[TXT] Match Results via Text Message and E-Mail [Archive]

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Greg Marra

11-04-2008, 10:08

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Match Results via Text Message and E-Mail
Follow Your Favorites in Atlanta

You may have recently seen that The Blue Alliance will be posting live match updates to Twitter from now on. The same change to the code base also enables another feature - live match updates via e-mail. And guess what? A phone has an e-mail address at which it can receieve text messages. If you can't make it to the Championship and want to follow along with your team, or want to stay up-to-date on another team, this service will text message you after each match that that team plays in.

It's in beta (there have been no events to test it with yet), so I am not sure how it is going to work out. Sending an e-mail takes a fairly long amount of time once you have to send a few hundred or thousand at once. For this reason, I am going to slowly phase in people as they register. When you sign up, the system will tell you you are verified, but I am going to leave all subscriptions disabled, then turn them on a few at a time during the Championship as I see the system can handle it. I'll do this first-come-first-serve, but if things aren't working out you might not get any text messages at all. Thanks to your help testing though, we ought to be able to roll this out fully-fledged for next year's competitions!

Also, since it's in beta, if receiving text messages cost you money, you may want to be wary. While I have tested everything and it seems to be behaving properly, I wouldn't want something to break and you to get 100 text messages (there are a couple hundred matches played during the Championship...) that you have to pay for.

If you want to sign up for e-mail or text message notifications, go to http://www.thebluealliance.net/tbatv/notifications/ and fill out the form. You may find e-mail formats for various carriers on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_gateways). The final interface will make this easier, but it's beta, so I haven't written it yet.

If you sign up, just give a shout in this thread so I can keep approximate tabs on interest from Chief Delphi. Please provide any feedback, issues, or suggestions in this thread.

Thanks!

JohnBoucher

11-04-2008, 10:12

Cool!!!!!! You guys rock

But the yellow box for the address is impossible to read

Logan Byers

11-04-2008, 10:15

Just signed up. Now I have to go find my cell phone and get the verification code. :o

davidmedeiros

11-04-2008, 10:18

This address has been confirmed. Enjoy!

I was hoping someone would have something like this up and ready for the event. I hope all goes well! If so, this will definitely come in handy!

Racer26

11-04-2008, 10:18

I just signed up to watch 1114 and 2056, since I wont be in ATL myself. 2008 may just be the year CMP is won by an alliance with TWO canadian teams...

Alex Cormier

11-04-2008, 10:18

ok... :P

How does it work for phones that do not have internet capabilities and such?

davidmedeiros

11-04-2008, 10:38

ok... :P

How does it work for phones that do not have internet capabilities and such?

Your phone doesn't neeed the intenet. Every phone has an e-mail address through which text messages are sent/recieved - regardless if you have internet on your phone or not.
On on the wiki page, there are lists of service providers' e-mail formats.

I for example have t-mobile which would leave the e-mail i enter as: 1234567890@tmomail.net (where the 123ect is, I would enter my number, obviously :P)

I hope that helps!

Travis Hoffman

11-04-2008, 10:59

I just signed up - I second the unreadability of the email address field. White on yellow - it hurts!

Also, you might want to have the Wikipedia link open in a new window.

This should be cool in case I get locked in the bathroom or something and can't get to the field for one of our matches. :p

cziggy343

11-04-2008, 11:02

This should be cool in case I'm locked in the bathroom or something and can't get to the field for one of our matches. :p

its like your expecting that to happen or something:rolleyes:

rsilverstein

11-04-2008, 11:37

I just signed up (for a few teams.... 'cause I won't be at my computer most of the weekend)

Greg Marra

11-04-2008, 12:13

But the yellow box for the address is impossible to read

Can someone please post a screencap of this? It isn't displaying yellow for me in Internet Explorer or Firefox. If it's displaying difficultly to read, please post your system specs (browser and operating system) and a screencap so I can figure out why.

Thanks! I am glad you guys are excited about this feature - I am too :)

JohnBoucher

11-04-2008, 12:36

Can someone please post a screencap of this? It isn't displaying yellow for me in Internet Explorer or Firefox. If it's displaying difficultly to read, please post your system specs (browser and operating system) and a screencap so I can figure out why.

Thanks! I am glad you guys are excited about this feature - I am too :)

It's the Auto Fill from the Google toolbar. I uninstalled it and it's no longer yellow. Can you change the name of the input box so the tool bar does not assume what it is?

Elgin Clock

11-04-2008, 12:39

I just signed up, can't wait to get some results sent to my phone!
wooo!! Another valuable service by TBA! :cool:

Greg Marra

11-04-2008, 12:41

It's the Auto Fill from the Google toolbar. I uninstalled it and it's no longer yellow. Can you change the name of the input box so the tool bar does not assume what it is?

Excellent detective work!

I have changed "address" to "emailaddress". Hopefully this resolves it.

Thanks!

Barry Bonzack

11-04-2008, 12:51

I just signed up for a couple teams. I'll sign up for a few more after I know who my Fantasy FIRST picks are.

This is one very cool service, I will be judging FTC teams all Friday, and won't be able to cheer on my teams or know how they are doing. A few weeks ago I was at the Philly regional, an I had Doug Leopard on 1902 send me texts after every match so I could keep up with them as well. Mr. Leopard, your job has just been outsourced to technology! (I have a feeling he doesn't mind)

BBnum3

11-04-2008, 15:22

This is awesome! I'll be at class almost all of Friday and won't be able to check the matches. Thanks a lot guys!

Herodotus

11-04-2008, 16:11

I've signed up for 217, 27, and 1114. I'd sign up for more but I figure I don't want to get totally swamped with messages. :p

This is a really awesome idea, Thank you to the guys at TBA.

Alivia

11-04-2008, 16:35

Can I just say how AWESOME this is?!
Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend the Championships, and I have class on Friday, so this will definitely help me keep up with all that's going on when I'm not by my computer!!

=]

Battering_Ram

11-04-2008, 23:18

BandChick

12-04-2008, 10:29

I have a question about this..
I understand the "every phone has an email address," but my question actually wraps around the "text message" status. Is it really a TEXT or is it a DATA message. The difference in pricing on a cell phone are EXTREMELY different. It's something between 50 and 70 cents per data message, where most people have a standard text plan.

I really want to sign up for this since I'll be stuck at FTC all day, and I'd like to know how my kids are doing. But, I don't want to incur 10 dollars worth of data fees because I assumed text message, and that's not what they were.

joshsmithers

12-04-2008, 14:14

Very nice, thanks.

Now I just need to get unlimited texting...:rolleyes:

Cow Bell Solo

12-04-2008, 23:16

I have signed up to watch a fellow friend that is going plus we have been somewhat close the the team, thanks TBA

zachjo

14-04-2008, 01:03

i am most likey technologically declined and the answer is prolly really simple but my adress isn't working. help!

1. do i want mms or sms
2. is the one before all necessary? 10 or 11 digit number
3. phone is us cellular

thanks in advance

As far as I know US Cellular can use mms for multimedia and sms for text. I don't think the 1 is needed but try it w/o and if that doesn't wrk try it w/.

Greg Marra

14-04-2008, 01:06

As far as I know US Cellular can use mms and sms for text. I don't think the 1 is needed but try it w/o and if that doesn't wrk try it w/.

Generally MMS is "multimedia message service" and SMS is "short message service", so an MMS is a picture message, and an SMS is a text message. I'd go with SMS in this case.

Also, the 1 is generally not needed, only your 10 digit phone number.

JBotAlan

14-04-2008, 11:36

Is it really a TEXT or is it a DATA message.

I am pretty sure this depends on what gateway you use. For instance, with Verizon, using the (number)@vzwpix.com address would send it as a pix message every time--if plan-less, this costs much more than txts do. But if you use (number)@vtext.com, it appears to send as a text (and does so VERY quickly, I might add...:D cool!)

Neato!
JBot

zachjo

14-04-2008, 13:35

I am pretty sure this depends on what gateway you use. For instance, with Verizon, using the (number)@vzwpix.com address would send it as a pix message every time--if plan-less, this costs much more than txts do. But if you use (number)@vtext.com, it appears to send as a text (and does so VERY quickly, I might add...:D cool!)

Neato!
JBot

US cellular is free for all incoming texts but I am not so sure if that is true if you are in a roaming area.

PS: your avatar is awsome. Did this really happen or is it a demo only?:)

Greg Marra

14-04-2008, 23:27

Some stats on the current notifications:

team count Descending
1114 9
177 5
932 4
217 4
1126 3
2056 3
75 2
1511 2
254 2
71 2
1625 2
1024 2
237 2
39 2
294 2
894 2
1540 2
48 2
1816 2
1717 1
27 1
11 1
2472 1
330 1
303 1
1388 1
2023 1
469 1
1939 1
68 1
118 1
830 1
461 1
228 1
292 1
1987 1
610 1
171 1
337 1
842 1
1902 1
1547 1
2614 1
365 1
121 1
987 1
40 1
357 1
435 1
832 1
179 1
115 1
587 1
25 1
191 1
968 1
190 1

Greg Marra

18-04-2008, 11:42

I've been getting text messages just fine all morning.

I am going to throw the switch and enable open subscription. If numbers get too high, I'll have to scale back, but I think we're good for now.

Racer26

18-04-2008, 12:19

I have been getting them too... i just got 2 from Q21-Newton though... different match scores

Greg Marra

18-04-2008, 13:06

I have been getting them too... i just got 2 from Q21-Newton though... different match scores

This means FIRST updated the scores. It sends another one if the scores change.

Travis Hoffman

18-04-2008, 20:21

Greg Marra

18-04-2008, 21:59

I've gotten a few texts also from Newton saying we lost there (in Qualification 0), which would be ok if we weren't playing on Galileo. :)

Despite the erroneous few texts, the service has performed quite nicely. Thanks for putting this together.

I am not sure why this happened. I will keep an eye open tomorrow and see if it resurfaces. I don't know if the error was on TBA's side, or FIRST's side posting wrong results.

Odd.

Luckyfish05

18-04-2008, 22:10

Mines been working great all day! Thanks so much for setting this up! Good luck tomorrow everyone

Cow Bell Solo

18-04-2008, 23:49

Thanks TBA, This is a good feature. I have been recieving the emails A OK. This has been easy for following along with the matches.

artdutra04

19-04-2008, 00:23

This is an amazingly useful feature. I've been following both of my teams, and it's worked great (and quite fast) all day.

mtaman02

19-04-2008, 07:50

Racer26

19-04-2008, 15:05

I've been getting tied 0-0 messages when the elim matches get decided who's playing them

Greg Marra

19-04-2008, 15:22

I've been getting tied 0-0 messages when the elim matches get decided who's playing them

I agree. It's a bug that I am not going to attempt to fix now to prevent accidentally breaking something. Bug acknowledged :)

Elgin Clock

20-04-2008, 17:26

I signed up for this and just have a few comments/problems.
Overall it was awesome!

First bug was a match (QF 8 on Arch.) with 1547 where they were not listed at all, but another one of those duplicate team number bugs showed up & team 1504 was listed twice.

The second bug if you want to call it that was that one of my texts updating me about my team came in as an urgent message. Everything was correct as far as I know, but it just was weird because that one was urgent and others were not. The only thing I can think of is that the match in question was the high score on the field at the time? :confused:

I had to erase all my texts because I was running out of room, but as far as I know most of the scores that came in were dead on, just those little things were odd.