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Are we using Private Messaging to its potential?

SMS

02:21 / 27.05.02

How much do you use this function? For what do you use it? Is it long philosophical discussions, or quick questions and favors? Are topics discussed private in the sense that they’re none of my damned business?

Does it have greater potential? Should we try to encourage more private messaging? How?

Our Lady of The Two Towers

09:27 / 27.05.02

Well, I've used it for a virtual shoulder rub and a 'shall we go to a bar?' type discussion and that's about it. I think it really has to be kept limited or else you have two track discussions going on, unless the thread has more or less finished but two people want to take it further...

Tom Coates

12:00 / 27.05.02

There are many potential uses for the private messaging feature, including the hybridised things like the moderation actions facility. Lots more will eventually come into being. If anyone has any suggestions, they should let me know...

mondo a-go-go

08:36 / 28.05.02

can you send a pm to more than one person at a time? that would be useful for arranging meets and stuff, if you wanted to pass on your contact details (address or phone number for example) but didn't want to share them with the whole board.

it would be useful (though i'd imagine complicated to do) if we could flag messages for response. often i won't have time/ inclination to respond to a pm immediately but they can get lost/forgotten about in the noise....

Tom Coates

12:13 / 28.05.02

Hmm. I'm not convinced we want to turn private messaging into something as intricate and complex as full-on e-mail... Thoughts from the floor?

Matthew Fluxington

12:30 / 28.05.02

I've gotten a lot of use out of the new Private Messaging function, to the point where it has replaced about 70% of the email I used to have. At this point, I've got over 200 private messages and counting. Sometimes it is used for answering questions other people have without starting threads (for example, a couple weeks ago I had a conversation about jazz with YNH via PM), sometimes it is working mail addresses, sometimes it is to have a chatty email sort of conversation, sometimes it is for discussion of the board itself with other friends, and sometimes it's to organize meet ups.

I love it. Don't get rid of it. I get the feeling you all aren't using it to its fullest potential...

Our Lady of The Two Towers

12:50 / 28.05.02

I quite like Kooky's multiple-target messaging, if only because the alternative is to type multiple individual messages.

Matthew Fluxington

13:59 / 28.05.02

Have you ever considered copy/pasting?

Tom Coates

14:10 / 28.05.02

I'm also very impressed by the new private messages and very keen on their use. It means I can keep barbelith stuff in one place and not get it confused with the rest of my life. Unless I want to. Which is seriously nice. I do think that some people aren't really playing with it that much, but I'd be surprised if it wasn't getting a pretty good general take up. Of course it's easier if people keep their names consistent and not too damn long. but that's a matter of personal choice of course...

w1rebaby

09:54 / 29.05.02

I only use it to msg people who I don't have the email addresses of, and given the opportunity I would prefer to use email. In fact, if I'm planning on conducting a long conversation with someone I'll PM them for their email and use that. But that's a very valuable function - without it, I'd have no alternative but to post my email publicly if I wanted to talk to a barbelither privately.

(Actually, I wouldn't, as I have a mail form on my site, however that's not generally the case.)

Tom Coates

11:33 / 29.05.02

I think that is a valuable function as you say.

Our Lady of The Two Towers

14:56 / 29.05.02

Yes Flux, but why should that preclude a multi-message system, just for ease's sake?

pointless and uncalled for

15:42 / 29.05.02

I use it a bit as an e-mail function. It saves having to go to other sites to check for messages that i receive regularly.

cusm

20:45 / 29.05.02

I like it. Its barbemail. The only thing it lacks is sending to multiple folks, like a CC.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

12:17 / 01.06.02

The private message thing occupies a funny place in my head; the fact that PMs are still technically "part of Barbelith" gives them a kind of saftey in my mind. On some level, I find I regard someone's email addy as part of their personal space, like a phone number (unless it's a spam-catcher account). I don't feel as afraid of violating someone's personal (cyber) space when I use PMs as when I send email.

Stone Mirror

00:45 / 03.06.02

I've used it to ask a participant in a thread a more-or-less off-topic queestion resulting from his posting. Got a response in short order, and we continued the brief, but productive, discussion in email.

As far as encouraging folks to use it more, in the words of Yogi Berra, "If people don't wanna go out to the ballpark, how're ya gonna stop 'em?"

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