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Slack’s new WYSIWYG input box is terrible

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Re: Slack’s new WYSIWYG input box is terrible

#962
post #105
post #50

Specific bug gripes aside: I see this editor as emblematic of Slack's broader shift away from what I think it should be (primarily synchronous chat; irc with a friendlier ui and integrated bouncer features) towards what many people seem to want to use it as (async-heavy pseudo-replacement for email where I get to sit and watch the "...is typing" indicator flicker while somebody writes an essay at me). My rule of thum…

I personally have no problem with the hybridization of sync/async communication. That's where everything is headed. People send emails and sometimes expect them to be delivered and/or read immediately. OTOH, people send messages over these "chat" services that aren't time sensitive, simply because it's easy and available. My problem is that all these networks are proprietary and isolated. When someone comes up with a…

Indeed, I refuse to use closed communication software.

Also text = async. Use the phone when sync is needed.

Re: Slack’s new WYSIWYG input box is terrible

#963
post #50

Specific bug gripes aside: I see this editor as emblematic of Slack's broader shift away from what I think it should be (primarily synchronous chat; irc with a friendlier ui and integrated bouncer features) towards what many people seem to want to use it as (async-heavy pseudo-replacement for email where I get to sit and watch the "...is typing" indicator flicker while somebody writes an essay at me). My rule of thum…

Since HTML is too dangerous to use these days in e-mail, the default formatting should be Markdown too.

Re: Slack’s new WYSIWYG input box is terrible

#964
post #959
post #948

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just because millions of people use WYSIWYG editors every day, does not mean that they don’t absolutely despise it. I haven’t ever heard anyone comment on how enjoyable Word is to use.

We've started working on a preference that will let you return to the previous message composer. We don't have a specific release date to share right now — it's this team's top and only priority, however, and we expect to have it available on the desktop within a couple of weeks === "team's top and only priority" I guess they need to learn how to be efficient if they need several weeks to add a checkbox to change one…

It's probably more the layers and layers of bureaucracy they have to go through to push any changes. They probably need at least 3 meetings, and several people to sign off on it.

Re: Slack’s new WYSIWYG input box is terrible

#966
I’m willing to be that this change was motivated by investors. With Slack going public there is going to be pressure to develop mass-market appeal and not be focused on their earlier, more technical users. And maintaining multiple versions — one for engineers, one with wysiwyg training wheels, and more — becomes a headache in short order but might be the best approach to making easier to use spins on the core product.

Re: Slack’s new WYSIWYG input box is terrible

#967
post #633
post #50

Specific bug gripes aside: I see this editor as emblematic of Slack's broader shift away from what I think it should be (primarily synchronous chat; irc with a friendlier ui and integrated bouncer features) towards what many people seem to want to use it as (async-heavy pseudo-replacement for email where I get to sit and watch the "...is typing" indicator flicker while somebody writes an essay at me). My rule of thum…

I think they are betting on managers and in this regard it's going to work out well for them. After all Slack is a company thing (slowly turning into corporate thing) i.e. the decision to use it will likely be made by those who like WYSIWYG but hate putting stars or backticks in their messages, or don't understand the concept at all. So, in the end it's a very clever move.

Oh yes, verrry clever - especially when potential recruits will start factoring in your use of Slack as a negative mark for your company ! /s

Re: Slack’s new WYSIWYG input box is terrible

#968
post #528

I have contacted them, and they replied me with this Lucas (Slack) Nov 20, 9:15 PM PST Hi there, Thank you for taking the time to write in and provide this feedback. I apologize for the disruption to your existing workflows. Our aim is to build an editor that works for all Slack users to better format their messages and clearly communicate in channels, regardless of their technical expertise. While we are taking all…

You should point out how blatantly contradictory these two sentences are... Our aim is to build an editor that works for all Slack users disabling the new formatting tool isn't an option that we will be offering ...unless their goal is to reduce "all Slack users" to "only those who don't need the option"...

See also : disabling their IRC gateway.

Re: Slack’s new WYSIWYG input box is terrible

#969

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Boy they can fuck right off with that corporate doublespeak bullshit. Commitment to users means respecting that people have different preferences, and options let you respect that.

What they're really saying here is "We're ditching the users that got us here for the ones that we're targeting. They generally don't know shit but it's a market we haven't captured yet and that's all we care about"

Why can I only upvote once ?

Re: Slack’s new WYSIWYG input box is terrible

#970
post #932
post #572

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had a lot of issues with mattermost delivering messages out of order and constantly getting disconnected with “retry” on lots of messages. Not saying you’ll have the same issues, but definitely turned me off. :/

Mattermost CEO here, Hi Dijit, Highly appreciate the feedback. Definitely want you to have an amazing experience on Mattermost, and I'm sorry you're having issues. If you go to "About" can you see which build you're running, whether it's a stable or unstable release? Odd number releases are stable "Quality Releases", e.g. 5.17, even number releases are unstable "Feature" releases, e.g. 5.16. Also, we probably need to…

> Odd number releases are stable [...], even number releases are unstable

Well, that's odd !

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