> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/Metaculus/metaculus/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Notifications

> Configure notification settings to stay updated on question activity

Metaculus notifications keep you informed about activity on questions you care about, new comments, resolution announcements, and more. This guide explains notification types and how to configure them.

## Notification Types

Metaculus supports several types of notifications, each serving a different purpose:

### Question Resolution

**Type**: `predicted_question_resolved`\
**When triggered**: A question you forecasted on has been resolved

**What's included**:

* Question title and resolution
* Your final forecast
* Your score (peer score and baseline)
* Coverage percentage
* Forecasts count
* Links to related questions (if part of a group)

<Tip>
  Resolution notifications help you learn from your forecasts. Review your reasoning and score to improve future predictions.
</Tip>

### New Comments

**Type**: `post_new_comments`\
**When triggered**: Questions you're subscribed to receive new comments

**What's included**:

* Comment preview text
* Author username
* Number of new comments
* Link to the discussion
* Up to 8 recent comments in the email

<Note>
  Multiple comments on the same question are batched together in a single notification email sent hourly.
</Note>

### Comment Mentions

**Type**: Direct mention notification (instant)\
**When triggered**: Someone mentions your username in a comment

**What's included**:

* Comment preview showing the mention
* Author who mentioned you
* Context of the discussion
* Direct link to the comment

<Warning>
  Mention notifications are sent immediately, not batched. Use `@username` to mention someone in a comment.
</Warning>

### Community Prediction Changes

**Type**: `post_cp_change`\
**When triggered**: Significant movement in the community prediction

**What's included**:

* Direction of change (up, down, expanded, contracted)
* Magnitude of change
* Your current forecast vs. new CP
* Question details
* For continuous questions: median and quartile changes
* For binary/MC: percentage point changes and odds ratios

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="What counts as significant?">
    CP change notifications are triggered when:

    * **Binary**: Change of 10+ percentage points
    * **Multiple Choice**: Major option probability shift
    * **Continuous**: Significant percentile movement

    Thresholds are calibrated to avoid notification fatigue while catching important developments.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

### Question Status Changes

**Type**: `post_status_change`\
**When triggered**: Questions change status (opened, closed, resolved)

**Events**:

* **Question opened**: A subscribed question is now accepting forecasts
* **Question closed**: Forecasting period has ended
* **Question resolved**: Final outcome has been determined
* **Question reopened**: A closed question is open again

<Note>
  For grouped questions (tournaments), status changes may be batched to show multiple related questions opening or closing together.
</Note>

### Question Milestones

**Type**: `post_milestone`\
**When triggered**: Questions reach significant points in their lifecycle

**Milestones**:

* 25% of lifespan elapsed
* 50% of lifespan elapsed
* 75% of lifespan elapsed
* Approaching close time

<Tip>
  Milestone notifications remind you to update your forecast as the question progresses.
</Tip>

### Scheduled Reminders

**Type**: `post_specific_time`\
**When triggered**: You set a custom reminder for a question

**Use cases**:

* Remind yourself to check for new information
* Plan to update before close time
* Review forecast before a key event

### Forecast Auto-Withdrawal

**Type**: Forecast auto-withdrawal warning\
**When triggered**: Your forecasts are about to be automatically withdrawn due to inactivity

**What's included**:

* List of questions affected
* Withdrawal date
* Links to update forecasts
* Account settings link

<Warning>
  Forecasts can be set to auto-withdraw if not updated within a specified period. Update your forecast or change your settings to prevent withdrawal.
</Warning>

### Tournament New Questions

**Type**: Tournament-specific notifications\
**When triggered**: New questions are added to a tournament you're following

**What's included**:

* Question titles
* Tournament name
* Opening details
* Links to start forecasting

### Weekly Top Comments

**Type**: Weekly digest\
**When triggered**: Every week (if subscribed)

**What's included**:

* Top-voted comments from the past week
* Comment authors
* Discussion links
* Most insightful analysis

<Note>
  Weekly comment digests help you stay connected with the best community discussions without checking constantly.
</Note>

## Managing Notification Settings

Control which notifications you receive:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Go to Settings">
    Navigate to **Account Settings** → **Notifications**
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose Delivery Methods">
    Select whether you want to receive notifications via:

    * Email
    * In-app notifications
    * Both
    * Neither
  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure by Type">
    Enable or disable each notification type independently
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save Changes">
    Click "Save" to apply your preferences
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Mailing Tags

Notifications are organized by mailing tags you can subscribe/unsubscribe from:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="question_resolution">
    **Tag**: `FORECASTED_QUESTION_RESOLUTION`

    Notifications when questions you forecasted on are resolved.

    **Recommended**: Keep enabled to track your performance
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="comment_mentions">
    **Tag**: `COMMENT_MENTIONS`

    Notifications when someone mentions you in a comment.

    **Recommended**: Keep enabled to stay engaged in discussions
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="cp_change">
    **Tag**: `FORECASTED_CP_CHANGE`

    Notifications when community predictions change significantly on questions you've forecasted on.

    **Recommended**: Enable if you want to stay updated on major developments
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="tournament_new_questions">
    **Tag**: `TOURNAMENT_NEW_QUESTIONS`

    Notifications when new questions are added to tournaments you're participating in.

    **Recommended**: Enable for tournaments you're actively competing in
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="before_prediction_auto_withdrawal">
    **Tag**: `BEFORE_PREDICTION_AUTO_WITHDRAWAL`

    Warnings before your forecasts auto-withdraw due to inactivity.

    **Recommended**: Keep enabled to avoid unintended withdrawals
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="weekly_top_comments">
    **Tag**: `WEEKLY_TOP_COMMENTS`

    Weekly digest of the best comments across Metaculus.

    **Recommended**: Great for staying connected without daily notifications
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Email Preferences

Customize how emails are delivered:

### Batching

Most notifications are batched and sent hourly to reduce email volume:

* **New comments**: Grouped by question
* **Status changes**: Grouped by project/tournament
* **CP changes**: One per question per day (max)

### Instant Notifications

Some notifications are sent immediately:

* Comment mentions
* Urgent tournament updates
* Account security alerts

### Unsubscribing

To unsubscribe from specific notification types:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Via Settings">
    Go to Account Settings → Notifications and disable the type
  </Step>

  <Step title="Via Email">
    Click "Unsubscribe" link at the bottom of any notification email
  </Step>

  <Step title="Granular Control">
    You can unsubscribe from all emails or just specific types
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  Unsubscribing from all emails means you won't receive critical account notifications. Consider disabling only specific types instead.
</Warning>

## In-App Notifications

Beyond emails, Metaculus provides in-app notifications:

### Notification Center

Access your notification center:

1. Click the bell icon in the top navigation
2. View recent notifications
3. Mark as read/unread
4. Click to navigate to relevant content

### Notification Status

Each notification has a status:

* **Unread**: New notification you haven't seen
* **Read**: You've clicked or marked as read
* **Email sent**: Email was dispatched for this notification

### Clearing Notifications

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Mark as Read">
    Click on a notification to mark it as read automatically
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Mark All as Read">
    Use the "Mark all as read" button to clear all unread notifications
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Auto-Clear">
    Old notifications (30+ days) are automatically archived
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Question Subscriptions

Subscribe to specific questions to receive notifications:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Navigate to Question">
    Open any question page
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Subscribe">
    Click the "Subscribe" button (bell icon)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose Notification Types">
    Select which events trigger notifications:

    * New comments
    * CP changes
    * Status changes
    * Milestones
  </Step>

  <Step title="Manage Subscriptions">
    View all subscriptions in **Account Settings** → **Subscriptions**
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  Subscribe to questions where you:

  * Have an active forecast
  * Want to participate in discussions
  * Are tracking for research or learning
  * Are waiting for resolution
</Tip>

## Project and Tournament Subscriptions

Subscribe to entire projects or tournaments:

### Benefits

* Get notified of all new questions
* Receive tournament announcements
* Stay updated on leaderboard changes
* Access exclusive tournament content

### How to Subscribe

<Steps>
  <Step title="Visit Project Page">
    Navigate to the project or tournament homepage
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Follow/Subscribe">
    Click the subscribe button in the project header
  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure Preferences">
    Choose notification frequency and types
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Notification Delivery

Understand how notifications are processed:

### Creation

Notifications are created when:

```python theme={null}
Notification.objects.create(
    type=notification_type,
    recipient=user,
    params=notification_params,
)
```

### Processing

Notifications are processed by a scheduled job:

1. **Collection**: Gather pending notifications (hourly)
2. **Filtering**: Remove unsubscribed recipients
3. **Grouping**: Batch related notifications
4. **Sending**: Dispatch email batches
5. **Marking**: Set `email_sent=True`

### Timing

* **Scheduled job**: Runs every hour
* **Instant notifications**: Sent immediately
* **Daily digests**: Sent at configured time
* **Weekly digests**: Sent every Monday (typically)

<Note>
  Notifications are stored indefinitely but emails are only sent once. You can always view notification history in your notification center.
</Note>

## Best Practices

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Optimize notification volume">
    **Too many notifications?**

    * Disable CP change notifications
    * Switch to weekly digests instead of real-time
    * Unsubscribe from less active questions
    * Disable milestone notifications

    **Too few notifications?**

    * Enable CP change notifications
    * Subscribe to key questions and tournaments
    * Enable tournament new question notifications
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Prioritize important notifications">
    **Always enable**:

    * Comment mentions (direct engagement)
    * Question resolutions (learning from outcomes)
    * Auto-withdrawal warnings (prevent unwanted changes)

    **Consider enabling**:

    * CP changes (stay informed)
    * Tournament updates (competitive advantage)
    * Status changes (timing opportunities)

    **Optional**:

    * Milestones (reminders)
    * Weekly digests (stay connected)
    * New comments (high volume)
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Use notification center effectively">
    * Check notification center daily
    * Mark important items for follow-up
    * Archive or dismiss irrelevant notifications
    * Use notifications to prioritize which questions to update
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Set up email filters">
    Create email filters for Metaculus notifications:

    * Label by type (resolutions, comments, etc.)
    * Auto-archive less important types
    * Star critical notifications
    * Set up smart folders for tournaments
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Not receiving notifications">
    **Check these**:

    1. Verify email address in account settings
    2. Check spam/junk folder
    3. Ensure notification type is enabled
    4. Confirm you're subscribed to the question/project
    5. Check that your account email is verified

    **Still not working?**

    * Whitelist `@metaculus.com` emails
    * Try a different email provider
    * Contact support
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Receiving too many notifications">
    **Quick fixes**:

    1. Disable CP change notifications
    2. Switch to weekly digests
    3. Unsubscribe from old questions
    4. Use the "Unsubscribe from all" option in emails
    5. Review and update notification settings
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Notifications delayed">
    **Normal delays**:

    * Batched notifications: Up to 1 hour
    * Weekly digests: Sent at specific times
    * Server load: Brief delays during peak times

    **Unusual delays**:

    * Check Metaculus status page
    * Verify your email server isn't delaying delivery
    * Contact support if consistently delayed
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can't unsubscribe">
    **Try these steps**:

    1. Use the unsubscribe link in emails
    2. Disable in account settings
    3. Unsubscribe from individual questions
    4. Clear browser cache and retry
    5. Contact support if issue persists
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## API Access

Access notifications programmatically:

```python theme={null}
# Get unread notifications
notifications = Notification.objects.filter(
    recipient=user,
    read_at__isnull=True
).order_by('-created_at')

# Mark as read
notification.read_at = timezone.now()
notification.save()

# Get pending email notifications
pending = Notification.objects.filter_pending_email()
```

See the API reference for complete documentation.

## Future Enhancements

Metaculus is continuously improving notifications:

* **Push notifications**: Mobile app notifications
* **Smart batching**: ML-powered notification grouping
* **Personalized digests**: Customized content based on interests
* **Slack/Discord integration**: Notifications in your preferred platform
* **Advanced filters**: More granular control over notification triggers

<Tip>
  Check the Metaculus blog and announcements for updates on new notification features.
</Tip>

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Making Predictions" icon="chart-line" href="/guides/making-predictions">
    Learn how to submit forecasts
  </Card>

  <Card title="Track Record" icon="trophy" href="/guides/track-record">
    Monitor your forecasting performance
  </Card>

  <Card title="Question Types" icon="list-check" href="/guides/question-types">
    Understand different prediction formats
  </Card>

  <Card title="API Reference" icon="code" href="/api/users">
    Access notification data via API
  </Card>
</CardGroup>