BirdingNZ.net

I'm interested in an indication of demand for the email alerts feature we have here on this site. This is the feature you can use to get the full message of the first post of new threads in the Bird Sightings and Alerts forum sent to you by email. The subject line of these starts with "BirdingNZ.net Alert:"
See here for more info if you are not familiar with it: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=51

At the moment, about 6% of our members use this feature directly, but I know others also receive the messages via the Yahoo Groups BIRDING-NZ email list. I am interested in how important these emails are regardless of which way you get them.

Note that I am not asking about the other ways you can get the posts, e.g. RSS feeds or SMS.

Thanks

I probably wouldn't have heard about the emperor penguin that turned up on Pekapeka beach if I hadn't got the BirdingNZ email about it.

As that was 4 years ago, and technology has progressed, would you consider the other methods of getting such alerts (e.g. SMS/text/Twitter, or feeds)?

I used to get Twitter feeds from this site (the only reason I signed up to Twitter!), and used to enjoy them, though I don't think I ever directly acted on one. It was particularly good while driving down to Wellington at the time of the Pekapeka penguin (we were doing a road trip mainly to see the shore plovers at Plimmerton, and the penguin was a lucky bonus) - a tweet came through somewhere near Bulls, reassuring us the penguin was still on the beach, which was a great example of the technology working as intended. I no longer receive those tweets, not sure why. If they or some similar service are still being sent, how can I reconnect? As a means of contact, I would prefer text messaging to email, or to some web or app-based service such as Facebook.

Although I voted "not important to me at all", that's only because I'm currently running 15 years behind with my technology.
I still have a $7 phone from Harvey Norman, and I wouldn't know what to do with a SmartPhone if I was handed one.
So up-to-now, your Email service was of no interest at all.
But it would be very bad timing to drop the email service right now.
As SmartPhones proliferate, birders are just starting to monitor their email accounts whilst out in the field. Now for the first time, your emails have become truly relevant and immediate. Now they can be received in 'real time'.

Dropping the service at this moment in time would be like having unsuccessfully sold petrol throughout the 1800's, then scrapping it just as the motorcar was invented!
Sure, SMS would be more useful to out-of-date guys like me AND it could also be received by SmartPhones too, so it does have a wider availability to all users at present. But I wonder how much longer?

cheers
Paul

I'm not on Twitter so definitely prefer email. Presumably the current set up is automated so shouldn't require someone to 'approve' which emails get sent out?

Thanks for the additional feedback.
David, you might need to check within Twitter that you are still subscribed. If you just want text messages (outside of a Twitter app) send "follow birdingnznet" to 8987 and that should get you back. As this is only the most interesting reports there haven't been many lately.

I can't see it, but surely there should be a function on the user panel that let's you opt out of email alerts?

None of my other forums send me email alerts.

Yes, the email alerts are most definitely an opt IN feature, and a modification I have had to specifically make for this site.

The opt in opt out are a std user profile option for most forum formates including phpbb.