Idea: Stricter profile mention regulations, more options for personalization

[rozsazoltan]

Select Topic Area

Product Feedback

Body

I like being mentioned and receiving notifications about it in the app or by email. I prefer email.

My concerns about the current system arose, and my idea was formulated in connection with a potential scam campaign:

• https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/174380#discussioncomment-14494813

Why can anyone mention me? If we've never interacted, don't follow each other's profiles, have no shared history (repo, issue, PR, discussion, commit, etc.), or if the repo where I was mentioned (issue, PR, discussion) has almost no activity (e.g., 0 stars, 0 forks, 0 commits, 0 contributors, etc.). This is very disappointing. I would like the profile mention feature to be subject to stricter rules to help prevent the scam campaigns I mentioned earlier.

What are my ideas?

• First, in the case of a deleted repo or repo owner, the notification should still appear in the notifications tab, but it should indicate that the content has been deleted. This way, we avoid mistakes like the one in the previously mentioned discussion affecting thousands of users.
• Second, email notifications should be customizable. I want to receive email notifications, but not from just anyone. I want to be able to specify a list of repos, users, or organizations from which I want to receive emails because I trust the content of their repos.
• I would like GitHub to mark certain mentions as suspicious, especially if they come from a new profile or a repo that hasn't been active in the past six months. I would like the email version of these suspicious mentions to include a header warning about the potential for scams, and I would like any links to be removed from such suspicious emails.

The current system is not prepared to handle deleted repos and deleted profiles when it comes to unread notifications. The current setup allows scam campaigns to be promoted through the mention feature without the senders obtaining any of my contact information - they can spread solely by relying on GitHub.

I hope that in the near future, a stricter, safer, and more customizable mention system can be implemented.

[github-actions[bot]]

💬 Your Product Feedback Has Been Submitted 🎉

Thank you for taking the time to share your insights with us! Your feedback is invaluable as we build a better GitHub experience for all our users.

Here's what you can expect moving forward ⏩

• Your input will be carefully reviewed and cataloged by members of our product teams. 
  • Due to the high volume of submissions, we may not always be able to provide individual responses.
  • Rest assured, your feedback will help chart our course for product improvements.
• Other users may engage with your post, sharing their own perspectives or experiences. 
• GitHub staff may reach out for further clarification or insight. 
  • We may 'Answer' your discussion if there is a current solution, workaround, or roadmap/changelog post related to the feedback.

Where to look to see what's shipping 👀

• Read the Changelog for real-time updates on the latest GitHub features, enhancements, and calls for feedback.
• Explore our Product Roadmap, which details upcoming major releases and initiatives.

What you can do in the meantime 💻

• Upvote and comment on other user feedback Discussions that resonate with you.
• Add more information at any point! Useful details include: use cases, relevant labels, desired outcomes, and any accompanying screenshots.

As a member of the GitHub community, your participation is essential. While we can't promise that every suggestion will be implemented, we want to emphasize that your feedback is instrumental in guiding our decisions and priorities.

Thank you once again for your contribution to making GitHub even better! We're grateful for your ongoing support and collaboration in shaping the future of our platform. ⭐

[vinniefalco]

Maybe something to squelch notifications from repos or orgs that are less than 6 months old?

[MisRob]

I believe this would not only help with scam, but also help organizations on GitHub that work with wider open-source community day by day. We have a system that notifies relevant people about messages from external contributors so we can respond them in timely manner. However people often try contacting us via GitHub mentions which can be overwhelming and is inefficient because external contributors choose random handles that they spotted somewhere around. This unnecessarily adds piles of GitHub notifications for someone who doesn't need to or shouldn't be notified. If we could regulate @mentions, for example allow to be notified only by people from the same team, that would be very helpful - I believe that both core team members and external contributors would have happier and more efficient collaboration.

[ChemaCLi]

any update?