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Put the full message in an email or not?


The Little Guy

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Lets say you have a "Messaging System" on your site, and every time someone messages another member, you send out a notification to the member that received the message. Do you:

 

A. Put the full message in the email as well

B. Put a partial message in the email as well

C. Just tell the member that someone messaged you and to go to the site to read the full message

D. Other

 

Me and another developer are having issues deciding I say C, and he says A. The reason I say C is because it will help keep the site active, and he says A because everyone else does it.

 

What are your thoughts?

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A.  The users would still need to go to the site to respond, so your 'keep the site active' argument is moot.  Remember, also, that you want to gain/keep users by keeping your site user friendly.  It's nice being able to filter PMs via email, as it keeps actual site interactions productive, which increases the overall enjoyment of the experience.

 

Quick and dirty: users first.  If you do it right, you won't have to worry about keeping the site active.

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Quick and dirty: users first.  If you do it right, you won't have to worry about keeping the site active.

 

Amen.

 

Of course, one site I'm on even allows me to respond via email. I still go use the site for it's intended purpose. Unless the ENTIRE point of your site is messaging, then sending the full message via email will not discourage users from visiting the site for the main purpose.

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A. I absolutely hate mobile web browsing, so I would much rather read a PM in my email than have to load the webpage to read it. That's the only time I could see it being a real problem, at least for me. But if you're going to bother sending me an email at least make it worth it.

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Lets say you have a "Messaging System" on your site, and every time someone messages another member, you send out a notification to the member that received the message. Do you:

 

A. Put the full message in the email as well

B. Put a partial message in the email as well

C. Just tell the member that someone messaged you and to go to the site to read the full message

D. Other

 

Me and another developer are having issues deciding I say C, and he says A. The reason I say C is because it will help keep the site active, and he says A because everyone else does it.

 

What are your thoughts?

1 - You could compromise and meet him in the middle.

2 - You could go for the extra over-head and give the user the option how much they want to see.

3 - Roll a die or pick a random number from 1 to 3 and that will be your decision.

4 - Honestly, it really doesn't matter.  I've seen it done all of the ways that you've described and did not care.  I cared about the content of the site and the community.  Stop painting the bikeshed or wasting your time on -- in the grand scheme of things -- silly parts of the project :) .

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A. I absolutely hate mobile web browsing, so I would much rather read a PM in my email than have to load the webpage to read it. That's the only time I could see it being a real problem, at least for me. But if you're going to bother sending me an email at least make it worth it.

I agree.  However, I've found that when developers make good mobile sites, that makes everything sooooooo much less annoying.  No, you still don't get the same interface as you would on a desktop/laptop, but easier to navigate.

 

If the OP does factor this into his future plans, then that would make him even more awesome :) .

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