Have an option so member e-mails go to organizers only instead of spamming the entire group
Hello,
I have a few different friends who are organizers for various meetup groups, and they all have one, common, very important problem: All of their members are threatening to quit because there are too many e-mails sent by the Meetup system, and the organizers do not have control over this.
The reasons for this are:
1. Every time someone "has an idea", it spams ALL members. There needs to be an option to send these messages to organizers ONLY.
2. Every time someone makes a comment on a meetup event, it spams ALL members. There needs to be an option to send these messages to organizers ONLY.
3. Every time an event reminder gets sent out, if someone replies to the e-mail it spams ALL members. There needs to be an option to send these messages to organizers ONLY.
Please, please, PLEASE add options so we can turn member spamming off, on a group-wide basis. Our members are getting super pissed off, and they are too technically inept to figure out how to turn off the e-mails themselves (even after being instructed on how to do so). The only messages our members want are the event announcements, nothing else.
The only way we've found that we can turn off these excess e-mails is by disabling the features completely. But we don't want to disable the comments or the "I have an idea" features because it makes the users feel like they are being muted, which causes yet another uproar.
Please make it so that organizers can choose to have these features send notifications to organizers ONLY. If there are any other features that send group wide e-mails, please add the same option for these as well.
Thank you very much!
Johnathan
shared this idea
Ideas are now ‘meetups in the making’, and the group is not emailed once someone suggests an event.
Members can opt out of Meetup comments.
Reminders can be opted out of as well, as can Organizer announcements.
Looks like these requests have been completed! Thank you for your suggestions.
29 comments
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Rex
commented
Having members opt out of communications instead of having the Organizer control how messages are sent is suboptimal. Can that not be a group setting? Especially the comments and replies to reminders -- it's causing major headache
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Mary
commented
I agree that some of the features would be nice to be sent to me only and not the group, but we as a group use the comments to send last minute details or questions to the ones attending so that helps us
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myxlplyx
commented
There is an option for members to turn off these notifications in their group email settings. Also, there's a blurb in every email that's received that tells them that there's a way to opt-out.
Perhaps let your members know about these email notification options. I've let my members know about this and have had no complaints whatsoever.
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andy
commented
Right on, Jonathan. The event comment feature is extra annoying because organizers have absolutely no control on those. There was one time when I had 1,000+ RSVP for an event http://bit.ly/9ngROs. There was a guy who kept spamming our members in the comment area. It was absolutely a nightmare. Why don't Meetup just make everybody opt out those comments from the beginning, be it event comments, or ideas? Make that the default option. Then if anyone wants to opt in, they can do it themselves. That's what LinkedIn is implementing with its discussion comment feature. I bet that'll make everybody's life easier. Thanks for the consideration.
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Anne
commented
It is true that the number one complaint is excessive e-mail. If the option to reply to everyone other than on the message boards were eliminated, it would save people forgetting to indicate where to e-mail responses. I admit that I often forget to check the box that says send replies to me and then a whole bunch of e-mail goes out to the whole group, some of it quite "interesting."
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Esty
commented
LEARN HOW TO USE THE SOFTWARE
I always have the email feature turned off and have advised many other orgs to do the same and all are happy to learn how to do this
It is a ridiculous feature. You pay for the site, you don't want spammers and you don't need "busybodies" emailing the whole group
I saw one really silly org who accidently sent out a nasty letter regarding a member, he thought it would only go to his assistant..it went to the whole group....wow....egg on his face LOL
learn how to use the software
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B
commented
I AM GONG TO QUIT IF THESE SPAM EMAILS DON'T STOP COMING FROM MEMBERS? OR OTHER SPAMMERS. THIS IS NOT WHY I JOINED THE GROUP!
How can I stop receiving the spam emails from meet up groups? -
RJ
commented
This is similar to the User Voice requests to approve all messages, including Ideas, Message Board, and Comment postings.
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Esty
commented
Just turn off your email system and then only emails come from you. I never allow members to email the group. Turn off the stupid idea feature. Learn how to use the software
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Randall Bart commented
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Sue
commented
As an organizer I can't stand getting all the emails about "ideas" and when a member "likes" that idea. Would love to have the option of letting everyone know about an idea and if someone liked the idea. Would certainly turn it off.
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Jonathan Milenko commented
Also, I've had to use filters in my email account to keep out unwanted email from meetup. No other website has forced me to do this.
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Meetup used to have an option allowing members to receive emails only from organizers. I have asked meetup several times what happened to that feature and have not gotten a straight answer yet. They haven't even acknowledged this feature ever existed. We need that feature back.
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Bella
commented
Right now ideas are all or nothing. It would be nice if ideas could be sent out in 1 weekly email, as opposed to each time a member has an idea.
I agree with Jed Walker, meetup organizers should be able to screen ideas before they are sent out to the entire group. Ideas place lots of trust in members to not email an inappropriate idea to the whole group.
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Lori
commented
I turned off the mailing list completely. When posting something to the calendar I always set the radio button to send responses to announcements directly back to me. You can turn off the Ideas and instruct people to post their ideas to the message board instead. It completely eliminated all the issues you are talking about.
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Jeanette commented
Nobody ~can~ send a reply to the entire list... if the organizer uses the proper tool to email the group, "Email Members." The whole point of "Mailing List" is group discussion. If you don't want a group discussion, simply use the tool that doesn't allow for group discussion.
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Julie
commented
When an organizer sends a message to the list, there is a simple radio button easily missed. The default should be set so that replies go to the organizer, but instead the default is set so that replies go to the entire list. This is a very small mistake that leads to a very big problem. It would be easily fixed if the default was set to the oranganizer only. I also suggest that when group size is over 100, no one should be able to hit reply and send a message to the entire list.
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It's only through "Mailing List" that member replies to organizer-sent emails go out to the whole group. The Mailing List feature is meant to be an alternative to the Message Board for group discussions... though it's not a good alternative and it's better for groups to turn it off and use the Message Board for group discussions and for the organizer to use Email Members to contact members. Also, members have the ability to block email from Ideas and other superfluous features, and can also turn off their automated reminder emails. Emails sent directly by organizers through "Email Members" or as initial event announcements are the only emails Members can't block.
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Max
commented
Ideas groups settings could have a new option for Organizers. Intead of turning off completely, organizers will be able to approve the Ideas before email goes out to all group members. When ideas are posted automatic email should be sent to organizer and he could approve or diapprove the idea. Similar to option to approve senting email to the groups mail box.
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Lucy
commented
Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't everyone have their own email specification options and aren't we allowed to opt out of certain emails? I do know that as an organizer I have the ability to stop mass mailings to the group without approval first.
