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View Full Version : Increase the PM inbox size!



Sigma
05-12-2013, 05:15 PM
I am constantly having to delete messages cos my inbox is full and I quite regularly have issues where I try and send a message, but I get an alert telling me that the other person's inbox is full. I then have to either try sending the PM again later on, hoping they've deleted some messages, or they'll PM me to say "sorry I missed your message!" which only makes it worse, lol.

I think people pay for VIP because they want to support the site. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think inbox size has anything to do with it, because it's only really useful when everyone has a bigger inbox - not just yourself.

PMs take up bugger all space in the database, so could the size be increased for regular non-VIP members please? Or maybe increase it for people when they go from being a "new member" to "member"? 20 is a meagre amount.

Dix
05-12-2013, 05:26 PM
I am no web site guru by any means but, I think one reason for each non-VIP member's box being at 20, probably has something to do with band width? It costs X amount per (MB?) to store PM messages?
Therefore, if you want more PM space, you gotta pay for it?

As you can see, I have all questions here.... no statements. I am asking as well as giving suggestions of why.

Sigma
05-12-2013, 05:41 PM
PMs are just plain text. Increasing the number to 100 (or whatever) would have no meaningful impact on the amount of space the site takes up on the server.

For example, my forum is smaller than this, but it has over a third of a million posts on it, plus I allow people to attach files to posts in some sections that can be up to 10 MB in size. I also allow people to have up to 10,000 messages in their inbox. The entire site database is under 330 MB.

Dix
05-12-2013, 05:42 PM
thanks :tup:

Zafire
05-12-2013, 07:15 PM
I don't get any mail :(

thehadgi
05-12-2013, 07:18 PM
I don't get any mail :(

Check again :D

DJNR
05-12-2013, 07:31 PM
PM sent with response.

Synaxis
05-12-2013, 08:00 PM
I am no web site guru by any means but, I think one reason for each non-VIP member's box being at 20, probably has something to do with band width? It costs X amount per (MB?) to store PM messages?
Therefore, if you want more PM space, you gotta pay for it?

As you can see, I have all questions here.... no statements. I am asking as well as giving suggestions of why.

Not quite the bandwidth that is the issue. Bandwidth will be used up either way way whether or not messages get deleted or saved. And, since the majority of the messages are text based anyway, they don't use a lot of bandwidth.

The problem is the database. The more messages you have, the larger the database grows, the more cluttered and slower it gets. But I mean, that is happening anyway with all the new forum posts every single day. Plus, like I mentioned, text based messages don't take up that much space. And a Database is nothing but text. But Sigma already mentioned all that.

Perhaps it is just a gimmick to upgrade to VIP?

I barely use PMs anyway. I'll give my extra 80 messages to Sigma if he wants them :tup:

DJNR
05-12-2013, 08:20 PM
Perhaps it is just a gimmick to upgrade to VIP?


I think it's pretty reasonable actually.

Synaxis
05-12-2013, 09:39 PM
By the way. I have a question. If we lose our VIP status, what happens to the messages in our inbox and our uploaded attachments, which are now over the standard member limit?

Do they get deleted, or do they stay?

ewe
05-13-2013, 12:44 AM
Other forums with the same layout as this one often have a 'wall' that you can write on

DTR
05-13-2013, 02:14 AM
By the way. I have a question. If we lose our VIP status, what happens to the messages in our inbox and our uploaded attachments, which are now over the standard member limit?

Do they get deleted, or do they stay?

They stay (as far as I know), but your inbox will become full and if/when you delete them you won't get that space back.

Baller95
05-13-2013, 08:40 AM
It is quite annoying but if your messages are important to you, you can always select the ones you want and DJF gives you an option to download them as text, XML, etc in the same menu you go to delete your messages. Once you've saved them, delete em off your inbox to make space.

KLH
05-13-2013, 08:59 AM
PM limits are always a pain. You could have a 1000 PM limit and it's a pain too. All we're talking about is when and how often you're inconvenienced to clean them up.

-KLH

xs2man
05-13-2013, 09:11 AM
One of the other forums I am on has a 50 PM limit. Which is fine. But the best thing is that it auto-prunes your oldest message when you receive a new one. If you get an important message, you can choose to save it in another folder, but your inbox auto-prunes. This would be advantageous as it means your inbox basically takes care of itself.

Dix
05-13-2013, 09:32 AM
PM limits are always a pain. You could have a 1000 PM limit and it's a pain too. All we're talking about is when and how often you're inconvenienced to clean them up.

-KLH

I agree with this. As a mod, mine is 100 I think. I try to save mine in case I need to go back for reference. So, when it comes clean up time, I don't just delete the oldest 75 or whatever. I have to go through both sent & received & look through most of them to view the relevance & decide whether to keep it or discard it. So... the more I have, the more time consuming it is to clean up.

I guess I need to take on this task every month rather than letting it build up until its full but, its certainly not anything I look forward to. On the other hand, I guess if I had 1000, the last 500 would be so far back that its relevance would not be useful & I could just delete them. I don't know.

M!TCH
05-13-2013, 10:28 AM
Agreed.

M!TCH
05-23-2013, 08:06 PM
Bump. I need diz done nao please.

M!TCH
06-11-2013, 05:28 PM
Bump. I think 200 for VIP and 25 for regular member is appropriate.

Baller95
06-11-2013, 06:24 PM
:stupid:

Will MaXimal
06-11-2013, 07:10 PM
Call me crazy, but why would anyone need more than 20? If its an important conversation I would copy it and email it to myself for archiving :tup:

thehadgi
06-11-2013, 08:41 PM
Call me crazy, but why would anyone need more than 20? If its an important conversation I would copy it and email it to myself for archiving :tup:

Maybe I want to store all the sexy PM's me n jazzy share with each other and not have to back the hot pics up on my computer where my non existent gf could find them :cry:

Baller95
06-11-2013, 08:43 PM
^ :lol:

M!TCH
06-11-2013, 08:46 PM
Call me crazy, but why would anyone need more than 20? If its an important conversation I would copy it and email it to myself for archiving :tup:

Laziness. To do that I have to download all the messages into text, then file them somewhere on my computer. I don't go to my folders on my computer to look for DJF convos. With the small amount of space required and simplicity of increasing PM box, no reason it shouldn't be increased.

Sigma
06-11-2013, 09:17 PM
Call me crazy, but why would anyone need more than 20? If its an important conversation I would copy it and email it to myself for archiving :tup:
20 is a pitiful amount.

I have had conversations with people in PM, but then I'll go to reply and their inbox is full and then I have to wait for them to notice and delete some messages so that I'm able to reply. Sometimes they won't notice for a few days. Also, there's no way for me to know if they've emptied any messages out of their inbox unless they actually message me to say so, so sometimes I'll try sending the PM again the next day and their inbox is still full - it's a PITA.

I have had people PM me and ask 2 or 3 questions in the same PM, so I'll write a really long, detailed reply, then it pops up "sorry, their inbox is full" and I'll then have to save my PM as a text file on my PC and try sending it again a few days later or whatever.

If 20 PMs is enough for you, cool, but then what is the objection to the limit being raised to 100 or 200 or whatever?

Will MaXimal
06-12-2013, 12:39 PM
20 is a pitiful amount.

I have had conversations with people in PM, but then I'll go to reply and their inbox is full and then I have to wait for them to notice and delete some messages so that I'm able to reply. Sometimes they won't notice for a few days. Also, there's no way for me to know if they've emptied any messages out of their inbox unless they actually message me to say so, so sometimes I'll try sending the PM again the next day and their inbox is still full - it's a PITA.

I have had people PM me and ask 2 or 3 questions in the same PM, so I'll write a really long, detailed reply, then it pops up "sorry, their inbox is full" and I'll then have to save my PM as a text file on my PC and try sending it again a few days later or whatever.

If 20 PMs is enough for you, cool, but then what is the objection to the limit being raised to 100 or 200 or whatever?


No objection at all :)

I am sure if all the numbers fit that it wont be an issue to implement.

djeternal
06-17-2013, 11:29 AM
20 is a really small amount. I think the number of messages allowed should increase as you post more. Users who post a lot should be allowed to receive more PMs.

KLH
06-17-2013, 01:31 PM
I say get rid of the PM system and simply forward to the registered email address. Running email in a forum is a waste of storage that could and should be used for forum content, IMHO.

-KLH

Rek_Aviles
06-17-2013, 01:42 PM
20 is a really small amount. I think the number of messages allowed should increase as you post more. Users who post a lot should be allowed to receive more PMs.

I like this idea and I wouldn't be surprised if there was a vb plugin for this already.

KLH
06-17-2013, 03:15 PM
^ Yeah, one additional PM for each rep star earned. Winnars have 31 PM limit! LOL!

In all seriousness, the issue, IMHO, is using a PM system. Instead of doing that, why not use an email alias like membername@djforums.com that simply forwards to people's email - or use a free email system (like gmail) to host DJF's email/PM system. Either way, there NO limit on PMs.

-KLH

Sigma
06-17-2013, 09:59 PM
I'm glad you're not in charge of this site. :D

The space taken up by PMs on the server is irrelevant. It's so small that it's not even a consideration. The problem with linking inbox size to member group is that I can still run into an issue where the person I'm talking to runs out of space, which then stifles our conversation (i.e. it affects me and not just them) even if my inbox has tons of room in it.

The admins still on their extended holiday are they?

jvine
06-18-2013, 03:14 PM
I say get rid of the PM system and simply forward to the registered email address. Running email in a forum is a waste of storage that could and should be used for forum content, IMHO.

-KLH
Well, PM on the old site was what 5, 10 pm's?(I don't know what this one is, only got to being active again here over the last couple weeks) That was stupidly annoying, especially when trying to come together on a deal for equipment being sold or whatever. I'm sure that will be the case again if I ever go to sell something again... ...leading to my next point.

If you want traffic and revenue, the best thing to do would be to raise the limit to at least 50. This site is great and all, but I'll be damned if I'm paying money for VIP. I'm not narcissistic enough to care to see who neg repped me on a rating system that has nil for merit, and I don't think anybody should be limited to 10 pm's unless you are running some 2nd rate geocities forum or something. Pay for content is a failing concept. Just ask online newspapers that tried it.

I'll stay here either way, but the little bs like that does cut down on my traffic here. I'm sure you know, clicks = money, just something to think about.

Rek_Aviles
06-18-2013, 03:37 PM
Pay for content is a failing concept. Just ask online newspapers that tried it.


It's not paying for content, it donating to support. The content comes from the members of the community. :shrug:

jvine
06-18-2013, 04:59 PM
Sorry "content" was a poor choice of words on my part. In the end, the point I'm trying get across is that "charging" extra for a decent sized PM box and silly things like seeing who repped you is archaic and counter productive for this site in terms of revenue, user experience, and making people stay here.

Dix
06-18-2013, 05:06 PM
It's not paying for content, it donating to support. The content comes from the members of the community. :shrug:

Exactly! The site owners pay for the site to be up so you can come on here at all... and participate or take advantage of the knowledge here. Giving a donation allows you access to VIP, as well as other amenities. By donation to help support the site & help the owners pay for this site should be aside getting VIP access. Every person here should be donating to the site IMO. But again, its just that, an opinion. That's why you aren't forced to pay to come here... only donate if you wish but, donating helps support the site & gets you a bigger PM box so you can come here & unload your equipment.

As the saying goes... Don't talk about the farmers with your moth full.

Sigma
06-18-2013, 05:18 PM
Paying to get a bigger PM inbox is fucking pointless unless the person you're talking to has done so as well, because as soon as their inbox is full, that's conversation over.

All this shit does for me is make me feel less inclined to donate again. And it's not just this - it's the other stuff that's being ignored as well. I don't really care what a mod has to say on this matter - no offence, but you guys haven't got the power to make these changes, nor have you ever set up and run a site - nobody who had would ever suggest getting rid of the PM system altogether, for example.

Baller95
06-18-2013, 05:22 PM
It says "Support DJF" not "Join VIP". Sure we're getting access to the VIP section but we're contributing to this forum for it being here in the first place and for all the hard work you mods and admins do to maintain and improve this forum. Oh but wait a minute, it's only the mods that really do anything while the admins are getting payed. IMO it's not fair having a system like this to everyone except the admins.

Since being here last year until now, the only thing I've seen happen was getting this put in - :orly: ...

Rek_Aviles
06-18-2013, 05:32 PM
Since being here last year until now, the only thing I've seen happen was getting this put in - :orly: ...


:orly:

Sigma
06-18-2013, 05:38 PM
Since being here last year until now, the only thing I've seen happen was getting this put in - :orly: ...
All I've seen is that and the missing favicon get put back. Combined, it probably took all of 2 minutes.

Baller95
06-18-2013, 05:38 PM
:orly:

I saw that coming :hahano:

Baller95
01-05-2014, 11:50 AM
Okay, this is getting annoying. Like c'mon guys this is rubbish. After a back and fourth conversation with someone the mailbox is full and it wasn't even a big convo. It's the third time this week too! What's there to lose, 1mb of storage space per month (if that)? :facepalm:

Baller95
01-05-2014, 11:52 AM
Paying to get a bigger PM inbox is fucking pointless unless the person you're talking to has done so as well, because as soon as their inbox is full, that's conversation over.

:stupid:

I've been contemplating supporting the forum again aka "joining VIP" but it's not worth it.

DJA208
01-17-2014, 06:29 PM
Can't they just notify us when we're on our last message instead of emailing us when it's full?

Baller95
01-17-2014, 06:40 PM
Can't they just notify us when we're on our last message instead of emailing us when it's full?

There's an idea :tup: