What is meta? ×

The fact that the envelope (on top) notifications aren't working is nothing new. Also, although I never used it, I just saw and read a question that email notifications are working somewhat buggy.

So, my question is - why are they simply not removed, as to not cause any more confusion, until / and it, the day they are fixed and working properly ?

share|improve this question
What's not working about the envelope? I use it every day. Also, can you link to the question about email notifications being buggy? –  Bill the Lizard Mar 27 '10 at 19:26
@Bill the Lizard - Sure. About the envelope ... well, I thought this was a wide known fact. It sometimes reports non existing responses, sometimes it gives responses a day old (already visited), sometimes it's just blue for no reason (talking SuperUser here) ... sometimes it doesn't report responses/comments which appeared in the meantime. Buggy, to say the least. –  ldigas Mar 27 '10 at 19:34
@Idigas: Thanks for the link and for the clarifications. It could just be that my envelope is always lit up, so I don't experience some of the buggy conditions you're seeing. –  Bill the Lizard Mar 27 '10 at 19:39
@Bill: See this for what is not working. –  sbi Oct 27 '10 at 21:03

4 Answers 4

I do agree that the envelope needs some work, but I disagree that it should be removed. The basic problem with the envelope is the delay - it often takes ten or twenty minutes to register a response, and likely by the time it does light up you've already read it and responded. The other, related thing is that, even if you have responses, the envelope is not lit for the first visit to the site after a period of being away. Subsequent page loads show the lit envelope, but the first does not.

Also, not many people know that the envelope also lights up when your posts are edited, which can lead to people thinking that the envelope is lighting up inappropriately. This should be modified to be more obvious when you click the envelope.

share|improve this answer
Yes, ... you got it. I wasn't sure as to the other "symptoms". –  ldigas Mar 28 '10 at 4:20

My bike is broken right now. Still, I need it every day, I can't just throw it away. The same goes for the envelope. Fix it already!

share|improve this answer
Hmm. Replies envelope works well for me; I never miss a reply.. –  Jeff Atwood Mar 27 '10 at 21:12
@Jeff The replies work fine, it's that it lights up too often. –  Pëkka Mar 27 '10 at 21:30
@Jeff - see my comment to M. Stum above, please. –  ldigas Mar 28 '10 at 4:19

I don't know about buggy as a "wide-known fact." It's certainly more responsive than it used to be. Maybe it doesn't match your definition of "new notifications" but I certainly use it every day. I've seen anomalous cases where it notifies me of responses that have been read or deleted. But I would rather see its functionality increased and steadily improved, not eliminated.

share|improve this answer
The envelope is broken. meta.stackexchange.com/questions/39301/… –  Pëkka Mar 27 '10 at 20:55
@pekka er, no, you object to it lighting up when someone edits one of your posts. That's what that question says. Not the same as "broken". –  Jeff Atwood Mar 27 '10 at 21:14
@Jeff nope, I've kept an eye on it for some time. It lights up when there has been no edit to any of my posts. If you want, I can take notes for a while when I notice it. If I'm not completely mistaken, it is really buggy. –  Pëkka Mar 27 '10 at 21:29

The Envelope as a notification that lights up - don't care.

But the underlying /users/recent function - My #1 Feature on SO! No really, NEVER remove that please. It may not light up, but I see when my reputation changes and I know that if it does, the /users/recent page will have information for me.

share|improve this answer
I didn't mean (past tense now) to remove all those features behind the envelope ... just the little colored envelope, since its behaviour regarding notifications was confusing me to no end. –  ldigas Mar 28 '10 at 4:18

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .