Email Blasts and New Subscriber Button

[Jason Dunn]

Two quick updates for you on the subscriber services. This is something new for all of us, so there are some bumps. :-) <br /><br />First off, if you don't want to receive notifications of new posts via email, here's how you turn them off:<br /><br />1) Go to the site home page<br />2) Make sure you are logged in, then click on the CUSTOMIZE link on the upper right-hand column<br />3) On the Customize menu on the left side, click on Master Email Control<br />4) Under the EMAIL BLAST section, turn it off. You can do the same for the Weekly Digest if you don't want to receive it<br /><br />That's it! We're going to take this setting and put it on the "thank you" page so that right after you subscribe you'll be shown that option so there are no surprises. It will take us a while to implement that code because we have so many other things to tweak.<br /><br />Second, we've replaced the subscriber badge with something that I think everyone will like better: it now simply says "I'm a Subscriber!". This is a statement of fact, and has nothing to do with supporting the site, because if you're coming here, reading, posting, helping others, buying through affiliate links, clicking on the banners, or contributing in any other way, you're supporting the site and I thank you for it. If you are able to support this site financially by purchasing a subscription, wonderful! If not, that's ok - no one will look down on you or think anything less if you don't have that badge. We're soon going to add the ability for people to turn off their own badge if they wish, so it will quickly become impossible for anyone to see who's a subscriber and who's not. I don't want people to get hung up on this issue - let's focus on the good stuff, shall we? :D <br /><br />I should add that we've made it Flash-based, which has a rollover effect, which means it's now impossible to fake (yes someone actually faked it yesterday). I'm not sure what the motivation is behind someone trying to fake being a subscriber, but I'd like to ask these individuals to stop.

[pschultz]

We're soon going to add the ability for people to turn off the badge if they wish, so it will quickly become impossible for anyone to see who's a subscriber and who's not.
Do you turn off your own badge or turn off seeing other people's badges?

[GoldKey]

I love the effect when you hover over the badge with your cursor!

[Jason Dunn]

We're soon going to add the ability for people to turn off the badge if they wish, so it will quickly become impossible for anyone to see who's a subscriber and who's not.
Do you turn off your own badge or turn off seeing other people's badges?

You'll have the ability to turn off your own badge, this hiding your subscriber status if you so choose.

[aroma]

Uhh.... I don't like the roll-over effect on the button. And I don't like the blue color... change these too please! :mrgreen: I'm just kidding! Keep up the good work Jason!

[pschultz]

We're soon going to add the ability for people to turn off the badge if they wish, so it will quickly become impossible for anyone to see who's a subscriber and who's not.
Do you turn off your own badge or turn off seeing other people's badges?

You'll have the ability to turn off your own badge, this hiding your subscriber status if you so choose.
I think the badges are great, and I can show off that I am a subscriber, but I think that it would be nice if non-subscribers could turn off seeing other people's badges. Mostly, they are the ones complaining about the badges anyways. Just my $0.02.

[Arne Hess]

3) On the Customize menu on the left side, click on Master Email Control
4) Under the EMAIL BLAST section, turn it off. You can do the same for the Weekly Digest if you don't want to receive it3)
But I don't have an EMAIL BLAST section there; I can just configure my mobile (Pocket PC) options with Home Page, Forums, Articles, Archives and Links; no Desktop options to be customized...

[Jason Dunn]

I think the badges are great, and I can show off that I am a subscriber, but I think that it would be nice if non-subscribers could turn off seeing other people's badges. Mostly, they are the ones complaining about the badges anyways. Just my $0.02.

Ah, but that's giving non-subscribers customization capabilities for nothing! ;-) The whole vision of subscribers services is to give subscribers the richest customization services possible, and everyone else the "stock" experience. I've been pretty stubborn about this since the start with people asking for more posts on the mobile site, more posts on the front page, more pages linked from the front page, etc. No matter what settings I change, it will tick someone off, so the solution is to keep everything that same, except for subscribers. We worked hard on our customization system to make sure it was worth a couple of bucks a month!

[GoldKey]

There are two large buttons at the top to switch from PPC to Desktop customization options.

[Arne Hess]

There are two large buttons at the top to switch from PPC to Desktop customization options.
Good point - but so far (thanks God) I'm not blind... 8)
But clicking the PC icon gives me just an empty page since I've subscribed for the mobile version "only"...
So I have no access to the E-Mail configuration but getting update E-Mails which isn't that bad if I wouldn't get it twice because I'm also using NewsGator with Outlook... ;-)

[GoldKey]

If you have the "Mobile Light" version, e-mail blast is not an option, so you probably should not be getting them. I guess that is your point.

[Jason Dunn]

3) On the Customize menu on the left side, click on Master Email Control
4) Under the EMAIL BLAST section, turn it off. You can do the same for the Weekly Digest if you don't want to receive it3)
But I don't have an EMAIL BLAST section there; I can just configure my mobile (Pocket PC) options with Home Page, Forums, Articles, Archives and Links; no Desktop options to be customized...

You're getting the email blasts even though you're a Mobile Lite subscriber? Hmm - we've set our permissions wrong then...

[Arne Hess]

You're getting the email blasts even though you're a Mobile Lite subscriber? Hmm - we've set our permissions wrong then...
Yes, still the same as I wrote you yesterday via E-Mail... :? Just want to make sure but hell - maybe all other Mobile Lite subscribers hates me because I've told you... 8O :2gunfire: :wink:

[joechen]

Yes, still the same as I wrote you yesterday via E-Mail... :? Just want to make sure but hell - maybe all other Mobile Lite subscribers hates me because I've told you... 8O :2gunfire: :wink:

Same here. I'm a Mobile Lite subscriber and I'm getting the email blast. I actually DO want to turn it off as I check the website enough and I don't need the extra emails. Maybe that's incentive for me to upgrade my subscriptions so I can turn it off? ;)

Joe

[Jason Dunn]

Same here. I'm a Mobile Lite subscriber and I'm getting the email blast. I actually DO want to turn it off as I check the website enough and I don't need the extra emails. Maybe that's incentive for me to upgrade my subscriptions so I can turn it off? ;)

Heh heh - no, it's a bug we'll fix on our end. Sorry about that. :-)

[PetiteFlower]

I was going to point that out as well :)

[tregnier]

Doggone it! I like getting those e-mails. Then I don't have to be checking the website all the time...I might be wearing out the Refresh icon. Does that mean I have to upgrade my Lite subscription to continue the e-mails? Is there a special rate for upgrades? Can I get a special badge since I'm a charter subsriber (Day One Dude)? Enquiring minds want to know these things. :mrgreen:

[scargill]

I think the badges are great, and I can show off that I am a subscriber, but I think that it would be nice if non-subscribers could turn off seeing other people's badges. Mostly, they are the ones complaining about the badges anyways. Just my $0.02.

Lets give subscribers the ability to turn off seeing other people's badges! Then if they complain about it they have a reason too subscribe! :lol:

I was one of the ones who didn't like what it said, I think the new badges are MUCH better because of what Jason said!

PS. Did someone fake the badge in jest or maliciously?

[Jason Dunn]

Doggone it! I like getting those e-mails. Then I don't have to be checking the website all the time...I might be wearing out the Refresh icon. Does that mean I have to upgrade my Lite subscription to continue the e-mails? Is there a special rate for upgrades?

Yes, email blast is one of the bigger features of the Mobile Full package, so you'd have to upgrade. Sorry for the cruel tease. ;-) We have probably 30 or so custom settings, and each package is created with each featured toggled on or off, and we made an error by assigning the email blast functionality to the Mobile Lite package.

We don't have upgrade prices, but since you haven't paid anything yet, you can go into your preferences (upper right) and you should be able to upgrade packages there. If that doesn't work, you can cancel your Lite subscription and sign up for the Full package - just make sure you do it before the two week trial it up! :-)

[Pony99CA]

I was one of the ones who didn't like what it said, I think the new badges are MUCH better because of what Jason said!

The new badges are cooler, but there's another problem now. While I could understand site admins having badges saying "I support this site" (which they do, although in a different way), are the site admins really subscribers? Has Jason really subscribed? :-D

PS. Did someone fake the badge in jest or maliciously?
I assume they changed their avatar to the badge. I'm not sure what "joke" that would be, but I'm not sure how it could be "malicious", either.

Steve

[tregnier]

"We don't have upgrade prices, but since you haven't paid anything yet, you can go into your preferences (upper right) and you should be able to upgrade packages there. If that doesn't work, you can cancel your Lite subscription and sign up for the Full package - just make sure you do it before the two week trial it up!"

Okay, you convinced me. I changed my preference on PayPal from Lite to Full so I can get e-mail blasts. I just hope, now, that I don't get billed twice! BTW, the upgrade feature works slick. Everybody might want to upgrade just to try it out. :lol:

[Jason Dunn]

Okay, you convinced me. I changed my preference on PayPal from Lite to Full so I can get e-mail blasts. I just hope, now, that I don't get billed twice! BTW, the upgrade feature works slick. Everybody might want to upgrade just to try it out. :lol:

No, you won't get billed twice. You should be able to look at your PayPal account and see only one instance of a subscription there.

Thanks for your support! :D

[Pony99CA]

I just noticed that the page that pops up when somebody clicks on the special forum badge (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/subscribe/forumbadge.htm) link still shows the old badge.

Steve