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> - WYSIWYG formatting instead of automatically parsing symbols into bold texts etc WhatsApp is the most popular chat app among non-technical users in the worl
by otabdeveloper4 7y ago
> - WYSIWYG formatting instead of automatically parsing symbols into bold texts etc
WhatsApp is the most popular chat app among non-technical users in the world, and it explicitly uses symbols instead of WYSIWIG for formatting.
I'm pretty sure you're making up these requirements without actually researching your target audience.
- mekster 7y agoWhat does your research say? I'm barely mentioning the features which people would generally expect out of chat apps. Regarding the WYSIWYG, I always hear complaints, including myself that texts get weirdly formatted when they paste from somewhere else and it does more harm than good when symbols are automatically parsed, so the other option would apparently be WYSIWYG editor, which anyone will have no problem comprehending how to use. You can't just expect everyone to read and learn formatting rules to type. I'm an engineer but I don't even want to remember some Mattermost formatting rules to avoid unintended transformations.
- otabdeveloper4 7y agoYou're making very strong statements that aren't backed by empirical evidence. All I can say is that I see that successful chat apps for 'normal people' seem to have converged on something that isn't WYSIWIG, and it's probably not an accident. P.S. Asking users what they want probably isn't the best idea. See "Homer's car" for a humorous take on this issue.