click to include your email address. Lots of folks in the forum have said that they won't respond unless the sender includes their email address.

 

As for the Message Center, the people you are trying to contact will receive an email telling them that they have a message.

 

Some folks say they flat out refuse to use the Message Center.

 

I would check the person's profile and see if they have a statement about trying to contact them. And then use whatever method they prefer, if they've stated a preference.

 

If the person you're trying to contact is a frequent forum poster, then try using the private message system.

 

B.

[+NHAnimator]

Thanks all for the responses. Good to have the info.

[+on4bam]

As for the Message Center, the people you are trying to contact will receive an email telling them that they have a message.

 

I have notifications from the MC turned off.

[+niraD]

As for the Message Center, the people you are trying to contact will receive an email telling them that they have a message.

I have notifications from the MC turned off.

And the MC sends notifications for only some messages, not all.

 

Personally, I find that when I get a geocaching-related email that I want to reply to, if I hit reply and see that the return address is noreply@geocaching.com then I reconsider whether I really want to send this reply. That applies to email sent without the user's reply address, and it applies to MC notifications. Most of the time, I decide it isn't really worth the hassle. Or I decide I'll deal with it later, which usually means that I'll procrastinate and never actually reply.

[+dprovan]

Why not try both?

Are you joking? I've been trying to imagine how the message center could be any more useless. Definitely getting everything in duplicate through both systems would be even more tedious.

[+Harry Dolphin]

Good gracious! I've had PMs sitting there for weeks, not realizing they were there.

Guess I'm a curmudgeon I use e-mail! Want to contact me? Use e-mail.

I cannot believe that GS created the M e s s y Center because apps don't require an e-mail address. The sensible way to solve that problem would be to require app users to submit their e-mail address! Not create the annoying Me ss y Center.

Edited August 11, 2015 by Harry Dolphin

[+kunarion]

Why not try both?

Are you joking? I've been trying to imagine how the message center could be any more useless. Definitely getting everything in duplicate through both systems would be even more tedious.

You didn't even read the OP, right? But thanks for clipping my post out of context to argue about it. Awesome job.

 

The OP has tried BOTH useless systems and had no reply from either. I suggested that that the messages are in fact arriving, but that the recipient simply does not reply. When people are "Definitely getting everything in duplicate through both systems", you prove my point.

Edited August 12, 2015 by kunarion

[+kunarion]

Good gracious! I've had PMs sitting there for weeks, not realizing they were there.

Guess I'm a curmudgeon I use e-mail! Want to contact me? Use e-mail.

I cannot believe that GS created the M e s s y Center because apps don't require an e-mail address. The sensible way to solve that problem would be to require app users to submit their e-mail address! Not create the annoying Me ss y Center.

OK, you mean “MCs sitting there for weeks”, not “PM”. Had me guessing for a minute there.

 

Cachers don't have the email addresses of other cachers. As with most Geocachers, you don't even have your email address shown. There are too many posts around here requiring email addresses, while excluding the poster from the requirement. Cool.

 

With all this “requiring” of people to do things, have GS require everyone to use the MC. That is, everyone is to go read the MC, and reply. Or your account gets locked until you do. Because the OP (does anybody read the OP anymore!) is using “email” which is the PM messaging system with the submitted email address that supposedly works so well, and getting no reply.

[+on4bam]

Noob here. I've tried to contact a few people via Messages, but have not gotten a response from them. I expect there could be a number of reasons for this (they're busy, don't want to respond, etc.). My question is this: Is using Message the best way to contact a user, or is e-mail a preferred method?

 

Because the OP (does anybody read the OP anymore!) is using “email” which is the PM messaging system with the submitted email address that supposedly works so well, and getting no reply.

 

I must have read a different OP then. Message is MC right?

[cezanne]

Good gracious! I've had PMs sitting there for weeks, not realizing they were there.

Guess I'm a curmudgeon I use e-mail! Want to contact me? Use e-mail.

I cannot believe that GS created the M e s s y Center because apps don't require an e-mail address. The sensible way to solve that problem would be to require app users to submit their e-mail address! Not create the annoying Me ss y Center.

OK, you mean “MCs sitting there for weeks”, not “PM”. Had me guessing for a minute there.

 

It could also be that he refers to personal messages sent vis this forum which are a huge annoyance to me.

 

Th MC is a technologically extremely poor system - I've never seen anything poorer than that in these days. It's such an annoyance to reply to a message and only be able to see two lines and in addition there are so many other stupid restrictions. It's really only for chatting like in social media but technologically much worse than even those systems.

[cezanne]

 

Using the email method is no more a guarantee of a response than using the Message Center.

 

Not a guarantee, however the probability to receive a reply is much higher when sending e-mail messages to

cachers who are around for several years and are used to that system and its advantages in comparison to the MC.

 

Many cachers in my country have turned off the notifications for MC messages and do not react to them at all.

[+kunarion]

Noob here. I've tried to contact a few people via Messages, but have not gotten a response from them. I expect there could be a number of reasons for this (they're busy, don't want to respond, etc.). My question is this: Is using Message the best way to contact a user, or is e-mail a preferred method?

 

Because the OP (does anybody read the OP anymore!) is using “email” which is the PM messaging system with the submitted email address that supposedly works so well, and getting no reply.

 

I must have read a different OP then. Message is MC right?

Yes I would say when "email" and MC are used together, "email" means "PM", and "message" is MC. Good point! Yes, I would say the The OP is only asking if "email" (PM is preferred) and may not have yet tried it. My case stands either way, that if people aren't replying, and you don't know which system the recipient is boycotting, try to send a working email address using other means. They get two replies that way, sure. But the MC is the way to ensure it is available to be read. Whether the cacher attempts to read it, perhaps that's a question.

[+kunarion]

It could also be that he refers to personal messages sent vis this forum which are a huge annoyance to me.

That's displayed as "Messenger" (how could the terms "send message", "private message" and "messenger" become confusing? ). Although these Forum messages do produce an email when posted, yes, Forum messages would be an issue. Those messages are less likely to be found than some of the other options.

 

But if the MC were crafted a little more like the Forum version, it would be an improvement.

Edited August 12, 2015 by kunarion

[+kunarion]

 

Using the email method is no more a guarantee of a response than using the Message Center.

 

Not a guarantee, however the probability to receive a reply is much higher when sending e-mail messages to

cachers who are around for several years and are used to that system and its advantages in comparison to the MC.

 

Many cachers in my country have turned off the notifications for MC messages and do not react to them at all.

[emphasis mine.]

 

Why is everything always a protest? Boycotts and all? People are trying to contact you and succeed. Reply with your actual email address (well, its forwarding alias ), with one courteous reply to use that email address and not MC which you don't like.

 

If the OP actually does mean he's in fact using PM and that email may be getting lost, your country's plan makes communication much more difficult.

 

Th MC is a technologically extremely poor system - I've never seen anything poorer than that in these days. It's such an annoyance to reply to a message and only be able to see two lines and in addition there are so many other stupid restrictions. It's really only for chatting like in social media but technologically much worse than even those systems.

 

I hope you're wrong, but I think you're right . That is, I see no reason the edit box could not be made like every other edit box on the site... why it must be two scrolling lines of text. I agree that it's been set up as a fad social media chat area that really can't work in a PC environment unless everyone keeps that Message page open and available as a Smartphone can. Yet the PM system on the web site (and I guess "email" in general) is difficult for Phone users.

 

I would have like to see the MC become so much more, such as having "MC" integrated with cache logs. That is, a privately sent "Message" could be right there in the context of the log that it's talking about, visible to the parties in the message. As is, it's a kind of unfinished SMS thing, which competes with full-featured systems that already exist on Smartphones.

Edited August 12, 2015 by kunarion

[+dprovan]

Why not try both?

Are you joking? I've been trying to imagine how the message center could be any more useless. Definitely getting everything in duplicate through both systems would be even more tedious.

You didn't even read the OP, right? But thanks for clipping my post out of context to argue about it. Awesome job.

 

The OP has tried BOTH useless systems and had no reply from either. I suggested that that the messages are in fact arriving, but that the recipient simply does not reply. When people are "Definitely getting everything in duplicate through both systems", you prove my point.

Honestly, I really have no idea how "My question is this: Is using Message the best way to contact a user, or is e-mail a preferred method?" with the response "Why not try both?" could be interpreted in any way other than the one I responded to: that he should send any message both ways to see which works.

[+kunarion]

Why not try both?

Are you joking? I've been trying to imagine how the message center could be any more useless. Definitely getting everything in duplicate through both systems would be even more tedious.

You didn't even read the OP, right? But thanks for clipping my post out of context to argue about it. Awesome job.

 

The OP has tried BOTH useless systems and had no reply from either. I suggested that that the messages are in fact arriving, but that the recipient simply does not reply. When people are "Definitely getting everything in duplicate through both systems", you prove my point.

Honestly, I really have no idea how "My question is this: Is using Message the best way to contact a user, or is e-mail a preferred method?" with the response "Why not try both?" could be interpreted in any way other than the one I responded to: that he should send any message both ways to see which works.

But the OP is saying there is no reply when you said you would be annoyed by the duplicate messages . Yes, which "Message" he actually means (as mentioned, everything seems to be called "Message" ) is a a good question. But in your example, you are ignoring both when they are in fact both being received. A cacher who chooses to keep lines of communication should be getting the email notification along with the MC post, and if he is not, PM may be broken as well (whitelists, blacklists, tons of email related things). And when you receive the "duplicates" and the OP gets no reply, he cannot know that you are choosing to not respond. So he might try more lines of communication, regardless if someone suggests that. The method may not be the issue. The sender will need to use all available means, since he doesn't know which one (or say, all of them) is not working or is deliberately ignored.

Edited August 12, 2015 by kunarion

[cezanne]

Why is everything always a protest? Boycotts and all?

 

Instead of interpreting it as a protest, try to see it as an unwillingness to use a technologically immature, unfinished experimental system that cannot compete with what is available in the area (neither with e-mail with all

its features like filtering, advanced searching etc nor with messaging systems for smartphones).

I have not turned notifications off but I'm extremely unhappy with the MC system and there are so many issues that could fixed within a few minutes if just the will on side of Groundspeak existed.

The MC right now looks like what one would expect as outcome of a 1 month standalone project of a student at bachelor level without relying on the many things that already exist in the area.I'm sorry but I cannot see any attempt to make the MC acceptable to those who appreciate e-mail systems and what they can offer.

Edited August 12, 2015 by cezanne

[+on4bam]

Just to be clear, I have notifications off for MC and don't go checking on the MC page unless I'm very bored and have plenty of time to waste but I'm not ignoring cachers who contact me. It's clearly stated on my profile to use e-mail (send e-mail) and anything received that way will be answered very fast.

[+kunarion]

Why is everything always a protest? Boycotts and all?

 

Instead of interpreting it as a protest, try to see it as an unwillingness to use a technologically immature, unfinished experimental system that cannot compete with what is available

Ah yes, you don't mean protest, but instead mean protest.

 

One thing that I found very odd was the "Beta Version" was in fact was so unfinished, and I was anticipating a very polished system before it was officially rolled out. Nope . I have since wondered if the MC is to vanish like a Challenge to kiss a frog.

 

The App has a communication system, between App users. The web has its own, among web users. Never the twain shall meet.

[+kunarion]

Just to be clear, I have notifications off for MC and don't go checking on the MC page unless I'm very bored and have plenty of time to waste

Me too! Except that I do get the emails that there is an Message waiting to be read. The teeny yellow dot is tough to notice.

 

But I don't get MC messages, except for friends writing "Is this thing on?" . Unimportant messages. Not urgent. In fact, if an App user, as they very well might, thinks an MC post is always instant to all, they have another think coming. I don't have a Smartphone, and no constant connection, as most cacher's also don't. I don't even answer my phone much, letting many calls go to voice mail.

[cezanne]

 

Ah yes, you don't mean protest, but instead mean protest.

 

Actually, protest means something different for me. The choice to use the much better system is not what I see as protest.

It's quite normal in my eyes to choose the best available system and ignore the others.

 

Sometimes I'm willing to live with disadvantages because I wish to boycott some things/goods etc out of moral reasons. I have not heard about anyone who refrains

from using the MC just for the sake of boycotting it.

 

 

One thing that I found very odd was the "Beta Version" was in fact was so unfinished, and I was anticipating a very polished system before it was officially rolled out.

 

Actually, I have many years ago stopped to anticipate anything very polished and well tested when it comes from Groundspeak. So at least I cannot end up disappointed in this respect.

 

What made me wonder however is what made them think that having a display of just 2 lines of text could make sense at all. Even when taking into account that the typical lackey is much younger than the average

over the ages of all cachers, I still wonder what made them think that this is a reasonable design decision.

[+kunarion]

One thing that I found very odd was the "Beta Version" was in fact was so unfinished, and I was anticipating a very polished system before it was officially rolled out.

what made them think that having a display of just 2 lines of text could make sense at all.

I remember a similar thing in PM (perhaps in certain browsers?), and some other places on the site, after some Upgrades in the past few years. These seem to get fixed eventually.

 

Due to needing to edit my text, I hardly ever type into the web site anymore, so I type it in Writer, copy, and cross my fingers that the Paste will not be too much text for the input area. Two lines of text then isn't a deal-breaker. For an App user who is a Twit, two lines of text is an ordinary SMS. Wait, maybe I mean "Twitter".

[cezanne]

Due to needing to edit my text, I hardly ever type into the web site anymore, so I type it in Writer, copy, and cross my fingers that the Paste will not be too much text for the input area. Two lines of text then isn't a deal-breaker.

 

I try to reply to requests and questions quickly and do it most of the time while being busy with other things. With e-mail I can do it quickly in the middle of something else - when I cannot do it quickly, the tendency to forget to reply at all or to forget to paste the text into the window and to send it off is high once it gets delayed. Opening editors etc slows down my approach and adds an additional barrier which is also the case when I want to write a long long where it is almost certain that I will need more than 4000 characters. Those often get delayed for days or even weeks.

 

The MC does not bring any advantage for me, just annoyances, and almost everyone I know in person agrees with me.

[+J Grouchy]

I'll send a communication any darn way I want. As long as it's through the GS messaging center or the profile page email link, whether or not you open it, read it or reply to it is not my problem. If I choose to send answers to your EC/Virtual cache questions through the message center, it's valid and acceptable and my log should stand. Honestly, choose to use it or choose not to. I've never had a single issue with the Message Center aside from not being able to attach photos. Can't do that anyway through the on-site email system.

 

My advice, if they aren't responding to emails, what makes you think they'll be any better about responding to MC messages?

Edited August 12, 2015 by J Grouchy

[+niraD]

Yes I would say when "email" and MC are used together, "email" means "PM", and "message" is MC.

Huh...

 

I would assume that "email" means email (as in "Send Email" on your profile page), that "message" means the MC (as in "Send Message" on your profile page), and that "PM" means the forum PM system (as in "PM this member" on the "View Profile" pop-up).

 

But maybe that's just me.

[+HHL]

[...]

 

But maybe that's just me.

 

+1 You're not alone.

 

Hans

[+on4bam]

My advice, if they aren't responding to emails, what makes you think they'll be any better about responding to MC messages?

 

For me, it's the other way around. I respond to emails, MC... well.... who knows.

[+dprovan]

But the OP is saying there is no reply when you said you would be annoyed by the duplicate messages .

I'm seeing the issue from the point of view of the person on the other end who's getting duplicate messages. That's bad whether he's going to respond or not. One might say it's doubly annoying, perhaps even counterproductive, if the recipient is intentionally ignoring the messages.