This task is a technical investigation intended to identify the constraints that will limit what on-wiki communication-related notifications can be sent and how they can be delivered. This task also represents the work involved with identifying what changes would need to be made to support the "Use cases" listed below.
We anticipate this investigation will surface new questions that may require additional research to answer.
=== Background
T233447 encapsulates the work of increasing the likelihood people receive relevant responses to the comments they post and conversations they start on talk pages, across Wikipedia's namespaces.
A key part to, "...increasing the likelihood people receive relevant responses to the comments they post and conversations they start..." is the people capable of and interested in providing said "relevant responses" being aware their input is needed.
As such, this task is about identifying what technical constraints will limit what on-wiki communication notifications can be sent and how they can be delivered.
=== Use cases
//The below is a living list of uses for on-wiki communication notifications.//
|Use case| Key question | Related events | //Potential// implementation
|---| --- | --- | -- |
|**1.**| //"Did someone respond to the question I asked? What did they say?// | **Event 1:** Someone adds a comment in response to a comment you posted. **Event 2:** Someone adds a comment in a conversation (read: section) you started. | Enable people to opt-in/out of receiving notifications, delivered via Echo, for comments posted in direct response to things they've said **regardless** of how those "comments posted in direct response" were posted (e.g. via #discussiontools or full page editing).
|**2.**| //"Did someone say something new in this conversation I am interested in?"// | **Event 1:** Someone adds a comment in a conversation (read: section) you are "following." | Enable people to opt-in/out of receiving notifications, delivered via Echo, for comments posted in sections/conversations they are interested in "following" **regardless** of how those "comments" were posted (e.g. via #discussiontools or full page editing). |
|**3.**|//Did someone start a new conversation about a topic I am interested in?// | **Event 1:** Someone starts a new section on a talk page that is not your own user talk page.|Enable people to opt-in/out of receiving notifications, delivered via Echo, when someone starts a new conversation (read: section) on a page they are interested in.|
=== Investigation
//⚠️ This section will be updated after @ppelberg talks with Editing Engineering.//
=== Open questions
- [ ] What //currently// limits the software's ability to fulfill the "Use cases" described above?
- [ ] What changes would "unlock" the software's ability to fulfill the "Use cases" described above?
- [ ] What about the "Use cases" described above are not feasible to deliver?