Hi, folks.
Thanks for the feedback you sent us about the new Comment Alerts and the Commenter E-Mail Addresses (which debuted in the R15 release of Journals). The Journals team is aware that it has caused an inconvenience for some Journals users.
The team received several comments
from passionate Journalers who found the Comment Alerts feature to be a
nuisance when disruptive users -- commonly referred to as "trolls" --
post comments and the subscribers are e-mailed a copy of that comment.
While the feature offers compelling benefits, it can be a pain when
someone leaves distasteful comments on your blog.
In addition, many of you didn't like
the idea of having your e-mail address easily available when posting
comments. A number of you have cited that they've even seen more Spam
in their inbox. I'm not sure if that is just a coincidence, but it's
totally a valid concern. Fighting spam is a pain, and we shouldn't make
their jobs any easier (by providing a link to your e-mail address.) To
manage your junk mail settings on AOL, please visit AOL Keyword:
SpamControls.
In response to your feedback, the Journals team limited the commenter e-mail address feature to be visible only for Journal owners who are signed in. We
discussed the value these features provide for you. The team has
disabled the e-mail links in comments for readers (but will remain for
Journals owners). This update will be effective this evening, when the
servers are updated with this change.
We need your help!
To
help us gather some insight on what you think about these features,
please vote in this poll and share your thoughts in the comments below.
This feedback will help us in the next changes for AOL Journals.
You may also share your thoughts in the comments below or write to us at JournalsEditor@aol.com. The Journals team appreciates your thoughts (and patience) about this.
~ Joseph
20 comments:
I can tell you I LOVE the email feature that is listed with a comment. I have already used it at least a dozen times!
eanne
Full marks for listening, Joseph, and thanks for disabling the email commenter feature, except as marked above. That should hopefully limit the amounts of spam some people have received. It provided spammers with a fully verified email address to work on. Again, thanks.
Guido
http://journals.aol.co.uk/pharmolo/NorthernTrip/
I think the changes that you made today are wonderful! -Missy
Thank you for listening to us and for getting this feature altered. I was one of those suddenly inundated with spam and one of the spam mails actually had, at the top, a copy of the comment I had left on a particular journal! Hopefully all this will stop now although, alas, there has been plenty of time for the trolls to gather e-mail addresses which they will undoubtedly keep or pass on.
I see the email feature as a problem when connected to the alerts to others journals. I believe they will use the combined features to quick contact my commentors. I deleted some spam on my comments about a dating site & was quickly emailed BY THE SPAMMER asking : Why are you deleting things? They have it already. You don't want people to date?
NICE. Why does AOL want others to be alerted to my comments, if not for a marketing reason?~Mary
h
the spam in our inbox is generally related to the addresses being next to our comments. The subject line and context of the beginning of the mail is included in the spam. Proof is there. I for one and am grateful it will be gone. I look forward to comment alerts being gone too. This is a nice community we don't need it spoiled by the cowardly trolls! thanks
d
I am glad that you are changing it back like it was. I didn't like the feature of email addresses even though we are able to email from a screen name. I like that feature we already had. Ididn't care for the feature of getting every comment alert on other peoples journals. Thanks for listening to the journal people. Helen
im not sure the problem becuase you coulcd always see an email inthe comments its just before you could not click and do it you had to copy and paste.
Those journalers who are bothered by so-called "trolls" need a good lesson on how to deal with them. Trolls are extremely easy to get rid of. Just ignore them. They go away. Believe me, I've had lots of experience dealing with trolls. They never bother me for long because I don't feed their egos by paying attention to them.
-Paul
http://journals.aol.ca/plittle/AuroraWalkingVacation/
I really have no strong opinion either way about the email addresses. So whatever you do there is fine by me.
The comment alerts have up and down sides. So I voted in the poll to let journal owners decide whether to offer them. I definately believe there are a handlful of folks lurking around who's main ambition in life is to make folks miserable.
But I have to say that I have a prayer group I run out of my AOL mailbox. A large number of journalers belong to it. (50+ women). The other day I set up a new private journal just for us. We are all able to post entries to it. Used in this way it is really fostering fellowship and interaction between the members! The ones who are participating are loving it so far! If the ability to recieve comment alerts was taken away entirely it would greatly curb the interaction. As the shepherd of this group it also always me immediate notification of anything posted there so I can be more aware of what is going on with the members.
So to me to have the choice is the best of both worlds.
Thank you all for listening, caring and trying to work out solutions that work for everyone.
BArbara
http://journals.aol.com/bhbner2him/LifeFaithinCaneyhead/
I am a journaler who got spammed after leaving a comment in another journal after the commenter email addys were put in. But it doens't really matter. All you have to do is click on the s/n to go to someone's journal. You can email them whether they have a journal or not.
I will second Nighmaremom on this subject Thankyou .Take Care God Bless Kath astoriasand/http://journals.aol.co.uk/astoriasand/MYSIMPLERHYMES
What I don't understand is why would you even think that we would want anyone else to get "OUR" alerts? Like I've said so many times before; Why don't you "ASK" us before you add stuff to OUR journals? I know more moods and more fonts would be nice. You guys really need to listen to us a bit more often!
Lisa
Having a "choice" is best!! I think. Shelly
Hi Mallika! I'm IKOWSKY'S JOURNAL, PART II of AOL Journals. I deleted my comments section of my journal a year ago, as I was getting annoying comments, so I don't worry about comments at all, and I like it that way.
My real problem is that I don't receive the "entry" information (whether to post entry, edit entry or delete entry). At first, I thought that there was no way to post an entry at all. I would desire to have that information on my Journal at all times. I want to sit down and post an entry right away, but I can't. Very frustating.
Sincerely, I don't want to log in to get to my Journal. That seems to be the only way that I can post an entry. I love writing in my Journal; so please help me love it even more.
Sincerely, IKOWSKY'S JOURNAL, PART II
PS Please read my Journal while you are checking it out. Thank you.
I don't know if you're doing blogplugs today but I'd like to enter this entry even thought I wrote it on Wednesday. Our military is so important and shouldn't be forgotten during the holidays. Thank you.
~D
http://journals.aol.com/heavenlybama/journey-to-success/entries/2007/12/20/christmas-video-of-the-day/821
h
Maybe it's because I have a MAC aol version, but I find the archives on the journals are not very organized & it is difficult to find old posts that go back a few years. Too many clicking to find what we need. So maybe with all these changes AOL is making for our Journals.....redesigning the archives should be included.
thanks
Just a nice little hello..I pray about your pain as I have chronic pain also..Hugz Witty
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