Genealogy Chat

Could someone enlighten me as to the meanings of the symbols on the Sent Messages page. I can understand that the symbol that looks a bit like a telephone means that the recipient has replied, but why do some messages show an envelope symbol and other messages not have a symbol at all?

A closed envelope means ‘not read’ - an opened envelope means ‘read‘

Or, at least, they used to. I can’t see any symbols other than arrows on my ‘sent messages’

The arrow means a reply has been received

Welcome to the boards, Showersinmay.

They seem to have changed the symbols, unfortunately.

The envelope symbols were easy to understand.

Having looked at my "Sent" messages just now, I don't understand them.
The "telephone" symbol you mention, Showersinmay, is a curved arrow pointing left.

I don't know whether it means the message is a reply to me, or if it's inviting me to reply to the other person.
The appearance of the arrow seems random.
In some cases the same message appears more than once, sometimes with an arrow, and sometimes without.

In many cases, the "Sent" message is the last message in a conversation I've had with someone - BUT sometimes the last message is from me to them, and sometimes it's from them to me.
A reply from them to me shouldn't appear in MY "Sent" messages, It seems to me. It should be in my Inbox.
It just doesn't make sense.

Looking at my Inbox, all the messages do seem to be those sent to me by other people - but some appear several times, sometimes with arrows and sometimes without.

None of the many messages in either my Sent Messages or my Inbox have any envelope symbols now.

Another GR change for the worse, unless they get it sorted out.

EDIT:
I've now emailed GR Support, asking for an explanation.

The unopened envelope still appears if the message hasn't yet been read. I noticed one a couple of days ago but that has since been read and replied to. I haven't got any other envelopes displayed as I tend to delete unopened message after a few months.

Thank you all for your reply. It seems as if different peoples Sent Messages are being treated in different ways . All very confusing. My best guess is that the curved arrow means a reply has been received, an unopened envelope hasn't been read and no envelope or arrow means it has been read but not replied to. Hopefully GR Support will provide the definitive meaning!

GR Support's reply:

"This arrow appears on messages that you have replied to most recently.
The messages appear with the most recent showing first, even if this is a reply you have sent to someone."


Seems unnecessarily confusing to me, and doesn't quite answer the question.

In the last couple of days I have noticed that the closed green envelope still appears beside a received message - until I've read it - just as it used to be.
Generally speaking, once I've replied, then there's an arrow instead.
If I read it but don't reply, there's no symbol at all

If it's part of a conversation, sometimes there's an arrow , presumably because I'd replied to earlier messages, even if I don't reply to the final message.
But sometimes there isn't.

Sometimes the conversation appears more than once.
One particular conversation appears three times, each one ending with the same message to me from the other person. I didn't reply to the final message.
On one of those times, there's no arrow, and on the other two there is.

I give up!
Another of life's mysteries.

Surely the only ‘marker’ which matters is the closed envelope?