Writing.Com 101

Notifications

Notifications are a great way to track responses to your presence and communications on Writing.Com. For example, when someone links to your username or rates one of your items without submitting a review, the Notifications line in the navigation menu in the left column pops up a bright red square with a number in it to notify you that your attention is needed.

Each notification identifies the action that triggered it and includes the date-time stamp of when the action occurred. For easy reference, here are the kinds of things that trigger a notification:

Birthdays of Members You Favorited/Fanned . If a member you have Favorited () or Fanned () has filled in the Birthday drop-menu in the Manage area of their Biography tab, you will be sent a notification about their birthday on the given date. For more information, see "Biography Tab" .

Fan'd Items . If another member fans your item, the notification will include a userlink for that member and a link to the item. For more information, see "My Favorites and Fans" .

Fan'd Members . If another member fans you, the notification will include a userlink for that member. For more information about Fans, see "My Favorites and Fans" . Please note:
To prevent spam, this particular notification is delayed for 3-5 minutes to give the member the opportunity to change the setting if the fan is unintentional.
The notification is only sent one time. If the member changes the Fan/Favorite setting after the notification is sent and then fans you again later, you will not be notified again.

Forum Post Replies . An alternative in effect only if the e-mail reply notification box is not checked: if another member replies to your post in a forum, the notification will include a userlink for that member, a link to the forum, and a link to the reply post. For more information about using message forums, see "Using Message Forums" .

Likes . If you post something in your newsfeed, a forum, your blog, or elsewhere on the site where other members can click a Like button, you will receive a notification including a userlink for that member and a link to that location. Please note:
Members cannot opt to click a Like button anonymously.
If the member Unlikes a Like, the notification is no longer shown in the Notifications list.

Ratings without reviews . When someone rates your item without submitting a review, you will receive a notification including a userlink for that member, a link to your item and the rating that was given. You will not receive this kind of notification for items that are reviewed, because those notifications you receive as emails in your inbox. Please note:
Members with paid memberships may opt to submit ratings anonymously, but the default setting includes their userlink in rating-only notifications.

Tagging Items . When someone tags your item (i.e., creates or edits an lr-item link to your item in a note or a comment to a note), you will receive a notification including the username of the member who tagged your item, a link to your item, and a link to the note where it was tagged. Please note:
Tagging an item does require an lr-item link (for example, just typing the item's title or item ID number will not trigger a tag, but linking "Technical Support Forum"   [13+] by Writing.Com Support will).
You will not receive a notification if your item is tagged in a note or comment that you cannot access due to restrictions, or if your item is tagged in private correspondence like emails or instant messages.
If your access to the location where your item is tagged changes after the notification is triggered, you could receive the notification, but will not be able to access the location where the tag occurred.
NOTE: Because tags create notifications for each lr-item link, it's considered spamming to tag a large number of items belonging to other members who aren't related to the subject of your note. Members who are annoyed at being spam-tagged have the option of using the Block/Ignore feature to turn off notifications for your tags. Please tag responsibly!

Tagging Members . When someone tags you (i.e., creates or edits a userlink to your username in an item, post, note, or comment), you will receive a notification including the username of the member who tagged you, and a link to the item, post, note, or comment you were tagged in. Please note:
Tagging someone does require a userlink (for example, just writing a username or handle such as "Storymistress" will not trigger a tag, but linking The StoryMistress will).
You will not receive a notification if you are tagged in an item or anywhere else that you cannot access due to restrictions or that you can only access via a Passkey, or if you are tagged in private correspondence like emails or instant messages.
Tagging notifications are sent only once. Tagging notifications can occur either on a create action or an edit action. Subsequent edits do not trigger another notification or remove the original notification.
If the tagging occurs in an item that allows other people to edit it, the notification will show the userlink of the item owner no matter who is responsible for the edit.
Multiple userlinks for the same person in the same place will trigger only one notification.
Tagging notifications are not sent for a tag in an In&Out submission.
Tagging notifications are not sent for a tag in a Trinket-locked item.
If your access to the location where you are tagged changes after the notification is triggered, you could receive the notification, but will not be able to access the location where the tag occurred.
NOTE: Because tags create notifications for each user linked, it's considered spamming to tag a large number of other members who aren't related to the subject of your post. Members who are annoyed at being spam-tagged have the option of using the Block/Ignore feature to turn off notifications for your tags. Please tag responsibly!1

Recommended Reading

1. Notebook Tab
2. My Favorites and Fans
3. Newsfeed

Footnotes
1  Updated by northernwrites; written by Jaeff | KBtW of the Free Folk and The StoryMistress