Ciao π
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have you received any weird messages on Duolingo recently? π€
Duolingo's famous for it's weird, guilt-trippy notifications
but in recent weeks, they've taken a slightly different approach...
and it's catching many users off guard π§
i'm still not sure how I feel about it...
can they really do this?...
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what's going on? π€
basically, a number of Duolingo users have been receiving weirdly personal notifications from their Duolingo friends
now, of course, weird notifications aren't exactly new when it comes to Duolingo
but this recent development is definitely out of the ordinary
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take this one recently shared in the Duolingo Subreddit for example...
this Duolingo user received a notification from one of their buddies to crack on with their daily lessons
it popped up like any old message you get on WhatsApp or Messenger
you've got the name at the top, and the message underneath.
looks for all the world as though Stephen sent the message, doesn't it?
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well, here's the thing: they didn't.
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who said what π€·
so if Stephen didn't actually send the notification -- then who did? π€
the answer is 50/50...
the notification comes as the result of a nudge
you've probably sent a few yourself
basically, Duolingo will often invite you to nudge your friends to do their lessons
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it could be to get cracking with the weekly friends quest,
could be to keep the friend steak going,
could even be to keep their own streak alive. π₯
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you simply tap the nudge button, et voila, Duolingo will notify the user to get busy...
usually, you get to choose the message...
but sometimes you don't...
you simply tap nudge, and that's that
you don't get to see the message
Duolingo decides for you, and makes it look as though it came directly from your friend...
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some users are uneasy π
unsurprisingly, a number of Duolingo users are uneasy about these personal notifications
in true Duolingo style, most of the messages are on the passive aggressive side...
I mean, it's one thing for owly to send out a guilt-trippy message, but to make out it's from someone else is definitely more than a bit dodge
they've made Tony look like a right aggy-pants here π
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is it really OK for Duolingo to do this? π€
if they're not gonna give users the option to choose the message, should they at least show them the message being sent first?
I don't think this too much to ask.
would definitely save a lot of confusion and annoyance.
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so yeah... reckon i'll be holding off on the nudges for the time being!
π€ͺ Weird Duolingo π€ͺ
One of the great Duolingo sentences in this week's Weird Duolingo...
Big thanks to Neil for sharing this classic:
Carbs go in, emotions come out. Duolingo just gets it. π
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Seen a weird-ass sentence? Let me know... and it could feature in a future newsletter!