Thus far, when I've found that a notification is "stuck," I'm able to resolve it by clicking through the last available notification for that thread. It then effectively resets.
I don't think adding email alerts hinders any future app development.
There are two types of development on the current platform: updates to the core platform, performed and funded by the platform's developers, and custom development, funded by our ad revenue and performed by developers we've contracted to build a feature specifically for us. (This is the first time we've had the opportunity to perform custom development, as all previous platforms were locked down.)
The email feature you're referring to was developed by Huddler, for their product. It is not part of the current software platform, and the Huddler platform has been effectively discontinued. It's not something we intentionally removed, and it's not something that's currently available, either.
Email alerts and app development aren't mutually exclusive in theory. It's obviously possible to have both. If we have to pay to custom develop them in house, however, they actually are in conflict because both require the same resources: money and developer bandwidth.
It costs money to develop the email feature. It costs money to send an individual email using a transactional email service like Sendgrid. There's also an opportunity cost associated with sending out email messages, which, historically, have not contained ads, and basically giving the user the content in a way that
costs money, rather than
makes money. Email notifications, thus, have been something of a loss leader.
Huddler was very aggressive about email marketing. Some users found it helpful, others found it annoying and quickly reported Huddler system emails as spam.
Our new platform seems to take a more "middle ground" approach. The system generates more email than ezboard, but less than Huddler.
If the platform developers create, as part of a future system update or even a premium add on, a system that allows for expanded email alerts of the sort you're accustomed to from Huddler, we'll incorporate that into NikeTalk. We'll find a way to make it work so that everyone in your situation can be more satisfied.
If they do not undertake the development of this feature anytime soon, we then have to determine how our own development budget is allocated. In that situation, I feel it would be reasonable to prioritize a mobile app - which has been far and away one of our most popular requests - over expanded email notifications.
