Using private messages

[nominal]

Hi,

Just a comment to say I find it impossible to figure out if I have already responded to a private message.

When I get a message I use the quick reply, there is no indication that the message was sent.

If I look at the sent items - it says 0 messsages.
If I load the message again - I can only see the message that I received.

So I end sending responses twice and still not sure what had happened.

Very strange.

At a minimum, even if you can not show the sent message, at least show a message saying MESSAGE SENT.

Thanks!
Uri

[NathanB]

Agree!

The PM system of this forum is a little difficult to use compared to other forums I have used. You have to tick the box that says, "send me a copy" (or something similar) to keep track of all your communication and I always forget to! :S

[LemonChip]

I haven't sent one for a while, but isn't there an icon that changes after you respond to a PM?

[FS Administrator]

Hi guys,
Thanks for the question. This is a very odd one as I've retested this on our accounts this end and functionality of the system is that next to each message is a little box/icon:

[Red] Unread Message
[White] Read Message
[Blue] Replied-to Message
[Yellow] Forwarded Message

Then, in control panel if you click on 'List messages' at the top there is an option to view folders. Which is where you should be able to see the 'sent items' folder.

Also under 'Settings and options' > 'Edit options' is a checkbox to choose whether to save a copy in sent items automatically.

This is how it generally works but from your description I gather it's not happening for you

Uri, would you mind emailing me a screenshot of what appears for you if you get time? Wondering if a browser issue.

Anyway let me know and we can do some more testing.

Cheers
Peter

[JohnSheppard]

Originally Posted by FS Administrator

Also under 'Settings and options' > 'Edit options' is a checkbox to choose whether to save a copy in sent items automatically.

Is it possible to have this turned on by default?

Like....who wouldn't want a copy of sent items? Maybe one in 10,000, and that person would likely be insane...

[FS Administrator]

Originally Posted by JohnSheppard

Is it possible to have this turned on by default?
Like....who wouldn't want a copy of sent items? Maybe one in 10,000, and that person would likely be insane...

Hi John, I've checked that setting and have now turned it on by default - good idea thanks The system seems to have it off by default as a setting when new members register. Unfortunately I don't think it will override the settings of existing members though
Cheers
Peter

[nominal]

Originally Posted by FS Administrator

[Blue] Replied-to Message

Ok, it is blue, so I guess it kind of works. But I didn't know about this colour coding before. I any case I still think a good design will be to show some confirmation on message sent.

You know how you submit a form on a website and see this little message, "message sent". It's a little thing that I think is a big thing from usability perspective.

The same goes for the default in the sent items, In outlook you can also select whether to save or not to save, but the default is to save. I would not think of changing that in a million years.

Again a small thing that makes a big difference.

The way I see it, you guys have spent hundreds of hours building up this great website (I know you write lines of copy not code) . And people are loving it but than you have this little thing that people get upset about and they think this is the most important thing.

I'm sure you know what I mean, it's the little things that get you in the end. I keep having the same thing with Nominal - it has so many great features but sometimes people just notice what I think to be the little things.

[FS Administrator]

Hi Uri,
I totally see where you're coming from and we always appreciate being pushed to improve things around here. With developing Nominal I can imagine this process is all too familiar

While our choice to use vBulletin as our forum platform is great in that it is a mature forum platform, we are sometimes restricted as to how much we can hack functionality - however I will investigate options for a smoother messaging experience as it's possibly come up before on other vb forums (all suggestions welcome if you've seen plugins on other forums).

We're also toying with the idea of upgrading to VB4 which appears to have a slicker interface generally, but it will likely be a major upheaval so won't be rushing into that one.

Thanks again
Peter