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New Notification Format


stebu

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I just received an email with subject:

"Owner Notification: Raitti (tai lefti) (GC4PT0J) has a new Found it log from G_Cacher"

 

I'm moving the logs into a specific folder based on the subject containing "[LOG]".

Shall I change the rule or should I wait until this new notification has settled?

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Whoa. As of a half hour or so ago I'm getting bizarrely formatted notifications with the same sort of email Subject:

 

"Bookmark Notification: Gorilla Stash (GC1B) has a new Found it log from Behold The Turtle"

"Watchlist Notification: A Tribute to Glenn (GCWAG5) has a new Found it log from Strike One"

"Watchlist Notification: Broken Arrow (GC19E76) has a new Found it log from wynnsisters"

 

The formatting of these notifications is driving my mailbox nuts. Any way to receive good old unformatted notifications, like "So and So found ThisCache"?

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The formatting of these notifications is driving my mailbox nuts. Any way to receive good old unformatted notifications, like "So and So found ThisCache"?

I don't like html-mails as well... Please offer the option of receiving those notifications in plain-text!

The new mails take 4 times the space compared to plain text with no benefit at all, they are rather more difficult to read.

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The formatting of these notifications is driving my mailbox nuts. Any way to receive good old unformatted notifications, like "So and So found ThisCache"?

I don't like html-mails as well... Please offer the option of receiving those notifications in plain-text!

The new mails take 4 times the space compared to plain text with no benefit at all, they are rather more difficult to read.

 

+1

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This is not useable. Nothing gives me more worth, but the real meaning of the notifications is only revealed, when I open the link in a browser.

Especially it is not useable, if you want to read your notifications on your phone. Please give us a switch to switch back to plain text format!

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Not sure if anybody got a new publication email yet..... But there is a positive side to this new change. The publication emails now include cache owner name. This is something a lot of us have been asking for.

 

As for the html emails, so far they're not hindering my email on my phone. I actually rather like the html format. Then again, I don't normally filter emails by certain tags like [LOG].....I could see how that could be a pain in the neck for some.

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Please offer the option of receiving those notifications in plain-text!

The new mails take 4 times the space compared to plain text with no benefit at all, they are rather more difficult to read.

 

+1 - that's all what i want, just to have an option - I can understan HTML in PMs, but not in notifications...

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The formatting of these notifications is driving my mailbox nuts. Any way to receive good old unformatted notifications, like "So and So found ThisCache"?

I don't like html-mails as well... Please offer the option of receiving those notifications in plain-text!

The new mails take 4 times the space compared to plain text with no benefit at all, they are rather more difficult to read.

 

Absolutely agree. Please bring back all types of logs/notifications in plain text and shorten header.

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Whoa. As of a half hour or so ago I'm getting bizarrely formatted notifications with the same sort of email Subject:

 

"Bookmark Notification: Gorilla Stash (GC1B) has a new Found it log from Behold The Turtle"

"Watchlist Notification: A Tribute to Glenn (GCWAG5) has a new Found it log from Strike One"

"Watchlist Notification: Broken Arrow (GC19E76) has a new Found it log from wynnsisters"

 

The formatting of these notifications is driving my mailbox nuts. Any way to receive good old unformatted notifications, like "So and So found ThisCache"?

 

+1 Totally agree.

 

New mails are horrible.

It is hard to read and you have to redo the filters in emails.

Please immediately reverse the changes.

Most of the changes here is the worse!

 

Old mail has about 2,5 kB. New mail has about 15 kB big!!! It's terrible!

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+1.

 

The old format was fine. The new format doesn't add anything of value, but it adds a lot of useless bytes. It is highly unlikely that cache owners need to be told in every "found log" email where the Geocaching web site is, and that gc.com also has Twitter and Facebook.

 

Plain ascii was also perfectly fine. @gc.com, if you keep everything else, please at least provide a Settings option to switch between HTML and Plaintext emails.

 

thanks!

-wesi

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Yes, same here.

The new format *removes* information from where it's easy to see it, and b uries it under useless information.

I don't need to be told that "(cache) has a new log!" I already know, that's why it is a notification.

If you must change the format of notification (and there's no reason why) please allow to select the old plain text format, or at least something with no meaningless crud attached.

As somebody has said, we pay you you could at least use the basic courtesy of asking before you make changes for the worse (well, I no longer do pay you, I am not renewing my premium membership as you obviopusly don't want my money)

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+1 for optional plain text emails

 

For me, its not the html per se, but that the formatting wastes screen size on my mobile phone.

 

Additionally, I would prefer shorter email subject lines, again because of the screen size on a mobile phone.

 

new: Watchlist Notification: Hillschleife (GC1ZYT7) has a new Found it log from daluw

old: [LOG] Watchlist: daluw found Hillschleife (Traditional Cache)

 

The important information (bold) came much earlier in the subject line

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Remember: We speak of quick notifications that are of use of frequent geocachers. Notifications should not be commercial ads or informations, what you can do with gc.com, they are simple notifications about Geocache status. They should be as short as possible...

 

If Groundspeak wants to spread commercial ads, ok, do it in the newsletters, not in the notifications...

 

If this behaviour will be continued, I will shorten my notifications only be valid for publish, others are not useful.

Maybe this is the expected effect... Do we geocachers have too many notifications? Is it too expensive?

 

I'm really disgusted with a servi8ce like this...

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I'm moving the logs into a specific folder based on the subject containing "[LOG]".

I don't filter my e-mail based on the tags (just because virtually all my e-mail is geocaching...), but I always appreciated how clever GS was to put a tag, recognizing that geocaching e-mail would frequently be filtered by subject line. Except now it turns out that whatever the reason they were putting clear tags on the subject line, now that they've removed them, I have to assume cleverness was not a factor.

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The new format of Subject is of almost no use for me compared to the old scheme Who Did What, which contained tho most important infos in the initial three words. In the new format I have to read through almost whole line in order to get at least part of it. Please restore the old scheme (or at least make a customization through personal settings an option.

 

I run dozens of notifications for Publications and Archivations covering the whole territory of our country plus adjacent fractions of neighbouring countries. This means there are dozens of "initial coordinates" quite randomly scattered over the territory watched, thus making any information obout distance and direction from such a point meaningless for me. For me of much better value was the name of Rewiewer responsible for the action performed - one could easily at one glance guess the region/countra behind it. Also the replacement of "Published" with "New" seems very unhappy to me. As a keyword used in mail filtering Published is much more specific than New (there are many caches that simply have the adjective New in thire names and perhaps even some cachers).

 

In any case (as you offer no History tool (akin Wikipedia's History) which would allow users to search and see which caches existed by a particular date in the past - this is more and more important as our game gets older and older) I have to visually pass through many dozens of Archived notifications daily in order to sort them and put them into appropriate regional bookmark lists of archived caches (and similarly to pass through many dozens of Published notifications. What I expect in this process is an easy-to-read (for humans!) formatting of e-mail Subject. But the new format slips almost contrary to obscurity and does not allow for fast reading.

 

"Watchlist Notification:"? IMHO the word Notification is completely redundant here, Watchlist is enough, like prior to the change. The same applies to the "Owner Notification" redundancy. Owner was completely OK.

 

"XY cache has a new log"? What type of log?! That's important for me. Whether Found it, it is of less priority, not necessary to read through all of them at given moment but Write note may contain some important news and so on... I need to see the type of log in the Subject.

 

And I would also like to ask you for removal of graphics from notification and watchlist messages. It is only distracting. And the same for e-mails to another player. GS graphics is appropriate for the Weekly Newsletter but not for private messages between players.

 

I am very very very angry that you introduce novelties with deep impact on daily functioning and routines of your users without really consulting them and without offering them an opt-out from changes or making such canges matter of personal Settings. I ask all responsible people in the Hamster City, please stop introducing new and new crap nobody really needs nor wants and create some feature really usable for many - I think users would appreciate a Sandbox for testing of new listing without creation of actual GC-code in their personal menu.

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The new format of Subject is of almost no use for me compared to the old scheme Who Did What, which contained tho most important infos in the initial three words. In the new format I have to read through almost whole line in order to get at least part of it. Please restore the old scheme (or at least make a customization through personal settings an option.

 

I run dozens of notifications for Publications and Archivations covering the whole territory of our country plus adjacent fractions of neighbouring countries. This means there are dozens of "initial coordinates" quite randomly scattered over the territory watched, thus making any information obout distance and direction from such a point meaningless for me. For me of much better value was the name of Rewiewer responsible for the action performed - one could easily at one glance guess the region/countra behind it. Also the replacement of "Published" with "New" seems very unhappy to me. As a keyword used in mail filtering Published is much more specific than New (there are many caches that simply have the adjective New in thire names and perhaps even some cachers).

 

In any case (as you offer no History tool (akin Wikipedia's History) which would allow users to search and see which caches existed by a particular date in the past - this is more and more important as our game gets older and older) I have to visually pass through many dozens of Archived notifications daily in order to sort them and put them into appropriate regional bookmark lists of archived caches (and similarly to pass through many dozens of Published notifications. What I expect in this process is an easy-to-read (for humans!) formatting of e-mail Subject. But the new format slips almost contrary to obscurity and does not allow for fast reading.

 

"Watchlist Notification:"? IMHO the word Notification is completely redundant here, Watchlist is enough, like prior to the change. The same applies to the "Owner Notification" redundancy. Owner was completely OK.

 

"XY cache has a new log"? What type of log?! That's important for me. Whether Found it, it is of less priority, not necessary to read through all of them at given moment but Write note may contain some important news and so on... I need to see the type of log in the Subject.

 

And I would also like to ask you for removal of graphics from notification and watchlist messages. It is only distracting. And the same for e-mails to another player. GS graphics is appropriate for the Weekly Newsletter but not for private messages between players.

 

I am very very very angry that you introduce novelties with deep impact on daily functioning and routines of your users without really consulting them and without offering them an opt-out from changes or making such canges matter of personal Settings. I ask all responsible people in the Hamster City, please stop introducing new and new crap nobody really needs nor wants and create some feature really usable for many - I think users would appreciate a Sandbox for testing of new listing without creation of actual GC-code in their personal menu.

I agree 100% !!! Groundspeak is always changing things that have no reason to be changed, but leave important things unfixed for months or years.

 

I have/had a full filtering system that forwarded DNF & NM/NA to my phone while leaving Found and Note on my desktop computer to read later. I could then easily read the subject line and pick what logs to read. now the subject line looks like this:

Owner Notification: Attilio Valati Nature Park (GCXXXX) has a...

 

The subject line doesn't contain the log type on the main email list, and my filters don't seem to be working.

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Wow, and I thought the user-to-user messages going HTML was bad. This takes bad to a whole new level.

 

These new notifications are completely useless to me. Groundspeak, why must you keep breaking things even in the face of overwhelming negative customer feedback?

 

Please, at the least, give us the option to put the notifications back they way they used to be. The way they *should* be.

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I wish GS would ask its paying members what they want and work on that, not spend time and PM$$$$ on useless crap that doesn't improve the game in any way.

Let's face it, even if they did that, there is rarely something that everybody wants. If they implement something 50% of the members want, 25% will remark they don't care about it, and 10% will hate it, and 1% will proclaim it is the end of geocaching as we know it.

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I will state my problem as simply as possible without the techie talk because I don't know the techie talk.

 

We live in the Shediac area of NB which is a summer tourist area. We have 428 active caches. This time of year we get many notifications about our caches. It is extremely important to me that the reasons for the notification appear early in the subject line so I can quickly see if there are caches with problems such as DNF or Needs Maintenance, etc..

 

I may also be getting dozens of Found it logs from the same person. It is easier to go through all the notifications if I go through all the ones from the same person at the same time. So I also need the finders name to appear early in the subject line. In other words I much prefer the old notifications which said:[LOG] Owner: ggoguen_1 found Lourdes (Traditional Cache)(2). It is also useful to see who was out finding our caches.

 

I also set 4 filters to send the notifications to a separate folder if certain caching words appear in the subject line. Well it seems that the changes somehow short circuited my filters because todays notifications ended up in my inbox. I guess I will have to wait to see what will be the final decision before reworking the filters.

 

PAul

Edited by Ma & Pa
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I commented on the release notes http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=323369&view=findpost&p=5394468 that this was not a good thing to do.

 

It has gotten worse, My blackberry cannot ready this silly HTML. It's driving my data usage even higher. Visited http://www.geocaching.com/notify/ Add/Edit Instant Notifications page and cannot change the format.

 

As a last resort, guess that will have to turn off any notifications going forward and the game will not be a fun any longer. Simply put, your putting me out of business of geocaching fun.

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Groundspeak is always changing things that have no reason to be changed, but leave important things unfixed for months or years.

 

I suspect that we (the cachers) are not the customers, but rather the product that is being sold. Which explains why many features and changes appear odd to us. Kinda like on Facebook.

 

-wesi

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Turning off notifications doesn't actually solve the problem as the same unusable format also poisons the owner logs etc.

Thankfully I archived all my caches but I still do maintenance for caches owned by other people when they are away. This may have to stop, as it's too much hassle to read all logs to see if one happens to be a "need maintenance" or a DNF (one of the caches I maintain has had 1600 finds in 3 years and another one had 1200 finds in 15 months... I am not going to read all the logs just in case),

Well, I guess GS don't like the idea of people doing maintenance on caches.

Edited by Keystone
removed promotional text
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Just received my first few found it logs with the new email format and I have to say it was a not the most pleasant experience.

 

The subject line is less useful than the before. It is overly verbose and requires opening the email to see the full subject.

The banner at the top of each email requires scrolling to get to the contents of the email where the was no scrolling before.

I do not have unlimited data and try to minimize what I download. While the logo embedded in each email is only 4KB, that adds up. Especially around events like Midwest Geobash when the inbox tends to explode with new messages.

 

Can we have an option for plain text emails?

How about customizable subject lines with some per-defined variables? ie [%user %logType "%cacheName"] = [pbz found "An epic cache"]

 

If there is concern about usability for new players, make one or both of the options above available for premium members only.

Edited by PBZ
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This is unbelievable!

 

Once again, like with the grey icons, Goundspeak totally insults those of us that have that have vision problems or suffer from red/green color blindness.

 

A little tiny green font? REALLY?

 

The fact that I come home and find 100 messages in my Inbox from Groundspeak, and none in my Geocaching folder is the bigger insult. There is a bill in there somewhere that I have to pay.

 

I am constantly amazed that Groundspeak continues to "fix" problems that don't exist while ignoring problems that have existed for years.

 

You have basically turned what were useful notifications into SPAM that I need to cull out of my Inbox. What genius decided that it was a good idea to break all of your users email filters?

 

For the first time since I started in 2005, I am seriously considering not anteing up my $30 next month.

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Yep.. Something needs to be done... I just received a notification, but nowhere does it say what it is!

 

I "guessed" it was an Archive Log, but until I clicked on the Cache Link, I couldn't be sure...

 

Subject: Instant Notification: Cache Name (GCXXXX) has a new log from CacheerName

 

Cache Name(GCXXXX) from your instant notification, S-Email Trad Home+15, has a new log!

 

Logged by: CacherName

Date: 7/23/2014

Location: Washington, United States

Type: Traditional Cache

 

Log:

The forest this cache was in no longer has access that doesn't disturb neighbors, so we went out and retrieved the can (and the story). Thanks!

 

Happy geocaching,

Geocaching HQ

 

The HTML doesn't really bother me (but plain text would be better), but please at least include enough information to actually know what the log is! There is really no reason to receive this notification if doesn't tell me anything...

 

-TWT

Edited by TheWinterTrio
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Sounds like the new Groundspeak motto. "Taking bad to a whole new level"

 

I fully agree. First I was upset because of the hidden and minimized logbook on the site, so that I have to use about 30 clicks until I find a specific log, tha I'm searching for, instead of just scrolling down.

 

Now there's this orrible new HTML notification, using endless space on the hard disc and traffic on the mobile. And it looks abolutely poor, bacause I don't download inline pics for saving traffic and space.

 

There definitly has to be an option for turning back to plain Logs, again.

 

A translation to the mothertongue of the user would (not have been necessary but at least) have been much more usefull than this awful design update.

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I think it looks nice, but the font is showing up tiny in my email. I agree with Don that there should be some consideration for people whose eyesight isn't that great (myself included and I'm only 36).

 

I just got one. Almost thought I was the only one who liked them. I only have two things- one is that nowhere dos it say what the log is. Yes you can read it to figure it out- but you don't know if it's the wrong log type. DNF instead of a found it, our vice versa. And maybe it's just me but when I click the link to the cache (on iPhone) it takes me to the website when I used to have the option to open it in the app.

 

/start rant

 

I really don't see what the big deal is. Someone comaining about "advertising" that they shouldn't have to see because they are a PM? That's just bull, complaining to complain. There are hundred and thousands of companies that put their names and logos on their products, flyers, emails, what ever. How is this different?

 

And what's with all the people posting who have low forum counts? It seems to outnumber the regulars for once. Just an observation. The website changed, the app changed, so is anyone really surprised to emails changed to the same green/earthy colours?

 

It's just like the submission page- everyone complained about it, even though they told us it would change. Can't make everyone happy. And you can't say they don't listen to us. They took away Google Maps, and we let our opinions be heard. And now we have the back, though only for PM's. They famous grey icons mentioned earlier. Wait, the icons aren't grey anymore are they? But there's a difference between voicing an opinion and acting like an entitled $3&(. And I've seen that here. "I pay so I deserve to get what I want even if everyone else likes it!" That attitude wouldn't make me want to change. Actually I think the best argument against this was the one who mentioned it's hard on people with bad eyesite.

 

HTML on phones? Well if you geocache with the app, the I'm sure you have suffecient data to view HTML. If not is it really that much to effect it? I'm not being sarcastic, I honestly dont know the answer to that.

 

/end rant.

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Sounds like the new Groundspeak motto. "Taking bad to a whole new level"

 

I fully agree. First I was upset because of the hidden and minimized logbook on the site, so that I have to use about 30 clicks until I find a specific log, tha I'm searching for, instead of just scrolling down.

 

Now there's this orrible new HTML notification, using endless space on the hard disc and traffic on the mobile. And it looks abolutely poor, bacause I don't download inline pics for saving traffic and space.

 

There definitly has to be an option for turning back to plain Logs, again.

 

A translation to the mothertongue of the user would (not have been necessary but at least) have been much more usefull than this awful design update.

 

Your English is better than that of people who have been speaking it for 20 years.

 

But I don't think it takes up space on a hard disk unless you choose to save it on your computer- which is useless to do for every email since they are saved on the servers of the email provider (gmail, yahoo, whatever)

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I am constantly amazed that Groundspeak continues to "fix" problems that don't exist while ignoring problems that have existed for years.

 

You have basically turned what were useful notifications into SPAM that I need to cull out of my Inbox. What genius decided that it was a good idea to break all of your users email filters?

 

I agree B) This new format is a really bad idea! :mad: If you want to change something, ask customers first if they want these STUPID changes! :mad:

Edited by prazskychytrak
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These new notifications are not acceptable!

 

At least put some more information about the kind of notification. As cache owner I like to know if this log is a 'Need Maitenance" or "couldn't find" or all other status...

 

As the discussion is going on, please add also the possibility to choose to get no notification when you did find the cache already. I don't want to get information about a cache I did find already...

 

I'm at a point for renew my Premium membership subscription, I wait a littlewhile...

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And what's with all the people posting who have low forum counts? It seems to outnumber the regulars for once. Just an observation. The website changed, the app changed, so is anyone really surprised to emails changed to the same green/earthy colours?

Looking at the profiles, these "people with low post count are people who get out caching instead of spending all day posting here.

Well, I guess Groundspeak is trying to get us all to stop caching, they have made this obvious, so this low post count may change very soon.

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The new format of Subject is of almost no use for me compared to the old scheme Who Did What, which contained tho most important infos in the initial three words. In the new format I have to read through almost whole line in order to get at least part of it. Please restore the old scheme (or at least make a customization through personal settings an option.

 

[...]

 

"Watchlist Notification:"? IMHO the word Notification is completely redundant here, Watchlist is enough, like prior to the change. The same applies to the "Owner Notification" redundancy. Owner was completely OK.

 

"XY cache has a new log"? What type of log?! That's important for me. Whether Found it, it is of less priority, not necessary to read through all of them at given moment but Write note may contain some important news and so on... I need to see the type of log in the Subject.

 

And I would also like to ask you for removal of graphics from notification and watchlist messages. It is only distracting. And the same for e-mails to another player. GS graphics is appropriate for the Weekly Newsletter but not for private messages between players.

 

I am very very very angry that you introduce novelties with deep impact on daily functioning and routines of your users without really consulting them and without offering them an opt-out from changes or making such canges matter of personal Settings. I ask all responsible people in the Hamster City, please stop introducing new and new crap nobody really needs nor wants and create some feature really usable for many - I think users would appreciate a Sandbox for testing of new listing without creation of actual GC-code in their personal menu.

 

I agree 100%! Does Groundspeak never heard about "usability"?!?

 

Getting up to 50 Notifications and more over a weekend I want to know at a glance from my inbox what's going on. The risk of missing important mail like "needs maintenance" increases with the increase of redundant information.

 

At least the subject ot the mail should contain only the important information:

- Notification type

- Affected Cache

- Actor (cacher name/reviewer name)

That's all!

 

Chris

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I just stopped my automatically revolving PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP. According to the newest changes of GODFATHER Groundspeak.

 

Probably, the financial aspekt might be the only reason, Groundspeak understands.

 

It is impossible for me, as owner of "only a few" caches ;) to read, controll and answer to questions and help-mails of cachers while notifications are formattet in html.

 

Sorry, users. No more help possible.

 

Angry greetings,

Soon "re-basic-member" thomas0809 from Halstenbek/Hamburg/Germany

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Add me to the list of complainees. I generally receive a dozen or so such emails a day (on average) on my phone, and previously could see from the subject line what the contents would be. And then on opening the e-mail could read it immediately and easily. Now you have to zoom in to look, and find the text amongst other stuff. This is almost exactly the opposite of how it should have been "improved".

 

There are other issues with this, but suffice to say that I regard it as a big problem and it seriously needs to be reversed out.

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You can count me too. The feel & look of the new notification email format is awful. I really hope that this 'improvement' will be recalled asap. At least there should be an option for old style plain text notifications.

 

Regards,

 

slassu

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