Volunteers Popular Post Crow Posted August 1, 2020 Volunteers Popular Post Share Posted August 1, 2020 This idea was suggested by iBau (14014) on xat.com/Feedback chat. THE IDEA Spoiler This suggestion is to add a 'react' button to each message in the chat. This button will be represented by a grey 'thumbs up' smiley, and will be located next to the homepage and quote buttons when you hover over a user's post: When clicked, a pop-up window will appear that allows you to react to the message with a smiley such as thumbs up, heart, crying with laughter , shock , sad , and mad . The selected reaction would then be displayed above the person's message (regardless of whether you are hovering over it or not), next to the homepage button but separate from their name. The reaction would be big enough to be noticed, but not big enough to obstruct the user's message: Each user can react to each message with one smiley (to limit reaction spam). A number will be shown next to each reaction to display quantity. When you hover over the number, it will show the username(s) of the user(s) who reacted. Clicking the reaction you have given (which could have a neon blue outline to distinguish it [not pictured]) will allow you to remove or replace it with a different one. WHY? Spoiler Reactions are a fun way for users to express feelings towards specific, individual messages without the need to post in the chat. It offers an efficient alternative to just posting smilies in new messages, which can be unfocused (which specific message was the smiley reacting to?) and cause flood in the chat if everyone did the same. Imagine 20+ users each posting a smiley in the chat every time they wanted to react to a message. The new reaction system would limit the need for this. Reactions are currently used on popular platforms such as Facebook, Microsoft Teams and more. It is a seemingly worthwhile feature on those platforms - otherwise they wouldn’t still have it! With this period of change that we’re currently in, with the progression of HTML5 chats, it could be worth trialling this system on xat. COUNTER-ARGUMENTS Spoiler There are several arguments against this idea, which I’ll counter-argue in turn. Firstly, it is argued that we do not need a reaction system. Users can just post their smilies or “lol” in the chat, as they have been doing for the last 14 years on xat. If the system is not broken, why fix it? However, my counter-argument to this point is that posting smiley messages in the chat has several drawbacks too. For example, in the current system, the window of opportunity to react in the chat is currently very narrow, and is dependent on fast timing. If you wait too long before posting your smiley, and other people have since posted, you could give the impression you’re reacting to someone else’s message unless you’re very specific. If the user has posted multiple messages in a row, it can also be difficult to pinpoint which specific message your smiley was reacting to. Was your thumbs up intended for Bob’s first message, or his second, third or fourth message? The reaction system, however, allows more time to react (there's less risk of ambiguity), and it removes all doubt about what specific message you are reacting to. Arguably, you can currently bypass this problem anyway by quoting the user’s message when posting your smiley, but this is an unconventional and less efficient way of reacting to something. Secondly, it can be argued that the reaction system would reduce messages in chats, because users would no longer be required to post in order to express their feelings. However, my counter-argument is that users would still be interacting with the chat by clicking reactions, and it may even increase interactions with the chat overall. Some users may not enjoy drawing attention to themselves by posting in the chat, and they may prefer the more subtle approach to reacting. Users may not wish to flood the chat either, if several other people have already posted a message to react (it could get awkward if ten people in a row post a reaction message in the chat). The proposed reaction system does not appear to have damaged other popular platforms, but if it does somehow create a lazy culture on xat, the system can be removed following the trial period. Thirdly, it can be argued that reactions would not be as useful in private chats. After all, there would be less concern about flooding and less ambiguity about which message your post is reacting to there. However, my counter-argument is that reactions would still serve their purpose of pinpointing specific messages within the private chat (for example, if the user posts several messages in a row), and the reaction system still offers more choice about how to react to something (post or button). There would be no need to disable them in private chats. Fourthly, some users may not appreciate their individual messages being reacted to. If a user receives several negative reactions to their messages (such as the sad or mad face), they may feel bullied and wish to leave the chat. They may become upset and be discouraged from posting. My counter-argument is that the abuse of reactions can be made a punishable offence (e.g. kick/ban), and the system can also work in positive ways and make users feel better with lots of positive reactions. Users receiving negative reactions may even be encouraged to reflect upon themselves and change their behavior for the better too. And they might have received the same negative reactions under the current system within the form of posts regardless. Finally, it can be argued that the reaction system would lead to reaction spam and trolls abusing the system. My counter-argument to this is that trolls can already spam smilies and cause mischief in the chat anyway, and they can be banned for causing disruption if necessary. This could fall under the spam rule. I have also proposed earlier that each user can only react to each message once, to avoid the same user applying dozens of reactions to the same message. To make reactions more purposeful, the list of smiley reactions could be restricted to a narrow selection (such as the six I proposed), rather than the entire catalogue of free smilies. FINALLY Thank you for reading! Let’s get the discussion going - please post your constructive comments below! Credit to Four (4444) for writing this and creating the concept images, and once again to iBau (14014) for the original idea. 8 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volunteers SLOom Posted August 1, 2020 Volunteers Share Posted August 1, 2020 As I was mentioning on Feedback chat, reactions list should be shown below the message (instead of the name) like you can see on a lot of platforms. In name, we cannot use much of space, so the space used should be kept for delete/quote and react. But i agree with how you react to message (emoji in name). Instead on clicking the emoji, it could be like the forum (hover) and you select your emoji. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Members Leandro Posted August 1, 2020 Advanced Members Share Posted August 1, 2020 I like the idea. The ''negative'' points are just stupid and don't make sense, it's a good idea and that's that. I think a max of 6 reactions would be okay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Members Solange Posted August 1, 2020 Advanced Members Share Posted August 1, 2020 The idea sounds very good, I like it and I would also want to see it being implemented on xat. However, xat should be careful with the reactions they would add. Reactions such as "" can be taken very bad and some users may be discouraged or feel they're being bullied in some way. I agree that the abuse of these reactions can be made a punishable offense, but this would mostly be done on official chats, not on other chats such as social chats(non official chats). So users on other chats may feel really bad and discouraged from posting or even entering the website, which worries me. I would also like to believe that a user getting too many negative reactions would make them change their behavior for the better, but the truth is that there are a lot of users who would use these reactions just to bother other users, not necessarily because they want other users to change their behavior. And even if a user who gets too many negative reactions changes their behavior for the better, there would still be people who would keep using reactions to bother that user. If a reactions system is implemented on xat, I think only "cute" reactions should be added. For example; "thumbs up" / "heart"(I guess both reactions would be used if you like someone else's message), "thanks", "surprised". Other reactions such as "sad" and/or a smilie crying could also be added and I don't think that would bother anyone. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volunteers Crow Posted August 2, 2020 Author Volunteers Share Posted August 2, 2020 55 minutes ago, SLOom said: As I was mentioning on Feedback chat, reactions list should be shown below the message (instead of the name) like you can see on a lot of platforms. In name, we cannot use much of space, so the space used should be kept for delete/quote and react. Thank you for this! I forgot that users can have really long names, which may not leave much room for the homepage, quote and reactions. As a worst case scenario (if the reactions can't be added below posts), the reactions would still work for users with reasonable-length names. 26 minutes ago, Solange said: However, xat should be careful with the reactions they would add. [...] I take your point, and I've now removed the smiley from the suggestion. It had potential to be misused more than the others. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Members Lalisa Posted August 2, 2020 Advanced Members Share Posted August 2, 2020 the only reaction that needs to be added is my cute pepe 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Members DUYGU Posted August 2, 2020 Advanced Members Share Posted August 2, 2020 This is good idea, I like the idea 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Members Marek Posted September 10, 2020 Advanced Members Share Posted September 10, 2020 This is good idea I like the idea 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AlbanianNdim Posted September 10, 2020 Members Share Posted September 10, 2020 well done bau 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Members Mafia1 Posted September 10, 2020 Advanced Members Share Posted September 10, 2020 This is very Nice idea, I like the idea 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Members Norman Posted September 10, 2020 Advanced Members Share Posted September 10, 2020 Can we add this reaction tho? Or maybe 👁👄👁? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Members Enter Posted September 24, 2020 Advanced Members Share Posted September 24, 2020 I like this idea! Would also be nice if it could become a radio feature for people to rate music up and down instead of using the bot and having to type it into a chatbox. Would also be nice to customize the different rating signs/buttons using custom images or emotes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Stif Posted August 3, 2021 Moderators Share Posted August 3, 2021 This idea has been implemented. Thank you for suggesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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