When a user opens the notification panel, we want to provide easy access to those notifications originated in other wikis. This is part of the efforts to improve the notifications panel (T114350).
# Plan
**Limit initial exposure:**
- {T114237}
- {T117669}
**Measure our achievements:**
- {T108208}
- {T113626}
**Learn early:**
- {T114086}
**Start small and iterate fast:**
- {T114354}
**Adjust user control**
- {T117670}
# Related
There is [[ https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Requests_for_comment/Cross-wiki_notifications | an RFC proposed ]] for the support of cross-wiki notifications.
# Design details
Check [[ http://pauginer.github.io/prototypes/notifications/notification-panel/index.html | this prototype ]].
**Design space**
External notifications can be presented in different ways. These are the main design decision points we have identified:
- **Grouping.** One group for all external notifications, one group per wiki, no grouping at all?
- **Collapsed vs. expanded.** If there is a group are its contents visible, some of them, none?
- **Local first vs. chronologic order.** Are external notifications presented after local ones or should they respect chronological ordering?
The proposed model provides more weight to local notifications than external ones. It is based on a single group for all external notifications which is initially collapsed, but displays the notifications organised per wiki once it becomes expanded. The group is presented at the bottom of the unread notifications (but the model can be easily adapted for the group to be chronologically ordered if we observe that the initial behaviour makes external notifications too buried down the list).
**Reading status changes**
For notifications that become read automatically (e.g., "alerts"), external notifications became read only when their bundle is expanded. That allows the user to control the volume of high priority notifications.
For notifications that are marked as read manually (i.e., "messages"), external notifications behave a usual (marked as read once the user clicks on them or the "X" icon). The external bundle has also a "X" button that allows to mark as read all external notifications. It is still unclear whether the general "mark all as read" from the panel will act only on local notifications (providing more flexibility) or also with external notifications (in a strict interpretation of the action).
**More details**
In the example below, notifications from other wikis are bundled and presented at the bottom of the unread notifications. Once they are expanded, individual notifications are organised by project and language (only showing the labels that are relevant depending on the context). In the cases where there are few notifications, the bundling or the groupings may not be necessary (examples below).
{F2623705, size=full}
{F2623707, size=full}
{F2623710, size=full}