Opting in/out of @Mentions

[Derideo_Te]

The @Mention is a useful feature but I gather that not everyone likes it. I copied a bunch of them from one thread to another when I wanted to invite people to one of my frivolous fun threads. That was when I discovered that some posters prefer not to be included. While they have been polite it is obviously annoying if they prefer not to receive them at all.

The problem is keeping track of who doesn't want to be included. So I was wondering if there was a way to provide an "opt in/out" check box for the @Mention function?

Is this feasible and how does everyone else feel about this?

Since I am using the spoiler feature to invite people to this thread please don't quote the OP or else delete the spoiler. Thank you.

I don't like the mass mentions for the reason you already addressed. I don't want that thing quoted like a million times. I don't mind a mention here and there but please keep me off the mass mention lists.

Only a couple of people do it but it's annoying and an attempt at rep whoring, imo.

I won't dispute that some people do use it for rep whoring but there are others who don't have that intention. It certainly wasn't mine when I started this thread. My goal was to find a way to avoid annoying people if at all possible.

The problem is that right now there is no way to "opt out" other than to tell those people directly to exclude you. That places the onus on each of us to tell others to exclude us. An "opt out" option would reduce the need for unnecessary PM's.

 

[Dot Com]

If you send > 1 mass @ mention a month, its too many.

 

[Statistikhengst]

I don't mind the @-mentions but it DOES seem like they've been 'over-utilized' a bit in recent weeks.

Perhaps it's just that I'm only and just now making some of those informal mental circulation lists while others may have been dealing with it longer.

For now, I'm OK with it.

I may have a different opinion in a few months or a year or more.

You know, Kondor3, each person probably has an area of interest for which he has "fire in the belly". For some, it's might be the social threads (which I find very, very nice). For others, the Bull-ring or the ME threads. For me, it's the elections section. That's where I feel most at home and now and then, I do like to send out a mention list. But of circa 200 threads I have created to date, I have made a large mention list for about 13 of them and then made a mention list on a posting about a landmark in Berlin once, so that makes probably 15, or about 5% of my threads. So, actually, I do kind of use it like salt and pepper.

Now, the occasional mention of just one person, like, for a joke or a passing reference - I do that alot.

 

[Statistikhengst]

J, you're probably in the majority. It's just that those of us who don't like it, REALLY don't like it.

Yes, bdboop, your message is coming over loud and clear. You told me months ago that you did not like the @ function and I dropped your name from the list immediately, per your request.

Stat? Stop sucking all the oxygen out of the room. I was talking to Jere.

bdboop, you are writing on an open thread on an open forum where all can contribute. If I see something that interests me and I feel like responding, then I can do that at my own leisure, just as you can.

It's part of the USMB experience. I don't forbid you from making a response to someone else.

 

[Wolfsister77]

I like the mention feature and and completely fine and enjoy being included. So do not take me off the lists. I can choose to participate or not and I don't always find all the good threads. I am fine being included. Thanks

 

[Dot Com]

I have no issue w/ individual mentions that have to do w/ serious topics but when someone sends a mass @ mention because a koala bear adopted a kitten, I have to draw the line As was mentioned by another, Mebelle likes to use the "individual" @ feature notifier and I guess I'm ok w/ that even though we disagree on just about everything.

 

[Statistikhengst]

I have no issue w/ individual mentions that have to do w/ serious topics but when someone sends a mass @ mention because a koala bear adopted a kitten, I have to draw the line As was mentioned by another Mebelle likes to use the "individual" @ feature notifier and I guess I'm ok w/ that even though we disagree on just about everything.

Hey, Koala Bears are cute!!!

 

[Amelia]

Yes, bdboop, your message is coming over loud and clear. You told me months ago that you did not like the @ function and I dropped your name from the list immediately, per your request.

Stat? Stop sucking all the oxygen out of the room. I was talking to Jere.

bdboop, you are writing on an open thread on an open forum where all can contribute. If I see something that interests me and I feel like responding, then I can do that at my own leisure, just as you can.

It's part of the USMB experience. I don't forbid you from making a response to someone else.

Yes, you have the right to personalize your remarks at Boop and suck the oxygen out of a thread. You are not required to follow Boop's good advice.

 

[Amelia]

I have no issue w/ individual mentions that have to do w/ serious topics but when someone sends a mass @ mention because a koala bear adopted a kitten, I have to draw the line As was mentioned by another Mebelle likes to use the "individual" @ feature notifier and I guess I'm ok w/ that even though we disagree on just about everything.

 

[BDBoop]

Yes, bdboop, your message is coming over loud and clear. You told me months ago that you did not like the @ function and I dropped your name from the list immediately, per your request.

Stat? Stop sucking all the oxygen out of the room. I was talking to Jere.

bdboop, you are writing on an open thread on an open forum where all can contribute. If I see something that interests me and I feel like responding, then I can do that at my own leisure, just as you can.

It's part of the USMB experience. I don't forbid you from making a response to someone else.

Okay.

You accused me of having a problem with you. I was actually referencing Wake. There was no reason for you to clutch your pearls because, as stated - I wasn't talking to you.

Nor was I talking about you.

But thanks for speaking to me!! It was totally unexpected.

 

[BDBoop]

Stat? Stop sucking all the oxygen out of the room. I was talking to Jere.

bdboop, you are writing on an open thread on an open forum where all can contribute. If I see something that interests me and I feel like responding, then I can do that at my own leisure, just as you can.

It's part of the USMB experience. I don't forbid you from making a response to someone else.

Yes, you have the right to personalize your remarks at Boop and suck the oxygen out of a thread. You are not required to follow Boop's good advice.

Both eyeballs, same socket I shit you not.

/BAER

 

[Amelia]

 

[Derideo_Te]

So I see a pattern starting to emerge.

Mass @Mentions are the most annoying to those who want to opt out of them but there are others who actively like them.

Individual @Mentions are generally not a problem although there are still those who want to opt out of them entirely.

Posters have preferences as to what they like/dislike when it comes to thread types. They will avoid the FZ or the social threads because they find those annoying.

Thank you for the input so far. Certainly I will make a note of everyone who doesn't want to be mass @mentioned and keep that in mind going forward.

 

[BDBoop]

And thank YOU for not taking anything personally.

 

[Kondor3]

Tough room today...

 

[Luddly Neddite]

I like the @ Mention function because it brings about a sense of togetherness. Community. It is extremely useful when you share an OP you spent a lot of time and effort on, when you don't want it to just get a smidgen of feedback and then fade away. There's nothing wrong with it imho, and it promotes forum activity, too. If someone doesn't like being mentioned, they can always ask to not be mentioned, and I'll honor that so long as I don't forget.

Many people like this function, and appreciate being invited to share in the conversation.

It's a social function for a social forum, and it's one of the best ways to come together and talk.

And, its certainly easy enough to ignore those you don't want to fool with.

Like "ignore" and rep, this seems like a lot of to-do over nothing.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Yeah, bullshit /she said politely

I don't like it, don't need it. That's what the 'new posts' and 'active threads' are links for. If I thought your thread was worth visiting, I would do so.

If your sense of "togetherness" goes part-n-parcel with people wishing you would knock it the hell off, then yeah. Togetherness it is.

I seriously think that feature pisses people off more than anything.

Oh, so it DOES have a worthwhile function.

 

[Sarah G]

So I see a pattern starting to emerge.

Mass @Mentions are the most annoying to those who want to opt out of them but there are others who actively like them.

Individual @Mentions are generally not a problem although there are still those who want to opt out of them entirely.

Posters have preferences as to what they like/dislike when it comes to thread types. They will avoid the FZ or the social threads because they find those annoying.

Thank you for the input so far. Certainly I will make a note of everyone who doesn't want to be mass @mentioned and keep that in mind going forward.

You're the best.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

I seriously think that feature pisses people off more than anything.

If people were as important as they were making themselves and their posts out to be, then their followers would just go "Oh, there's that brilliant fellow again, I wonder what he's been up to. I shall click on his profile and hit 'all threads started by.'"

We're not stupid, we don't need a trail of bread crumbs. If we want to see what you've got to say, we know how to find out.

It does have to do with arrogance. The strange part is if you don't ever make your way to their posts, they think it's because you're the stupid one.

Delusions of grandeur.

Yep.

Like obsessing over rep.

Its like some people are afraid they won't get picked for grade school basketball.

[MENTION=44124]Wake[/MENTION] - I like your posts a lot. Please keep me in your mentions list.

 

[Mertex]

I seriously think that feature pisses people off more than anything.

If people were as important as they were making themselves and their posts out to be, then their followers would just go "Oh, there's that brilliant fellow again, I wonder what he's been up to. I shall click on his profile and hit 'all threads started by.'"

We're not stupid, we don't need a trail of bread crumbs. If we want to see what you've got to say, we know how to find out.

It does have to do with arrogance. The strange part is if you don't ever make your way to their posts, they think it's because you're the stupid one.

Delusions of grandeur.

Has anyone ever said that or is that what you think they are thinking? I honestly don't think they (those that use the mention function) even realize who didn't respond to the mention but most certainly focus on those that do.