FAQ - Notifications
- What are notifications?
- How do I send people messages on Dreamwidth?
- What is tracking?
- How do I stop tracking something?
- What different ways can I receive my notifications?
- How do I use the inbox?
- How many notifications can I have?
- Why aren't my comment or notification emails reaching me?
» What are notifications?
Notifications are messages we send you to let you know something has happened. You may want to get notifications when you get an invitation to a community, or when someone replies to one of your entries.
You can choose which notifications you want to receive and how you want to be notified on the Notifications tab of the My Account Settings page. You can reach this page by selecting "Manage Account" under the "Organize" menu of the main site pages.
You can choose which notifications you want to receive and how you want to be notified on the Notifications tab of the My Account Settings page. You can reach this page by selecting "Manage Account" under the "Organize" menu of the main site pages.
Last Activity: August 31st, 2015 (kaberett)
» How do I send people messages on Dreamwidth?
We have a message system you can use to send private messages to other Dreamwidth users. You can reach it either by selecting the "Send Message" option in your own Inbox or the "Send Message" icon and text on the Profile of the person you want to send the message to.
When you reach the Compose Message page, you'll need to fill out the "To" field in order for your message to be sent, but all the other fields are optional. You can send your message to multiple recipients by separating their usernames with commas.
You cannot reply to a private message by replying to the email notification. You must reply through the Inbox.
When you reach the Compose Message page, you'll need to fill out the "To" field in order for your message to be sent, but all the other fields are optional. You can send your message to multiple recipients by separating their usernames with commas.
You cannot reply to a private message by replying to the email notification. You must reply through the Inbox.
Last Activity: April 2nd, 2016 (kaberett)
» What is tracking?
Tracking uses the Notification system to let you track journals or specific journal entries and receive notifications about them.
On all journal entries, there will be a link associated with tracking. The exact appearance of the link will vary depending on the style of the journal you are reading, but it will generally be either an image of a bell or text similar to "Track This".
If you select this, you'll be given three options: tracking comments on the entry, tracking new entries in the journal, and tracking new entries with a specific tag.
You can also track comments in a specific comment thread by selecting the tracking option under a given comment.
On all journal entries, there will be a link associated with tracking. The exact appearance of the link will vary depending on the style of the journal you are reading, but it will generally be either an image of a bell or text similar to "Track This".
If you select this, you'll be given three options: tracking comments on the entry, tracking new entries in the journal, and tracking new entries with a specific tag.
You can also track comments in a specific comment thread by selecting the tracking option under a given comment.
Last Activity: August 31st, 2015 (kaberett)
» How do I stop tracking something?
There are two ways you can stop tracking something.
First, for an entry that you're tracking, you can select the "Untrack" or "Stop Tracking" option on the entry itself. This option removes the "Track This" option from entries or comments you are already tracking.
You can also use the Notifications tab of the My Account Settings page. You can reach this page by selecting "Manage Account" under the "Organize" menu of the main site pages. This page lists all items you are tracking at the bottom. You can stop tracking any items you choose by unchecking their boxes and then saving.
First, for an entry that you're tracking, you can select the "Untrack" or "Stop Tracking" option on the entry itself. This option removes the "Track This" option from entries or comments you are already tracking.
You can also use the Notifications tab of the My Account Settings page. You can reach this page by selecting "Manage Account" under the "Organize" menu of the main site pages. This page lists all items you are tracking at the bottom. You can stop tracking any items you choose by unchecking their boxes and then saving.
Last Activity: August 31st, 2015 (kaberett)
» What different ways can I receive my notifications?
You can get notifications sent to your Inbox, and you can also get them emailed to you.
Almost all notifications are sent to your Inbox. Notifications for replies to your comments in somebody else's journal or your posts in a community, as well as notifications for your own comments, can only be received via email. You can also have all other notifications emailed to you by checking the "also notify me by email" box when setting up your notification preferences.
You can reply to comments by replying to the email notification if you wish, but you must use the Inbox to reply to private messages.
It isn't possible to receive notifications only by email without them appearing in your Inbox, although this is scheduled for a future release.
Almost all notifications are sent to your Inbox. Notifications for replies to your comments in somebody else's journal or your posts in a community, as well as notifications for your own comments, can only be received via email. You can also have all other notifications emailed to you by checking the "also notify me by email" box when setting up your notification preferences.
You can reply to comments by replying to the email notification if you wish, but you must use the Inbox to reply to private messages.
It isn't possible to receive notifications only by email without them appearing in your Inbox, although this is scheduled for a future release.
Last Activity: April 2nd, 2016 (kaberett)
» How do I use the inbox?
You can get to your Inbox by following the link under the "Read" menu on the main site pages, or by the link from the Navigation Strip, if you have it displayed on your journal page. The Inbox contains all the Dreamwidth Notifications you receive.
By selecting the check-boxes next to each message and then pushing the appropriate button at the bottom of the page, you can delete notifications from the Inbox or mark them as either read or unread. You can also flag them for later reading by selecting the flag icon next to each one. Doing any of this will not have any effect on anything outside the Inbox.
You can filter what you see in the Inbox, so that you will only be shown one type of notification: for example, only private messages, or only items that you have flagged. To do this choose the appropriate link in the filter menu, which is located below the "Send Message" button.
If you're viewing the "Entries and Comments" Inbox filter, each individual notification will also have a "filter to this entry" link in the body of the notification itself. Choosing this will only show you notifications related to that particular entry. This can help you to manage the notifications for individual entries more quickly.
By selecting the check-boxes next to each message and then pushing the appropriate button at the bottom of the page, you can delete notifications from the Inbox or mark them as either read or unread. You can also flag them for later reading by selecting the flag icon next to each one. Doing any of this will not have any effect on anything outside the Inbox.
You can filter what you see in the Inbox, so that you will only be shown one type of notification: for example, only private messages, or only items that you have flagged. To do this choose the appropriate link in the filter menu, which is located below the "Send Message" button.
If you're viewing the "Entries and Comments" Inbox filter, each individual notification will also have a "filter to this entry" link in the body of the notification itself. Choosing this will only show you notifications related to that particular entry. This can help you to manage the notifications for individual entries more quickly.
Last Activity: August 31st, 2015 (kaberett)
» How many notifications can I have?
The number of notifications you can have active on your account depends on what type of account you have.
These limits include all notifications you have — notifications of journal or community content you are tracking, notifications for receiving on-site messages, notifications of being added to somebody's circle, and notifications of receiving community invites. So if you have a free account and are tracking twenty comments in various journals or communities, for example, you can only add five more items of any kind to your tracking notifications.
- Free Accounts can have 25.
- Paid Accounts can have 500.
- Premium Paid Accounts can have 1000.
These limits include all notifications you have — notifications of journal or community content you are tracking, notifications for receiving on-site messages, notifications of being added to somebody's circle, and notifications of receiving community invites. So if you have a free account and are tracking twenty comments in various journals or communities, for example, you can only add five more items of any kind to your tracking notifications.
Last Activity: August 31st, 2015 (kaberett)
» Why aren't my comment or notification emails reaching me?
First, check the Known Issues box on the Help page to see if the site is having any problems sending emails at the moment. Also check you have the options for comment emails or notifications set up correctly.
One reason emails might be missing is if the entry has been changed so you no longer have access to it. You can't get comment emails for entries you're not allowed to read.
If you know you've gotten comments that ought to be sent by email, and the emails are not arriving, it's possible the emails are blocked by spam filters. Dreamwidth sends out large volumes of similar emails, and this makes some email systems automatically class Dreamwidth notifications as spam. Check your spam or junk mail folder and see if the missing emails are there. See if it's possible to white-list dreamwidth.org or add dreamwidth.org to your list of trusted contacts.
You can also change your email address on the Account Settings page. Once you've done that, you'll need to confirm your new email address, and then see if emails reach you correctly. If none of these steps work, please contact your ISP or email provider to resolve the situation.
One reason emails might be missing is if the entry has been changed so you no longer have access to it. You can't get comment emails for entries you're not allowed to read.
If you know you've gotten comments that ought to be sent by email, and the emails are not arriving, it's possible the emails are blocked by spam filters. Dreamwidth sends out large volumes of similar emails, and this makes some email systems automatically class Dreamwidth notifications as spam. Check your spam or junk mail folder and see if the missing emails are there. See if it's possible to white-list dreamwidth.org or add dreamwidth.org to your list of trusted contacts.
You can also change your email address on the Account Settings page. Once you've done that, you'll need to confirm your new email address, and then see if emails reach you correctly. If none of these steps work, please contact your ISP or email provider to resolve the situation.
Last Activity: August 31st, 2015 (kaberett)
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