Discuss: What do you think of push notifications?

7 points·sidwyn··4 comments

I hate push notifications.

Notifications bring us no peace.

Notifications drain batteries. (80% drain overnight while left on 3G)

Notifications interrupt our train of thought.

The only reason why I see notifications can be useful is if you were eagerly waiting for an email.

What do you think?

I enjoy the option. Part of the reason I deleted Words With Friends (Android) is because I would never remember to take a turn, and it rarely notified me properly.

They don't always have to vibrate/chime, mind you. An icon appearing and the light blinking is, to me, not intrusive at all. I check it, see what the note is, and dismiss it if I need to.

At home I leave my phone connected to wifi and commit the sin of leaving it to charge overnight. Your downsides don't affect me at all.

It depends a lot on the user, obviously. For your example of WWF, I don't need a notification. When I have a few spare minutes, I open it up and make some moves. It's almost always my turn in one of my 20 games, and I don't need an alert to tell me that one of my 20 opponents just played - the only marginally useful notification would be the first. They added notifications to a recent update and I hate it. (Maybe there's a way to disable it - I'll have to investigate.)

You're right; it definitely depends on the user. That's why I think it's better to have them there and be able to turn them on/off, than it is to not have them. That's all.

They're the bane of the OP's existence, yet I find them useful.

They have their uses. Some are important to see, others are not. It really depends on what the notification is for.

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