4 FAQ tagged with mefimail


Why are you asking for my email? How do I change my email address?

You need to have a working email address in your profile. Please use a real address that you check. We will not spam you, and we will never give out your address. We use your profile email address to send password reset emails, reply to messages you send through the contact form, and to contact you directly about site/participation issues.

By default, your address is hidden from everyone else and not shown on your user-facing profile page. Only if you set your preferences to show it will your email address show up in your profile, and even then it only shows to logged-in members.

Many members use a semi-disposable address for MetaFilter only so that people can contact them. You can also use MeFiMail for contacting other users and being contacted if you don't want to have a user-facing email address.

You can edit your email address and the rest of your profile details by clicking on the preferences link at the top or bottom of the page when you are logged in.
(tags: ) March 6, 2006 - permalink - back to questions

What is MeFi Mail?

MeFi Mail is a private messaging system for MetaFilter users which allows contact with users who may not have an email address in their profile. It is enabled by default but can be turned off in the profile editing area. Members can also opt to have these messages forward to their email address listed in their preferences. There is an envelope icon on the header bar of each page of MetaFilter, near your username. The envelope will show a red number (in the Modern them) or turn orange (in the Classic theme) when you have new unread messages. To check your MeFi Mail, click the envelope to visit your inbox.

To send someone MeFi Mail, go to their profile page by clicking their username. Members that have this option enabled will have a "send MeFi Mail" option visible on their profile page underneath their username which can be used to contact them.

Users can also opt to block MeFi Mail. Users who have blocked MeFi Mail cannot send or receive MeFi Mail and their profile page will say "MeFi Mail Disabled". To block all MeFi Mail in this way, go to your Profile editing page, and under Contact/Privacy Preferences, check "Opt-out of MefiMail". To block MeFi Mail only from a specific user, scroll to the bottom of a MeFi Mail from that user and click "Block this sender." If you have blocked a user and want to unblock them, you can do this from your contacts page at the bottom where it says "Manage blocked senders".

HTML cannot be used in MeFi Mail messages but URLs on a line by themselves will turn into hyperlinks. Banned or time-outed users cannot use or access MeFiMail.

Unless you have specific permission, reposting someone's MeFi Mail is a violation of site guidelines. Do not use MeFi Mail to harass or stalk or spam other users. Abusing MeFi Mail in this way can result in your account being banned. Moderators can access MeFi Mail but will only do so in cases of harassment or spamming complains.

MeFi Mail is intended for basic conversation, not as a replacement for a full-fledged email system. For more extended or full-featured conversations, your best bet is to exchange email addresses with someone.
(tags: ) October 20, 2007 - permalink - back to questions

What about adding more email-like features to MeFiMail?

MeFi mail is meant for lightweight on-site private messages; we've kept the feature set minimal intentionally. If you need a more full-featured system for a conversation with someone, we recommend exchanging email addresses.
(tags: ) January 3, 2009 - permalink - back to questions

What are MeFi Mail reminders?

MeFi Mail reminders are system messages sent from MetaFilter to your MeFi Mail inbox. The most common messages are reminders to update Ask MetaFilter threads 30 days after posting. You'll also receive messages about new posts you make to any MetaFilter site. Those message include the post URL which can help you find the post again in the future. If you opt-out of MeFi Mail reminders you won't receive these messages.

You can also receive MeFi Mail notifications about meetups happening near you. To set this up, go to your Preferences page. If you have entered a location for yourself, under "Contact Preferences" you will be able to check a box for In Real Life IRL notifications.
(tags: ) March 30, 2012 - permalink - back to questions