# Sending PM requires first locating recipient
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/sending-pm-requires-first-locating-recipient/15250
**Category:** Feature
**Created:** [May 2, 2014, 2:46pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/sending-pm-requires-first-locating-recipient/15250 "2014-05-02T14:46:13Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@TechnoBear](https://meta.discourse.org/u/TechnoBear)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2014, 2:46pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/sending-pm-requires-first-locating-recipient/15250/1 "2014-05-02T14:46:13Z")
On vBulletin, I can send a PM to somebody by going to my messages and typing a username into a new message. Unless I’m missing something, that’s not possible on Discourse. Instead, you need to visit the member’s Profile page or use the pop-up box from their avatar on a post.
Not very convenient.
Is there any way this can be improved?
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### Author:  [@mcwumbly](https://meta.discourse.org/u/mcwumbly)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2014, 3:51am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/sending-pm-requires-first-locating-recipient/15250/2 "2014-05-03T03:51:36Z")
Check out [this plugin] ([https://meta.discourse.org/t/private-message-button-plugin/14317](https://meta.discourse.org/t/private-message-button-plugin/14317)). That topic also includes some other ways to start a PM.
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2014, 4:24am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/sending-pm-requires-first-locating-recipient/15250/3 "2014-05-03T04:24:50Z")
You are probably right, there should be a way to start a new blank PM from your own user page. But that seems like a very minor convenience.
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### Author:  [@Mittineague](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Mittineague)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2014, 4:35am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/sending-pm-requires-first-locating-recipient/15250/4 "2014-05-03T04:35:56Z")
There are (granted rare) occasions that I “bulk PM” my Team, @HAWK does this somwhat more frequently to draw attention to important threads.
INHO I would like to PM by group eg. “Staff Members” option if possible.
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### Author:  [@mcwumbly](https://meta.discourse.org/u/mcwumbly)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2014, 4:03pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/sending-pm-requires-first-locating-recipient/15250/6 "2014-05-03T16:03:03Z")
You can PM a group, but only if they are visible to you as an alias. Each group has a setting like "allow group name to be used as an @alias by (no one | staff | group members | everybody).
Note that when you type @groupname it will actually expand and be replaced by the list of group members though.
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### Author:  [@HAWK](https://meta.discourse.org/u/HAWK)
#### Post date: [May 4, 2014, 9:15pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/sending-pm-requires-first-locating-recipient/15250/7 "2014-05-04T21:15:33Z")
> [@Mittineague](#):
>
> I would like to PM by group
Cool, sounds like we can do that. I can set up the groups to be used as aliases.
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### Author:  [@epilepticrabbit](https://meta.discourse.org/u/epilepticrabbit)
#### Post date: [July 8, 2014, 8:49am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/sending-pm-requires-first-locating-recipient/15250/8 "2014-07-08T08:49:40Z")
Our use case for wanting to PM an entire group was requested via twitter:
As an admin, I want to be able to message entire groups, specifically b/c we’re using Discourse as a learning forum (e.g. for MOOCs, online synchronous learning experiences, to support open teaching and learning communities, etc).
Reasoning for PMs - Would like to be able to encourage lurkers, congratulate higher trust levels and, of course, mass issue badges when a certain trust level has been reached or upon course completion (i don’t mean Discourse badges, but rather [open badges](http://openbadges.org) - AKAIK the discourse badges are super beta, you might consider implementing OBI b/c in edtech there are a lot of people excited about Discourse, and they’re badging their learners).
I didn’t realize you could use groups as an alias until this thread (thanks!). I’ve tried it out and found **a little bug**. It seems that when you use a group alias, if you have more than ca 10 people in the group and you put in the recipients first, it confiscates the “title” field. Then you can’t post without a title. UI bug. (I’m using FF20)
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [July 8, 2014, 8:13pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/sending-pm-requires-first-locating-recipient/15250/9 "2014-07-08T20:13:50Z")
Messaging groups (outside of the experimental community PR you found) is not a primary focus and also can be quite dangerous for everyone. It’s something we look at very cautiously and have no particular desire to rush forward in.
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [November 27, 2014, 1:03am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/sending-pm-requires-first-locating-recipient/15250/10 "2014-11-27T01:03:43Z")
Request [soon to be satisfied](https://meta.discourse.org/t/add-a-new-private-message-button-to-the-inbox/22388).
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