Notification of Changes to IRL Meetups

February 2, 2013 10:27 AM

Is it possible to get a memail if there have been date/time/location changes to an IRL event they've RSVP'd to? And as an extension, possibly a notification when a proposed event is confirmed?

A meetup in Chicago that got moved from one weekend to another got me thinking about this. The poster of the event was nice enough to add text to the post indicating the date change so it was viewable when I saw the post in my recent activity or in the regular IRL pages. But, had I not visited the site between the time the change was made and the original meetup date, I would have missed the new info. It would be really nice to get a memail alert to any changes.

The proposed-to-confirmed notification is probably a bit messier since there's no RSVP option on a proposed event. So maybe a notification based on who has commented in the thread? Or adding some sort of "I'm interested" RSVP function to the proposed event posts? That could help gauge interest in the event as well as provide a base for which users would get a notification if the event is confirmed.

So what do you guys think? These are probably things that could be accomplished using IFFT or an RSS feed or something, but I (and probably other members) don't use these services as frequently as my memail - and the email I receive each time I get a memail. This is my first pony in almost seven years, so be gentle.

posted by youngergirl44 to Feature Requests at 10:27 AM (30 comments total)

Our guiding rule on email has always been: send as few as possible. So we're extremely hesitant to add any feature that automatically sends out more email. As you mentioned, we already have tools like Recent Activity, RSS, and iCal to help people keep up with additions/changes. We know some people would prefer email over these options, but we don't want to bombard people with every minor update to an IRL thread.

Ideally, a venue or date change would include a comment from the organizer letting people know about the change. In that case, you'd catch the change in Recent Activity. (Or in the RSS feed if you've subscribed to the thread.)

I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility, just letting you know what our thinking has been on alerts.
posted by pb (staff) at 10:35 AM on February 2, 2013

I totally see that point, PB. I guess my thought is that this would apply to the members that have opted in for the memail when a new event is posted in their area, and any subsequent email about the memail message would only go to those that have opted in to that feature.
posted by youngergirl44 at 11:05 AM on February 2, 2013

Oh, and if this could be done for just those who have RSVPd to an event, then any memail would be reaching people who would be interested in changes, instead of spamming bunches of people who don't care.
posted by youngergirl44 at 11:14 AM on February 2, 2013

I would be curious how people feel about upping the number of memails from RSVPed events. I personally don't think that's spammy, since it's opt-in on about three levels, but I get several hundred Mefi-related emails a day, so what's a few more?
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 11:32 AM on February 2, 2013

I would be okay with receiving an update when the details of a Meetup that I have RSVP'd to have changed.
posted by radioamy at 11:48 AM on February 2, 2013

Yes, I would appreciate that update.
posted by gingerbeer at 12:23 PM on February 2, 2013

Yeah I think I'd appreciate this feature, too, if it's only for IRL things I've RSVP'ed to. Seems like a good idea.
posted by trip and a half at 12:29 PM on February 2, 2013

Yeah, I think if you RSVP yes or maybe, you should get an alert if anything changes. (I wouldn't mind if you RSVP no, even, but I could see why that would be annoying.)
posted by jeather at 12:47 PM on February 2, 2013

I think that it's fine the way it is. If an individual is interested in a meet-up it would seem to be on them to keep up on changes.

Wait.

Am I in the right place for this comment?

Oh damn!
posted by Splunge at 2:33 PM on February 2, 2013

I would generally like this feature. Not that I go to many meetups, living out here in the boonies - but the one meetup I went to happened to be in a city the night I arrived. If anything had changed I could have easily missed it, without checking the IRL page on my phone. Email is push notification, so I'll see it the minute I land without having to think about one more thing.

How often do changes like this happen, and how far along in the process? My thinking is that it's much more important to get emails closer to the date.
posted by Lemurrhea at 3:13 PM on February 2, 2013

I think a notification if you've RSVP'd "yes" is fine. It'd make it easier to stay up to date on changes.
posted by arcticseal at 3:32 PM on February 2, 2013

Last summer, I set up an event and realized I had put down the wrong week (yikes). I put the change on the page, but I felt that I had to MeMail everyone who had RSVPed because I felt like a jerk otherwise. It would have been nice to mass apologize rather than issue hand-crafted small-batch artisanal groveling. I approve of this pony.
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:37 PM on February 2, 2013

I'd like this pony, very much. A while back, we had a meetup in Tokyo, mostly because a member was visiting Japan, and it was a good opportunity. The thing is, the IRL post was made months in advance, but it didn't become set until about a week before the planned date, and there was very little, if any response, so we ended up memailing everyone on our own, and most people had forgotten about it. Having the auto-memail feature would have been a lot of help, and a lot less work. Then again, I think Tokyo Mefites are an especially lazy/busy sort, and we need all the help we can get.
posted by Ghidorah at 4:04 PM on February 2, 2013 [1 favorite]

Yeah, we just changed the location and the time of a meetup this Sunday in Portland. I think everyone who's RSVPed has noticed the change in their Recent Activity by now, but it would have been helpful if an email had been generated- in this case, there's one user who's travelling a little bit of a distance, so if he'd missed the update, he could have ended up being in town early.
posted by Secretariat at 4:45 PM on February 2, 2013

+1 for notifications of event changes.
posted by eamondaly at 5:51 PM on February 2, 2013

I think the thing I like most about this pony, and I like many things about it, is that it would give me a reason for always originally selecting "maybe" (other than my fear of commitment/general moodiness).
posted by MCMikeNamara at 7:56 PM on February 2, 2013 [1 favorite]

+1 for the "RSVP opts me in to any notifications / changes about the event" it also allows folks who want to know more about the event, but maybe not have to comment about it, be able to find out when it changes. I would expect to be notified of changes to an event I had RSVPed to in any other circumstance, it would follow that IRL should probably behave similarly.
posted by mrzarquon at 10:26 PM on February 2, 2013

As a frequent meetup host, I would LOVE this. I'd also love some way for people to express interest before the details are pinned down (perhaps the same functionality, but the only option before date/time/location is decided is "maybe"?) which would help gauge interest in some things that take a long time to hash out. But that's less important to me than automatic notification of info changes.
posted by ocherdraco at 11:39 PM on February 2, 2013

This pony seems like a good idea. I reckon that a lot of potential meetup attendees don't use Recent Activity or RSS.
posted by exogenous at 4:25 AM on February 3, 2013

Getting logistically-relevant mail for an event I've RSVPed for would feel entirely non-spammy.
posted by Lexica at 9:17 AM on February 3, 2013

I would like to go on this pony ride.
posted by jetlagaddict at 2:10 PM on February 3, 2013

I have an apple for this pony!
posted by Gordafarin at 7:00 AM on February 4, 2013

I would be happy for this to be an option.
posted by mlle valentine at 8:01 AM on February 4, 2013

Makes complete sense. Presumably if you've RSVPed yes, you want to have any necessary updates that might impact your plans.
posted by TravellingCari at 8:26 AM on February 4, 2013

So this pony... can we have it?
posted by youngergirl44 at 5:37 PM on February 5, 2013

can we have it?

We're discussing it. I wish I could give you an answer with all the details right now, but these things take time.
posted by pb (staff) at 8:23 PM on February 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

We're discussing it.

Yay! Thanks, guys. If we do get this pony, we promise to walk it and brush it and feed it apples and love it.
posted by youngergirl44 at 3:55 PM on February 6, 2013

And I will muck out its stall.
posted by ocherdraco at 5:13 AM on February 7, 2013

Unfortunately someone fed it a plate of beans.
posted by arcticseal at 3:17 PM on February 7, 2013

We're discussing some details of this potential feature over here.
posted by pb (staff) at 1:36 PM on February 22, 2013