A remarkable email exchange with a developer who cares

96 points

14 years ago

EDIT: I realise the below isn't exactly readable so I posted a formatted version here: http://andrewsplastic.tumblr.com/

I recently installed a Chrome extension that didn't do exactly what I wanted. I uninstalled it and promptly forgot about it until the following email exchange happened:

FROM BEN COE, THE CO-FOUNDER OF THE EXTENSION ATTACHMENTS.ME:

  Hey Andrew, Ben here. I'm one of the cofounders of Attachments.me:

  I've been reaching out to some of the people who signup for our
  service, I'd love to know how things are going for you.

  Any feedback you can provide about how the service is working for you
  so far, would be awesome. Also, I'd love to hear any suggestions you
  have for the product.

  Thanks for taking the time to try us out :)

  Cheers,
  Ben Coe

MY REPLY:

  Hey Ben,

  Thanks for getting in touch.

  I uninstalled it. All I really needed was my attachments to appear on the right of the email *and* be     
  downloadable from the right panel. My only option was to transfer to dropbox (I use cloud app) or open the   
  attachments.me window and browse for the relevant attachment. 

  If you guys enable the attachments on the right to be downloadable directly I'll re-install straight away. 
  CloudApp support would also be great.

  Cheers,
  Andrew

FROM BEN:

  Hey, thanks for the quick response :)

  I'm curious, what do you see as the advantage to being able to download the attachment on the right-hand side, as   
  oppose to being able to download it in the area provided below the email. Is it that we could consolidate all the 
  attachments in the thread into one area?

  Would love to get you back on board,

  -- Ben.

MY REPLY:

Hey Ben,

  When receiving emails from some people, GMail doesn't recognize the thread. It incorrectly assumes the reply's 
  are part of the email. So some emails get ridiculously long, and I have to scroll forever downwards to get to the   
  download link. When I first installed attachments.me, I was stoked, as I could see all the attachments relevant 
  to the thread on the right...but they were static names, not links :(

  Would it be hard to turn those static titles into attachment links?

  Regards,
  Andrew

FROM BEN:

  That makes sense. I think you're right, it would be smart for the name of the attachment to allow you to 
  download it.

  I've added this feature to the extension, if you install the newest version here:

  https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/gdgofjdapkmlgpgjfielacjckplcdjjk

  it should do the trick.

  Keep the feedback coming,

  -- Ben.

In short Ben reached out to me, without being contacted and implemented the change I had been looking for, and he did it in minutes.

12 comments

Hey Andrew, Ben here. I'm one of the cofounders of Attachments.me: I've been reaching out to some of the people who signup for our service, I'd love to know how things are going for you. Any feedback you can provide about how the service is working for you so far, would be awesome. Also, I'd love to hear any suggestions you have for the product. Thanks for taking the time to try us out :) Cheers, Ben Coe

Hey Ben, Thanks for getting in touch. I uninstalled it. All I really needed was my attachments to appear on the right of the email *and* be downloadable from the right panel. My only option was to transfer to dropbox (I use cloud app) or open the attachments.me window and browse for the relevant attachment. If you guys enable the attachments on the right to be downloadable directly I'll re-install straight away. CloudApp support would also be great. Cheers, Andrew

Hey, thanks for the quick response :) I'm curious, what do you see as the advantage to being able to download the attachment on the right-hand side, as oppose to being able to download it in the area provided below the email. Is it that we could consolidate all the attachments in the thread into one area? Would love to get you back on board, -- Ben.

When receiving emails from some people, GMail doesn't recognize the thread. It incorrectly assumes the reply's are part of the email. So some emails get ridiculously long, and I have to scroll forever downwards to get to the download link. When I first installed attachments.me, I was stoked, as I could see all the attachments relevant to the thread on the right...but they were static names, not links :( Would it be hard to turn those static titles into attachment links? Regards, Andrew

That makes sense. I think you're right, it would be smart for the name of the attachment to allow you to download it. I've added this feature to the extension, if you install the newest version here: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/gdgofjdapkmlgpgjfielacjckplcdjjk it should do the trick. Keep the feedback coming, -- Ben.