4 ms·

Here's an interface idea for a feature I miss in the chat app I use the most (Signal): yelling. It would be great if the app detected that (for instance) somet

by unwind 4y ago

Here's an interface idea for a feature I miss in the chat app I use the most (Signal): yelling. It would be great if the app detected that (for instance) something is said in ALL CAPS (or with an exclamation point, or perhaps some more indirect, non-text-dependent, flag set but that sounds annoying) and _changed the notification sound_. It would be great to signal that I need to e.g. stop cooking and look at the phone now, because something is happening elsewhere in the house, for instance.

solarkraft 4y ago
This also fills the rift between calls and text. I argue that calls shouldn't have to be synchronously initiated, e.g. I should be able to join a voice channel once I'm available and the other person should be able to join whenever they're available. This saves a lot of pointless back and forth (can you believe some platforms still don't directly connect people that are calling each other, instead falling both attempts?!). An easy response to that would be "but I want to be able to send the other person a strong message they have to act on so that we can synchronize". This is an important use case, but you see, it doesn't just apply to voice calls! Why shouldn't I be able to demand someone's immediate attention to a text message? If I was implementing this feature, I'd probably use the phone's voice call API for the notification.
bobthepanda 4y ago
Some people actually type like this regularly though so I could also see this being annoying
- graftak 4y ago
  Product managers who exclaim everything they write to instil a (cringy) sense of excitement and presence.
- unwind 4y ago
  Yes, the feature should only be active on designated people. I would only enable it for my partner.
gffrd 4y ago
If someone needed your attention, wouldn't they just call you? Or walk in to the kitchen?
- unwind 4y ago
  They are typically busy occupying our two kids, so chatting (which is more or less constantly on-going) is way more practical and faster. Writing "COME NOW!" takes two-three seconds, calling is nowhere near that.
  - TeMPOraL 4y ago
    Can confirm. In particular, when lulling a child to sleep, an IM sent from a phone is about the only way of communicating that won't wake the kid up.
MasterScrat 4y ago
At the beginning of the century, the Microsoft IM platform "MSN Messenger" had an elevated notification system called "wizz" that would literally make the interlocutor's window shake to attract their attention. Video (in French but pretty clear visually): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMaiUS6jkn0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMaiUS6jkn0 I agree this could be useful in some cases.
- throwaway371057 4y ago
  It was "nudge" in English (en_GB at least), "wizz" means something different over here :P
  - MasterScrat 4y ago
    Oh interesting! explains why I could only find videos in French
- borbulon 4y ago
  You used to be able to buzz the other person in Yahoo Chat

by unwind 4y ago

solarkraft 4y ago

This also fills the rift between calls and text. I argue that calls shouldn't have to be synchronously initiated, e.g. I should be able to join a voice channel once I'm available and the other person should be able to join whenever they're available. This saves a lot of pointless back and forth (can you believe some platforms still don't directly connect people that are calling each other, instead falling both attempts?!). An easy response to that would be "but I want to be able to send the other person a strong message they have to act on so that we can synchronize". This is an important use case, but you see, it doesn't just apply to voice calls! Why shouldn't I be able to demand someone's immediate attention to a text message? If I was implementing this feature, I'd probably use the phone's voice call API for the notification.

bobthepanda 4y ago

Some people actually type like this regularly though so I could also see this being annoying

graftak 4y ago
Product managers who exclaim everything they write to instil a (cringy) sense of excitement and presence.
unwind 4y ago
Yes, the feature should only be active on designated people. I would only enable it for my partner.

gffrd 4y ago

If someone needed your attention, wouldn't they just call you? Or walk in to the kitchen?

unwind 4y ago
They are typically busy occupying our two kids, so chatting (which is more or less constantly on-going) is way more practical and faster. Writing "COME NOW!" takes two-three seconds, calling is nowhere near that.
- TeMPOraL 4y ago
  Can confirm. In particular, when lulling a child to sleep, an IM sent from a phone is about the only way of communicating that won't wake the kid up.

MasterScrat 4y ago

At the beginning of the century, the Microsoft IM platform "MSN Messenger" had an elevated notification system called "wizz" that would literally make the interlocutor's window shake to attract their attention. Video (in French but pretty clear visually): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMaiUS6jkn0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMaiUS6jkn0 I agree this could be useful in some cases.

throwaway371057 4y ago
It was "nudge" in English (en_GB at least), "wizz" means something different over here :P
- MasterScrat 4y ago
  Oh interesting! explains why I could only find videos in French
borbulon 4y ago
You used to be able to buzz the other person in Yahoo Chat