I can’t tell who is talking to who in that mock-up :(
I like Nostr because it challenges many paradigms, including those of interfaces and user interactions, and forces those who build it to think critically outside the box.
I was working on a new design for Blowater by nostr:nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnyv9kh2uewd9hj7qgewaehxw309aex2mrp0yhxymr0washgetj9eshqup0qy88wumn8ghj7mn0wvhxcmmv9uqzq6ua4ysvfdhvhukpyqv20gk3gw6dlhuc0rpmatrfuwdmt9uyrnrwufzavy and asked myself: the bubbles UI, typical of chat programs we are used to, is really the best and so inevitable solution?
Quick valuation:
- Pros: it makes clear the two parts in a conversation, both with the position and the colors.
- Cons: it reduces the width available space; it gives equal importance to the two parts, while the user is usually interested on the content by the other part; doesn't scale naturally to group chat.
This is an alternative solution that came out.
In linear structure with full width available; other part messages are prominent while their own are dimmed and collapsible to save space.
The line on the right permits to immediately spot the conversation flow/frequency, also on rapid scrolling.
Can adapt to groups putting a minimal profile pic near the date and customizing the right line with the main color picked from the pic itself.
What do you think?
#nostrdesign #asknostr
Discussion
It's a one-to-one discussion, you should recognize your own text :)
I cannot see how is different a left/right aligned bubble in this respect.
so my text is the one with the highlighted line?
I guess I am just used to colored bubbles to know which ones are my messages.
What's the advantage of this over bubbles? a bit of extra space?
No, your own text is the less prominent, you should already know it.
Actually I don't like that the send icon has the same color of the highlighted messages, can be confusing. A plain white is better.
Yes, the advantages should be some extra space, and maybe a more coherent transaction to groups.
I'm also used to bubbles and really don't dislike them, I'm just investigating the status quo.
I see. To me, highlighted = mine. This is the way all apps do it and is what I am used to. Maybe if everyone switched over to the opposite, I may get used to it. But for now this is not as intuitive to me as having my messages highlighted.
Do you have any ideas as to why this self-highlight is the standard? Any psychological/perception reasons?
Good question! I don’t really know. Maybe the feeling of you being the center of your word 😂 maybe it feels right to check how you replied to someone?
I don’t see any specific reason for it other than it just feels right - but that could be due to a pattern forming from other app usage that seem to do it that way too.
Maybe conversations beg for responses and your mind is checking to see if you’ve filled that gap and responded. There’s a psychological principle by some name that I’ve been calling need-to-complete, perhaps your brain is checking to see if you “completed” the conversational ask? Just a theory. Doesn’t explain the fact that not all responses require a response…
Maybe this comment by nostr:npub149p5act9a5qm9p47elp8w8h3wpwn2d7s2xecw2ygnrxqp4wgsklq9g722q could be a good clue:
> [Users] use their own messages more than anything else as reference points to know where they are in the conversation.
This reinforces the sense of security and stability that we all seek.
What does security and stability mean in the context of a conversation? Perhaps it’s the responsibility of fulfilling your part of the social contract that is the conversation- the need to complete.
I was thinking about something beyond the conversation utility, maybe more related to the ego.
The "complete" theory is interesting, but in one-on-one chats, we usually focus on the last messages to check if the social contract has been fulfilled, and in groups, we leverage notifications.