[RFC] Email to Moderators on Arrival of New Messages in the Queue

[between3&20chars]

Further to this discussion...

On low-traffic boards or for moderators with limited duties, some time may pass between messages showing up for moderation -- minutes, hours, days, and sometimes weeks.

So far the only way I have discovered to know if there are messages waiting is to keep checking the queue by opening or refreshing the browser. This is a huge drawback for me. There must be a better way, like receiving an email each time a new message comes in for moderation.

Additionally, a copy of the new post in these emails to the moderator(s) with an option to OK it by return email would be awsome! This would make using my boards 100x easier for me and provide a way moderators can respond quickly to new messages.

Are these something that could be added? It would, IMO, make phpBB stand far above other boards.

[DavidIQ]

Yes this is quite useful for such cases and I could argue that it would be useful for all cases. A level of notification would be useful in this case. Don't want a notification for every single post if you're on a busy site using the Moderation Queue, like phpbb.com. Maybe have a few options like:

1. Notification on every new post waiting for approval
2. Hourly or daily digest of posts waiting for approval
3. Notifcation on every reported post or PM
4. Hourly or daily digests of post/PM reports
5. PM notification, board pop-up notification, or e-mail notification options

A similar idea was done as a MOD here although that one's a bit outdated for the current phpBB3 version and later updated to work here. Works rather well and could be a "baseline" for implementation.

[between3&20chars]

I like this line of thinking. Hope something comes of it.

[Danielx64]

This is something else that I been waiting for a long time as well. I would only want to see at the top of the page like there is "1 reported post" or something like that.

I don't feel the need to get PMs or emails flying into our mailboxes with reported stuff. The perfect example that I seen is done in MyBB.

Even something like this: http://www.phpbb.com/customise/db/mod/moderator_needed would do the trick. As long as it on every page, it all good.

[between3&20chars]

I don't feel the need to get PMs or emails flying into our mailboxes with reported stuff. The perfect example that I seen is done in MyBB.

I imagine that there are many who would not want emails, just as there are many who would. Personally, I have several boards which are very low volume. Some are seasonal. I also travel a lot, so days and weeks go by that I don't think to look at some of the boards. Neither do most of the members it seems. If someone posts, that message can sit, unnoticed in the queue for quite a while at times. That discourages board activity and the lack of activity for periods of time causes interest to drop off even more. Prompt moderation encourages active discussion. Slow moderation chokes it off.

Why moderate at all? Well, I had one fairly inactive seasonal board (it was phpBB and a while back) fill up with spam while I was not looking. I cleaned it up and eventually converted it to other software. Now I am back to phpBb and liking it. I'm not (fingers crossed) having the same problems, but I do have new members on 'moderate' for a few posts, just as this board does. Let me say that personally I find that even a short delay due to moderation is off-putting when I experience it from the user perspective, even if it is understandable. After I go the bother of writing an article, I want to see it appear on the board without an indefinite lag.

I have moderated a LISTSERV list for a decade and more and can attest from long experience to the fact that the list volume and quality varies very directly with the speed of moderator response and speed of dissemination of new posts.

The long and short of it is that some will need the email notification features for boards they visit seldom and not for high volume boards or where they are constantly present. A good example is this board for me. I was directed here from another board and have only one particular topic of interest here (so far). The workings of phpBB is not a hobby or special interest of mine so I would probably have only made a post or two and never come back if not reminded by the emails telling me that the topic is still alive. That reminds me; There seems to be no UCP option to turn on "Subscribe to topics where I post". I happened to have the presence of mind to turn it on for this topic, so I keep returning.

[DavidIQ]

I don't feel the need to get PMs or emails flying into our mailboxes with reported stuff. The perfect example that I seen is done in MyBB.

That is why I said:

5. PM notification, board pop-up notification, or e-mail notification options

[MichaelC]

Or even just a little bar where Board Disabled is notifying a moderator there is something in the queue.

[userwhoforums]

Wow. As I've been searching for a solution.... I've seen this topic come up many times, on various boards, over many years now...

I am in the same boat. I have several low-volume boards, and I need an email alert every time there is a new post waiting for moderation.

If the posts sit in the queue waiting for a long time, until I happen to be there and notice them... these boards will go from "low-volume"... to "NO-volume". It is sniffling.

Has no one come up with a solution yet?

I REALLY don't understand why Email Alerts for new messages in the Moderation Queue... is not a basic feature built-in to phpBB.

Of course, every other forum / mailing list system works this way. Google Groups is one example. In fact, the email alert contains the Contents of the message waiting for approval, along with a direct link to the moderation queue.

But... You can simply click REPLY, sending a blank reply to that special email address that the alert came from, and you have just Approved that message instantly... without even visiting the site!

In my opinion, this feature is basic and ESSENTIAL.

[RMcGirr83]

Except for the fact that Google Groups is a message board and not a forum.

[userwhoforums]

I have no clue what that even means.

What's the difference?

phpBB stands for PHP Bulletin Board.

You're saying it's not a message board?


A forum IS an online message bulletin board.