Preference: Automatically Watch Topic when I am @mentioned, quoted, or invited

Feature
1

On some other systems, once you are “mentioned” you are automatically watching that topic.

I think this would be useful for communities who are used to such behavior, and/or where login is required and the members already have a high level of trust with each other.

Here’s my proposal for this feature:

Other
When someone quotes me, mentions my @username, or invites me to a topic, set that topic to [ Watched | Tracked | Normal ] default is Normal.

The specific proposal above is based on the verbiage in the existing user preference (below) and the proposed spec for this other feature request here: Automatically set Topics to Watching after posting

3 Likes
2

This seems rather extreme, as anyone could force you into a rather high level of notifications on a topic, basically against your will. I can’t recall hearing any custome ever ask for this?

1 Like
3

Assuming the preference defaults to off, the user should be consciously aware of that when turning this on. From the description, it is clear that other users trigger the bump in notification level.

I can see where this is useful, particularly in mailing-list mode. Say I watch the cat category. I get emails for all posts there. A user mentions me in the jaguar category, which I don’t watch. I’ll get the email about that post, but nothing afterwards. This would fix that.

1 Like
4

I think it is fair for an “internal” discourse instance where everyone is trusted. For public instances it seems very scary.

6 Likes
5

This edge use case will be further mitigated by having the track-status changeable from the always-visible sidebar menu. Once you follow that mention, quote or invite to a post mid-stream, you can immediately decide whether to start watching this topic or leave it be.

5 Likes
6

Trust your community by default. Let the admin turn it off if it gets abused?

7

Uh, no, it is the opposite. Safe by default, let risky potentially damaging or dangerous features be manually enabled by admins.

5 Likes
8

Hi everyone,

We’re new to Discourse and are currently moving from Slack to a private Discourse community for our business. There are about 50 active users, and a lot of topics created and messages are being posted.

Since many messages are sent and topics are created, no one will be able to keep up with everything. That’s why we currently tag people when there’s a topic they shouldn’t miss.

One challenge we’re facing is making it as intuitive as possible for users who have little to no experience with forums / Discourse.

We have added “Unread” to the sidebar. It would be helpful if messages where someone is mentioned also appeared under “Unread.” That way, people only need to check one place.

For users unfamiliar with how forums work, relying solely on the “Unread” tab would simplify their experience and ensure they don’t miss important discussions.

Sorry for posting in an old topic — if this is inappropriate, feel free to remove this message. But I was wondering if there are still plans to add this option?

1 Like