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> I would think email is a lot easier than a webform. why

jmole 1y ago
Not sure about you, but when I submit a “contact us” form, I am about 10% sure someone will actually read it. When I send an email that isn’t bounced back, or better yet, get an auto reply with a ticket number, I’m a lot more certain it’s going to get read.
- estearum 1y ago
  Sounds like a characteristic of the responder system more so than the input system. Whereas what’s clearly a distinct advantage of a web form is that you can find it on the web.
- slg 1y ago
  >When I send an email that isn’t bounced back, or better yet, get an auto reply with a ticket number, I’m a lot more certain it’s going to get read. An "auto reply with a ticket number" is not a feature of email, it is something that someone built that could just as easily be attached to a webform. Plenty of webforms work that way, I have personally built some in my career.
- rco8786 1y ago
  The assertion is that one is easier than the other. But regardless I’m never confident about sending an email to some generic email inbox.
palmotea 1y ago
>> I would think email is a lot easier than a webform. > why Because email is a well-honed tool with lots of excellent implementations. You've got formatting, attachments, a text-entry region bigger than a peephole, etc. A "contact us" webform is a crappy tool, usually quickly thrown together, that probably just sends an email anyway.
- arendtio 1y ago
  You are comparing 'excellent implementations' with 'crappy tool'. Technically, both can be equally good. I would not prefer email for multiple reasons: - First, you always need an account to send one, and therefore have to decide which identity you want to attach to a communication. With a form, you sometimes can skip that decision. However, I suspect that in this case, this argument does not apply, because you probably have to attach an identity either way. - However, email is one of the most unreliable protocols due to its poor solutions for handling spam. For example, if someone from outside my organisation tries to contact me, I can never be sure whether the email reaches me, due to various factors in spam detection. Sometimes an email is delivered to my mailbox, sometimes to the spam folder, and sometimes it just gets lost in transmission. I had even cases where I sent an email to two people in the same organization, and one would receive it and the other would not, even though they were using the same email server.
anigbrowl 1y ago
Don't do this. It wastes everyone's time. If you disagree with the idea, say so and say why.

Not sure about you, but when I submit a “contact us” form, I am about 10% sure someone will actually read it. When I send an email that isn’t bounced back, or better yet, get an auto reply with a ticket number, I’m a lot more certain it’s going to get read.

estearum 1y ago
Sounds like a characteristic of the responder system more so than the input system. Whereas what’s clearly a distinct advantage of a web form is that you can find it on the web.
slg 1y ago
>When I send an email that isn’t bounced back, or better yet, get an auto reply with a ticket number, I’m a lot more certain it’s going to get read. An "auto reply with a ticket number" is not a feature of email, it is something that someone built that could just as easily be attached to a webform. Plenty of webforms work that way, I have personally built some in my career.
rco8786 1y ago
The assertion is that one is easier than the other. But regardless I’m never confident about sending an email to some generic email inbox.

palmotea 1y ago

>> I would think email is a lot easier than a webform. > why Because email is a well-honed tool with lots of excellent implementations. You've got formatting, attachments, a text-entry region bigger than a peephole, etc. A "contact us" webform is a crappy tool, usually quickly thrown together, that probably just sends an email anyway.

arendtio 1y ago
You are comparing 'excellent implementations' with 'crappy tool'. Technically, both can be equally good. I would not prefer email for multiple reasons: - First, you always need an account to send one, and therefore have to decide which identity you want to attach to a communication. With a form, you sometimes can skip that decision. However, I suspect that in this case, this argument does not apply, because you probably have to attach an identity either way. - However, email is one of the most unreliable protocols due to its poor solutions for handling spam. For example, if someone from outside my organisation tries to contact me, I can never be sure whether the email reaches me, due to various factors in spam detection. Sometimes an email is delivered to my mailbox, sometimes to the spam folder, and sometimes it just gets lost in transmission. I had even cases where I sent an email to two people in the same organization, and one would receive it and the other would not, even though they were using the same email server.

anigbrowl 1y ago

Don't do this. It wastes everyone's time. If you disagree with the idea, say so and say why.