Bug in Ancestry Message Service

[IanL]

There have been a number of threads on LC about the lack of response to messages, particularly to possible DNA matches. Sheila Beer on the Family Historian IO Group has identified one possible cause. For over 2 years she has been pressing Ancestry to acknowledge that there's a bug in the Ancestry Message Service which causes some responses to emails to go into the Sent box rather than the inbox. Ancestry have now been able to recreate the problem but are unable to say when it will be fixed.

So if you've not been receiving those eagerly awaited responses to your requests, then check your sent items.
Unfortunately it hasn't helped me.

 

[Tim]

Unfortunately, I no longer have a sent folder in my Ancestry messages.

Is it just me or do other people not have sent messages?

 

[Susan48]

Just checked - I have a sent folder on Ancestry.

 

[IanL]

So do I.

However, since I posted the original message about the bug there's been a lot of posters on the Family Historian IO group who, like Tim, cannot see their sent folder. There's a suggestion that Ancestry may have updated the Message Service and that the newer version doesn't show the sent folder. If that's the case maybe Susan and I will over time also stop seeing our sent folder.

Tim, can you see any of your sent messages?

 

[canadianbeth]

I am not seeing sent messages either. I just checked and all I see are the ones received. So the three I sent last year to possible contacts are not there anymore. Why would Ancestry do that?

 

[Helen7]

Is it just me or do other people not have sent messages?

I no longer have a Sent folder - or an Inbox for that matter. My messages page changed some time ago (at least a month ago, I've lost track).

Now my message page is split into 3 columns. The left hand column shows a list of contacts. If I select one of them, the middle column shows all the messages exchanged with that person - both received and sent, in date order (oldest at top), with the sent messages having a green background, while the received messages have a white background. The right hand column shows the details of that contact - their profile info, details of any DNA match, and links to their public trees.

I found the layout very strange at first, but now I've got used to it I find it much more convenient than the previous format, with lots of information about each contact being instantly available, and the message trail being easier to follow.

Is this the sort of message view you are getting, Tim, or anyone else for that matter?

 

[canadianbeth]

Mine looks like yours Helen7. But it only shows those with whom I have actually messaged, not the ones where I sent a message and received no reply. And I see one now from someone from some considerable time ago asking about a 3rd cousin 2x removed that I never noticed until now. I will reply, even though he is probably thinking the same thing I think about those who have not replied to me.

 

[Helen7]

But it only shows those with whom I have actually messaged, not the ones where I sent a message and received no reply.

Mine shows all those where I sent a message but received no reply (quite a few of those!). The contacts are listed in reverse chronological order, so the ones recently messaged (either sent or received) appear at the top, with the date of last message shown.

 

[IanL]

Apparently Ancestry issued a briefing announcing the new Messaging Service almost a year ago (see below). I certainly never saw it. They must have had some problems with the roll-out because some of us are still on the old one. If the plan was to remove the separate folders why acknowledge a bug in the old system and say we can't give you a date for fixing it? Why not just say the issue will be resolved when you move to the new system?

Overview

● New Ancestry Message Center: The new Ancestry Message Center is a modern and
easy-to-navigate platform that allows members to easily exchange messages with each other.

With new features like current message status, online member status and improved member
search capabilities, members are now able to connect and respond to each other in a more
efficient way.

About the new Ancestry Message Center

● Current Message Status: This feature will show a “Delivered” notice below the message when
it is delivered and a “Read” notice once the message has been read. This feature will help keep
members better informed about the status of their message.

● Online Member Status: Now, members will be able to see a green dot next to a user’s name if
they are online and currently available in the new Ancestry Message Center.

● Improved Member Search Capabilities: By adding a predictive text search feature within the
new Ancestry Message Center, it’s easier for Ancestry members to find the person they are
trying to message even faster. If a member is online and currently available a green dot will
appear next to their name in the search bar.

 

[At home in NZ]

Apparently Ancestry issued a briefing announcing the new Messaging Service almost a year ago (see below). I certainly never saw it.

I have vague recollections of seeing this but had forgotten all about it.
I have just looked at my 'Message Center' it is exactly the same as it has always been:
Inbox
Sent
Deleted
Folders
I don't make use of the latter.

 

[jorghes]

My Messaging has also updated... I might have to go through them and check there's none I missed that may have been hanging out in the sent folder instead of my inbox.

But the new form shows you all the messages you have sent, regardless of replies, as it looks more like a text-message stream.

 

[canadianbeth]

Mine looks like what IanL reported. Except I have no sent folder, so anything I sent that has had no reply is not there.

 

[Tim]

Mine is as Helen described.

 

[Helen7]

Mine is as Helen described.

Hence no Sent folder, with all messages appearing like a text-message stream, as jorghes described. But can you see all messages you've sent regardless of whether they have a reply? I certainly can, so it's strange that canadianbeth isn't able to. It seems to be taking a long while to roll out the new messaging service and there are clearly still bugs.

A feature of the new message system - mentioned in IanL's posting of Ancestry's briefing announcement - is that sent messages are labelled as either 'Delivered' or 'Read'. I initially assumed that only those labelled 'Read' had been seen by the intended recipient, whereas those labelled 'Delivered' hadn't been picked up. However, I have received replies to several just labelled 'Delivered', so that's clearly not a reliable guide.

 

[Pauline]

It seems to be taking a long while to roll out the new messaging service

I'm still on the old messaging service but for quite some time there has been a banner across the top of the page saying "It's almost here! Find out more about the new messaging experience at Ancestry". I hadn't realised before reading this thread that some already have it.

Following the link from the banner, it does say that folders cannot be created in the new messaging system but that any already created can be downloaded until the end of August this year. However, it seems these user created folders can only be downloaded once you have been switched to the new service.

I did have some messages in folders which I'd created and decided it was probably safer to move these back to the inbox and sent folders now, rather than having to download them or risk losing them.

 

[peter]

The new messaging system has been rolling out slowly - and what I see is all of my messages in or out. There were lots of bugs in the old system and hopefully the messages that disappeared under to old system have now reappeared.

 

[At home in NZ]

The new messaging system has been rolling out slowly

and what I see is all my messages going back to 2011. Many of those at the top of the list have numbers to tell me how many are unread, I don't believe they are accurate because i was quite regularly making sure they were all marked as read.

I sent a message from this new system two days ago and received a reply. I replied to that then my contact replied, I can see my final answer but not the incoming message!
I couldn't have deleted it in error because you can't delete other people's messages.
I have completed the feedback form, using the technical fault option and given my email address for them to contact me. I live in hope!

Another silly idea: If you go to your old messages you cannot delete them entirely, you can only delete what you wrote.

Furthermore, I am not keen on the BRIGHT green background

 

[peter]

I have numbers showing even where the other person hasn't ever replied to my messages. But to be fair, the old messaging system used to lose messages, and it was difficult to find the ones it hadn't lost, so the new system is a big improvement for me.

 

[At home in NZ]

the new system is a big improvement for me

so how do you feel about this, from the Support Centre:
Currently, you can only delete messages you've sent, not messages the other person has sent. To delete a message you sent, open a message, hover over something you wrote, and click the trash can that appears.

I had a message the other day which I replied to, as part of a thread, the message from the other party has disappeared. Therefore it seems to me that you can delete your own words and it has the same effect in the other party's view of the message.
With the old message system the email advising you that a new message had been posted included the text of the message. This is no longer the case so I have no record of what was said.
I have asked the contact to re-send the message but he has not.

I think the system is very unfair, because while exchanging emails there would be no way somebody could delete their message from your view of it. Likewise I cannot go back and delete something I said in this Forum.

 

[Helen7]

With the old message system the email advising you that a new message had been posted included the text of the message. This is no longer the case so I have no record of what was said

Yes, I'd noticed this. Certainly not an improvement for me.

I think the system is very unfair, because while exchanging emails there would be no way somebody could delete their message from your view of it. Likewise I cannot go back and delete something I said in this Forum.

I agree. I can see why you might want to clear messages at your end, but it shouldn't affect what others see - that does seem unfair. There should be a limited period for deletions (as on this Forum), but after that the message should stay, in my opinion.