4 ms·

I have the same problem with messaging apps, where I can't tell whether pressing return inserts a newline or sends the message. I find myself avoiding newlines

I have the same problem with messaging apps, where I can't tell whether pressing return inserts a newline or sends the message. I find myself avoiding newlines altogether because I'm scared of pressing return. Or, accidentally hitting return and sending a half formed jumbled mess to my boss/customer. Please, developers of the world, make return insert a new line. It's much easier to undo than message-send.

WrtCdEvrydy 8y ago
Looking at you slack.
- wlesieutre 8y ago
  Doesn't Slack have an option for this?
  - ben509 8y ago
    Better than that: in Slack, it changes when you type triple-grave to open a code block. I see the logic, but it's nuts from a UX perspective. I wouldn't mind so much if Slack and other offenders had a delayed send option so I could undo my f*ups.
lifeformed 8y ago
And then for the places that do enter=send, they'll have ctrl+enter or shift+enter as newline, and vice versa.
iBelieve 8y ago
I hate trying to guess whether a newline is enter, shift+enter, option+enter, ctrl+enter, or cmd+enter.
userbinator 8y ago
where I can't tell whether pressing return inserts a newline or sends the message. Do you have any examples of messaging apps where return/enter inserts a newline? I can't think of a single one where it doesn't send the message, probably because inserting a newline is an uncommon case but sending is not. It's been that way since the days of IRC, from what I remember.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- setr 8y ago
  There's always been a division between "(IRC) messaging" and "(BBS) forums", and the relevant influence-trees, with I think the biggest line drawn is how the return key is handled. From this one UX feature, every other differentiation is natural. This division was fine, because they served different purposes. Messaging (return => send) was always short term, quick communications; Forums (return => newline) was always longer-form posts, sentences to paragraphs, in a single post. The forum for discussion worth archiving, and the messaging app to replicate daily communications. But slack and its kin crossed that line. They pitch themselves as the utility of forums (archiving, search, "starring", etc), with the quickness of messaging (rapid response times, notifications, etc), and now everything is fucked. Forum-like conversation get stuffed into a Messaging application, and gets broken up into a hundred different messages (ala 1/20, 2/20..20/20 twitter multi-posts), perhaps collapsed into a single proper post but usually not; Logs get stuffed into it, into a separate channel whose sole purpose is to be muted. Documents and emails and any work gets stuffed into it, because it can be made to fit. And naturally, the archiving, the search, the document storage, everything breaks down, and its awful. Until you realize that you can't use slack like slack wants you to. It's a better, smoother, more maintainable and convenient BBS forum, trapped in a messaging shell. The return => send is feared, and it is a fear special to slack, and its many recent derivatives. Because slack crossed the line, without crossing it. Messaging apps should have return => send; slack (and its kin) should have return => newline, because it is not a messaging app. It is not IRC, and it is not counted amongst IRC's friends. It is a forum in denial.
- dzek69 8y ago
  I don't know about iPhones, but on Android it probably depends on keyboard installed/configured itself, until developer forces its own behavior. I've seen only single app that misbehaved and was sending the messages on return key - Xabber. Others just let me insert newlines as I'd expect.
- umichguy 8y ago
  Lots of apps. I use FB messenger, WhatsApp etc. if I hit return it goes to a new line. Maybe somehow I enabled them in the options? I don't know.

WrtCdEvrydy 8y ago

Looking at you slack.

wlesieutre 8y ago
Doesn't Slack have an option for this?
- ben509 8y ago
  Better than that: in Slack, it changes when you type triple-grave to open a code block. I see the logic, but it's nuts from a UX perspective. I wouldn't mind so much if Slack and other offenders had a delayed send option so I could undo my f*ups.

lifeformed 8y ago

And then for the places that do enter=send, they'll have ctrl+enter or shift+enter as newline, and vice versa.

iBelieve 8y ago

I hate trying to guess whether a newline is enter, shift+enter, option+enter, ctrl+enter, or cmd+enter.

userbinator 8y ago

where I can't tell whether pressing return inserts a newline or sends the message. Do you have any examples of messaging apps where return/enter inserts a newline? I can't think of a single one where it doesn't send the message, probably because inserting a newline is an uncommon case but sending is not. It's been that way since the days of IRC, from what I remember.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
setr 8y ago
There's always been a division between "(IRC) messaging" and "(BBS) forums", and the relevant influence-trees, with I think the biggest line drawn is how the return key is handled. From this one UX feature, every other differentiation is natural. This division was fine, because they served different purposes. Messaging (return => send) was always short term, quick communications; Forums (return => newline) was always longer-form posts, sentences to paragraphs, in a single post. The forum for discussion worth archiving, and the messaging app to replicate daily communications. But slack and its kin crossed that line. They pitch themselves as the utility of forums (archiving, search, "starring", etc), with the quickness of messaging (rapid response times, notifications, etc), and now everything is fucked. Forum-like conversation get stuffed into a Messaging application, and gets broken up into a hundred different messages (ala 1/20, 2/20..20/20 twitter multi-posts), perhaps collapsed into a single proper post but usually not; Logs get stuffed into it, into a separate channel whose sole purpose is to be muted. Documents and emails and any work gets stuffed into it, because it can be made to fit. And naturally, the archiving, the search, the document storage, everything breaks down, and its awful. Until you realize that you can't use slack like slack wants you to. It's a better, smoother, more maintainable and convenient BBS forum, trapped in a messaging shell. The return => send is feared, and it is a fear special to slack, and its many recent derivatives. Because slack crossed the line, without crossing it. Messaging apps should have return => send; slack (and its kin) should have return => newline, because it is not a messaging app. It is not IRC, and it is not counted amongst IRC's friends. It is a forum in denial.
dzek69 8y ago
I don't know about iPhones, but on Android it probably depends on keyboard installed/configured itself, until developer forces its own behavior. I've seen only single app that misbehaved and was sending the messages on return key - Xabber. Others just let me insert newlines as I'd expect.
umichguy 8y ago
Lots of apps. I use FB messenger, WhatsApp etc. if I hit return it goes to a new line. Maybe somehow I enabled them in the options? I don't know.