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All chat apps (that I've seen) are such a huge step back in usability from email. It drives me crazy that I can't selectively mark messages are read/unread. Or

by jjav 4y ago

All chat apps (that I've seen) are such a huge step back in usability from email. It drives me crazy that I can't selectively mark messages are read/unread. Or that there's no threading. Or that I can't filter based on my criteria into different folders. And since these are proprietary apps mostly on proprietary protocols I also can't hook my own code into it to fix the problems.

the_gipsy 4y ago
Maybe you should just stick to email then.
solarkraft 4y ago
Threading: You're right. But I tend to find the UX around grouping to be confusing and hate the cruft of signatures. Besides, why do seemingly all E-Mail clients want to show the text at full width? That turns the majority of E-Mails into one very wide line. Not only does that look dumb, it's also very far from the optimal reading width. It may be "outdated" or whatever, but adoption wise E-Mail is an amazing protocol. But show me a client that doesn't suck (my current favorite is mailbox.org (io/ox) with some customizations (https://gist.github.com/solarkraft/6afcfff8d5283cefad40695c9df4e343 https://gist.github.com/solarkraft/6afcfff8d5283cefad40695c9...) but that too is far from perfect).
- jjav 4y ago
  > But show me a client that doesn't suck mutt ("All mail clients suck. This one just sucks less.") Yes, it's text. It's also extremely customizable, the polar opposite of the current fashion of locked-down proprietary clients where nothing at all is customizable. Mutt is amazing.
ChrisMarshallNY 4y ago
> And since these are proprietary apps mostly on proprietary protocols I also can't hook my own code into it to fix the problems. I think Apple lets you leverage their Messages API (Disclaimer: I have not done so). https://developer.apple.com/documentation/messages https://developer.apple.com/documentation/messages
- connordoner 4y ago
  This wouldn't work for, say, programatically marking messages read or unread.

by jjav 4y ago

the_gipsy 4y ago

Maybe you should just stick to email then.

solarkraft 4y ago

Threading: You're right. But I tend to find the UX around grouping to be confusing and hate the cruft of signatures. Besides, why do seemingly all E-Mail clients want to show the text at full width? That turns the majority of E-Mails into one very wide line. Not only does that look dumb, it's also very far from the optimal reading width. It may be "outdated" or whatever, but adoption wise E-Mail is an amazing protocol. But show me a client that doesn't suck (my current favorite is mailbox.org (io/ox) with some customizations (https://gist.github.com/solarkraft/6afcfff8d5283cefad40695c9df4e343 https://gist.github.com/solarkraft/6afcfff8d5283cefad40695c9...) but that too is far from perfect).

jjav 4y ago
> But show me a client that doesn't suck mutt ("All mail clients suck. This one just sucks less.") Yes, it's text. It's also extremely customizable, the polar opposite of the current fashion of locked-down proprietary clients where nothing at all is customizable. Mutt is amazing.

ChrisMarshallNY 4y ago

> And since these are proprietary apps mostly on proprietary protocols I also can't hook my own code into it to fix the problems. I think Apple lets you leverage their Messages API (Disclaimer: I have not done so). https://developer.apple.com/documentation/messages https://developer.apple.com/documentation/messages

connordoner 4y ago
This wouldn't work for, say, programatically marking messages read or unread.