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I tried readnotify but I didn't like it, it seems it doesn't work great. I want to know If I should try getnotify or if I should try an e-mail client software such as Microsoft Outlook or Thunderbird. Are they more reliable?
I really need a receipt when a certain person reads my e-mail or not.
Thanks in advance.
Daniel
Posted 2013-07-21T16:20:47.057
Reputation: 1
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For me, it remains a mystery what "read notification" actually should imply. Is it that the users mail client has downloaded the message, did the user read subject and maybe a preview, did he accidentally click on the message while navigating to another message, did he… You get the point.
Whenever you want to be sure that someone read and understood the message (and probably even started acting on it), then the only mechanism is to ask the reader for a reply notice: "Please act on it ASAP and let me know when you start by replying." And if it is urgent (or the recipient may be reluctant), call them on the phone.
If your goal is to be informed without the reader being aware, I consider this very unethical and (as I mentioned above) may have very little significance (and, depending on the way he reads the mail, may not even be triggered).
While I am very much a techie, technology alone can never solve social problems.
Marcel Waldvogel
Posted 2013-07-21T16:20:47.057
Reputation: 401
1If your goal is to be informed without the reader being aware I like this point, also it should be noted email is not meant to be an instant process, that is what IM is for. Or maybe the recipient wants to have a couple hours to gather good data. If you need instant gratification, call them, IM them, or ask them to respond ASAP to let you know their status. – Austin T French – 2013-07-21T17:20:34.577
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read notify can be easily bypassed and avoided, period. There is no reliable way to do this. I for example always disable all read / delete replies. Whether Outlook or Thunderbird, or within Gmail.
So really, the reliability has to do with the recipient and whether they have an issue with you violating their privacy with notifications or not.
Austin T French
Posted 2013-07-21T16:20:47.057
Reputation: 9 766
Daniel, you may want to rewrite the question as follows: How can email delivery be tracked reliably? – Marcel Waldvogel – 2013-07-22T22:05:32.257