5. Evite's Frequently Asked Questions
6. If You're Unwilling to Use Evite
If You Want Technical Assistance from me or my Assistants
This page is written for the approximately 5 percent of the people on my invitation list who are having technical problems with Evite.
My experience with Evite has been almost flawless. In 2003, they had various bugs, but as far as I can tell, they have eliminated almost all of them. When I began working with them in May, 2005, I found a fairly subtle bug, and they fixed it promptly. On the whole, they are a responsive company.
In addition, they are a monopolist in the Internet invitation business — more than 95 percent of the invitations sent through an Internet invitation site are sent through Evite (Windows market share is 1 point less — 94 percent). Almost everyone on my invitation list is fairly social and receives invitations from people other than myself. Those other invitations are almost always sent through Evite. So if you're having problems with Evite, it makes sense to figure out what is going wrong, since most likely it is not just me that will be sending you Evite invitations.
First, if you have not done so, you should create an Evite account. Now. By now, I mean today, not tomorrow. Most of the problems that people are having are due to their e-mail system — their e-mail system is blocking e-mails from Evite or is incorrectly flagging them as spam. If you have an Evite account, you can simply log in and all of the Evites you have received — from me or anyone else — for parties and events that have not already taken place will be there. You can simply then RSVP through the Evite system. Your e-mail system will not be able to interfere; you're simply using a Web browser.
There's another advantage of having an Evite account. If you delete from your In Box an Evite invitation that someone sends you, you can simply log in and all of your current Evites will be there, even though you deleted them from your e-mail In Box. So you don't need to write to me to ask that I send you another invitation.
Some people that have Hotmail and similar accounts tell me that those sites do not display graphically-oriented e-mails very well. If that is the case, the solution is simple. You know that you received an Evite by looking at the e-mail, even if you can't read the entire e-mail. Simply log into your Evite account and you're in business.
Creating an Evite account is free. Click here to do so.
You will receive two types of e-mail invitations from me: the initial invitation and follow-ups.
The initial invitation has a subject line of "James Mitchell has sent you an Evite." In the e-mail itself, it will say "View this Evite Invitation," which will be a link.
Follow-ups have a different subject line. They always include the day and date of the party and a description of what the party is. If I am asking that you RSVP even if you have not responded, it will begin with "RSVP --". Here is an example:
RSVP -- Tuesday, October 18 -- Large cocktail party
At the bottom of the e-mail, it will say "For reference, your link to this Invite is:" followed by a link.
Some people have said these links are not working. In all of these cases, Evite is sending what it should be sending in terms of creating a proper link. What is happening is that your e-mail package is not properly displaying HTML (the codes used in Web browsers) properly, either because of corporate settings established by your company, because of settings you have set in your e-mail package, or because you're using a sub-standard e-mail package (e.g., the interfaces offered by the online e-mail systems such as Hotmail, gmail and Yahoo are always inferior to an e-mail package such as Microsoft Outlook).
The solution is obvious — log into your Evite account and then RSVP. Alternatively, copy the link and paste it into your browser and you'll be taken to the right spot on the Evite system.
You need to have cookies enabled. If you're using Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or greater, and you want to enable cookies:
Tools / Internet Options / Privacy
There will be a slider with which you can choose how strict you want to be about accepting cookies:
1. Block all cookies
2. High
3. Medium high
4. Medium
5. Low
6. Accept all cookies
You should choose 3, 4, 5, or 6. Do not choose 1 or 2.
If you're using prior versions of IE or Netscape Navigator 7.0, this Microsoft FAQ will tell you how to enable cookies.
If you're using other browsers, you'll have to read your documentation or call your Internet Service Provider.
One person wrote to me and said he didn't like sites that install cookies or spyware. Cookies are completely different and are totally benevolent, while spyware often isn't. Don't confuse cookies with spyware. Almost every large commercial site — from Amazon.com to Drugstore.com to eBay — requires cookies to be enabled. If you want to know about cookies:
"How Internet Cookies Work" by Marshall Brain is quite comprehensive.
"The Unofficial Cookie FAQ" by David Whalen is even more comprehensive.
There's actually a Website, Cookie Central, that does nothing but collect information on cookies.
If after reading those, you even want more, go to Yahoo and type in "cookies AND Internet" and Yahoo will give you hundreds of links.
Your Web broswer must be enabled to run Javascript. Javascript is a scripting language — i.e., a programming language built into your browser that can perform certain functions. One would assume that it is a subset of Java, a full blown computer programming language, but that's not the case. It uses similar syntax as Java but it is a different language.
Javascript is allowed by default in almost all browsers. If you set "High Safety" security settings in many versions of Internet Explorer, Javascript will be disabled, causing most commercial Websites (such as Evite) to stop working.
If you're using Internet Explorer 6.0 or later, to enable Javascript choose:
Tools / Internet Options / Security
Click Default level and make sure that Medium is selected. Click OK to apply your change, and then View / Refresh the page to allow Javascript links to work.
If you're using an earlier version of IE, or another browser, see the Javascript section of the Evite FAQ.
If Evite is still not working for you, Evite has its own list of Frequently Asked Questions ("FAQ").
I have a lot of experience designing very large systems for major financials service firms, I was a senior software engineer for a major computer company, and I was a Research Associate at Harvard Business School in information systems. I've seen a lot of systems and I'm highly critical (many say too critical) of most systems. As far as I am concerned, Evite is a very good system. The interface is well thought out and they have remarkably few technical problems.
In addition, as noted above, they are a monopolist. It's almost like asking if Windows is a good operating system. Whether or not it is, in almost all cases you don't have a choice but to use Windows, so the question is academic. Evite is used by almost everyone and almost everyone on the invitation list is already familiar with it.
As far as I can tell, fewer than 5 percent of the people on the invitation list are having problems with Evite. For a computer based system, those are good numbers.
One person commented about her concerns for privacy. I do permit everyone on the invitation list to view the names of who else has been invited, and whether they have RSVPed "Yes," "No," or "Maybe." 99 percent of the people on the invitation list want this feature enabled, as most of them are curious as to who is coming. There is no way to turn this off for a particular individual. Please note that only your name is displayed; your e-mail address is not. If this really concerns you, realistically your only option is to be asked to be taken off the invitation list.
Some of the people on the invitation have Blackberries or other mobile devices that read and send e-mail. Blackberries are e-mail devices; they are not Web browsers. From what I hear, there is no good way to RSVP through your Blackberry, since when you click on the link, it will take you to the Evite Web site, and Evite assumes you are using a Web browser on a real computer, not a device that was not intended to be a Web browser.
To be on the invitation list, you need to own or have access to a personal computer, not just an e-mail device. Please don't reply to me through the Blackberry, telling me whether or not you can come. Instead, wait until you have access to a real computer and then check your e-mail on that, or alternatively log onto your Evite account.
Some of the people on the invitation list who have Blackberries send me an e-mail saying they cannot RSVP through their Blackberry and then they tell me whether they are coming to the party. It's easy to tell when this is happening because at the end of their e-mail is a trailer that says it was sent by their Blackberry. What am I supposed to do with this information? They haven't RSVPed through the Evite system so they will continue to receive followups. I'm certainly not going to log in to the Evite system and then manually change their response for them — the whole point of my moving to the Evite system is to reduce the number of hours I spend on these parties, not increase them. These people should simply not send mean an e-mail back, make a note to themselves to log into their Evite account when they have access to a real computer, and then RSVP through the Evite system.
Several people do not RSVP through the Evite system. Instead, they hit the reply button on their e-mail package and then send me an e-mail. Doing so does not record your response in the Evite database, which means as far as Evite is concerned, you have not yet responded. This means you will continue to receive follow-ups.
If you want to write me a message, you can do so on the Evite system, and you can determine whether your message is viewable to everyone on the invitation list or viewable solely by me. I read every comment posted at least twice (once a day, and once before the party). You can, of course, always send me an e-mail directly, but if you do, please indicate that you've also RSVPed through the Evite system.
The requirements for computer skills to be placed and to stay on the invitation list are not high. I do not ask that you know how to program, that you need to know what jsp stands for (Java Server Pages), that you've read Hackers and Painters, or that you're able to list which features will be included in the next beta of Firefox. We do require basic computer skills, however. If you can't use e-mail or the Internet in the most basic way, it would probably make sense to (i) ask to be taken off the invitation list for now, (ii) acquire basic computer skills, and (iii) then ask to be placed back on. If your company has a technical support desk, use it, or find a friend or hire a consultant to answer your basic questions.
A few people on the list have indicated that they simply are unwilling to do what is necessary to RSVP through the Evite system. One is suspicious of cookies and refuse to have them enable ontheir Web browser. Another is unwilling to RSVP through the Evite system because she does not want her response to be viewed by others on their list. (This is a person who has a Web site on herself, a Web site that any person on the planet can read.) Under such circumstances, the only realistic solution is for them to be asked to be taken off the invitation list. Before I converted to Evite in May, 2005, I was receiving over 10,000 e-mails a month in response to various invitations I was sending. I converted to Evite as part of a program to back my life back. My assistants simply do not have the time to login in and manually change the responses for people on the invitation list, except in extraordinary circumstances. If you're unable to do whatever is necessary to respond through Evite, there are lots of other social groups I can tell you about that do not require this.
I believe it is a worthwhile investment of your time to solve whatever problems you are having with Evite. As noted above, you can't be on the invitation list if you cannot figure out how to use Evite. I can't maintain two different databases for my invitation list, one for those who know how to use computers and one for those who can't figure out how to use a fairly basic system. I'm not going to telephone people with information about every party I give. And I can't spend the time manually changing people's responses -- it is one of the areas in which Evite is not particuarly good, namely it takes the organizer of the party several minutes to manually change a response for someone on the guest list. I believe my parties and the other ones I will be inviting you to are worth the time investment.
In addition, if you've asked to be on the invitation list, presumably you're a social person and you want to attend other social events, not just mine or the ones I invite to you. Almost everyone uses Evite. If you're unable to RSVP to Evites I send to you, you'll be unable to RSVP to Evites others send to you. If you currently don't receive many social invitations, I can assure you that if you come to my parties on a regular basis, you will make friends, some of whom will start inviting you to parties and events.
So bottom line, I believe it is worth your time to solve whatever problems you are having with Evite.
Under certain circumstances, I or my assistant will help those who are having problems, but subject to the following ground rules:
First, you must have already created an Evite account, or tried to create one and were unsuccessful. For 95 percent of the less than 5 percent that are having technical problems, creating an Evite account and then logging in will solve their problems.
Second, you need to have read this page you are reading now and also this page.
Third, you need to have read Evite's Frequently Asked Questions.
If you've created an account (or attempted to create an account) and you've read these pages and you still can't get things to work, then call (781) 736-0974 from 9:30 to 4:30, Monday through Friday, and talk with one of my assistants. If they are unable to help you, I'll take over the call. Do not e-mail me or my assistant. We receive several hundred e-mails a month concerning the parties (almost none of them relating to Evite problems) and we simply can't provide technical support via e-mail, as we won't be able to figure out what is going wrong. On the telephone we can almost always figure out what is going on.
I hope this answers your questions and I hope to see you at the next party!