# What’s up with email notifications?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-up-with-email-notifications/821261
**Category:** About This Message Board
**Created:** [September 13, 2018, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-up-with-email-notifications/821261 "2018-09-13T09:07:23Z")
**Posts on this page:** 16
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2018, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-up-with-email-notifications/821261/1 "2018-09-13T09:07:23Z")
They always worked fine in the past. Now I will post in a thread and hours later get a notification, but for an old post I have already read. If I go check the thread, there may be a bunch of new posts, or the last post might still be mine.
I thought there would already be a thread about this. Is it only happening to me?
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### Author:  [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2018, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-up-with-email-notifications/821261/2 "2018-09-13T09:57:45Z")
Not just you. I notice it too — emails for ‘instant’ notification, are hours late.
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### Author:  [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2018, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-up-with-email-notifications/821261/3 "2018-09-13T13:47:54Z")
DesertNet has been working on this in the last couple of weeks. They seem to have gotten it down to an occasional blip but we still receive sporadic reports like these. It’ll be fine and then one is hours late in arriving. They are continuing to investigate but as most of you know, the intermittent problem that can’t be duplicated is the most difficult to resolve.
Please continue to report this issue if//when you encounter it. We’ll keep looking at it. Apologies for your inconvenience here.
Jenny
your humble TubaDiva
Administrator
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### Author:  [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2018, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-up-with-email-notifications/821261/4 "2018-09-13T13:59:17Z")
Happening to me as well.
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### Author:  [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2018, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-up-with-email-notifications/821261/5 "2018-09-13T14:01:38Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#):
>
> DesertNet has been working on this in the last couple of weeks. They seem to have gotten it down to an occasional blip but we still receive sporadic reports like these. It’ll be fine and then one is hours late in arriving. They are continuing to investigate but as most of you know, the intermittent problem that can’t be duplicated is the most difficult to resolve.
>
> Please continue to report this issue if//when you encounter it. We’ll keep looking at it. Apologies for your inconvenience here.
>
> Jenny
> your humble TubaDiva
> Administrator
Thanks and IKWYM about intermittent problems—I have in recent months dealt with this issue with our car and our TV.
I must say though that it has been pretty consistent in terms of my email notifications.
Maybe not every single time but the majority of the time.
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### Author:  [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2018, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-up-with-email-notifications/821261/6 "2018-09-13T14:02:39Z")
It’s been happening to me for weeks, but I feel like gmail has been having problems with other emails, too, on occasion.
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### Author:  [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2018, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-up-with-email-notifications/821261/7 "2018-09-13T15:17:00Z")
wonky, you bring up a good question: Could this be something on the ISP side?
I use Gmail a lot (and the Chrome browser too) and have experienced more problems with both of these things, especially lately, it seems like. Gmail is now in a new format than it has been, I wonder if their “new look” might have some bugs in it.
And besides the already documented problems with vBulletin and Chrome, I can’t use my autoexpander word program in Chrome, it’s a known bug with Shorthand pc. The Shorthand people say it’s Chrome’s fault. Chrome doesn’t say anything at all. 😃
I swear, some days I think we’d be better off back on stone tablets.
Apologies for your inconveniences here. “Don’t shoot the piano player; he is doing his best.”
Jenny
your humble TubaDiva
Administrator
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### Author:  [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2018, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-up-with-email-notifications/821261/8 "2018-09-13T19:28:47Z")
FWIW my notifications of replies on other message boards are functioning normally.
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### Author:  [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2018, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-up-with-email-notifications/821261/9 "2018-09-19T13:16:25Z")
Still ongoing, including notifications of threads I unsubscribed from. Maybe those will taper off eventually.
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### Author:  [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2018, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-up-with-email-notifications/821261/10 "2018-09-19T15:47:02Z")
Haven’t heard back about this, I’ll make another inquiry.
For the time being, assume that when they say “instant notification” that means “as soon as the system can get to it.”
Apologies for your inconvenience.
Jenny
your humble TubaDiva
Administrator
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### Author:  [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2018, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-up-with-email-notifications/821261/11 "2018-09-19T16:43:29Z")
Thanks.
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### Author:  [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2018, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-up-with-email-notifications/821261/12 "2018-09-26T16:24:22Z")
I received a notification immediately after a post today. First time in weeks. Hopefully it’s been fixed.
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### Author:  [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2018, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-up-with-email-notifications/821261/13 "2018-09-26T16:36:36Z")
From your mouth to G-d’s ear.
(Still don’t have a good answer as to why this has happened one way or the other, though DesertNet has put in some fixes over the last few weeks.)
Jenny
your humble TubaDiva
Administrator
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### Author:  [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2018, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-up-with-email-notifications/821261/14 "2018-09-26T17:18:04Z")
Fingers crossed!
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### Author:  [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)
#### Post date: [October 4, 2018, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-up-with-email-notifications/821261/15 "2018-10-04T19:07:49Z")
The long delay is back. ☹
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### Author:  [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)
#### Post date: [October 5, 2018, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-up-with-email-notifications/821261/16 "2018-10-05T03:05:37Z")
I’ll query again.
Jenny
your humble TubaDiva
Administrator