Solved Email notification: only the topic or automatically also all replies?

We are going to launch a forum for a small group of medical professionals. When we start the forum everybody is automatically subscribed to all categories.

When you are subscribed to a special category you get the email notification when a topic is started in that category. Do you then get automatically email notification of all replies to this topic or do you have to surf to the topic and click on the subscribe button to get all the replies?

We would like the last option (actually subscribe for the replies). The company which installs our forum says that the last option is not possible.

Letsvh wrote: When you are subscribed to a ... category you get the email notification when a topic is started in that category. Do you then get automatically email notification of all replies to this topic or do you have to surf to the topic and click on the subscribe button to get all the replies?

The answer depends on your Kunena configution settings. Unless you have changed your configuration settings, the default situation is that people will receive emails whenever any message is posted in a forum category to which they subscribe. Unless you have changed your configuration settings, your users should not have to "surf the topic" to see what replies have been posted in your forum.

Does that answer your question?

I understand clearly from your answer what the default configuration is, but do I understand it correctely that it is possible, if you are subscribed to a category, to change the configuration of the forum, so that you get a emailnotification of every new topic that is openend but if you are interested in the following replies you have to actually surf to the post and click the subscribe button for replies.

I asked this question because in the trial period some members already complained about the amount of emails from the forum.

Thank you for your help!

We would like to help you if we can but I am not sure that I understand what you want to know.

Letsvh wrote: ... some members already complained about the amount of emails from the forum.

Are your members complaining because they are receiving too many emails or are they complaining that they are not receiving enough emails?

Letsvh wrote: When we start the forum everybody is automatically subscribed to all categories.

I am not sure how you did that but, as I wrote a long time ago , there are consequences depending on the choices that you make.

Without knowing anything about your website (it may be a good idea to watch the video vimeo.com/69818669 ), the configuration settings that controls what subscription emails are sent when users have subscribed, are:

1) Forum Configuration » Users » Subscriptions » Category Subscriptions

2) Forum Configuration » Users » Subscriptions » Topic Subscriptions

The first of these two settings has the options:

• Disabled
• Email New Topics
• Email New Posts (default)

The second setting has the options

• Disabled
• Email First Update
• Email Every Update (default)

Letsvh wrote: When you are subscribed to a special category you get the email notification when a topic is started in that category. Do you then get automatically email notification of all replies to this topic or do you have to surf to the topic and click on the subscribe button to get all the replies?

In my previous reply to you I wrote that, depending on the settings you have chosen, your members should receive emails about every new message posted on the forum in the categories or topics that they have subscribed to. As I also wrote earlier in this message to you, I am not sure how your users are "automatically" subscribed to categories or topics. You have not told us how that happens and you have not told us what values you are using for the two settings

1) Forum Configuration » Users » Subscriptions » Category Subscriptions

2) Forum Configuration » Users » Subscriptions » Topic Subscriptions

Until we know more about your forum I can only give you a theoretical explanation about how Kunena works.

Letsvh wrote: We would like the ... option [where members receive emails of replies posted on the forum]. The company which installs our forum says that [this option] is not possible.

I am not sure what you mean. I would say that it's possible but my advice depends entirely on your definition of the term "replies" and on what forum configuration settings were used by the company that installed your forum.

This may be a question about how Kunena works or it may be a question about what is the "best" way to manage your forum. I cannot decide which of these we are discussing without some answers from you.

Thank you very much for your answer! The complaint was too much emails.
The company which installs the forum subscribes all our members to all categories. I do not know how they will do that.

Then members can of course unsubscribe for categories.

Now you are interested in a category and of course subscribed to that category.
When a new topic is opened you receive an email notification and you read the email and you are not interested in the following post/replies to this topic but you are interested in every new topic that is opened in this category.

In ideal situation (for our community) we would like, that if you are not interested in receiving posts/replies to a opened topic, you do nothing. If you are interested in the following discussion after a new topic has been opened than you have to surf to this topic and subscribe.

From your anwer below I understand that the configuration is the first situation has to be:

1) Forum Configuration » Users » Subscriptions » Category Subscriptions and then email new topics and NOT email new posts

2)
Forum Configuration » Users » Subscriptions » Topic Subscriptions
And then Email every update.

With this configuration, when you are subscribed for a category you get only one email when a new topic is opened. When you want the the following posts on this topic you have to subscribe to this topic actively.

Thank you!

Letsvh wrote: 1) Forum Configuration » Users » Subscriptions » Category Subscriptions and then email new topics and NOT email new posts

That's actually a fairly good way to deal with the issue. As I mentioned earlier, we would probably have been better able to help you in the first place if we knew the details of your forum configuration.

As far as your members complaining about receiving too many emails, that's probably because everyone is automatically subscribed - as I wrote previously, I don't know how that happened but, for the reasons I have written many times in this forum, people may complain about decisions you make for their "benefit". My advice has consistently been to allow forum members to opt-in (to subscribe to those categories that they'e interested in) rather than impose a régime upon them.

The argument, of course, has two sides to it. Some website managers say "but my forum is not too busy" (and, because of that the amount of email traffic is not expected to be high). But what about the other side where forum activity is high?

Everyone is entitled to choose what they want. My advice is for you to educate your forum members about how to use the forum effectively and leave the choice to them as to what they subscribe to and what they do not subscribe to. I think you get a happier outcome if you arrange things like that.

As far as the level of complaint from your members (about an excessive amount of email) is concerned, you've learnt something from the experience. Discuss this with your members and seek a consensus of opinion about the "value" of everyone being subscribed to everything instead of letting them choose what they want for themselves.

Does this now satisfactorily resolve your original question?