what to write when you say no
hoot won't let you reject a card without a reason, and the reason gets emailed. three shapes that work, and the one that doesn't.
Jessé Cruz
3 min read
you drag a card to rejected. a box opens. it wants a reason.
the box is required. up to 500 characters. whatever you type lands in an email to the person who asked. so the question is what to put in it.
the rule
one sentence that tells them what to do next.
not why you're right. not an apology. what they should do now that the answer is no. that's the only thing a rejection email is for.
shape one: out of scope
when the ask is a different product.
hoot is a feedback board, not a helpdesk. for ticket routing, intercom or plain does this well. thanks for asking.
name what you are. name what would solve it. the second part is the useful part.
shape two: not now
when it's a good idea you're not building this year.
i agree this would help. it's not on the road for the next few months and i'd rather say that than leave it pending. it stays on the board; i'll reopen it if that changes.
the promise is small. "i'll reopen it" is something you can keep. "we'll consider it" is not a sentence.
shape three: already covered
when the thing exists and they didn't find it.
you can already do this: share → widget → shape → hidden, then call window.Hoot.open() from your own button. rejecting this one so the board doesn't carry a duplicate of a shipped thing.
give the path. rejecting a card because the feature exists is a reply, not a dismissal.
the shape that doesn't work
thanks for your feedback! we've decided not to move forward with this at this time.
nothing in there tells them anything. they don't know why. they don't know what to do. they don't know if asking again is welcome. it's the exact sentence the reason box exists to prevent.
where the reason goes
the email. the card, under the rejected status. the rejected column on the board, collapsed by default, so you can read your old reasons later and check if they still hold.
and if your agent rejects a card over mcp, it hits the same rule. no reason, no move.
if you're already on hoot: open the rejected strip. read your last three reasons. rewrite one.
if you're not: usehoot.app
ask. ship. say what's next. 🦉