Getting people to email, NOT message center me?

[+welch]

I do not like the message center, and do not use it. Really wish GS would allow it to be something that could be disabled. But it is not so, onto my question:

 

What are others are doing to try and get people to use email? I have stated my preference very clearly in my profile, but still often receive emails telling me I have a new message (which I do not answer).

 

thanks for any help.

[+RDCWizard]

Easy stuff:

Just put your real email address in to your messages.

Also in Profile I list my real email address for all to see.

Seems to work.

 

Signed

RDCWizard

Use this: gordon.regar@regar.ca

[+Manville Possum]

I never give out my private email address, or respond to private emails from other geocachers. I prefer the message center.

[+niraD]

I have my profile page display my email address (rather than just a "Send Email" link).

 

I have the MC send email notifications of all messages, and when there is a message from the MC that I need to reply to for some reason, I reply via email.

 

On my EarthCache description page, I include a "send me email" link just before the questions seekers need to answer. I do not include a "send message" link.

[Duskywing]

I always use the message center too. Much easier, less likely to get lost.

 

Why not respond? Even just go to their profile and respond through email there...

[+Harry Dolphin]

I hate the "Messy" Center! I put "E-mail Don't Use Message Center" on my avatar. Not that it does much good. Oh, well. I only respond through e-mail.

[+on4bam]

I have "do not use MC... " in bright red letters on my profile and in the tagline when I send an email to someone (GC little helper has that option). If someone sends me something via MC it might be weeks before I see it and even then I ignore it.

 

Because of this thread I checked and found a message there, it was send on Tuesday, oh well, it can stay there for a while.

[+Traditional Bill]

I have upwards of 50 some unread messages in the message center. I get notifications of them via email, so if they need to be responded to, I just respond in my email browser. This fixed a lot of issues with the message center for me at least. I remember when the message center was released, this wasn't an option.

[+cerberus1]

I don't care for the idea that I can't delete stuff from the message center.

Might be the main reason I don't use it.

 

It says, "Please note: I use email only. Thanks." on my profile, but many seem to send mail by that "Message this Owner" on the cache page.

Since all mc messages are copied to my email too (that's a weird set-up), I just keep track of what they say on that mc, then respond in email.

- Most don't get it...

[+Mudfrog]

I have upwards of 50 some unread messages in the message center. I get notifications of them via email, so if they need to be responded to, I just respond in my email browser. This fixed a lot of issues with the message center for me at least. I remember when the message center was released, this wasn't an option.

 

I was one of the complainers when the message center first rolled out. But now that messages also arrive by email, and i can reply directly from that email,, it's not as big an issue for me. Only thing, i'm one of those that keeps my space clean. My emails are read then automatically moved into the already read folder or saved in a certain folder when needed. Can't do much cleaning up or arranging with the message center.

[+AnnaMoritz]

https://www.geocaching.com/account/settings/emailpreferences

 

Click "Send me a notification every time I receive a message."

 

Then the message then comes as email and if you hit reply your answer will be forwarded to an address like xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxx@mc.geocaching.com (for every cacher that contacted you a different one) and goes transformed as message to the other persons message center.

 

If everything works there is no need to use the message center plus you can keep the emails for later reference.

[+kunarion]

https://www.geocaching.com/account/settings/emailpreferences

 

Click "Send me a notification every time I receive a message."

 

Then the message then comes as email and if you hit reply your answer will be forwarded to an address like xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxx@mc.geocaching.com (for every cacher that contacted you a different one) and goes transformed as message to the other persons message center.

If everything works there is no need to use the message center plus you can keep the emails for later reference.

[Emphasis mine]. If everything does not work, people need to use the Message Center since messages are saved, available, and we know the message arrived (deliberately ignored, but the message was not lost).

 

Strangely, you almost never see an actual email address in the profile of the bullheaded "I Only Read Email And No Message Center" people.

[+kunarion]

I do not like the message center, and do not use it. Really wish GS would allow it to be something that could be disabled. But it is not so, onto my question:

 

What are others are doing to try and get people to use email? I have stated my preference very clearly in my profile, but still often receive emails telling me I have a new message (which I do not answer).

 

thanks for any help.

You don't reply to people who try to contact you?! Why not reply (via PM), "Please email, NOT message center me", and include an email address that you will use?

Edited July 2, 2016 by kunarion

[+kunarion]

I never give out my private email address, or respond to private emails from other geocachers. I prefer the message center.

Friends send me MC messages all the time. Weird, since they have my email address, and we each used email before. Maybe they lost my email address. I respond either by MC or Email, depending on the situation.

 

If I cold-call someone, I send it via Message Center, since it has the best chance of getting through. Many people don't understand email, or theirs is unreliable, or PM is broken this week, or they delete too many emails and lose them. MC is a viable option.

 

But ignoring it (and pronouncing that one does) is a curious plan. The notification arrives in email, so even if my psychological condition required me to ignore the Message Center, I would at least reply through whatever communication system I deem worthy. And the message might be, "email, NOT message center me".

Edited July 2, 2016 by kunarion

[+wmpastor]

 

...

 

Strangely, you almost never see an actual email address in the profile of the bullheaded "I Only Read Email And No Message Center" people.

 

And that observation suggests part of the answer to the question raised here. The vehemently anti-message-center crowd needs to (1) state and restate their preference, and (2) make it as easy as possible for people to use the preferred option. Some people may disregard a "no MC" request of the person they're contacting because they have an equally strong "MC only" policy due to a wish to keep their email uncluttered, keep their email private, etc.

 

I use both options, feeling life's too short to lose sleep over message centers. And the MC organizes geocaching communications.

[+kunarion]

I use both options, feeling life's too short to lose sleep over message centers. And the MC organizes geocaching communications.

The MC interface is incredibly cheesy. It's poorly executed and confusing, behaving differently on each platform. But there once were a lot of Forum posts about how to fix one's "email" (actually how to troubleshoot the "PM" system which is a server-processed anonymous messaging thing, not to be confused with "email"), and even posts about how to troubleshoot and fix a recipient's "email" upon no reply. The MC does an end-around to all that. You can see the message was posted, and all the recipient must do is not actively ignore it, and communication ensues. If only there were a verification that the message was opened by the recipient, it would at least be clear what the deal is (in the case of those "ignoring the MC" in protest). If you write and get no reply, you know what the deal is. You get the message .

Edited July 2, 2016 by kunarion

[+AnnaMoritz]

Maybe I missed something, but I don't see that the message center can show me all messages I received and/or got, only the last xx conversations. And I don't see how to do any search in previous messages in the message center which is meh if the same questions were already answered before or you want to look up something.

 

I don't like the usually red and big disclaimer in upper case letters 'only email and include your email address or I won't answer' (because I can't be bothered having sent messages per email nor to use https://www.geocaching.com/email/ and enter your username) of certain earthcache owners. The message systems allows to contact someone without giving away the email address and answering is possible both hitting reply without giving away the email address and replying in the message center.

[RuideAlmeida]

And I don't see how to do any search in previous messages in the message center...

 

Just move the cursor on the right of the conversation index to the bottom... then you will see "Load more conversations".

[+AnnaMoritz]

And I don't see how to do any search in previous messages in the message center...

 

Just move the cursor on the right of the conversation index to the bottom... then you will see "Load more conversations".

 

The only available mouse-overs for me (FF 47.0.1) are 'Block User' at the top line and 'Hide Conversation' on the left side in the box that has the focus. Then the links https://www.geocaching.com/profile/?guid=... over avatars on right side if the focus is there.

 

No 'load more conversations'. Also using TAB doesn't bring up more conversations when scrolling down.

 

And only if I know in which conversation that I can access on the left panel and have this one selected I can let the browser search for the information I need.

[+kunarion]

And I don't see how to do any search in previous messages in the message center...

 

Just move the cursor on the right of the conversation index to the bottom... then you will see "Load more conversations".

 

The only available mouse-overs for me (FF 47.0.1) are 'Block User' at the top line and 'Hide Conversation' on the left side in the box that has the focus. Then the links https://www.geocaching.com/profile/?guid=... over avatars on right side if the focus is there.

 

No 'load more conversations'. Also using TAB doesn't bring up more conversations when scrolling down.

 

And only if I know in which conversation that I can access on the left panel and have this one selected I can let the browser search for the information I need.

I'm seeing it in FF (version 44.0.2) and IE 11, if I scroll the left panel's conversations all the way to the bottom. Then the "Load More Conversations" link shows.

Edited July 2, 2016 by kunarion

[+AnnaMoritz]

Ah, now I see why there was no 'Load more conversations'. In the beginning one had to 'hide' conversations if the conversation of interest was not in the first twenty ones in order to able to read 'older' messages. So I hid quite a few conversations. No conversations that are to be shown - no 'Load more conversations'.

 

The only way to get them back to the left panel is to send a new message to the cacher, but you have to remember the name as there is no list which cachers and no button 'unhide all'. Once there are more than twenty conversations that are not hidden, 'Load more conversations' is available.

 

But sill search seems to work only for the conversation that is selected on the left panel only, I couldn't figure out how to search for certain keywords/details/coords/answers easily if I don't know in which conversation to look for in contrast to scanning through emails.

[+Lellynelly]

Welch can I ask why you don't like the message centre?

[+welch]

Welch can I ask why you don't like the message centre?

I don't like it because for me it tends to slow down communications. Since it causes a need to log into geocaching.com message center, a site I may have not otherwise needed to visit today. If a message is an email then reply can be done simply with a reply.

[+kunarion]

Welch can I ask why you don't like the message centre?

I don't like it because for me it tends to slow down communications. Since it causes a need to log into geocaching.com message center, a site I may have not otherwise needed to visit today. If a message is an email then reply can be done simply with a reply.

Why haven't you enabled your email address in your profile? "Show my email address on my public profile"? The PM system adds a layer of communication difficulty, especially when replying, where the respondent's email address is the "No-Reply" throw-away one, and PM is what people may to use in order to "email" when "show address" has not been enabled. having it in your profile is OK, but you can see that a link is more likely to be used.

 

The new Message Center was set up especially to work with the Apps. It's perfect for that, maybe better than email. Plus it was set up to save messages, due to the problem of many people not getting (or being able to send) "email" through the PM system. But, yeah, unfortunately the interface on the web site is really bad.

 

One option for people who won't or can't use the MC, is to reply in some fashion, probably by logging onto the web site and using PM (remember, if the message arrived through PM, the return address is likely no good). But you may then reply that you're finding it too annoying to log onto the web site and use PM use the Message Center, and ask if the writer will please send the message again by email.

Edited July 9, 2016 by kunarion

[+welch]

I do not like the message center, and do not use it. Really wish GS would allow it to be something that could be disabled. But it is not so, onto my question:

 

What are others are doing to try and get people to use email? I have stated my preference very clearly in my profile, but still often receive emails telling me I have a new message (which I do not answer).

 

thanks for any help.

You don't reply to people who try to contact you?! Why not reply (via PM), "Please email, NOT message center me", and include an email address that you will use?

I reply to the those that need responses via email. Going to their profile and sending out an email via geocaching.com if must be.

Logging in to use the message center to tell people to email me, means having to log in. Seems like a waste of time to do that.

Kunarion, I'm gonna guess you are online frequently, and on the geocaching website a lot, right?

[+welch]

Welch can I ask why you don't like the message centre?

I don't like it because for me it tends to slow down communications. Since it causes a need to log into geocaching.com message center, a site I may have not otherwise needed to visit today. If a message is an email then reply can be done simply with a reply.

Why haven't you enabled your email address in your profile? "Show my email address on my public profile"? The PM system adds a layer of communication difficulty, especially when replying, where the respondent's email address is the "No-Reply" throw-away one, and PM is what people may to use in order to "email" when the address has not been enabled.

Not even sure how to do that. Guess I spend too little of my time on geocaching.com to have figured out all the options.

[+welch]

https://www.geocaching.com/account/settings/emailpreferences

 

Click "Send me a notification every time I receive a message."

 

Then the message then comes as email and if you hit reply your answer will be forwarded to an address like xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxx@mc.geocaching.com (for every cacher that contacted you a different one) and goes transformed as message to the other persons message center.

 

If everything works there is no need to use the message center plus you can keep the emails for later reference.

Yes I get emails telling me I have a message...

However when i hit the reply to message it trys to send the email to noreply@geocaching.com. Is there a setting I need to change somewhere for my replies to get transformed?

[+kunarion]

Kunarion, I'm gonna guess you are online frequently, and on the geocaching website a lot, right?

Yes, but I also have the App, and get email, PM, or MC pop-ups when I'm online. My App devices are wifi-only, no data plan.

 

I check the web site morning and evening, most days. So I have time to go hunt down the source of any particular message, and figure out a way to reply.

 

One annoying thing is, some friends send me an MC when we've communicated by actual email (Not PM, but by email addresses) many times. Some people use all forms of messaging as if it's all the same thing. But an MC, especially if it requires me to look something up online and include it in a reply (such as photos), is extra work. The MC is best as a last resort (or as a cold-call communication method), because you know the recipient can access it at any time even if the recipient's (or sender's) email is broken. And it's good for the Apps.

Edited July 9, 2016 by kunarion

[+kunarion]

https://www.geocaching.com/account/settings/emailpreferences

 

Click "Send me a notification every time I receive a message."

 

Then the message then comes as email and if you hit reply your answer will be forwarded to an address like xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxx@mc.geocaching.com (for every cacher that contacted you a different one) and goes transformed as message to the other persons message center.

 

If everything works there is no need to use the message center plus you can keep the emails for later reference.

Yes I get emails telling me I have a message...

However when i hit the reply to message it trys to send the email to noreply@geocaching.com. Is there a setting I need to change somewhere for my replies to get transformed?

Each recipient must have selected "Send me a notification every time I receive a message", or else their email has that "No-Reply" return address. It's tricky. I've sent a lot of replies to "No-Reply" . If I catch my mistake, I next go to PM and send a reply. If I'm logged online anyway, I instead may reply using the MC, depending on the situation. People who don't want messages on the MC need to be sure everything on their end is set up to receive replies. Or else...

[+AnnaMoritz]

At https://www.geocaching.com/account/settings/emailpreferences you can select "Updates" "Message Center" "Send me a notification every time I receive a message." then you get notifications from "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxx@mc.geocaching.com² addresses.

 

If you hit reply to the email this address should be the recipient, not noreply@... The other cacher can see the message in message center (and as email if selected in settings).