Messaging Guide

Hello and welcome to the all-new Instant Messaging Service.  In this guide, we will help you understand the basics on how to use our fantastic new feature.

The service has been designed so artists on Painters Online can keep connected and send private messages to get valuable feedback on their work, enjoy general chit chat and to keep the conversation going.

About the Instant Messaging Service...

• The Instant Messaging Service is only available to artists who are logged in to the Painters Online website
• Artists can follow one another to talk privately, it works similar to social media direct messaging services. Conversations are private.
• You will always be notified on the site, but you can also choose to get alerts by email. You are also able to alter your preferences to customise which notifications you receive.
• There is also the option to receive a daily digest of all the notifications including new content that has been posted - this is handy if you are working and want a update at the end of the day so you can remember to log in, view new content and reply to your fellow artists.

Before you start, you will need to ensure that you are following an artist to prompt a conversation. They will be notified in their instant messaging area once you have requested to follow them. You will only be able to communicate directly once you have followed each other. There is always the option to unfollow at a later stage.

How to follow an artist

 

How do instant messages work?

 

The automatic notifications from our website which will be sent to you via this instant messaging system, such as when a comment is made on a post you created.

We want this new feature to be a great addition for all of our users and not something that can be misused or become troublesome.

Therefore, as stated in the video, only users who are following one another will be able to communicate with each other via this messaging system. This is to ensure we enable a safe environment for our users in which they have the ability to accept or reject communication from others as they see fit. You will be notified when a new user begins to follow you and you will then have the option to respond.

Furthermore, we have created a new Communication Preference centre in the My Account area from which you have the ability to control the type of communication you receive from our website. To visit the Communication Preferences area, please click here.

More about the messages page

To access your messages, click on the notification icon  in the menu bar. If you have unread messages, the icon will display a red circle containing the number of conversations with unread messages. You can also access your messages by clicking on the 'Messages' tile from within the 'My Account' area of the website.

The image below serves as a general guide to the layout of the message page. This may appear differently on mobile devices but the functionality remains the same.

1 - The conversation list. Click on the conversation you wish to view and the messages will be displayed. Click on the 'New' button to start a conversation with a follower who is not already listed.

2 - The conversation viewing area. The messages within the conversation will appear here.

3 - The message box. Type your message here and press the 'Send' button.

4 - The delete and unfollow buttons. You can clear the current conversation from your list at any time by clicking the 'Delete' button - this does not affect the other participants view of the conversation and will not prevent further communication to or from the user. If you no longer wish to communicate with a user, you can click the 'unfollow' button - this will also prevent you from sending further messages to the user but will not affect the ability for either of you to view the existing conversation.

 

Sending messages from other areas of the website

You can send private messages to users from various locations around the website such as when viewing a gallery item or a forum or blog post. If you are already following the user, you will see the 'Message' button next to the user's name similar to the example below. 

 

Daily digest emails

You have the option to receive a daily digest email summarising any of the new activity by the artists you follow. This email will also include a reminder to view any unread conversations you may have and is a great way to stay up-to-date with new activity on Painters Online.

If you do not wish to receive these emails, please visit the Communication Preferences centre (see below).

 

Communication preferences

You can control the communication you receive from our website from within the Communication Preferences centre by clicking here.

The communication preferences centre allows you to specify the types of notifications you receive at a granular level. For example, you can receive notifications when an artist you follow posts a new item in the gallery but not when they create a new blog post.