This task is about deciding on a conceptual approach for how the Reply Tool(s) and New Topic Tool relate to each other and the pages they can be used on.
This task was promoted by @matmarex observing [i] that we are at/near the point where there are enough cases where the Reply Tool and New Topic Tool behave differently that this behavior is difficult to keep track of. We understand this as a signal that the confusion we are experiencing is confusion volunteers are also likely to feel as well.
Background
| Item | Current behavior | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | A single Reply Tool can be open on a page at any given time. | Technical constraints which may be no longer. See: T257305 |
| #2 | The Reply Tool and the New Topic Tool cannot be open at the same time | A short-term fix to avoid people potentially becoming confused why they can't click the Add topic button while they have a Reply Tool open. See: T272545#6767850. |
| #3 | It may not be immediately clear to people what comment the Reply Tool they have open is related to. | 1. There is currently no visual element that explicitly relates the Reply Tool to the comment someone opened the tool to respond to [ii]. 2. The Reply Tool opens on the page at the position where the comment people are drafting with it will be posted. Thus, in conversations with many comments, the Reply Tool will appear relatively "far away" from the comment someone opened the tool to respond to. |
| #4 | Related to "#1" the Reply Tool behaves kind of like a modal in so far as it changes the state of some parts of the page ([reply] links), but not all. | See #"Reason" for #1 above. |
Scenarios
- Someone tries to open another Reply Tool while they already have one open.
- Someone tries to open the New Topic Tool while they already have a Reply Tool open.
- Someone tries to open a Reply Tool while they already have a New Topic Tool open.
Requirements
- People should easily know what – if any – "discussion tool" (New Topic Tool or Reply Tool) is open the page, regardless of "where" they are on that page.
- People should instinctively know how to open the New Topic Tool or Reply Tool, regardless of whether any other tool(s) is already open on the page.
- People should be confident they know what will happen when they post content to the page using a discussion tool.
- Said in other ways:
- People should not be led to question what happens when they post a comment using a particular Reply Tool. This case assumes people are able to open multiple Reply Tools at once as T257305 describes.
- People should not be led to question what a particular discussion tool is for.
- Said in other ways:
Approaches
- Disable all links when a Discussion Tool is open
- TODO: clarify what "all links" means in this context. E.g. all discussion tool links? Every single link on the page? Something else?
- Enable as many Discussion Tools to be open at any given time
- TBD
Open questions
- What other ===Secanrios will the to-be-decided upon approach need to accommodate for?
- What are possible ===Approaches that satisfy the ===Requirements in each of the ===Scenarios described above?
Done
- An approach is decided upon that satisfies the requirements in each scenario described above.
i. T272545#6775562
ii. The Reply Tool is indented which gives some indication of its relationship to the comment being replied to, but I would say this creates more of an "implicit" relationship.