As a new WikiTree member, I still possess the short-lived ability to test all the WikiTree features and capabilities as an inexperienced user and provide feedback (this is something I do in my real-life job).
Something that confused me for longer than it should have was "how do I read my private messages?" When I went to the Help:Private Messages page, nothing told me where on the site I go to read private messages sent to me. Since I am very familiar with many other websites that have private messaging systems, I assumed the messages would be part of the site. I read the current help page multiple times, but the fact that all the private messages would be going to my personal email account was not obvious to me.
I can see now how it implies that the private messages would be going to my "email," but I assumed that meant to my WikiTree "email."
I would recommend that we add a new first section with the following or something like it:
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How it Works
When a WikiTree member sends a private message to another member, it is sent to the member's personal email account they used when they set up their WikiTree account. The sender does not see the recipient's email address, but the sender's email address will be seen by the recipient. Only if the recipient replies to the email directly will their email be seen by the original sender.
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Next, I would recommend we modify the initial sentence as follows to prevent less tech-savvy individuals from thinking their email is NEVER displayed:
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WikiTree's Private Message system lets members receive email without revealing their email addresses unless they directly reply to any emails received.
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