sending PMs

[sacfxdx]

How many posts does it take before you can send PMs?

[fsgazda]

Two.

[sacfxdx]

I have 6 so I wonder what's up. I can't PM an Admin got ask. I was expecting to find a "send" button somewhere. All I see is a "submit" button. The mail stays in my Outbox and nothing in my sent folder.

[timothy42b]

That's normal. It stays in Outbox until it's read. At least that's how mine worked.

[sacfxdx]

ok. That's a new way to handle messages. Thanks for the info.

[LarryPrestonRoberson]

So, you can delete a message you sent someone? I have a recent message in my inbox that says "This message was deleted by its author." While I suppose it is a good feature to have this option, it seems odd that I can still see that someone sent me a message and then deleted it. It would be nice to know the contents, even if was "one that got away."

[Matt K]

So, you can delete a message you sent someone? I have a recent message in my inbox that says "This message was deleted by its author." While I suppose it is a good feature to have this option, it seems odd that I can still see that someone sent me a message and then deleted it. It would be nice to know the contents, even if was "one that got away."

I tried to replicate it and I don't seem to be able to have that feature - and I should have all privileges. Can you see the date? My suspicion is that it was sent by one of the bots we were having trouble with initially (this is why we now have a 2 approved post minimum) and then suspended. The software doesn't actually have a way to make a distinction between "author" and anything else so if a message is deleted or a user removed, so it would make sense to me that you would see that message even if that's not really what happened. But you're correct, I'd probably remove that 'feature' if it is enabled at the moment.

[Matt K]

Scratch that, I think I found it. Looking into it now.

[Matt K]

Aha, upon further investigation, this is intended behavior of the phpBB software and not really feasible to change unless there's been a major development since this thread in 2015.

Basically you have your Inbox, Sent, and Outbox. When you send a message, it remains in your Outbox until the recipient opens it, at which point it gets deleted from your Outbox and moved into your Sent items folder. If you send something and delete it before the user has a chance to open it, it will be not be able to be viewed by the recipient.

In other words, you can unsend something if the recipient hasn't viewed it yet.

Interesting 'feature' - in this case it seems like whomever sent you a message was unaware of how the Outbox worked or didn't want you to see it. You can sort of avoid this by checking your messages as you receive them (I'm really bad about that myself... ) - we do have e-mail alerts. We're presently working on making those avoid the spam filters too. We can't send out the contents of the message but it will ping you with a link to the message and you can check it right away.

[LarryPrestonRoberson]

Aha, upon further investigation, this is intended behavior of the phpBB software and not really feasible to change unless there's been a major development since this thread in 2015.
Interesting 'feature'...

Indeed

You can sort of avoid this by checking your messages as you receive them (I'm really bad about that myself... ) - we do have e-mail alerts.

I typically do, especially when awaiting a reply concerning a potential purchase or sale—through my mobile phone browser. The seller chose the one day where I had wide gap of not checking in to reply. Alas, it wasn't meant to be.

Thanks for the information Matt!

[Matt K]

No problem! I'd probably reply to the ad(s) you have an mention it just to be on the safe side. Worst case scenario, you get a 'bump' out of it

Sidenote for users in general: I'd recommend e-mail for these types of communications though everyone is obviously welcome to using the PM system. It's just that it's a more robust communication method. When you use the 'contact' button someone, there should be an e-mail icon next to the PM option, so it shouldn't be too much extra effort. If you like the convenience of having a dedicated place for your trombone dealings, it might be wise to setup a second e-mail account with one of the free providers and utilize that for all trombone stuff. I'm actually in the process of doing that myself.

[LarryPrestonRoberson]

Sidenote for users in general: I'd recommend e-mail for these types of communications though everyone is obviously welcome to using the PM system.

E-mail is definitely my preferred method of communication.

When you use the 'contact' button someone, there should be an e-mail icon next to the PM option, so it shouldn't be too much extra effort.

I don't see this option. Is it only a feature of certain Themes on the forum?

If you like the convenience of having a dedicated place for your trombone dealings, it might be wise to setup a second e-mail account with one of the free providers and utilize that for all trombone stuff. I'm actually in the process of doing that myself.

For the same reason, I'm doing the same thing. But, I may make it related to music in general.

[AJWbone]

I’m also having difficulties send pm’s.

I’d like to respond to a potential seller but can’t as I haven’t made enough posts. Seems a little strange way to do things

[BGuttman]

I’m also having difficulties send pm’s.

I’d like to respond to a potential seller but can’t as I haven’t made enough posts. Seems a little strange way to do things

You would change your tune if you had to deal with the oceans of spam we'd get if we let the 'bots in with one approval.

[Matt K]

Yeah, as Bruce mentioned, it’s because of the nefarious activity. Not only spammers but also scammers. There was a bad couple of months awhile ago where people would just post superficial things like “+1!” To get approved and then scamming members of the forum. We got rid of them and the new baseline is that people are welcome to use the classifieds here, but they have to prove they at least have a cursory understanding of trombone before participating. That protects the incumbents who are here to the extent that it can (really just from exposure to some of the same things that happen on more permissive platforms like Facebook).