How to Turn Off Forum Email Notifications
Created on: Oct 25, 2007 9:46 AM by kellie - Last Modified: Oct 25, 2007 9:47 AM by kellie
Step 1: Sign in to PCWorld.com
Step 2: Click "Community" or go directly to http://forums.pcworld.com
Step 3: Go to "Your Stuff" and into "Preferences". Set all Email Notifications to "No".
Step 4: Go to "Your Stuff" and to "Email Notifications". Click the box to the right of all notifications you have already set, and then press "Remove Selected Notifications". Do this until all are cleared.
Once you have done this, you will get no more notifications of updates to message board threads.
jessewilson says:
That was way too many steps! What if I'd forgotten my PCWorld password? I wouldn't be able to stop the email messages I receive every time someone comments on a threat post I participated in. Many websites have only 1 step to unsubscribing to notifications like this.
kellie says:
in response to: jessewilson
I agree that it's a lot of steps, but this is what the software requires. Perhaps in a newer version, this will be more simplified.
You do need to be logged in to change your preferences, which is really normal across most (if not all) sites.
ogman says:
That would be great, if the signin part actually worked. I'm just going to give up on this site and add PCWorld to my spam filter.
kellie says:
in response to: ogman
Don't give up! If you're having trouble with signing in, please email webmaster@pcworld.com for help.
ogman says:
"Your Stuff"??? Where the hell is that? This site is SO broken!
kellie says:
in response to: ogman
"Your Stuff" is only visible after you've signed in. Then, it appears on the black bar just under the horizontal ad. You will see (L-R) a welcome message, then "New", then "Your Stuff".
ogman says:
in response to: kellie
Okay, used a different link and found "Your Stuff." Canceled the irritating notifications. For days now I have gotten daily notifications of a post to a thread I was following. Only problem is, it's the same post referenced every time. No new post has been added to the thread. In fact, now when I go to that thread it tells me that it is unauthorized?!
http://forums.pcworld.com/message/124293
This site used to work well. Now it is just irritating. I'm taking it off my bookmarks and I'll have to reconsider my magazine subscription, too.
kellie says:
in response to: ogman
I'm sorry to hear that. You got all of those notifications because the same post was made over and over again. You're getting an unauthorized message because we've removed it from public view because it was spam.
If you have any questions about using the community, please feel free to PM me or send me an email (I sent you one, so you have my address). You can also ask any of our 3 member moderators.
ogman says:
in response to: kellie
Thanks for the info. I would suggest that when a thread is removed, you somehow stop the notifications and let people who have been following the thread know that it has been closed and why you have closed it. This will alleviate some of the confusion and irritation your users may experience.
kellie says:
in response to: ogman
Thank you for the suggestion, and I agree with it. However, there's no option in the system to do that. I will add it to my list of suggested changes for the company that makes this community software.
WeThePeople says:
in response to: kellie
Dwayne1200 says:
stupid software most other sites I deal with when you recieve an email it has a link to discontinue and that is all you have to do is click the link and maybe enter your email address. Honestly the whole set up of this software annoys me so now I know not to comment again... I don't need or want the email notifications at all...
WeThePeople says:
in response to: Dwayne1200
Wow, I blocked one address and they must have it set to use a new address if the first one bounces back. I just got crap from PC-World from a new address I had to block.
I agree with the above. I wish I had never contributed to a PC-World discussion !
I have changed my account to a fictional email address. I hope that works!
Bye people
dragon69 says:
in response to: kellie
i have recieved two notices from the blog
http://forums.pcworld.com/message/139364
that have duplicated two previous notices from that blog . . . is there some bugs in the software ? . . . is there anything i can do to stop this from happenning in the future ( as i read a lot of blogs on pc world ( but only comment on a few) and would prefer to keep reading and recieving the notices but do not wany multiple copies of the same )
i have learned a great deal of my limited knowledge of computers from pc world and would like it to continue ( if at all possible but do not like multiple notices)
if you check i am a current print subscriber and could possibly discontinue the forum notices if i have too
my computer is a amd dual core x2 4200 with 2gb of ram and vista home premium 64 bit ( could be the cause of this as i have had a lot of problems and crashes since i installed it 8 months ago . . . i know i should have gone with vista home premium or win xp pro we live and we learn 
)
1 computer noob in his quest for knowledge
good luck and take care
chuck
dragon69 says:
in response to: dragon69
a couple of mistakes in my last reply
i have recieved two notices from the blog
http://forums.pcworld.com/message/139364
that have duplicated two previous notices from that blog . . . is there some bugs in the software ? . . . is there anything i can do to stop this from happenning in the future ( as i read a lot of blogs on pc world ( but only comment on a few) and would prefer to keep reading and recieving the notices but do not wany multiple copies of the same )
i have learned a great deal of my limited knowledge of computers from pc world and would like it to continue ( if at all possible but do not like multiple notices) but could just do with the print version and not post any comments in the forums if this continues
if you check i am a current print subscriber and could possibly discontinue the forum notices if i have too
if it helps my computer is a amd dual core x2 4200 with 2gb of ram and vista home premium 64 bit ( could be the cause of this as i have had a lot of problems and crashes since i installed it 8 months ago . . . i know i should have gone with vista home premium 32 bit or win xp pro 64 bit or 32 bit we live and we learn )
just one computer noob in his quest for knowledge
good luck and take care
chuck
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Kellie, a PCWorld employee, sent me this document. It's refreshing to know that PCWorld reads their comment submissions and takes the time to respond. Refreshing to see, and it's appreciated. Thanks, Kellie.