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I understand that notifications could be helpful in some cases, but I actually like the fact that people don't get notified when someone replies to their commen

I understand that notifications could be helpful in some cases, but I actually like the fact that people don't get notified when someone replies to their comment, and I had assumed this was deliberate. It seems to make debates more objective. For example, if user A makes a statement, and then B disagrees, I like the fact that C can come along and backup A's points, rather than a defensive response from A. (Having notifications that were delayed by an hour or so might make for a good middle ground.)

brudgers 12y ago
My understanding is that it, no automatic notification of replies, is deliberate and the reason is to avoid stimulating flame wars. As someone who posts a lot and usually tries to avoid flame wars, the first thing I do on any site is turn off email notifications. If I care, I look at the threading of my comments.
- krapp 12y ago
  Preventing 'flame wars' by making conversations more awkward and difficult to follow as time goes on just seems to create friction for everyone. And it doesn't prevent flame wars - people who are emotionally invested in an argument will follow a thread on their own accord. We've all seen them, i'm kind of ashamed to say i've participated in a few. But, notifications could be opt in by default and opt out by choice, and they wouldn't necessarily have to be by email - you could be shown the last few replies to your comments in your account.
  - qu4z-2 12y ago
    Just to clarify terms here, "opt-in" means disabled by default, with user action needed to enable the feature. "opt-out" means on-by-default with the ability to disable it: exactly the situation you describe. At least, that's my understanding.
    - krapp 12y ago
      I may have misstated, then.. I meant that by default, you wouldn't get any notifications unless you chose to, and if you did, you could turn them off at any time.
swsieber 12y ago
A longer delay would also be fine. Perhaps after a certain amount of time notifications could be turned on - say 5 days after a post + 1 hour delay? That seems to be in line with the OP, but I'm not sure.

brudgers 12y ago

My understanding is that it, no automatic notification of replies, is deliberate and the reason is to avoid stimulating flame wars. As someone who posts a lot and usually tries to avoid flame wars, the first thing I do on any site is turn off email notifications. If I care, I look at the threading of my comments.

krapp 12y ago
Preventing 'flame wars' by making conversations more awkward and difficult to follow as time goes on just seems to create friction for everyone. And it doesn't prevent flame wars - people who are emotionally invested in an argument will follow a thread on their own accord. We've all seen them, i'm kind of ashamed to say i've participated in a few. But, notifications could be opt in by default and opt out by choice, and they wouldn't necessarily have to be by email - you could be shown the last few replies to your comments in your account.
- qu4z-2 12y ago
  Just to clarify terms here, "opt-in" means disabled by default, with user action needed to enable the feature. "opt-out" means on-by-default with the ability to disable it: exactly the situation you describe. At least, that's my understanding.
  - krapp 12y ago
    I may have misstated, then.. I meant that by default, you wouldn't get any notifications unless you chose to, and if you did, you could turn them off at any time.

swsieber 12y ago

A longer delay would also be fine. Perhaps after a certain amount of time notifications could be turned on - say 5 days after a post + 1 hour delay? That seems to be in line with the OP, but I'm not sure.