Re: Musings on the contacts user experience



On 29/04/11 17:23, William Jon McCann wrote:
> 
> So, my quick recommendations:
> 
> 1. Contacts
>   * A new application exclusive to and designed for GNOME
>   * Searchable through the OS overview
>      - Activating search results opens contact in Contacts app
>   * App is primarily search based as well
>   * Browsing is assisted through index paging
>   * Primary way to initiate new conversations regardless of method
>   * Should seamlessly integrate contacts from various Online Account providers
> 
> 2. Chat
>   * We initiate a new design exclusive to and designed for GNOME
>   * Serves as the app backing the integrated GNOME chat functionality
>   * Message based - a historical log of "conversations"
>   * This serves as a record of what chats were performed / missed

Hi,

I do not understand why the Chat application would need to be based on a
historical log of conversations. Such a list would have little
consistency over time, making it harder to locate or recognise a
particular person to talk to ("now, when was the last time I talked to
X?"). There is clearly some value in it, but maybe it would be more
useful as a side functionality than as the primary means of interaction.

Real-time communications are opportunistic: you talk to people when they
are available. Maybe recognition of current availability is more
relevant than history, so a list showing the contacts that are online
would work better.

On the other hand, such an approach could work well for asynchronous
(e.g. e-mail) communications. In this case, search would be preferable
as the main way to locate a contact because the collection of contacts
would be much greater and because one does not depend on the contact's
state to start a communication.


Regards,

Felipe

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