MySpace message WTF



  • A couple of days ago my brother started forwarding me these emails from MySpace. He thought his email was broken, but I assured him it was not his problem. I got him to take a screen shot and send it to me:

    [img]http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/2126/myspacewtfjv2.jpg[/img]



  • That makes me want to sign up for MySpace and set my first name to "[@AuthorFirstName]"



  • Of course, the Real WTF(tm) is that there are services that send notices about site messages via email. Not the notices themselves, but notices that there are messages waiting for you.

    It never occurs to some people that email is used to, you know, send messages. Don't send me a bloody useless notice that there's messages waiting for me, send the goddamn message with the notice, damn it, that's what email was invented for back in the stone age. And as an added bonus you can claim your Web 2.0 site is fully Information Federation, Mash-Up and Cross-Service Posting compatible.



  • @WWWWolf said:

    Of course, the Real WTF(tm) is that there are services that send notices about site messages via email. Not the notices themselves, but notices that there are messages waiting for you.

    It never occurs to some people that email is used to, you know, send messages. Don't send me a bloody useless notice that there's messages waiting for me, send the goddamn message with the notice, damn it, that's what email was invented for back in the stone age. And as an added bonus you can claim your Web 2.0 site is fully Information Federation, Mash-Up and Cross-Service Posting compatible.

    But you don't sell ads that way and you don't "hook" users into doing other stuff on the site after viewing the message. 



  • @morbiuswilters said:

    But you don't sell ads that way and you don't "hook" users into doing other stuff on the site after viewing the message. 

     Lastfm seems to disagree/:care, as they changed their (shoutbox) email-messaging to include the actual shout.

    Which is better for us users.

    @morbiuswilters said:

    you don't "hook" users into doing other stuff on the site after viewing the message. 

    Nah. I will head to the site to do something with the notification, such as replying. Usually immediately, in fact.



  • @morbiuswilters said:

    But you don't sell ads that way

    Since when has email been unsuitable to transport adverts?
    @morbiuswilters said:
    you don't "hook" users into doing other stuff on the site after viewing the message.

    You have their email, presumably there is some sort of commitment there. They're also likely to not mind some simple suggestion to check out a "new" feature you "just added" if added to the message.



  • Of course, the Real WTF(tm) is that there are services that send notices about site messages via email. Not the notices themselves, but notices that there are messages waiting for you.

    Indeed, it's annoying. MySpace comments show a bit of the comment (seems like it's the first sentence or so) in the email, but messages just say "You have a new message".

    I had some problems with my MySpace account recently, they deleted my account for reporting a security hole >_<. But I got it fixed, so that's good. =]



  • @Lingerance said:

    @morbiuswilters said:
    But you don't sell ads that way
    Since when has email been unsuitable to transport adverts?

    Since this thing called "spam" became a big problem and external content is blocked by default by most mail clients.

     

    @Lingerance said:

    @morbiuswilters said:
    you don't "hook" users into doing other stuff on the site after viewing the message.
    You have their email, presumably there is some sort of commitment there. They're also likely to not mind some simple suggestion to check out a "new" feature you "just added" if added to the message.

    What does that have to do with anything?  The point is, if you have to go to the site to view the message you are more likely to update your status, post a blog entry, poke a friend, etc...



  • @morbiuswilters said:

    @Lingerance said:

    @morbiuswilters said:
    But you don't sell ads that way
    Since when has email been unsuitable to transport adverts?

    Since this thing called "spam" became a big problem and external content is blocked by default by most mail clients.

    Before Netscape & Outlook began doing all that "HTML view" e-mail stuff, we were happily getting text-only e-mail with attachments. As soon as HTML became the "standard", the giffy spam was born, followed by the .vbs virus strains (thanks Outlook!) and thus, the "Good Times" hoax became a reality.

    Now my bank insists on sending me big-ass e-mails as advertising, and one of the low fare airlines insists on sending me offers that I can't read on my blackberry, as I need "Javascript" enabled.

    @morbiuswilters said:

    @Lingerance said:

    @morbiuswilters said:
    you don't "hook" users into doing other stuff on the site after viewing the message.
    You have their email, presumably there is some sort of commitment there. They're also likely to not mind some simple suggestion to check out a "new" feature you "just added" if added to the message.

    What does that have to do with anything?  The point is, if you have to go to the site to view the message you are more likely to update your status, post a blog entry, poke a friend, etc...

    The main rule for Web 2.0 sites is to get the user to do everything from the site. Annoying, but that's what they chose to do. I choose not to use these sites then.

    Oh, and I do remember some of those "dating sites" out there that sent you those "you got a message" emails; but if you were a "free user", of course, the "link" would actually tell you to pay up for a subscription, and then you will be able to read messages. Don't know if any of those actually send you the actual message to your e-mail when you sign up, though.



  • @danixdefcon5 said:

    Now my bank insists on sending me big ass-e-mails as advertising, and one of the low fare airlines insists on sending me offers that I can't read on my blackberry, as I need "Javascript" enabled.

     

     Wow, IP over anus? 


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