Restrict same-node multiple new comment notifications (or disable)
| Project: | Watcher |
| Version: | 5.x-1.6 |
| Component: | Miscellaneous |
| Category: | feature request |
| Priority: | normal |
| Assigned: | solipsist |
| Status: | postponed |
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First off - great module. Really well thought out and implemented.
I am wondering about new comment email notifications since a node with an active discussion leads to as many emails as there are new comments. As it stands my question is what is the best way to remove "Send email notification when a post receives a new comment" - I'd rather it were not there as an option for as long as there is one email for every new comment on a subscribed node. I realise the option is there for a user to opt-in/out, and indeed for admin to uncheck as the default setting, I just don't see it being something I want in it's current form.
Naturally this leads to me to suggest an option to make it, say, one email per [week/day/half-day] for nodes that have new comments but I'm probably just one person asking and I'd be quite happy to disable new comment notifications altogether - content to have emails for node updates/edits.

#1
One solution would be to make it an option to only receive one notification, requiring the user to view the node for new notifications to be sent, which is how phpBB's notification system work. That would require altering the module and it's not something I am able to do any time soon due to time constraints. I'm marking this a feature request for now.
#2
That's a good plan, thanks
#3
youtube lets you get a daily digest I think it updates every six hours if there is new mail but I could be wrong on that...
#4
Paris, thanks for the suggestion but please open a separate feature request so I can track these better.
#5
A further thought (while request postponed) considering practical use and server load, particularly on busy sites with a lot of content activity.
Watcher has a fine interface to manage one's watched posts on the drupal site. It strikes me that, as a user, I would only need to receive one email if and when there are changes to one or more watched items, not for every changed item, let alone a reminder for every single change to every item. The general email links me to my watched items ("there are updates/changes to one or more of your watched items") and I can see these updates quite clearly on the site watcher page. There's no need to send me another message until there have been more changes since my last visit to the site.
I hope that makes sense.
#6
I like the idea. One solution could be to add another option to the settings page:
Send notifications
- Every time a watched node is edited or commented on
This will cause a notification to be sent every time a node is edited or commented on. This may be undesirable on large sites with a lot of nodes and comments.
- The first time each watched node is edited or commented on until re-visit
This will cause a notification to be sent the first time a particular node is edited or commented on. If the node is edited or commented on again a new notification will not be sent until the visitor returns to the site.
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- The first time any watched node is edited or commented until re-visit
This will cause a notification to be sent the first time any of the user's watched nodes is edited or commented on. If any of the nodes is edited or commented on again, a new notification will not be sent until the visitor returns to the site.
As users receive copies of comments, it can be valuable to them to be able to read the comment before deciding whether to view it in their browser and that should also be taken into consideration. It could be a good idea to leave some control to the user allowing him/her to customize it on the settings page. However due to the performance issues, it must be possible to make a "hard override", preventing users from making settings changes that can have adverse side effects to the site. A solution could be to leave this setting to the users by default but allow the site admin to remove it from the users' settings pages and instead set it globally.
Thoughts?
#7
Spot on, really. I think that the proposed options together with a global override allow the module broader possibilities, at least more options for site admin based on the nature and activity of the site. These are good options.
#8
The issue #448606: Only send notification to a user once per absence per node (flood protect) has been marked as a duplicate. Thank you solipsist.
Settings as in comment #6 would be perfect.
In my case i want a notification for the first new comment only but for every node seperately, which is a typical forum setting (phpBB, vBulletin). Regarding the different use cases of drupal (and watcher) this might not be useful for others.
Overriding watcher settings globally is important for performance (as solipsist mentioned) and not to confuse users with too many settings (also very important). All in case of i know which global settings makes sense for users at my site.
This feature would be great for the future.
Thanks for your work!
cheers, Ronald