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Private messages.

Scorpion0x17

Can we please have a private message facility.

Well, either that, or some other mechanism by which anyone that decides for themselves, as a free-thinking independent adult, to share further contact details with other free-thinking independent adults, can do so.

Thanks.

  • Well on this forum If you Foe someone then you can't see the posts or recieve messages. So it's good to limit nuisances.

    Im not sure how the friend part works tbh. 

  • Goatworshiper said:

    On a music forum I go on, there is a friend & foe function. Maybe this would work?

    How does it work?

    Is it just a way of rating people, or does it allow for private 1-to-1 communication?

  • On a music forum I go on, there is a friend & foe function. Maybe this would work?

  • thanks scorpion thats exactly what i meant lol and then i cant see a problem with it xxx

  • Skye's suggestion of a friends system is exactly what I would have suggested.

    And, to expand on that a little, the way I would expect such a system to work would be that one could request to 'friend' anyone else, but the person being 'friended' would then have the option to either accept or decline.

    It is also usual in most forums, and other similar types of online communication system, for any private messages to only actually be nominally private - that is to say that whilst such messages are not visible to the public in general, they remain visible to the site's moderators and administrators.

    This, so long as it is made clear to all, and there exists a way to 'report' messages to the moderators and admins, provides a level of protection without unduely overloading the site staff with additional work.

  • hi jim you could have a system were you can become friends with certain people like click friends button so when you become friends with someone they will then be able to share details with them just a thought xx

  • Oh and should say, any suggestions on an alternative way to share contact details rather than a messaging system would be really welcome. Any ideas would be great :)

  • Hi Scorpion, 

    I'm really sorry about the frustration this must cause. We are continually reviewing the decision and are aware that people would welcome this functionality, or a way to share contact details. The decision to launch the community wasn't a certain thing at all and it's important we can demonstrate how we'd have the capacity the handle any problems as well as balance this with the risks. 

    We've already seen certain times where problems have appeared that the decision to not have messages has helped but that naturally doesn't mean we're dismissive of the real benefits private messages could offer. 

    Right now the protection offered to particularly vulnerable users of our services, such as parents who may just be aware of autism and may be particularly open to spamming, cures, etc, as well as the evidence we've already seen of researchers posting inappropriately means it is something that presents significant issues. 

    For now we're pleased we have the opportunity to provide this service and we will look to review possible changes but I'm not going to lie that this would be a quick decision we'd reach. 

    So I'm sorry for that but I can at least promise these discussions are ongoing. I know that doesn't change how frustrating it is though.