Deal Alerts Beta test Thread (for future reference, beta is over)

[redsolar]

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Deal Alerts beta test

This forum is for discussion of Deal Alerts beta only, if you have questions regarding other features of SlickDeals.net, please use the public Site Issues and Suggestions (http://forums.slickdeals.net/forumdisplay.php?f=5) forum.

Is there a FAQ?

Yes, available here (http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=438448), and constantly updated. Don't forget to read through Deal Alert Primer too when adding and managing updates.

Why are we here?

If you can see this forum and this message, this means you are currently at a level of 100 reputation points or above (a.k.a. bold) or *new* 50 or more reputation points (designated by italicised user name). Congratulations :). We decided to open this beta test to you, and hope it will be a pleasant experience.

Without further ado, here is what it's all about.

Why do you need our help?

This is basically a stress test for a new feature, called Deal Alerts. You can learn about what it is, and how it works mainly in the Deal Alerts Primer, which is always there when you manage your Deal Alerts (http://forums.slickdeals.net/dealalerts.php?do=viewdealalerts).

It should be pretty well setup, but before making it available to everyone we want to make sure it behaves the way we expect it to behave for more than just moderators.

What should we do?

All we ask you to do is to go to My Deal Alerts (http://forums.slickdeals.net/dealalerts.php?do=viewdealalerts) and set up alerts for anything you are looking to get for yourself, your loved one, your teacher, your... well you get the drill :). If you would like to add alerts for something you are not looking to get - that's fine too, of course, just make sure you want those emails :).

Then look around for threads and alerts you get, and see if you are getting notifications about threads you should be getting notifications about.

What to do if something is broken?

If you believe something is broken, let us know right in this forum (http://forums.slickdeals.net/forumdisplay.php?f=33).

When you do so, please report the thread you think you should have been notified about (by providing a link), the details about your alert setup (which keyword, forum, and rating level) and what happened (or didn't happen)

Also, if you know how to look up email headers in your email client, we would appreciate the time of when the email was sent out. The headers will look something like this:

Delivered-To: your@email.address
Received: by 10.48.212.5 with SMTP id k5cs62875nfg;
Tue, 30 Jan 2007 12:50:04 -0800 (PST)
Received: by 10.64.125.17 with SMTP id x17mr8758095qbc.1170190204202;
Tue, 30 Jan 2007 12:50:04 -0800 (PST)
Return-Path: <noreply@slickdeals.net>
Received: from slickdeals.net (mail.slickdeals.net [69.16.137.148])
by your.mail.server.address with ESMTP id e15si11799709qbe.2007.01.30.12.50.03;
Tue, 30 Jan 2007 12:50:04 -0800 (PST)
Received-SPF: pass (google.com: domain of noreply@slickdeals.net designates 69.16.137.148 as permitted sender)
Received: (qmail 7770 invoked by uid 508); 30 Jan 2007 12:50:02 -0800
Received: from unknown (HELO 192.168.77.148) (noreply@slickdeals.net)
by slickdeals.net with SMTP; 30 Jan 2007 12:50:02 -0800
Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2007 20:50:02 +0000
To: your@email.address
From: "Deal Alerts @ SlickDeals.net Forums" <noreply@slickdeals.net>
Return-Path: noreply@slickdeals.net
Message-ID: <200701302002.d88436937568@41a65054d1eb.vb_unknown.unknown>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
X-Priority: 3
X-Mailer: vBulletin Mail via PHP
Subject: SlickDeals.net Deal Alert - Hot Deals - Any thread (rating alert)
The above information would greatly help locating issues.

What if nothing is wrong, can I still post?

Definitely. If you love the new feature, or hate it, or have any sugggestions, definitely let us know. As many of you know from the earlier beta, we listen, and adjust based on what you, our members, tell us, no matter how proud we are of what we did.

The "gotcha"s

A few things not mentioned in detail in the Primer:

Alerts are semi-retroactive. That is, if you add an alert, and it has not been processed yet, you will get an email about. Say you are looking for "laser printer". If nobody had an identical alert set up before, you will get notified about any threads within the past 24 hours which had "laser printer" in its original post. Of course, the rating level will also matter.
Often times emails can be delayed. No matter how good your ISP/email service is. I personally test most with GMail, and Hotmail. Both have delivered a very small percentage of alerts with up to 4 hour delay. So be aware of that. To make sure it's the delivery system faoult, check the "creation date" of the email. It should be very close (within 5 minutes) to the thread creation date/time. If not - we got a problem. Also, remember, that it takes time for threads to reach a certain rating level (say 3 thumbs up) so in that case the above does not apply.
Check your junk mail folders. The email used to send out alerts should pass most auto-discards in use by all ISPs, but you never know where it will end up in your email client. For best results, add "noreply@slickdeals.net" to your trusted email addresses.


I read all that, now what?

That's it for now :). Any updates will be posted here, so go ahead, and subscribe to this thread (http://forums.slickdeals.net/subscription.php?do=addsubscription&t=438391) if you are interested in helping us out :).

Where are the thanks? :ranting:

No matter what you may think, we definitely appreciate any effort you can spare in making Deal Alerts better. So thanks in advance for testing it.

[Imerson]

Wow, I have been waiting for a feature like this! Thanks Redsolar and Mr. SD :) I can't wait to test it out!

[bobbyfk]

I see it

[ncentity]

Sweet thanks!

[Ram|bunc|tious]

:yahoo: Is this the secret mod Lounge?

[afusinatto]

The links aren't working for me. :(
afusinatto, you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:

1. Your user account may not have sufficient privileges to access this page. Are you trying to edit someone else's post, access administrative features or some other privileged system?
2. If you are trying to post, the administrator may have disabled your account, or it may be awaiting activation.

[Ram|bunc|tious]

No access to "my alerts page"

... did someone post in post #6? ;)

[bobbyfk]

I went to My Deal Alerts and:

bobbyfk, you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:

1. Your user account may not have sufficient privileges to access this page. Are you trying to edit someone else's post, access administrative features or some other privileged system?
2. If you are trying to post, the administrator may have disabled your account, or it may be awaiting activation.

[ncentity]

ncentity, you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:

1. Your user account may not have sufficient privileges to access this page. Are you trying to edit someone else's post, access administrative features or some other privileged system?
2. If you are trying to post, the administrator may have disabled your account, or it may be awaiting activation.


same

[Jex]

I'll look into it.

[random.]

Yeah, what Amanda and ram said.
Oh, and bobby and ncentity.

[ncentity]

OK it's working now thanks!

[Ram|bunc|tious]

Yeah, what Amanda and ram said.
She beat me again! :ranting:

... good thing I own her in iSketch ;)

[slickdeals]

Oops... You guys should have access now. :)

[dzap]

Cool, I was wondering where everyone went!!

[buddy72192]

What's this beta thing going to accomplish?

[afusinatto]

Wow, this is going to be an extremely useful tool. SD continues to impress me!! :)

[random.]

I have a question. Say I want results for cup and cups... Should I make one for cup and another for cups? Should I type it like cup(s)?

[volleyballstud]

I was hoping that the feature was more of a news ticker than spam for my email box.

[bobbyfk]

i changed my e-mail addy to a more used AOL one and i never got a confirm e-mail. can you help?

[bobbyfk]

Never mind i got it

[Jex]

If it matters I can successfully change my e-mail adress when I am setting up my Deal alert notification.

[Ram|bunc|tious]

Cool, I'm all set with a 5 thumb fleshlight ;)

Great feature, will try out some real ones.

[ncentity]

Can handlers be added ?

computer -HP

[slickdeals]

I have a question. Say I want results for cup and cups... Should I make one for cup and another for cups? Should I type it like cup(s)?
In this case, "cup | cups" without the quotes would work.

You can test out the search terms using regular SD search (http://forums.slickdeals.net/search.php). Deal alerts will find similar results since it uses the same search engine.

[Ram|bunc|tious]

How about an "edit selected deal" on the drop-down box. Otherwise, I'd have to delete the fleshlight search and create a new one. Just a suggestion.

[benjie]

Does this use the search engine or tags? Say, for example, I was interested in Dimension desktops. If I add "dimension" to my list, will it send me only items tagged with dimension, or any post that has the word dimension in it (a whole new dimension in home theater systems")?

[MissyMooMoo]

This is great! I'll set up some test alerts now. :)


(btw..I feel so special now!)

[bobbyfk]

I was hoping that the feature was more of a news ticker than spam for my email box.
thats what i am thinking as well. we are going to get alot of stuff in our e-mail. i think it would be better if we can choose to have it go to e-mail or PM or just sit there and wait for us to do something with it

[dzap]

Wow...this is absolutely fantastic...and the odd thing is, I was thinking about this just over a month ago I thought to myself "I wish SD had a feature where I could search for deals by how many thumbs up a thread gets.."

[Jex]

Sweet you can add buy post rating as well.

[redsolar]

Does this use the search engine or tags? Say, for example, I was interested in Dimension desktops. If I add "dimension" to my list, will it send me only items tagged with dimension, or any post that has the word dimension in it (a whole new dimension in home theater systems")?
It uses search engine. It does not use tags.

[buddy72192]

Wow...this is absolutely fantastic...and the odd thing is, I was thinking about this just over a month ago I thought to myself "I wish SD had a feature where I could search for deals by how many thumbs up a thread gets.."
You think about SD often, don't you?

[slickdeals]

thats what i am thinking as well. we are going to get alot of stuff in our e-mail. i think it would be better if we can choose to have it go to e-mail or PM or just sit there and wait for us to do something with it
We are considering adding a pm option as well.

[Ram|bunc|tious]

How about an "edit selected deal" on the drop-down box. Otherwise, I'd have to delete the fleshlight search and create a new one. Just a suggestion.
Great idea! ;)

I like the "quick add" feature ... but do we really need a verification page? That's one of the things I've always found tedious here.

[wbssli]

sweet

[Ram|bunc|tious]

We are considering adding a pm option as well.
Good idea Bobby ... how about the "option" of either PM or email?

[dzap]

You think about SD often, don't you?
Well...no I was just annoyed one day when I was searching for something through the forums, and I got ticked when I couldn't find what I needed...and I remembered it had 5 thumbs up and that it was a mouse of some sort....anyway long story short...this is just the feature I've been expecting from SD...

[Imerson]

Dear Imerson:

We have found the following thread(s) matching one of your Deal Alerts.

Keyword: drive
Rating: Ignore rating

In Hot Deals forum (http://forums.slickdeals.net/forumdisplay.php?f=9)

The following thread(s) matched:

This is awesome! :yahoo:

[bobbyfk]

We are considering adding a pm option as well.
I think that would be better IMO

Good idea Bobby ... how about the "option" of either PM or email?
:iagree:

[ncentity]

Dear ncentity:

We have found the following thread(s) matching one of your Deal Alerts.

Keyword: dog
Rating: Ignore rating

In Freebies forum (http://forums.slickdeals.net/forumdisplay.php?f=4)

The following thread(s) matched:

Feline and Dog Greenie Samples
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?p=5450264&highlight=dog#post5450264

Join the Snack Lovers' Club for free Dog Treats
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?p=5458356&highlight=dog#post5458356


Sweet! It would be nicer to get them on here in a PM, that way I can multitask on just one site...Say...while browsing the woot thread...hinthint almost gone...

[Imerson]

thats what i am thinking as well. we are going to get alot of stuff in our e-mail. i think it would be better if we can choose to have it go to e-mail or PM or just sit there and wait for us to do something with it
I would also use a PM (or other in-board) version of it, at least while I am browsing the site. :)

[r1yan]

Is it possible to also add the search the entire forum and/or by sub-section as well by each forum which is currently being done?

[brisar]

thank you Slickdeals and redsolar :thumbup:

:)

[hacklovemaster]

Nice set 2 alert.
1. thread have 3 thumb up or more
2. Wii have 2 thumb up

Now, I wait. We should have sms message to cell phone that way I won't miss any deal.

[skipadedodah]

nice feature...
Only SD is pointed to an email I dont really monitor...
But that is all my fault...

[hailToPitt]

first of all:worship: for mr. Sd. just for this site. Secondly I think this is a great feature. Glad that i was one of the people. Kinda makes me feel special:lol:. I'm gonna use it for my xbox 360 stuff. So far i have made one and its been 5 min and no confrimation email. Am I suppose to get one?

[redsolar]

I think that would be better IMO

:iagree:
I personally prefer email, and one issue there is is a limit on a PM box size. 200 is not much to go on, and some keyqords can yield a LOT of threads. If added (highly likely seeing the support), it will definitely be a secondary option :).

[ToddziLLa]

Testing away! :wave:

[bobbyfk]

first of all:worship: for mr. Sd. just for this site. Secondly I think this is a great feature. Glad that i was one of the people. Kinda makes me feel special:lol:. I'm gonna use it for my xbox 360 stuff. So far i have made one and its been 5 min and no confrimation email. Am I suppose to get one?
thats becuase you are special

[brisar]

I like email better because then you can get the alerts even when not on SD (when that rare occurance may take place ;))

[bobbyfk]

I personally prefer email, and one issue there is is a limit on a PM box size. 200 is not much to go on, and some keyqords can yield a LOT of threads. If added (highly likely seeing the support), it will definitely be a secondary option :).
what about where the threads just sit in my deal alerts box and we get to them when we want to?

[Imerson]

I personally prefer email, and one issue there is is a limit on a PM box size. 200 is not much to go on, and some keyqords can yield a LOT of threads. If added (highly likely seeing the support), it will definitely be a secondary option :).
Another thing is... if it would be possible to display it in a little box near the top (like the current "if you can see this" beta test message), that would be convenient and wouldn't fill up the PM box... just another suggestion :)

[dzap]

how long does it normally take to yield results and get the email? Will it first email results from the the first deal alert you make in that order, or by how many results there are?

[hailToPitt]

Just get mail notifier for FF and right when u get a new email it shows up and u double click and go right to your email box. I don't know if it only works for yahoo mail, but I have it and am liking it :D

[slickdeals]

nice feature...
Only SD is pointed to an email I dont really monitor...
But that is all my fault...
You can change your email address in your UserCP (http://forums.slickdeals.net/profile.php?do=editpassword).

[redsolar]

what about where the threads just sit in he my deal alerts box and we get to them when we want to?
You mean when the deal is long gone? :). It will likely become an option down the road to send them to your PM rather than email, and you will be able to choose which one you would rather have, when setting an alert up.

[slickdeals]

first of all:worship: for mr. Sd. just for this site. Secondly I think this is a great feature. Glad that i was one of the people. Kinda makes me feel special:lol:. I'm gonna use it for my xbox 360 stuff. So far i have made one and its been 5 min and no confrimation email. Am I suppose to get one?
There will be no confirmation emails since your email is already confirmed when you registered.

[dzap]

Another thing is... if it would be possible to display it in a little box near the top (like the current "if you can see this" beta test message), that would be convenient and wouldn't fill up the PM box... just another suggestion :)
:iagree: That would be useful...

[ncentity]

Another thing is... if it would be possible to display it in a little box near the top (like the current "if you can see this" beta test message), that would be convenient and wouldn't fill up the PM box... just another suggestion :)

Those are just board anouncements...

[Imerson]

Just get mail notifier for FF and right when u get a new email it shows up and u double click and go right to your email box. I don't know if it only works for yahoo mail, but I have it and am liking it :D
There is one for GMail as well, but I don't like it as much (not as convenient and easy to customize). :)

[redsolar]

how long does it normally take to yield results and get the email? Will it first email results from the the first deal alert you make in that order, or by how many results there are?
5 minutes or less. Also, it only looks for threads in the past 24 hours, it's definitely not a replacement for "Search"

[nocruelty]

Cool feature, thanks.

I know it's gonna just add to more frustration, because I'll come late to a major deal at gidgetsforless.com and I'll be like, "Shoot, why didn't I think of that website for a deal alert!"

But I guess that's why we can do blank "X thumbs up" to try to catch those fast risers early.

[hailToPitt]

hmm.... I really like this. My dad will find this more useful then I will since he always looks for something certain. I just find whatever is a good deal and buy it :lol:

[nocruelty]

Got my first alert, and I have a question.

I did a blank keyword with 2 thumbs up, and my first alert contained like 20 matches.

Are those 20 matches just from within the past couple minutes, or is it reconciling everything I missed in the past 24 hours?

[bobbyfk]

hmm.... I really like this. My dad will find this more useful then I will since he always looks for something certain. I just find whatever is a good deal and buy it :lol:
:iagree: and whatever freebies come up

Got my first alert, and I have a question.

I did a blank keyword with 2 thumbs up, and my first alert contained like 20 matches.

Are those 20 matches just from within the past couple minutes, or is it reconciling everything I missed in the past 24 hours?
# Alerts are semi-retroactive. That is, if you add an alert, and it has not been processed yet, you will get an email about. Say you are looking for "laser printer". If nobody had an identical alert set up before, you will get notified about any threads within the past 24 hours which had "laser printer" in its original post. Of course, the rating level will also matter.

[hailToPitt]

:iagree: and whatever freebies come up

yah. It is useful though. I just set it up for xbox 360... oh wait i just got a popup from mail notifier hold on :lol:

[janeey]

We are considering adding a pm option as well.

I would really appreciate that. Or, if I could just see it as a list like my subscribed threads. I can't check my e-mail at work, so this doesn't help me during the day when I spending all the time I'm supposed to be working browsing SD.

[redsolar]

Got my first alert, and I have a question.

I did a blank keyword with 2 thumbs up, and my first alert contained like 20 matches.

Are those 20 matches just from within the past couple minutes, or is it reconciling everything I missed in the past 24 hours?
This will usually only happen once per alert. As mentioned in the first post here, the alerts are "semi-retroactive" so if you are the first/only author of the alert, your first email will contain a batch of threads from the past 24 hours. The others, who add an identical alert after you, won't.

[bobbyfk]

yah. It is useful though. I just set it up for xbox 360... oh wait i just got a popup from mail notifier hold on :lol:
:lol: :lol: dont you have one already?

[ToddziLLa]

I like the minimum thread rating option as it cuts down on the BS posts and threads.

[Imerson]

:lol: :lol: dont you have one already?
Xbox 360 games, accessories, controllers, etc...

[bobbyfk]

I like the minimum thread rating option as it cuts down on the BS posts and threads.
BUT some of the posts might be very useful about that deal/ freebie

[hailToPitt]

:lol: :lol: dont you have one already?

yah well i assume it'll be for games. Damn it was only an xbox tahts 100 dollars if you buy a $3648 3 year subscription to msdn :lol:. Thats a heck of a deal:lmao:

Xbox 360 games, accessories, controllers, etc...

i know you'll have yours set to the same thing :lol:. Trying... to.... noott..... go.... offf.... topic.... soo.... hard.... ahhhh

[obekaho]

thanks! this is a great idea!! :thumbsup:

[redsolar]

BUT some of the posts might be very useful about that deal/ freebie
In which case you set it to "Ignore rating"

Also, note, it only checks the original post. So if the op forgot to add some spicy detail to the first post of the thread, and added it later, it won't be considered.

[nintendoangie]

Cool...

[dzap]

Alright I made an alert identical to Imerson's shown here:http://forums.slickdeals.net/showpost.php?p=5463071&postcount=39
...but I still don't seem to be receiving any alert in my inbox and it's been about 15 minutes now...I did subscribe to this thread, and I'm receiving those email alerts..could that be an issue?

[Jex]

I just got my first alert.

[SP33DFR34K]

can we get RSS feeds on these things?

[hailToPitt]

Alright I made an alert identical to Imerson's shown here:http://forums.slickdeals.net/showpost.php?p=5463071&postcount=39
...but I still don't seem to be receiving any alert in my inbox and it's been about 15 minutes now...I did subscribe to this thread, and I'm receiving those email alerts..could that be an issue?

i think maybe you had to have created an alert before the thread got to the certain quota. Like if you set it to ignore and the thread was already created after you made your alert then it prob won't show up. Cause if that happened then I'd get a million alerts simultaneously as would you because of all the drives and 360 threads

[redsolar]

Alright I made an alert identical to Imerson's shown here:http://forums.slickdeals.net/showpost.php?p=5463071&postcount=39
...but I still don't seem to be receiving any alert in my inbox and it's been about 15 minutes now...I did subscribe to this thread, and I'm receiving those email alerts..could that be an issue?
Imerson already picked up all alerts for "drive" being the "author" of the alert. You will only get alerts for new threads with "drive" in title or body, unless your alert differs slightly (different rating level for example). Of course, if someone else did that too, you still won't :).

[random.]

Another thing is... if it would be possible to display it in a little box near the top (like the current "if you can see this" beta test message), that would be convenient and wouldn't fill up the PM box... just another suggestion :)
That's a good idea. Have a page on SD to log all the alerts and then have a thing at the top that says "New alert" then you go the page and see all of them instead of having PMs.

[bobbyfk]

Alright I made an alert identical to Imerson's shown here:http://forums.slickdeals.net/showpost.php?p=5463071&postcount=39
...but I still don't seem to be receiving any alert in my inbox and it's been about 15 minutes now...I did subscribe to this thread, and I'm receiving those email alerts..could that be an issue?
check your spam box

[Brynn]

I think this will be useful... Thanks!

[finzz2dlft]

cool!!!!

[Ram|bunc|tious]

cool!!!!
:iagree: In for two :)

[SP33DFR34K]

Ok think I found some issues? Its only suppose to deal with new threads right? Well...

Dear SP33DFR34K:

We have found the following thread(s) matching one of your Deal Alerts.

Keyword: available
Rating: Ignore rating

In PS3 & Wii Availability Forum forum (http://forums.slickdeals.net/forumdisplay.php?f=36)

The following thread(s) matched:

PS3 available at Amazon.com for $599.99
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?p=5450935&highlight=available#post5450935

PS3 20gb and 60gb available at amazon FS NO TAX!
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?p=5460426&highlight=available#post5460426

Wii Remotes - Nintendo.com and Torysrus.com
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?p=5461393&highlight=available#post5461393



To change your Deal Alert preferences, go here: http://forums.slickdeals.net/dealalerts.php

This message has been sent from an unmonitored account. Replies will be discarded.

If you believe you are receiving this message in error, please contact us using the following link:
http://forums.slickdeals.net/sendmessage.php

--------
Sincerely,
SlickDeals.net Deal Alert Robot

Those 3 are all old threads..

[dzap]

Imerson already picked up all alerts for "drive" being the "author" of the alert. You will only get alerts for new threads with "drive" in title or body, unless your alert differs slightly (different rating level for example). Of course, if someone else did that too, you still won't :).
Well alright that makes sense...but the first two alerts I made before I made the drive one, are indistinguishable as I'm quite positive no one else has created an alert yet with the specific words I used..and those were over 25 minutes ago, and still no alert...

[abbyh]

Wow, thanks for the invitation! I feel so honored to be a part of the testing! I will read through this thread when I have a chance and set one up to try. Thanks again, SD!!! :)

[Jex]

Ok think I found some issues? Its only suppose to deal with new threads right? Well...

Dear SP33DFR34K:

We have found the following thread(s) matching one of your Deal Alerts.

Keyword: available
Rating: Ignore rating

In PS3 & Wii Availability Forum forum (http://forums.slickdeals.net/forumdisplay.php?f=36)

The following thread(s) matched:

PS3 available at Amazon.com for $599.99
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?p=5450935&highlight=available#post5450935

PS3 20gb and 60gb available at amazon FS NO TAX!
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?p=5460426&highlight=available#post5460426

Wii Remotes - Nintendo.com and Torysrus.com
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?p=5461393&highlight=available#post5461393



To change your Deal Alert preferences, go here: http://forums.slickdeals.net/dealalerts.php

This message has been sent from an unmonitored account. Replies will be discarded.

If you believe you are receiving this message in error, please contact us using the following link:
http://forums.slickdeals.net/sendmessage.php

--------
Sincerely,
SlickDeals.net Deal Alert Robot

Those 3 are all old threads..

Same kind of thing here. It is becuse they have new posts in them.

[iconian]

i have a suggestion:

1st of all, this is a great idea

1. i hope it is not dependant on a letter case(ie Amazon and amazon)
2. have an option, rather than send an email, to send a pm(this is very useful for hot deals, where threads go wild)
3. maybe if possible also have it try to send u a msg on msn or icq or yahoo or aim(there is some kinda feature already present here to send aim msges(never tried it) so maybe possible to use that)

but awesome idea and thanx for letting us stress test it:)

[Jex]

On that note can we set it so that it only only pulls up threads that are new vs new posts. And if we could set it so we could set it back up to 2 days that way we can keep our eye on a post and all new posts in it for the 2 days with the deal alert reminding us.

[slickdeals]

Ok think I found some issues? Its only suppose to deal with new threads right? Well...

Those 3 are all old threads..
You may get an initial alert on threads within 24hrs because it is semi-retroactive. Whether you get the initial alert is described in the first post.

[redsolar]

Well alright that makes sense...but the first two alerts I made before I made the drive one, are indistinguishable as I'm quite positive no one else has created an alert yet with the specific words I used..and those were over 25 minutes ago, and still no alert...
Does Forum Search (http://forums.slickdeals.net/search.php) return a single thread started (not last posted in) within the past 24 hours with that keyword/phrase? If not - there is nothing to alert about.

[new-bee]

i have a suggestion:

1st of all, this is a great idea

1. i hope it is not dependant on a letter case(ie Amazon and amazon)
2. have an option, rather than send an email, to send a pm(this is very useful for hot deals, where threads go wild)
3. maybe if possible also have it try to send u a msg on msn or icq or yahoo or aim(there is some kinda feature already present here to send aim msges(never tried it) so maybe possible to use that)

but awesome idea and thanx for letting us stress test it:)

I agree on the PM idea - I think it is more instantaneous and will avoid the problem of E-mail alerts being treated as spam.

[SP33DFR34K]

I think new threads only, seems kind of pointless to have new posts? We can just subscribe to those threads already..

[iconian]

also, wanted to add... how does it alerts if you have 2 words:

for example: dell latop (would it match to all "dell" and all "laptop") or only dell laptop
or putting "dell laptop" would fix that?

[slickdeals]

i have a suggestion:

1st of all, this is a great idea

1. i hope it is not dependant on a letter case(ie Amazon and amazon)
2. have an option, rather than send an email, to send a pm(this is very useful for hot deals, where threads go wild)
3. maybe if possible also have it try to send u a msg on msn or icq or yahoo or aim(there is some kinda feature already present here to send aim msges(never tried it) so maybe possible to use that)

but awesome idea and thanx for letting us stress test it:)
1. It is case insensitive.
2. We'll likely add it or some variation.
3. I tried it before but unfortunately, my AIM bot keeps getting kicked off after sending out so many messages.

[iconian]

I think new threads only, seems kind of pointless to have new posts? We can just subscribe to those threads already..
how do u mean? i dont follow:)

1. It is case insensitive.
2. We'll likely add it or some variation.
3. I tried it before but unfortunately, my AIM bot keeps getting kicked off after sending out so many messages.
no worries, i saw the feature (i think you need to have aim installed, but i have trillian, clicked and nothing happened) thought maybe it can be ported for this:)

[dzap]

Does Forum Search (http://forums.slickdeals.net/search.php) return a single thread started (not last posted in) within the past 24 hours with that keyword/phrase? If not - there is nothing to alert about.
okay...well, that makes sense on one of them but another one I created does yield results of a thread created within the last 24hours....and it does appear in forum search, but I'm still not getting any notification..

[Imerson]

Imerson already picked up all alerts for "drive" being the "author" of the alert. You will only get alerts for new threads with "drive" in title or body, unless your alert differs slightly (different rating level for example). Of course, if someone else did that too, you still won't :).
It's a gold rush! :woot:

[new-bee]

Anyone else getting spammed with every reply to the Beta test thread? My inbox is filling up with every single person's reply to this thread!!!

I had to unsubscribe to the thread, otherwise I would be swimming around in my inbox for hours trying to find my normal E-mail.

Thanks for the idea though. I'd like to try this when it will work right for me. I don't know what I did to get every reply to this thread coming to my E-mail inbox. I have a feeling this is not normal.

[redsolar]

okay...well, that makes sense on one of them but another one I created does yield results of a thread created within the last 24hours....and it does appear in forum search, but I'm still not getting any notification..
Post or PM the details of the alert you created?

[iconian]

It's a gold rush! :woot:
hmm

interesting

i made a deal alert for 21" <---to see deals for 21" monitors

this email i got:

YourNovel.com Romantic Personalized Book for that special Valentine.
20% Off
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?p=5454459&highlight=21%22#post5454459


i think it ignored the -->"<--- and matched the number only...

Keyword: 22"
Rating: Ignore rating

Tony Hawk's Project 8 w/LE Deck $22 Target B&M
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?p=5454334&highlight=22%22#post5454334

LeBron James NBA Razzle-Dazzle Jersey 22.95
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?p=5455802&highlight=22%22#post5455802


same:)

[redsolar]

Anyone else getting spammed with every reply to the Beta test thread? My inbox is filling up with every single person's reply to this thread!!!
You might want to "unsubscribe (http://forums.slickdeals.net/subscription.php?do=viewsubscription)" from this thread if you clicked a link to Subscribe in the OP.

[dzap]

Post or PM the details of the alert you created?
well I finally did get one of them...for one of the alerts I made (it returned a lot of threads) but here's one that I created that hasn't yielded anything yet..
Keyword
staples
Target Forum
Hot Deals
Rating
Ignore rating

[nutter218]

So, if i want to look up a company with two 'words' do we put both or jsut one? like starbucks do we do star | bucks or starbucks? same with dunkin donuts.

[new-bee]

You might want to "unsubscribe (http://forums.slickdeals.net/subscription.php?do=viewsubscription)" from this thread if you clicked a link to Subscribe in the OP.

I did. Thanks. I'll try the new feature now without the subscription active to the thread.

[nikolasmor]

So, if i want to look up a company with two 'words' do we put both or jsut one? like starbucks do we do star | bucks or starbucks? same with dunkin donuts.
I'd do it as it is usually spelled

[slickdeals]

So, if i want to look up a company with two 'words' do we put both or jsut one? like starbucks do we do star | bucks or starbucks? same with dunkin donuts.
(star bucks) | starbucks

Try it in the search engine using title search only and see what results you get. If you like the results, add it to your alerts.

[iconian]

interesting email:
We have found the following thread(s) matching one of your Deal Alerts.

Keyword: all-battery
Rating: Ignore rating

Motorola Red RAZR V3M Make $190 AR & 2 Year Agreement
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?p=5463542&highlight=all-battery#post5463542


as far as i see it does not match...
does it just match titles or thread contents also?

[dzap]

interesting email:
We have found the following thread(s) matching one of your Deal Alerts.

Keyword: all-battery
Rating: Ignore rating

Motorola Red RAZR V3M Make $190 AR & 2 Year Agreement
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?p=5463542&highlight=all-battery#post5463542


as far as i see it does not match...
does it just match titles or thread contents also?
wow that's really odd...

[Imerson]

So, if i want to look up a company with two 'words' do we put both or jsut one? like starbucks do we do star | bucks or starbucks? same with dunkin donuts.
Well Starbucks is only one word.. so you could just use it as one... but for other ones I think you could put in two (judging by the OP)... but I am not redsolar :O

[iconian]

wow that's really odd...
it sent 2 emails: 1 matched to amazon (rightfully so) but then 2nd same link/post but matched to all-battery, so my guess is some kinda bug...

[slickdeals]

interesting email:
We have found the following thread(s) matching one of your Deal Alerts.

Keyword: all-battery
Rating: Ignore rating

Motorola Red RAZR V3M Make $190 AR & 2 Year Agreement
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?p=5463542&highlight=all-battery#post5463542


as far as i see it does not match...
does it just match titles or thread contents also?
The - is a special character for the search engine. Your search would bring back posts with the word "all" but not the word "battery" in them. The best way to search for all-battery.com is to use "all battery.com" without quotes.

[joeyjhg2]

Fantastic!

[iconian]

The - is a special character for the search engine. Your search would bring back posts with the word "all" but not the word "battery" in them. The best way to search for all-battery.com is to use "all battery.com" without quotes.
ohh crap

all the posts i been making are all-battery..

leme go edit them :D

[brisar]

if there is a character in front of the word (such as a *)
example *Price Mistake?
will that affect the alert?
sorry if this has already been asked but I am skimming this thread whenever I can (at work) so I may have missed it if it was asked.

[iconian]

if there is a character in front of the word (such as a *)
example *Price Mistake?
will that affect the alert?
sorry if this has already been asked but I am skimming this thread whenever I can (at work) so I may have missed it if it was asked.
hi brisar :hug:

i assume you mean like this

*HOT* (title) for hot deals?

if so,
... lets wait what mr sd says about special characters:)

[slickdeals]

if there is a character in front of the word (such as a *)
example *Price Mistake?
will that affect the alert?
sorry if this has already been asked but I am skimming this thread whenever I can (at work) so I may have missed it if it was asked.
A search for "dead" in thread titles brings back all the *dead* deals so no it would not matter. Most of the special characters are dropped before indexing.

[iconian]

A search for "dead" in thread titles brings back all the *dead* deals so no it would not matter. Most of the special characters are dropped before indexing.
are we able to use advanced commands for example:

"dell 24 lcd $2??"

would only email if post with dell lcd with price is 200-299

[afx]

This is pretty damn awesome

[redsolar]

interesting email:
We have found the following thread(s) matching one of your Deal Alerts.

Keyword: all-battery
Rating: Ignore rating

Motorola Red RAZR V3M Make $190 AR & 2 Year Agreement
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?p=5463542&highlight=all-battery#post5463542


as far as i see it does not match...
does it just match titles or thread contents also?
This one picked up a logical "all -battery" - basically you will get an alert for any thread with "all" in it which does not also have a "battery" in it :).

[brisar]

A search for "dead" in thread titles brings back all the *dead* deals so no it would not matter. Most of the special characters are dropped before indexing.
great news. thanks :)

[iconian]

This one picked up a logical "all -battery" - basically you will get an alert for any thread with "all" in it which does not also have a "battery" in it :).
ya edited my alert for battery

[MrSandman]

I will give it a test run and provide feedback as needed. It looks pretty good, I would request a field to add additional email addresses instead of having to change my primary for each deal alert. That way I could email my phone for that really slick deal I am looking for and am away from my computer. And possibly an option for how often to receive the alert.
Thanks

[redsolar]

FAQ added (http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=438448) so far

[iconian]

FAQ added (http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=438448) so far
yes yes we see you working extra hard today

...

would you like some brownies?:)

[shelma]

I LOVE this idea and am really looking forward to it! Thanks for bringing it around and glad to help in anyway I can!!!!

[redsolar]

yes yes we see you working extra hard today

...

would you like some brownies?:)
Shipping from Abydos will be expensive :)

[Schooby]

This is great, thanks. I also would prefer to have the PM option added since I check SD more often than my emails.

[nutter218]

Q: I made a thread with a keyword matching a Deal Alert I have set up. I didn't get notified about it.... What's Up?
A: You will not get alerts about threads to which you are the author. Why would you?

what if we forget what t ype of threads we post? ;)

[brisar]

Shipping from Abydos will be expensive :)
you get your brownies from Egypt? :D

[iconian]

you get your brownies from Egypt? :D
not sure if he got it

abydos is the planet from stargate sg1 , millions light years away :P

[redsolar]

not sure if he got it

abydos is the planet from stargate sg1 , millions light years away :P
Well, I do have a Stargate in my office, so hmm :D. It's actually from the original movie (Stargate) and then SG-1.

Love the show. Too bad it's cancelled.

Back on topic... :D

Q: I made a thread with a keyword matching a Deal Alert I have set up. I didn't get notified about it.... What's Up?
A: You will not get alerts about threads to which you are the author. Why would you?

what if we forget what t ype of threads we post? ;)
There may be bigger problems than worrying about deal alerts then :lmao:

[brisar]

Well, I do have a Stargate in my office, so hmm :D. It's actually from the original movie (Stargate) and then SG-1.

Love the show. Too bad it's cancelled.

Back on topic... :D
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Name of Abydos
in hieroglyphs (http://slickdeals.net/?sduid=47603&t=438391&u2=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_hieroglyph)http://en.wikipedia.org/w/extensions/wikihiero/img/hiero_U23.pnghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/extensions/wikihiero/img/hiero_D58.pnghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/extensions/wikihiero/img/hiero_N26.png
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/extensions/wikihiero/img/hiero_O49.png
Abydos (Arabic (http://slickdeals.net/?sduid=47603&t=438391&u2=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_language): أبيدوس, Greek (http://slickdeals.net/?sduid=47603&t=438391&u2=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_language) Αβυδος), one of the most ancient cities of Upper Egypt (http://slickdeals.net/?sduid=47603&t=438391&u2=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_and_Lower_Egypt), is about 11 km (6 miles) west of the Nile (http://slickdeals.net/?sduid=47603&t=438391&u2=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nile) at latitude 26° 10' N. The Egyptian (http://slickdeals.net/?sduid=47603&t=438391&u2=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_language) name was Abdju (technically, 3bdw, hieroglyphs shown to the right), "the hill of the symbol or reliquary," in which the sacred head of Osiris (http://slickdeals.net/?sduid=47603&t=438391&u2=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osiris) was preserved. The Greeks named it Abydos (http://slickdeals.net/?sduid=47603&t=438391&u2=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abydos%2C_Hellespont), like the city on the Hellespont (http://slickdeals.net/?sduid=47603&t=438391&u2=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellespont); the modern Arabic (http://slickdeals.net/?sduid=47603&t=438391&u2=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_language) name is el-'Araba el Madfuna (http://slickdeals.net/?sduid=47603&t=438391&u2=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El-%27Araba_el_Madfuna) (Arabic (http://slickdeals.net/?sduid=47603&t=438391&u2=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_language): العربة المدفنة‎ al-ʿarabah al-madfunah).
Considered one of the most important archaeological sites of ancient Egypt (near the town of al-Balyana (http://slickdeals.net/?sduid=47603&t=438391&u2=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Al-Balyana&action=edit)), the sacred city of Abydos was the site of many ancient temples, including a royal necropolis[1] (http://slickdeals.net/?sduid=47603&t=438391&u2=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abydos,_Egypt#_note-0) where early pharaohs were entombed.
Abydos became notable for the Great Temple of Abydos, of Seti I (http://slickdeals.net/?sduid=47603&t=438391&u2=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seti_I), which contains a tunnel displaying the "Table of Abydos (http://slickdeals.net/?sduid=47603&t=438391&u2=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Table_of_Abydos&action=edit)": a chronological list showing cartouche (http://slickdeals.net/?sduid=47603&t=438391&u2=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartouche) names of every dynastic pharaoh (http://slickdeals.net/?sduid=47603&t=438391&u2=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharaoh) of Egypt from the first, Narmer (http://slickdeals.net/?sduid=47603&t=438391&u2=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narmer)/Menes (http://slickdeals.net/?sduid=47603&t=438391&u2=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menes), until the pharaohs of the last dynasty.[2] (http://slickdeals.net/?sduid=47603&t=438391&u2=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abydos,_Egypt#_note-TEwjb) A rare list of pharaoh names, the Table of Abydos has been called the "Rosetta Stone" of Egyptian archaeology, analogous to the Rosetta Stone (http://slickdeals.net/?sduid=47603&t=438391&u2=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosetta_Stone) for Egyptian writing, beyond the Narmer Palette (http://slickdeals.net/?sduid=47603&t=438391&u2=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narmer_Palette).

okay, okay, back on topic :teehee:

[Piccaboo]

tre kewl

:thumbup:

Thanks Mr.SD's & RedSolar

I'm going to put this to use looking for a Navigation unit & this is tied into my email that I keep open with Freecycle all the time; this should work well for me :woot:

[nocruelty]

Suggestion for additional criteria...


I imagine SD has the ability to track who is giving thumbs to which post (i.e., to avoid repetitive ratings by same person in same thread).

It'd be cool if we could specify in the Deals Alert the number of thumbs from people who meet some criterion threshhold discerning experienced/reputable raters from newbies.

I think someone who has been on SD for a while and/or who has a certain number of reps (or certain number of posts) is less likely to give a thumbs up to a deal that occurs every month or a deal that isn't so great. Even if the "valued thumb up" is defined as someone with only 25+ reps, that probably weeds out a good chunk of questionable thumbs.

So... I'd find much more value in "3 thumbs up" from experienced SDers than the whole population.

And if that's not asking for too much, I'd also like to be provided with the credit card numbers of the ones giving thumbs up, because then that would be a WAY slick deal for me.

[serra]

so i see where the party is! :woot2:

someone's gonna hafta walk me thru this new feature :blush3:

j/k...i'll get it.

thank you for your efforts mr. sd and redsolar, time to test it out and provide feedback.

[nutter218]

'experienced SDers' you mean 'bold' people?

[serra]

okay, i added a couple but where can we find this feature without clicking in the OP's hyperlink? I don't see it in any tabs.

[redsolar]

I imagine SD has the ability to track who is giving thumbs to which post (i.e., to avoid repetitive ratings by same person in same thread).

Votes (thumbs up) are counted once per thread per user. So that's really a non-issue :).

As to the rest - that's a pretty complex drill down for a deal alert... Might be kind of hard to do :D. Oh, and the credit card numbers too.

okay, i added a couple but where can we find this feature without clicking in the OP's hyperlink? I don't see it in any tabs.
It's in the same place where PMs are, User Control Panel (http://forums.slickdeals.net/usercp.php) (see navigation menu on the left). Once released, it will likely be also added to another, more visible spot.

[serra]

i put Chuck E. Cheese (Hot Deals Forum) as one of the deals alert but noticed that the OP in that thread spelled Chuck E Cheese incorrectly. They had it all as one word so I don't think it picked up the alert. My gmail is up and I didn't get new mail.

[Jex]

Can we set how many updates we get a day. Maybe have it set so were we can leave it constently active. Or we could set it so where we recieve it 1-4 times a day. So if I am working and I don't want to rummage through 10 different e-mails telling me of the latest updates. Then I can set it to send me one total update at 7pm.

[serra]

It's in the same place where PMs are, User Control Panel (http://forums.slickdeals.net/usercp.php) (see navigation menu on the left). Once released, it will likely be also added to another, more visible spot.

thanks!

[redsolar]

i put Chuck E. Cheese (Hot Deals Forum) as one of the deals alert but noticed that the OP in that thread spelled Chuck E Cheese incorrectly. They had it all as one word so I don't think it picked up the alert. My gmail is up and I didn't get new mail.
The match has to be exact, excluding the punctuation (dots, commas, etc) for it to match. If it's misspelled, there will be no alert :(. Gotta blame the OP there.

[SlickChik]

I've added some...waiting to see!

This is pretty darn cool!

Thanks for all of your hard work!!! :highfive:

[dinsomnia]

Cool stuff. Thanks for continuing to make this a better site everyday :woot:

[brisar]

too bad you can't select 2 different forums for the same word

[serra]

i just got three alerts...coooooooooooool :cool:

my keyword was not in the title but it must have picked up the word inside a post or something.

nice! slickdeals.net is very user-friendly....even a dunce like me know how to use it :O thank you admins!

[hailToPitt]

my dad likes it :D. Thumbs up :thumbsup:

[nocruelty]

Votes (thumbs up) are counted once per thread per user. So that's really a non-issue :).

As to the rest - that's a pretty complex drill down for a deal alert... Might be kind of hard to do :D. Oh, and the credit card numbers too.

I think I wasn't clear, sorry.

I meant to have a single inflexible measure (e.g., "Experienced thumbs only") where SD decides on what hard-coded criterion = experienced (e.g., 25 reps = "experienced").

The deal alerts interface can default to "include all thumbs" radio button and have an alternative radio button for "include only experienced thumbs". So, the deal alerts user isn't burdened at all, if default settings are desired. No action needed for default.

But if I'm the only guy who'd use it, it doesn't seem like a deal to build it. :)

[Imerson]

I just got a third notification for "drive" that was sent about 5 minutes after the thread was created! So far for me this seems to be working perfectly :woot:

[DaddyRPM]

nice. excellent new feature... might keep me from cruisin hot deals so much..

maybe if i could only buy stuff i was looking for, instead of the random bizarre deal..

nah.. will never happen.

I like this though

[pao]

Niiiiiiiiice... something new to play around with. Thanks Mr. SD and red!

[Kramer!]

How long does it take to get the alert?

[brisar]

How long does it take to get the alert?
Hi Kramer.
I got one within 2 min. of the thread being posted (it may have even been only one minute, but I may not have seen the email right away).
so it seems to happen immediately after the thread is posted. :)

[serra]

How long does it take to get the alert?

i'm gonna say instant. as soon as the thread got created, i got the email. :)

i like it.

[Hoseman666]

If I have a deal alert set for 4 thumbs or better, will I get multiple alerts if the # of thumbs goes from 0 to 5, then down to 3, then back up to 4.5?

[xupz]

Wish I had more stuff I needed.

Anyway I didn't read through the entire thread, but I have a question/suggestion. Is it possible to make certain standard selectable flags to search for, or perhaps setting a flag when creating a hot deals post. I'm talking about things like pricing mistakes which are time sensitive, FAR, etc. If not, perhaps a standard way to word new deals specifically for the alerts (updated posting guide or something)?

Seems quite a bit of variability can be reduced by standardizing at least the major search phrases.

[mach vii]

This is something I have wanted here at SD for a while and it's great to see it finally happen. I've used 'the other guys' topic alerts for a while and it helps with catching short-lived deals and to get an elusive coupon code you are looking for. Good job Mr. SD :woot:

[Bewenched]

Oh I am so going to love this feature, but my credit card wont.....
Very good addition to the site.

Is this going to be always limited to people with a certain reputation level? Should lurkers who never contribute get the benefit of a head start? Maybe by limiting this feature to say a minimum rep would encourage those lurkers to add to the community... just a thought.

[Jex]

I am pretty sure once it goes out of beta all members will have access to it.

On that note. Maybe this should be blocked from the coupons section as one time coupons will get ate up faster than anything.

[ShlockDoc]

Great feature. Thank, Mr. SD and red!

I've received 3 ratings alerts already. One issue is that since they all have the exact same subject line they get grouped by Gmail. Is that intended? Getting grouped is ok when there are only 3 of them but sooner or later the number will pile up and it will be one HUGE conversation....

[slickdeals]

If I have a deal alert set for 4 thumbs or better, will I get multiple alerts if the # of thumbs goes from 0 to 5, then down to 3, then back up to 4.5?
You will only get it once.

[redsolar]

Great feature. Thank, Mr. SD and red!

I've received 3 ratings alerts already. One issue is that since they all have the exact same subject line they get grouped by Gmail. Is that intended? Getting grouped is ok when there are only 3 of them but sooner or later the number will pile up and it will be one HUGE conversation....
I noticed the same inconvenience by GMail, but there really isn't much you can do about it. We didn't want to stretch the subject beyond need... If you got a suggestion on how to work with it, suggest it :)

Oh I am so going to love this feature, but my credit card wont.....
Very good addition to the site.

Is this going to be always limited to people with a certain reputation level? Should lurkers who never contribute get the benefit of a head start? Maybe by limiting this feature to say a minimum rep would encourage those lurkers to add to the community... just a thought.
Only the beta is limited, until it's released to the public, when it will become available to anyone registered.

[someone28624]

I'm honored.

[widgit]

I want to add my thanks to Mr SD, redsolar and everyone else that may have worked on this for us. Excellent job, thank you :)

And FWIW, I want to add my wish to have the option for having the alerts PM'd to us. Or maybe even the option to choose both email and PM (if that wouldn't put too big a strain on SD's bandwidth, etc.)

And maybe even have a 'You have a new deal alert' pop-up box when one of our alerts 'hits'? Something like the pop-up boxes we can get to alert us when we have a new PM? Just a thought :)

[tripp]

looks like a good feature. I will be testing it shortly

[Devistater]

Looks very cool!
I just added my first alert

I'd like to request an additional option, the ability to only search a title instead of the entire post. (to clarify the wording, I'm talking about the OP, not the thread).

For instance, I'm looking for deals on color laser printers, and the words: Color Laser
may occur in posts that I'm not looking for, but I'm pretty sure that if its in the title it will be what I'm looking for.


Thanks!

[random.]

Great feature. Thank, Mr. SD and red!

I've received 3 ratings alerts already. One issue is that since they all have the exact same subject line they get grouped by Gmail. Is that intended? Getting grouped is ok when there are only 3 of them but sooner or later the number will pile up and it will be one HUGE conversation....
Well, you don't need to keep the alerts, really. Also, in Gmail there is a feature to delete one email of a series instead of the whole series... You can use that if you really want to keep some of the alerts.

Looks very cool!
I just added my first alert

I'd like to request an additional option, the ability to only search a title instead of the entire post.

For instance, I'm looking for deals on color laser printers, and the words: Color Laser
may occur in posts that I'm not looking for, but I'm pretty sure that if its in the title it will be what I'm looking for.

Thanks!
Arj (I think) said it only does the OP not the entire thread, so it shouldn't be an issue.

[Devistater]

Arj (I think) said it only does the OP not the entire thread, so it shouldn't be an issue.
Yes I know, I read over the information before I tried this. Thats why I said "post" not "thread" :)
As the FAQ says:
Thread original post or title must contain the exact keyword you are searching for. Subsequent posts by the same user and/or other users do not count
But, it would still reduce false positives (albeit at the risk of decreasing hits of what you are looking for). Which is why if its added, it should be an option.

For instance, an OP that talks about a 16.7 million color LCD display (eg. if someone copied a list of features for an LCD) and a monochrome laser printer would turn up as a false hit in my example. But if the option I requested is there, it shouldn't turn up as a false hit in that particular case.

And since this functionality is already implemented in the normal search of a forum, I'm guessing it shouldn't be too hard to add as an option here. Anyway, I personally would like to see it.
But it may be decided that it offers too little additional functionality for the addition work to implement it. I would be slightly dissapointed but I'd still go on using this, it has the potential to be incredibly useful.

[random.]

Yes I know, I read over the information before I tried this. Thats why I said "post" not "thread" :)
As the FAQ says:

But, it would still reduce false positives (albeit at the risk of decreasing hits of what you are looking for). Which is why if its added, it should be an option.

For instance, an OP that talks about a 16.7 million color LCD display (eg. if someone copied a list of features for an LCD) and a monochrome color printer would turn up as a false hit in my example. But if the option I requested is there, it shouldn't turn up as a false hit in that particular case.

And since this functionality is already implemented in the normal search of a forum, I'm guessing it shouldn't be too hard to add as an option here. Anyway, I personally would like to see it.
But it may be decided that it offers too little additional functionality for the addition work to implement it. I would be slightly dissapointed but I'd still go on using this, its incredibly useful.
Oh. I thought maybe you just used the wrong word.

Good example, but I think the OP should be included because a lot of people are very general with their titles.

[Devistater]

Oh. I thought maybe you just used the wrong word.

Good example, but I think the OP should be included because a lot of people are very general with their titles.
Which is why I said as an OPTION :)

The default should surely stay as post and title though because of what you said. And there are many cases where you'd miss tons of correct hits if it was restricted to title only.

[Devistater]

Actually, now that I think about it, since they have added the functionality to search title and first post only, it would be great to add that as a search option to the normal forums search (in addition to the options they have already to search Title or Title and Entire posts).

That would greatly reduce the number of false positives when you are searching for a hot deal about an item.

[James Bond 007]

very, very cool feature. thanks. Has there been any thought given to increasing the number of deal alerts you can receive based on something like rep? 25 should cover me, but I think I'll have some permanent ones (e.g. diapers) that will use up some of mine. On the flip side, has there been any talk of limiting deal alerts for new users? Just doesn't seem right that folks who never contribute to the community in some fashion can take advantage of such a useful feature. Just one man's .02.

[James Bond 007]

One other suggestion ( I looked and did not see this discussed previously) would be to allow multiple forum searches (e.g. hot deals and coupons) for one keyword. As I understand things, currently this would use 2 seperate alerts...yes?

[ShlockDoc]

I noticed the same inconvenience by GMail, but there really isn't much you can do about it. We didn't want to stretch the subject beyond need... If you got a suggestion on how to work with it, suggest it :)


What about simply putting the thread id in the title? It will only add a few characters and will make it different enough for Gmail to start a new conversation.

[Pinetree09]

Dear Pinetree09:

We have found the following thread(s) matching one of your Deal Alerts.

Keyword: Wii
Rating: Ignore rating

In PS3 & Wii Availability Forum forum (http://forums.slickdeals.net/forumdisplay.php?f=36)

The following thread(s) matched:

Wii Bundle at Frys.com $399 96
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?p=5469349&highlight=Wii#post5469349
awesome :thumbsup:

[ToddziLLa]

Working great so far folks! My alerts for "ipod" have returned a deal on an iPod Shuffle and a separate one on some iPod accessories...perfect! :worship:

[KosherPig]

The match has to be exact, excluding the punctuation (dots, commas, etc) for it to match. If it's misspelled, there will be no alert :(. Gotta blame the OP there.

This beta is awesome! Just a few suggestions of my own:

Perhaps a spelling engine can be added to the next version. Human errors should be accounted for. Yes, it's the OPs fault, but we would still like to know about the deal despite his inabilities to spell.

Is it possible to setup a mobile alert where we do not have to change our primary email address to send alerts to our mobile phones? That would make this feature the slickest of them all.

One last suggestion -- and this one I realize is not realistic -- it would be nice to have a forum just for those who have reached 100 reps points. This thread is, by far, the most respectable 12 pages I have ever read at Slickdeals. No abuse no threadcrapping not even any foul language. We are the ones who care most about SDs and believe in its purpose the most. Congrats to everyone and let's keep up the good work!!

[iconian]

One last suggestion -- and this one I realize is not realistic -- it would be nice to have a forum just for those who have reached 100 reps points. This thread is, by far, the most respectable 12 pages I have ever read at Slickdeals. No abuse no threadcrapping not even any foul language. We are the ones who care most about SDs and believe in its purpose the most. Congrats to everyone and let's keep up the good work!!

probably wont happen for various reasons...

and the reason they are like this is simpe: everyone who's bold usually been here a while and know mods/admins already, so they are actually care about improving this site and not just leech deals to post on fleabay:)

[redsolar]

Perhaps a spelling engine can be added to the next version. Human errors should be accounted for. Yes, it's the OPs fault, but we would still like to know about the deal despite his inabilities to spell.

This is possible, but probably will be very very very time and labor intensive. You are basically looking at replicating some of high end search engine functionality (think Google). And really implementing something like this means you may be getting a lot of false positives.

It's something to think about, but probably not on the high priority list. Sorry :(.

Is it possible to setup a mobile alert where we do not have to change our primary email address to send alerts to our mobile phones? That would make this feature the slickest of them all.

We though about it, and here are a few limitations which may make it hard:
1. 160 (or even 120) characters limit for most cell carriers. We could make a separate format, which would tell you the keyword, forum and thread but it would be challenging to convey the useful information and still fit into the limit
2. Malicious intent. Imagine someone doing someone else a "favor" by signing them up to a common word... The cell bill would rack up pretty fast. There may be ways to do it though, and we will definitely try to come up with some compromise. Probably not in the initial public release, however.

[~Precious~]

This is wonderful! Thanks a bunch!!!

[~Precious~]

RedSolar, I dont know if anybody has asked this before..but

is it possible to add an alert based on a category rather only a keyword/ rating. I just moved into a new home and anything for home would interest me.

Say, I want to get any/all new deal notifications in home/beauty/video categories. Can we do that?

Thanks

[KosherPig]

This is possible, but probably will be very very very time and labor intensive. You are basically looking at replicating some of high end search engine functionality (think Google). And really implementing something like this means you may be getting a lot of false positives.

It's something to think about, but probably not on the high priority list. Sorry :(.

Yes, I do understand and I was actually thinking about Google as an example when I wrote the idea. A friend of mine works for an adult search engine company (they take over where msn.com chooses not to) and they had been working on this logic for over a year. Perhaps as this technology becomes more popular, a simple add-on or API will be easier to incorporate than in its current progression.

We though about it, and here are a few limitations which may make it hard:
1. 160 (or even 120) characters limit for most cell carriers. We could make a separate format, which would tell you the keyword, forum and thread but it would be challenging to convey the useful information and still fit into the limit
2. Malicious intent. Imagine someone doing someone else a "favor" by signing them up to a common word... The cell bill would rack up pretty fast. There may be ways to do it though, and we will definitely try to come up with some compromise. Probably not in the initial public release, however.

Your first point will be the most difficult. The second can be easily resolved with a confirmation code sent to the cell and then entered on SD. Many sites already do this.

Again, I realize these ideas would be better fit for a future version, and I appreciate you taking them into consideration.

[Drio]

RS rocks. True Story. :nod:

[brisar]

last night I had added "free" as a keyword (in Hot Deals) but I found that I was getting too may emails with "free shipping" in the thread.

so I went in and did what redsolar suggested (in the FAQs) ....
I put in "free -shipping"

so now, things that just have free shipping aren't being emailed to me.

Just wanted to share that in case someone else was having the same problem. :)

[rajee]

This is a GREAT feature - just another reason SD ROCKS! ... I completely agree with the idea of having a 'new alerts' um, alert, across the top (kinda how we got invited to this feature) and having that to manage new alerts as well as edit/delete/add alerts ... PM is a great idea too, but I can see redsolar's point with a limit of 200 ... keep up the awesome work, guys!

[mickey4paws]

Just set up my first alert. Thanks for doing this, it's a great idea. I agree with the idea of having the option of getting alerts by either email, or by PM. Thanks again.

[KosherPig]

Any possibility of getting an Edit button to edit an existing deal?

[SlickChik]

Got some alerts today!

This is beyond cool!

[redsolar]

Any possibility of getting an Edit button to edit an existing deal?
Yes :), will update once ready.

[~Precious~]

Yes :), will update once ready.

how abt making a deal alert based on categories? :confused:

[obekaho]

holy alerts!!! i typed flowers and somthing that i would like to be alerted on.... i'm gonna go with maybe flower coupon codes... and see how that goes... i opened my email today and WOW lots of alerts :teehee: i :heart: this new system

[Imerson]

I got a lot of alerts today for "drive", since it is such a common keyword... I like being alerted right away, but it would be nice to limit certain alerts to an hourly or scheduled amount of time, that way if five "drive" threads pop up in one hour, only one email would be sent (based on the user preference). Just a suggestion :)

[redsolar]

how abt making a deal alert based on categories? :confused:
Probably, not in the short run. In a way, it will be a replication of filtering threads by a category, and then looking through them... Sorry :(

[Slikku]

Awesome... this will help greatly. Thanks for giving us the sneak peek!!!

[serra]

i am reeeeeealllllllllly impressed with this new feature. i've used it for over a day now and it's been nice. of course 'fish taco' have yet to come up :teehee: j/k. maybe one day you can cater it to the lounge :yummy:

i, serra, thank you, mr. sd and redsolar :worship:

[Jex]

How about a selection so where we can get the lastest front page deal. So as soon as one gets posted we will get a alert.

[iconian]

i still get too many alerts for my Amazon sub... anyway i can make it tighter?:)

i just want items from amazon, and nothing else :P

problem is: most ppl do type amazon and not amazon.com

[slickdeals]

Create an alert for amazon.com. As long as the person posts a link to amazon, it'll dispatch an alert.

[Dr.Murdoc]

sweet I'll try it

[~Precious~]

Probably, not in the short run. In a way, it will be a replication of filtering threads by a category, and then looking through them... Sorry :(

:sadwalk:

I wanna know all threads for home..the moment they start..and i cant be on sd all day..don wanna get fired ..

thats ok..i will look through..thanks!

[Piccaboo]

:thumbup: I got an alert today and it worked :woot:

[maggiesma]

This may have been answered, but I didn't see it - can I do an alert for a category - KIDS or PHOTO for example? With Kids that would include any kid related product if someone picks the category.

I love having a "bold only" area even if it is just for a little while. Everyone is so nice (ha ha).

[random.]

This may have been answered, but I didn't see it - can I do an alert for a category - KIDS or PHOTO for example? With Kids that would include any kid related product if someone picks the category.

I love having a "bold only" area even if it is just for a little while. Everyone is so nice (ha ha).
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showpost.php?p=5478207&postcount=198

[brisar]

I really like that you can read what the thread title says right from the e-mail.
so if it doesn't sound interesting, you don't have to bother to go to the thread


thanks again .... love this feature :thumbup:

[someone28624]

Ok...official stupid question. How does one create a vertical separator thingy?

[brisar]

Ok...official stupid question. How does one create a vertical separator thingy?
It's on the same key as the ... \


I didn't know either. redsolar had to tell me :D

[jeffectz]

thanks, been wanting something like this for a while but never bothered to ask :worship: gonna test right now

[someone28624]

It's on the same key as the ... \


I didn't know either. redsolar had to tell me :D
Oh, that thing? Ok, thanks.

[redsolar]

Added 2 new notification types: PM and Both (email + PM)

Added ability to edit individual alerts rather than Delete/Add New

Note, if your PMs are disabled, you will not be able to select PM or Both options (though they will be visible, they will be "greyed out")

Obviously, you are responsible for cleaning up your PM Inbox on time. Down the road we will likely auto clean alert PMs for you after a certain time, but for now, if you go over limit, you will not receive PM alerts.

[random.]

:thumbup:

Just an fyi... I have clicked "click here to remove this message" like 4 times now... every time I go to a new page, it comes back.

[slickdeals]

I wanted to make sure you got the message. Refresh and click on it again. :P

[DNC]

:thumbup:

Just an fyi... I have clicked "click here to remove this message" like 4 times now... every time I go to a new page, it comes back.
Everytime I click it nothing happens.

FF 1.5.0.9

I wanted to make sure you got the message. Refresh and click on it again. :P
Oh sure, post this a split second before my post :P

[hailToPitt]

my xbox 360 (ignore rating) alert is aweesssommee!!! I thought i was gonna get stupid threads that have nothing to do with a 360. I already have about 3 threads bookmarked cause i'm prob gonna buy them :D. Thanks mr. SD!

[iconian]

i wanted to add

can we have the alerts setup by:

whole message only/title only(like search)

for example: if i have alert for mah setup: it just sent me a pm cause some laptop had a mah battery, but title was about a laptop

i only wanted titles that had to do with mah batteries:)

[James Bond 007]

:thumbup:

Just an fyi... I have clicked "click here to remove this message" like 4 times now... every time I go to a new page, it comes back.

Me too.

[redsolar]

i wanted to add

can we have the alerts setup by:

whole message only/title only(like search)

for example: if i have alert for mah setup: it just sent me a pm cause some laptop had a mah battery, but title was about a laptop

i only wanted titles that had to do with mah batteries:)
Try adding the alert like this:

@title mah

It will work.

[tonymtdew]

I received 3 alerts for the same post this morning?

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?p=5499500&highlight=dell#post5499500

It was this post- anyone else have the same issue?

[sevenmarch]

Would be nice to have a drop down category that alerts for the Sub-forums, such as The Deals (http://forums.slickdeals.net/forumdisplay.php?sduid=33552&f=1) sections.

Lets say I am searching for photopaper. This would allow me to get results for a sale item in hot deal as well as a coupon for photopaper.

Not sure if this has been mentioned, sorry if so.

[KosherPig]

Try adding the alert like this:

@title mah

It will work.

I had the same problem. This @title seems like an awesome feature. I had 60 alerts yesterday and can now trim those down because I too only want to search titles (ex. @title Staples).

I know you mods have done soooo much for us. :worthy: Would it be too much to ask for you to create a separate sticky thread on this forum that outlines all of the special "hidden" features if you will? If it were setup like your dictionary, that would be totally :cool:.

[iconian]

Try adding the alert like this:

@title mah

It will work.

this is a neat trick:)

list the rest :D

[Schooby]

So am I understanding this right? Only the first person to put a certain word into there alert preference will get notified of that? If I used the word free in hot deals I won't get notification because someone else already used it?
I haven't gotten an email yet about a deal. And free wasn't the only alert I plucked in.

[Schooby]

Added 2 new notification types: PM and Both (email + PM)

Added ability to edit individual alerts rather than Delete/Add New

Note, if your PMs are disabled, you will not be able to select PM or Both options (though they will be visible, they will be "greyed out")

Obviously, you are responsible for cleaning up your PM Inbox on time. Down the road we will likely auto clean alert PMs for you after a certain time, but for now, if you go over limit, you will not receive PM alerts.
I don't see the option to get PM alerts in my set up frame.

[redsolar]

So am I understanding this right? Only the first person to put a certain word into there alert preference will get notified of that? If I used the word free in hot deals I won't get notification because someone else already used it?
I haven't gotten an email yet about a deal. And free wasn't the only alert I plucked in.
No, not that. There would be no point to have deal alerts if only one person would get it :).

The first person to put a brand spanking new keyword in (one nobody has) will get a summary of all threads within past 24 hours.

People who add it after you will get notification for all new threads from the time they add the alert.

For example:
Let's imagine, nobody has keyword "notebook" added (riiiight) yet.
I add it, and become the "author" of the alert for "notebook"
I get an alert within 5 minutes containing all threads matching "notebook"

You add an identical alert to mine for "notebook" in 3 hours.
You don't get the summary, since I already got it.

New thread is created one hour after you added the alert
Both you and I get an alert for that thread.
//end example

In regards to your alerts... I checked the logs, you should have received about 100 by now since the time it went live. Have you still not gotten any? It may be your email provider, it's a possibility. Have you checked your Junk mail folder?

I don't see the option to get PM alerts in my set up frame.
You do not see a drop down list, asking for a type of notification? It includes "Email", "Private Mesage" and "Both". It is visible when you add new or edit existing alerts by clicking the respectful link.

[brisar]

it is all the way to the right of the top of the page (right next to the "done" box)

[gleed]

Great new feature guys.

There are some (really) old threads with people complaining about the original e-mail notification "feature" being junked, and asking if it would ever come back. Planning on bumping any of 'em with the good news? :P

Anyway, for us "early adopters" who use RSS, would there be any way to get an RSS version of this? That is, have a custom generated RSS feed that would have a new news item added every time one of your keywords is triggered, in place of sending an e-mail or pm?

I think that the feeds could technically be public -- that if you choose, you can share your custom URL with someone else, or allow your aggregator to make the feed public -- but if that wouldn't work, you could make private atom feeds with user's usernames and passwords.

I'm not sure how difficult it would be to do this, or how much original coding it would take. I know I personally would really find it really useful, and I would imagine that the people who already use the existing SD feeds might, too.

In any case, thanks for continuing to make the site better and better :worship:

[KosherPig]

Yes :), will update once ready.

Just used the edit function, worked like a champ! (not that I expect anything less). Thanks mods!

[Tonedeaf]

Works great. Just got my first notification, both e-mail and PM worked great. :D

[Schooby]

Hmm maybe they got routed to my junk folder, I'll go check.Yep that was the problem, I thought I had checked there a few hours after I set this up but I neglected to go back and recheck, thanks. And I was looking at my already selected alert choices and didn't see a feature for PMs so I guess I need to re-add them to have that feature offered. OK, I see in the "edit" option I can send them to my PMs. Thanks.

[Jex]

If you can see this message, please take a moment to help us beta test the new Deal Alerts feature. Instructions here. **New PM option for Deal Alerts** Click here to remove this message.

Found a would be bug in your beta messages. If you click to remove this it will still apear under every tab. So if I remove it on forums I still have to remove it on the coupons tab. Of course as this is for beta only it really wouldn't be any issue I just thought that I would point it out.

[KosherPig]

If you can see this message, please take a moment to help us beta test the new Deal Alerts feature. Instructions here. **New PM option for Deal Alerts** Click here to remove this message.

Found a would be bug in your beta messages. If you click to remove this it will still apear under every tab. So if I remove it on forums I still have to remove it on the coupons tab. Of course as this is for beta only it really wouldn't be any issue I just thought that I would point it out.

I love it! I bug that will go away when they release it into full production. Classic! :lmao:

[redsolar]

One thing i noticed while looking over things

Some of you have added fancy alerts, but they may have trouble working right. I will add this to the FAQ as well, but here are a few basic principles:

1. If you are using pipe symbol " | " to create logical "OR" for example searching for 8800, 8800 GTS and 8800 GTX, you want to enclose individual alerts in double quotes " " especially if they contain punctuation (spaces, dots, commas, etc). So in this case, here is how you would setup your deal alert
8800 | "8800 GTS" | "8800 GTX"
You don't have to do it if you don't use fancy alerts, but if you don't do it while using them, it will fail, and you won't get an alert for either one of those, wasting that precious alert space :P.

2. Some of you used a pipe and enclosed the whole phrase in double qoutes, for example "amazon | amazon.com". This will also fail in most cases, as it will be looking for both amazon and amazon.com, rather than either amazon or amazon.com. The correct way to do it would be:
amazon | "amazon.com"

The general rule of thumb - before adding a complex alert like this to the Deal Alert, use Forum Search (http://forums.slickdeals.net/search.php) function and look at results you get, and compare them to results you get when you search for each word individually.

[redsolar]

One more thing, if you are looking for something that has a dash " - " in it, you also should enclose it in double quotes. That applies to things like "DDR2-667". If you don't, then your alert will be looking for the opposite, DDR2, which does not include 667 :).

[SlickChik]

One more thing, if you are looking for something that has a dash " - " in it, you also should enclose it in double quotes. That applies to things like "DDR2-667". If you don't, then your alert will be looking for the opposite, DDR2, which does not include 667 :).

Good to know!

[serra]

last night I had added "free" as a keyword (in Hot Deals) but I found that I was getting too may emails with "free shipping" in the thread.

so I went in and did what redsolar suggested (in the FAQs) ....
I put in "free -shipping"

so now, things that just have free shipping aren't being emailed to me.

Just wanted to share that in case someone else was having the same problem. :)

this helped. thanks! it slowed down the alerts a lot.

[tsuperwanker]

It would be pretty cool if we got a deal alert when we received a new PM :D I know, it's not a deal, but hey....

[Jex]

It would be pretty cool if we got a deal alert when we received a new PM :D I know, it's not a deal, but hey....

The forum can send a message to your email address to inform you when someone sends you a private message.
Receive Email Notification of New Private Messages

http://forums.slickdeals.net/profile.php?do=editoptions

[tsuperwanker]

The forum can send a message to your email address to inform you when someone sends you a private message.
Receive Email Notification of New Private Messages

http://forums.slickdeals.net/profile.php?do=editoptions
That's good to know, thanks..

[someone28624]

I'd really like to see a "daily digest" version where each day all the deal alerts for the day are sent. I know it's not fast enough for some people, but I check the site too and am already getting tired of 10 e-mails a day.

[iconian]

what else did u guys tweak?:)

i see new search options but also...the icon for the rep color...its right now near the rep count instead of being below..?:)

[XXnarg]

It appears that email notifications invoke two different fonts, possibly based on the character set.

Some alert emails are encoded:Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"
while others are encoded:Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
Those encoded ISO-8859-1 invoke a font in OE that is easier for me to read.

I assume that one consistent look would be preferable, regardless of which is selected.

Example images attached: Left is ISO, right is UTF.

[DNC]

Minor bug.

If there is an ampersand (&) in the title, it will convert it to &amp; in the deal alert.

[redsolar]

2 more updates:


You can now select "Front Page" rating level, which is meant to notify you about new front page items.
You can now have multiple identical keywords with different rating levels. Useful for (1), if you for example monitor all threads for "4 thumbs" but want to also know about Front Page items.


A few "gotchas":

If the Front Page thread is over 24 hours old (happens sometimes, though rarely), you won't receive a notice about it
"Front Page" is effectively the highest possible rating. This means that even if at the time of posting it only had a "2 thumbs" rating, you will receive a notification for it, even if you had a "5 thumbs" limit for a thread in Hot Deals
You still need to pick a forum for "Front Page". Considering that sometimes we have threads posted in Freebies and Free Magazines that make it to front page, you would probably want to subscribe to both of those as well

[SLickCate]

Nice new feature, I've set up some alerts and will be following this thread. Thanks SD!

[Devistater]

Edit: This is all moot, see mod reply below.

A bit of a bugaboo. Not sure how you can fix it.

Anyway I got this email:
We have found the following thread(s) matching one of your Deal Alerts.

Keyword: color laser
Rating: Ignore rating

In Hot Deals forum (http://forums.slickdeals.net/forumdisplay.php?f=9)

The following thread(s) matched:

$50 Brother HL-2040 Laser Printer +tax Free Shipping
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?p=5532483&highlight=color+laser#post5532483
Unfortunately that thread was invalid.
My GUESS is that its been merged into this thread:
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=86190&t=442545
And was probably this post:
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showpost.php?p=5532878&postcount=3
Since he says "Monochrome laser printing Two-tone color scheme"


This is not going to be a rare problem, threads get merged all the time if they are dupes, especially if they are very popular. So we need something that will find what thread they were merged into and send us a new email with the updated working link to that particular deal thread if a previous emailed thread link is invalid. This might be difficult to implement though, especially since what if all threads regarding a deal were deleted?

Alternativly, when a thread gets merged, its link shouldn't result in a dead link, but should instead forward to where that thread has been merged into.
I'm not sure if this already is in place or not... but if it is, then the notification email needs to send us a link to a thread, rather than a link to the particular post ID number (which appears to get changed when its merged).

Or there may be another solution. But anyway, it should probably be looked into since it wont be a rare problem on popular deals.
Note that even though this was a false positive, the current thread for this deal did NOT send me a deal email since it didn't have the word color in it. So its possible for it to notify you on some of the merged threads, but not the main thread they all were merged into.

Mod replied below:
Actually, the thread got deleted which is why the link is broken. The links in Deal alerts will still work if the thread is merged.

[xen-cuts]

It's about time these features got some attention.