Danyl Strype Sun 2 Sep 2012 1:47PM
I can handle a lot more dashboard noise than email noise, since I can avoid it by just not logging into Loomio, and still get other things done. Would be good as a power user to have fairly granular control over it, but I like the idea of setting smart defaults, based on user feedback, and putting those controls somewhere accessible but not intrusive.
BTW "Like" now has an unmistakable design smell associated with FB. Can you please replace "Like" with "Agree", or even "Sweet" or "Nice"? I'd like to be able to choose my own positive feedback word, so instead of "Liked by Strypey, x, y, and z, it just says "Sweet, nice, good one, bonza, ka pai", with each word linking to the profile of the user who said it. I'd also like a polite way to express strong disagreement.
I agree that I don't need to be notified every time someone "agrees" or thinks my comment is "sweet" or "nice". I also agree that I would like a dashboard notification when there are new comments on a discussion I'm following, but only one notification for each discussion, not one for each comment (as default at least).
Benjamin Knight Sat 8 Sep 2012 1:25AM
I've had comments from three new users that they'd really like more email notifications (even just for comments in discussions they'd commented in) - I think this is particularly important for the early engagement phase, where people aren't habitually checking - and new users are typically only involved in one or two conversations, with low traffic. As long as the level of email notification is really easy for people to reduce, I'd be inclined to start with more rather than less email alerts. Clearly high-volume users will want almost no email notifications at all, so we'll just need to make that a very easy option.
Richard D. Bartlett Sat 8 Sep 2012 2:46AM
I'm spec'ing up some features on this right now Ben.
This is one of those features that's all about getting the right compromise. Right now we have at least 10 events that generate in-site notifications and/or emails. Giving the users full customisable control over which events they'd like which kind of notification for would be a UX nightmare (10 events * either/neither/both in-site and email notifications = 30 options per group), so we're making some educated guesses and giving them 3 options per group instead: default, more, and less.
I doubt it will be perfect in the first iteration but here's what we're thinking (work in progress - comment most welcome):
https://trello.com/card/5-customizable-email-notification-frequency/50401600b101670d1c29a586/3
It's going to take a lot of user testing to hit the right compromise but this feels like a 'good enough' place to start.
Paul Smith Sun 9 Sep 2012 1:20AM
@Richard That's awesome, seems like the whole thing is coming along nicely. All makes sense at first glance to me UI wise but I've been thinking about it for a while.
Danyl Strype Tue 11 Sep 2012 1:07PM
@Ben
I take your point, but let's take "noise" literally for a sec. You walk into a cafe The music is painfully loud. You immediately go somewhere else. You walk into the next cafe, the music sounds like it might be good but you can hardly hear it. You might sit right next to the speakers, or ask the barista to turn it up a little.
I really think the default needs to be less noise, with a really easy way to "pump up the volume". I like the way the new CreativeCommons.org.nz (using WordPress) allow users to come to the site and read (silent), subscribe to a comment thread on one blog post (quiet) or subscribe to the blog itself (noisier). [10 points for pimping the new CC site] :)
Benjamin Knight Thu 20 Sep 2012 4:48AM
@Strypey, I guess my concern is that if the default setting is too quiet (as it currently is), then new people who walk into the room won't even know that there's a stereo in there at all.
How's that for over-analogizing!
I'm not suggesting this needs to be permanent, but when we're at a stage where nearly everyone is a very new (or first-time) user, I'm inclined to bias things to making it easy for noobs. This can always change as we get further down the track.
As Keong would yell, USER PROFILES!
Paul Smith Fri 19 Oct 2012 12:19AM
Just updating this thread with some yammer conversation with JV before it gets lost in yammer history.
https://www.yammer.com/loomio/#/Threads/show?threadId=223395745
Danyl Strype Tue 23 Oct 2012 2:23AM
@Ben
"I'm inclined to bias things to making it easy for noobs. "
I agree. My point is that turning the volume up is always easier for noobs than turning it down. If they struggle to turn it down, they'll just turn it off. As I've said before, nothing turns me off a social tool quicker than being bombarded with email every time someone farts in a chat room :P
Benjamin Knight · Thu 23 Aug 2012 9:47PM
@Jon, these mockups are great!
Would the default also be to auto-follow any Loomio you've commented on? And to be notified about any Loomio you're involved in that's closing in 24-hours (or however long)?
I think as long as noise level can be customised, it's safest to start with a relatively high level of notification - this is because nearly every user is new at this stage, and the average user is only a member of one or two groups, having very few discussions/decisions.
This will obviously change a bit further down the track, as there are more and more users as habitual as us, but it's a wee way off. I think the typical new user is pretty keen to be kept up to date with pretty much everything that's going on (as long as it's not flooding their email inbox).