diff --git a/app/mailers/application_mailer.rb b/app/mailers/application_mailer.rb
index 828f6551..32e8f77e 100644
--- a/app/mailers/application_mailer.rb
+++ b/app/mailers/application_mailer.rb
@@ -19,10 +19,8 @@ class ApplicationMailer < ActionMailer::Base
         when MAILBOXER_CODE_INVITE_TO_EDIT
           user_map = notification.notified_object
           MapMailer.invite_to_edit(user_map)
-        when MAILBOXER_CODE_MAP_MESSAGE
-        when MAILBOXER_CODE_MAP_STARRED
-        when MAILBOXER_CODE_TOPIC_ADDED_TO_MAP
-        when MAILBOXER_CODE_TOPIC_CONNECTED
+        when TOPIC_ADDED_TO_MAP
+        when TOPIC_CONNECTED
       end
     end
   end
diff --git a/app/mailers/map_mailer.rb b/app/mailers/map_mailer.rb
index 581d6223..f6f36d95 100644
--- a/app/mailers/map_mailer.rb
+++ b/app/mailers/map_mailer.rb
@@ -2,21 +2,38 @@
 class MapMailer < ApplicationMailer
   default from: 'team@metamaps.cc'
 
-  def access_request(request)
-    @request = request
-    @map = request.map
-    mail(to: @map.user.email, subject: NotificationService.get_subject_for_event(@map, 'access_request', request))
+# when 'map_message' # disabled  , but event is a Message
+#   entity.name + ' - received a chat message'
+# when 'map_starred' # event is a Star
+#   entity.name + ' was starred by ' + event.user.name
+
+  def access_approved_subject(map)
+    map.name + ' - access approved'
   end
 
   def access_approved(request)
     @request = request
     @map = request.map
-    mail(to: request.user, subject: NotificationService.get_subject_for_event(@map, 'access_approved', request))
+    mail(to: request.user, subject: access_approved_subject(@map))
+  end
+
+  def access_request_subject(map)
+    map.name + ' - request to edit'
+  end
+
+  def access_request(request)
+    @request = request
+    @map = request.map
+    mail(to: @map.user.email, subject: access_request_subject(@map))
+  end
+
+  def invite_to_edit_subject(map)
+    map.name + ' - invited to edit'
   end
 
   def invite_to_edit(user_map)
     @inviter = user_map.map.user
     @map = user_map.map
-    mail(to: user_map.user.email, subject: NotificationService.get_subject_for_event(@map, 'invite_to_edit', user_map))
+    mail(to: user_map.user.email, subject: invite_to_edit_subject(@map))
   end
 end
diff --git a/app/models/events/topic_added_to_map.rb b/app/models/events/topic_added_to_map.rb
index 5fc31d81..c9259ca8 100644
--- a/app/models/events/topic_added_to_map.rb
+++ b/app/models/events/topic_added_to_map.rb
@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@ module Events
     
     def notify_users!
       # in the future, notify followers of both the topic, and the map
-      NotificationService.notify_followers(eventable, 'topic_added_to_map', self)
-      # NotificationService.notify_followers(map, 'topic_added_to_map', self)
+      NotificationService.notify_followers(eventable, TOPIC_ADDED_TO_MAP, self)
+      # NotificationService.notify_followers(map, MAP_RECEIVED_TOPIC, self)
     end
     handle_asynchronously :notify_users!
   end
diff --git a/app/models/synapse.rb b/app/models/synapse.rb
index 1df3d183..5fe95fe4 100644
--- a/app/models/synapse.rb
+++ b/app/models/synapse.rb
@@ -76,8 +76,8 @@ class Synapse < ApplicationRecord
   end
   
   def after_created_async
-    follow_ids = NotificationService.notify_followers(topic1, 'topic_connected', self)
-    NotificationService.notify_followers(topic2, 'topic_connected', self, nil, follow_ids)
+    follow_ids = NotificationService.notify_followers(topic1, TOPIC_CONNECTED, self)
+    NotificationService.notify_followers(topic2, TOPIC_CONNECTED, self, nil, follow_ids)
   end
   handle_asynchronously :after_created_async
 
diff --git a/app/services/notification_service.rb b/app/services/notification_service.rb
index d0dcc76c..763c8a97 100644
--- a/app/services/notification_service.rb
+++ b/app/services/notification_service.rb
@@ -10,86 +10,24 @@ class NotificationService
     )
   end
 
-  def self.get_template_for_event_type(event_type)
-    'map_mailer/' + event_type
-  end
-  
-  def self.get_mailboxer_code_for_event_type(event_type)
-    case event_type
-      when 'access_approved'
-        MAILBOXER_CODE_ACCESS_APPROVED
-      when 'access_request'
-        MAILBOXER_CODE_ACCESS_REQUEST
-      when 'invite_to_edit'
-        MAILBOXER_CODE_INVITE_TO_EDIT
-
-      when 'map_activity'
-        MAILBOXER_CODE_MAP_ACTIVITY
-      when 'map_collaborator_added'
-        MAILBOXER_CODE_MAP_COLLABORATOR_ADDED
-      when 'map_updated'
-        MAILBOXER_CODE_MAP_UPDATED
-      when 'map_message'
-        MAILBOXER_CODE_MAP_MESSAGE
-      when 'map_starred'
-        MAILBOXER_CODE_MAP_STARRED
-        
-      when 'topic_added_to_map'
-        MAILBOXER_CODE_TOPIC_ADDED_TO_MAP
-      when 'topic_connected'
-        MAILBOXER_CODE_TOPIC_CONNECTED
-      when 'topic_deleted'
-        MAILBOXER_CODE_TOPIC_DELETED
-      when 'topic_disconnected'
-        MAILBOXER_CODE_TOPIC_DISCONNECTED
-      when 'topic_updated'
-        MAILBOXER_CODE_TOPIC_UPDATED
-    end
-  end
-
   def self.get_subject_for_event(entity, event_type, event)
     case event_type
-      when 'access_approved' # event is an AccessRequest
-        entity.name + ' - access approved' 
-      when 'access_request' # event is an AccessRequest
-        entity.name + ' - request to edit'
-      when 'invite_to_edit' # event is a UserMap
-        entity.name + ' - invited to edit'
-
-      when 'map_activity' #disabled
-        'placeholder'
-      when 'map_collaborator_added' #disabled
-        'placeholder'
-      when 'map_updated' #disabled
-        'placeholder'
-      when 'map_message' # disabled  , but event is a Message
-        entity.name + ' - received a chat message'
-      when 'map_starred' # event is a Star
-        entity.name + ' was starred by ' + event.user.name
-        
-      when 'topic_added_to_map' # event is an Event::TopicAddedToMap
+      when TOPIC_ADDED_TO_MAP # event is an Event::TopicAddedToMap
         entity.name + ' was added to map ' + event.map.name
-      when 'topic_connected' # event is a Synapse
+      when TOPIC_CONNECTED # event is a Synapse
         'new synapse to topic ' + entity.name
-      when 'topic_deleted' #disabled
-        'placeholder'
-      when 'topic_disconnected' #disabled
-        'placeholder'
-      when 'topic_updated' #disabled
-        'placeholder'
     end
   end
 
   def self.send_for_follows(follows, entity, event_type, event)
     return if follows.length == 0
-    template = get_template_for_event_type(event_type)
-    mailboxer_code = get_mailboxer_code_for_event_type(event_type)
+    template = 'map_mailer/' + event_type.downcase
     subject = get_subject_for_event(entity, event_type, event)
     # we'll prbly want to put the body into the actual loop so we can pass the current user in as a local
     body = renderer.render(template: template, locals: { entity: entity, event: event }, layout: false)
     follows.each{|follow|
       # this handles email and in-app notifications, in the future, include push
-      receipt = follow.user.notify(subject, body, event, false, mailboxer_code, (follow.user.emails_allowed && follow.email), event.user)
+      follow.user.notify(subject, body, event, false, event_type, (follow.user.emails_allowed && follow.email), event.user)
       # push could be handled with Actioncable to send transient notifications to the UI
       # the receipt from the notify call could be used to link to the full notification
     }
@@ -113,30 +51,21 @@ class NotificationService
   end
 
   def self.access_request(request)
-    event_type = 'access_request'
-    template = get_template_for_event_type(event_type)
-    mailboxer_code = get_mailboxer_code_for_event_type(event_type)
-    subject = get_subject_for_event(request.map, event_type, request)
-    body = renderer.render(template: template, locals: { map: request.map, request: request }, layout: false)
-    request.map.user.notify(subject, body, request, false, mailboxer_code, true, request.user)
+    subject = MapMailer.access_request_subject(request.map)
+    body = renderer.render(template: 'map_mailer/access_request', locals: { map: request.map, request: request }, layout: false)
+    request.map.user.notify(subject, body, request, false, MAILBOXER_CODE_ACCESS_REQUEST, true, request.user)
   end
 
   def self.access_approved(request)
-    event_type = 'access_approved'
-    template = get_template_for_event_type(event_type)
-    mailboxer_code = get_mailboxer_code_for_event_type(event_type)
-    subject = get_subject_for_event(request.map, event_type, request)
-    body = renderer.render(template: template, locals: { map: request.map }, layout: false)
-    request.user.notify(subject, body, request, false, mailboxer_code, true, request.map.user)
+    subject = MapMailer.access_approved_subject(request.map)
+    body = renderer.render(template: 'map_mailer/access_approved', locals: { map: request.map }, layout: false)
+    request.user.notify(subject, body, request, false, MAILBOXER_CODE_ACCESS_APPROVED, true, request.map.user)
   end
 
   def self.invite_to_edit(user_map)
-    event_type = 'invite_to_edit'
-    template = get_template_for_event_type(event_type)
-    mailboxer_code = get_mailboxer_code_for_event_type(event_type)
-    subject = get_subject_for_event(user_map.map, event_type, user_map)
-    body = renderer.render(template: template, locals: { map: user_map.map, inviter: user_map.map.user }, layout: false)
-    user_map.user.notify(subject, body, user_map, false, mailboxer_code, true, user_map.map.user)
+    subject = MapMailer.invite_to_edit_subject(user_map.map)
+    body = renderer.render(template: 'map_mailer/invite_to_edit', locals: { map: user_map.map, inviter: user_map.map.user }, layout: false)
+    user_map.user.notify(subject, body, user_map, false, MAILBOXER_CODE_INVITE_TO_EDIT, true, user_map.map.user)
   end
 
   # note: this is a global function, probably called from the rails console with some html body
diff --git a/app/views/map_mailer/map_collaborator_added.html.erb b/app/views/map_mailer/map_collaborator_added.html.erb
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29b..00000000
diff --git a/app/views/map_mailer/map_collaborator_added.text.erb b/app/views/map_mailer/map_collaborator_added.text.erb
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29b..00000000
diff --git a/app/views/map_mailer/map_message.html.erb b/app/views/map_mailer/map_message.html.erb
deleted file mode 100644
index 621f39f8..00000000
--- a/app/views/map_mailer/map_message.html.erb
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,5 +0,0 @@
-<% button_style = "background-color:#4fc059;border-radius:2px;color:white;display:inline-block;font-family:Roboto,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;font-weight:bold;min-height:29px;line-height:29px;min-width:54px;outline:0px;padding:0 8px;text-align:center;text-decoration:none" %>
-<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><%= event.user.name %></span> added a chat message to map <span style="font-weight: bold"><%= entity.name %></span></p>
-<p><%= event.message %></p>
-
-<%= link_to 'Go to Map', map_url(entity), style: button_style %> 
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/app/views/map_mailer/map_message.text.erb b/app/views/map_mailer/map_message.text.erb
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29b..00000000
diff --git a/app/views/map_mailer/map_starred.html.erb b/app/views/map_mailer/map_starred.html.erb
deleted file mode 100644
index ac051536..00000000
--- a/app/views/map_mailer/map_starred.html.erb
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-<% button_style = "background-color:#4fc059;border-radius:2px;color:white;display:inline-block;font-family:Roboto,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;font-weight:bold;min-height:29px;line-height:29px;min-width:54px;outline:0px;padding:0 8px;text-align:center;text-decoration:none" %>
-<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><%= event.user.name %></span> starred map <span style="font-weight: bold"><%= entity.name %></span></p>
-<%= link_to 'Go to Map', map_url(entity), style: button_style %>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/app/views/map_mailer/map_starred.text.erb b/app/views/map_mailer/map_starred.text.erb
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29b..00000000
diff --git a/app/views/map_mailer/map_updated.html.erb b/app/views/map_mailer/map_updated.html.erb
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29b..00000000
diff --git a/app/views/map_mailer/map_updated.text.erb b/app/views/map_mailer/map_updated.text.erb
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29b..00000000
diff --git a/app/views/map_mailer/topic_deleted.html.erb b/app/views/map_mailer/topic_deleted.html.erb
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29b..00000000
diff --git a/app/views/map_mailer/topic_deleted.text.erb b/app/views/map_mailer/topic_deleted.text.erb
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29b..00000000
diff --git a/app/views/map_mailer/topic_disconnected.html.erb b/app/views/map_mailer/topic_disconnected.html.erb
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29b..00000000
diff --git a/app/views/map_mailer/topic_disconnected.text.erb b/app/views/map_mailer/topic_disconnected.text.erb
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29b..00000000
diff --git a/app/views/map_mailer/topic_updated.html.erb b/app/views/map_mailer/topic_updated.html.erb
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29b..00000000
diff --git a/app/views/map_mailer/topic_updated.text.erb b/app/views/map_mailer/topic_updated.text.erb
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29b..00000000
diff --git a/config/initializers/mailboxer.rb b/config/initializers/mailboxer.rb
index 8409132a..4a4bd287 100644
--- a/config/initializers/mailboxer.rb
+++ b/config/initializers/mailboxer.rb
@@ -10,27 +10,32 @@
 MAILBOXER_CODE_MESSAGE_FROM_DEVS = 'MESSAGE_FROM_DEVS'
 
 # these ones are old and can't change without a migration
-MAILBOXER_CODE_ACCESS_APPROVED          = 'ACCESS_APPROVED'
-MAILBOXER_CODE_ACCESS_REQUEST           = 'ACCESS_REQUEST'
-MAILBOXER_CODE_INVITE_TO_EDIT           = 'INVITE_TO_EDIT'
+MAILBOXER_CODE_ACCESS_APPROVED = 'ACCESS_APPROVED'
+MAILBOXER_CODE_ACCESS_REQUEST  = 'ACCESS_REQUEST'
+MAILBOXER_CODE_INVITE_TO_EDIT  = 'INVITE_TO_EDIT'
 
 # these ones are new
-# this one's a catch all for edits ON the map
-MAILBOXER_CODE_MAP_ACTIVITY             = 'MAP_ACTIVITY'
-# MAILBOXER_CODE_MAP_ADDED_TO_MAP       = 'MAP_ADDED_TO_MAP'
-MAILBOXER_CODE_MAP_COLLABORATOR_ADDED   = 'MAP_COLLABORATOR_ADDED'
-# BOTHER WITH MAP_COLLABORATOR_REMOVED ?
-MAILBOXER_CODE_MAP_UPDATED               = 'MAP_UPDATED' # this refers to the map object itself: name, desc, permission, etc
-# ADD MAP_FORKED
-MAILBOXER_CODE_MAP_MESSAGE              = 'MAP_MESSAGE'
-MAILBOXER_CODE_MAP_STARRED              = 'MAP_STARRED'
+# this one's a catch all for occurences on the map
+MAP_ACTIVITY = 'MAP_ACTIVITY'
+# MAP_RECEIVED_TOPIC
+# MAP_LOST_TOPIC
+# MAP_TOPIC_MOVED
+# MAP_RECEIVED_SYNAPSE
+# MAP_LOST_SYNAPSE
+# MAP_COLLABORATOR_ADDED
+# MAP_UPDATED
+# ADD_MAP_FORKED
+# MAP_ADDED_TO_MAP
+# MAP_MESSAGE
+# MAP_STARRED
+# MAP_COLLABORATOR_REMOVED
 
-MAILBOXER_CODE_TOPIC_ADDED_TO_MAP       = 'TOPIC_ADDED_TO_MAP'
-MAILBOXER_CODE_TOPIC_CONNECTED          = 'TOPIC_CONNECTED'
-MAILBOXER_CODE_TOPIC_DELETED            = 'TOPIC_DELETED'
-MAILBOXER_CODE_TOPIC_DISCONNECTED       = 'TOPIC_DISCONNECTED'
-MAILBOXER_CODE_TOPIC_UPDATED            = 'TOPIC_UPDATED'
-# BOTHER WITH TOPIC_REMOVED_FROM_MAP ?
+TOPIC_ADDED_TO_MAP = 'TOPIC_ADDED_TO_MAP'
+TOPIC_CONNECTED    = 'TOPIC_CONNECTED'
+# TOPIC_DELETED
+# TOPIC_DISCONNECTED
+# TOPIC_UPDATED
+# TOPIC_REMOVED_FROM_MAP
 
 Mailboxer.setup do |config|
   # Configures if your application uses or not email sending for Notifications and Messages