To Whom It May Concern (most likely being application developers):
If you're going to design a site or application online, and you want to validate the email address a new user has entered, by all means go ahead and send a "validation email." Only for God's sake, send it immediately!
On Saturday (please note: Saturday was three days ago, which is like twelve dog days or five hundred internet days!) I tried to sign up for a Bloglines account because I decided to bite the bullet and start using an RSS reader again. Well, in the time it took for my "validation email" to arrive (which was, as you may have surmised, three days!) I created a Google Reader account, populated it with my various feeds, and started using it. In fact, in the three days I've waited for the Bloglines validation email, I've already tired of Google Reader and pretty much given up using an RSS reader again! By the time the email arrived in my inbox late this afternoon, I thought, "Gah, I can't be bothered. I'm done using RSS."
To all the application designers out there: if you're going to send the email, send it right away. This goes for all you password-recovery people too. I don't care if I get my password for XYZ app five days from now. When I can't recall my password, I most likely would like to "recall" it as soon as possible, so I can do whatever it is I'm trying to do (log onto my bank account to pay a bill, save a recipe, post in a discussion, etc.). Sending it hours, or worse, days later doesn't do me much good. Time is of the essence! Don't we all know this by now?
Frustratedly yours,
-megnut