[SUGGESTIONS] How to make Instant Messaging better?

The Instant Message window is used by just about every Resident of SL. When you can't be there inworld with a chum, you can still communicate via IMs.

There've been several changes to IM windows in 1.7, some unwelcome (like tabs at top, which has thankfully been "reverted", and some welcome like the tear-off option.

This is my own personal experience with IM windows: I engage regularly in many IMs at once—a dozen and higher is not atypical. When I use the IM window, I like it to feel like a Hatori Hanzo sword. I desire to touch the user interface and have it ripple outwards, fluidic and aiding the pace of my chats instead of hindering me from action.

That being said, there are some straightforward feature suggestions I feel would go a long way towards making the experience better. So here goes mine, and I really wanna hear your ideas! Hopefully we can discuss in the community and come away with more thoughts+feelings about how to make the IM window work better for each and all of us.

1. First, notice how the IM section in Preferences looks sparse? That means some of these suggestions could very well be options without cluttering it up!
   
   
   
2. Next, it's nice that tab widths are bigger so you see full names. However, for many names, there is wasted space. Not only that, it makes it so if you have more than a handful of conversations on a typical screen, you get the awful < and > arrows which are TINY and on the opposite ends of the IM window. This makes it difficult to get a concise "big picture". What's even worse is you have to click the arrow each time to view the next tab—you can't just hold the mouse button down and glide like other scroll bars! EEEK! Not good. Infact, bad. So what could be done here? A choice for ROWS of IM tabs, so if you fill up the first row it goes onto the next, for an easy overview. In other words, instead of:
   
   < [A] [C] [D] [E] [F] | [G] [H] > (| = point at which you have to scroll)
   
   you get
   
   [A] [C] [D] [E] [F]
   [G] [H]
   
   Much more elegant at a minimal cost of screen real estate. You may have already seen this if you use a tabbed web browser!
   
   
   
3. Also, what about a way to custom-define tab width to your own whims? You could make it narrow like 1.6, or if you're the type who's concerned about accidentally clicking on the wrong name, set it as big as you want! Your world, your imagination. Some will also want auto-sized tabs that are only as wide as the name in them, so just about nothing goes to waste.
   
   
   
4. Next up! If you're familiar with a tabbed web browser, chances are you know you can configure tabs to be closed upon a double-click, middle-click, or other key combination. One unpleasant aspect of the current interface is that there's a redundant TWO places now to close an IM window: namely, the Close button and the little X next to the tear-off icon. Wouldn't it simplify things to be able to close these windows easier, if you so wanted to? (I certainly do.)
   
   
   
5. Brought up to me by several friends is the notion of the IM window having its own pie menu. This seems like a natural extension of what already exists. What could you do with it? Well, what about the mass power to tear off and redock all tabs with a simple right-click and click again? What about an Undo command if you accidentally closed a window? What about the ability to Offer Teleport without having to pull up Profile? That's lazy craze efficiency! There's a lot of possibilities here. This might get a little elaborate, so let's bounce back to simplicity...
   
   
   
6. Re-orderable tabs. We can sort so many things in SL. Why can't we move a tab to the left, next to New IM, if it's a group conference we are constantly engaged in? That way it's easy to find. We know where it is. A simple drag-and-drop will do it.
   
   
   

There've been scads of more kewl IM-related things that came up when I was chatting with friends in the... IM window... so if they want, I'll let 'em share them here!

FINALLY: what are the benefits of these features? I'll explain. I have an obsession with wanting additions to Second Life that are a hybrid of the familiar of the alien, all of which I consider practical and useful to a broad variety—the rich diversity in here!—of people.

I have been thinking a lot about Instant Messaging for the last few weeks, and the bottom line is: "You'll never know how you lived your Second Life without it!"

I endorse each and every numbered suggestion.

Endorsed, one i would realllly like to add is a different kind of busy mode.

You want to be inworld and at a meeting, gathering or have some personal time but dont want to recieve im's or teleports

Have it work in the same way you set busy, except there is no visual indicator above your head, first name i can think of is not available or for the menus Set N/A

with a message similar to

The Resident you messaged is 'Not Available' which means they are not currently contactable via IM. Your message will still be shown in their IM panel for later viewing.

I heartily endorse all of these features, although I think a pie menu might be difficult. We'd even settle for just a normal menu.

and Avatar is typing a message... ala yahoo..

I like those ideas Torley.

Also Richie's idea would be fantastic. I'd love to know when someone else is typing.

I'd also like to be able to right click someones name in Chat History and in IM windows and get a menu for like Profile, Offer Teleport... is that what you meant with your Pie Menu Torley? Wasn't sure how exactly you meant that. But I'd love to be able to right click someones name in Chat History and get a menu instead of having to find their avatar.

Also optional TimeStamps in all chat windows, IMs inclueded would be nice.

I have a better idea. Stop reinventing the wheel. Move IMs to Jabber and let me use my normal IM client

Eggy, we're talking about in-world IMs. Pay attention.

If my (limited) understanding of the Jabber protocol is correct, I suspect Eggy was talking about in-world IMs as well. But I can't say I'll hold my breath on that one.

Winnie The Pooh for the win! Eeyore always was my favorite.

Anyway, Jabber, sure, but that doesn't help GUI aspects.

On that note, another one I thought up... the ability to un-list groups. I hardly *ever* IM an entire group, and I find the group listing at the top of my IM window list to be annoying, I'd like to be able to hide that.

And organize names into groups themselves, custom grouping, etc. Like how we have for Calling Cards and the folders.

Excellent suggestions, Torely - highly endorse!

What I'd also like to see - is a simple way to send an IM to a group of individuals (*without* using the group IM features).

I mean the ability to send a "Private Chat" to 5 Avatars standing around me - but not to everyone else.

*(Think Frogg Marlowe show - being able to privately converse with those at your table.)*

Today, that's only possible by collecting notecards, sorting them into a folder (tedious since they're no-copy), and IMing the folder.

Yes, IMs between 3 or more people... Then you could click a button on that IM's window, "Add User to Session", and then you could:

1) Type in their name
2) Click on their name on your friends list
3) Click on their name in your calling cards
4) Click on them in-world

I just noticed this as well, I was hoping that with all the useless animations in the GUI, the giant tabs would shrink as more of them appeared or something, much like the Windows taskbar.

All of Torley's suggestions rock, too, I endorse them

I like all the suggestions they make sense for an useability POV, but one thing I really miss in SL is absent - How about logging of IMs like Trillian does it?
I have more than once "Lost" some vital info just because I forgot to copy and paste it before I logged out. Please add some kind of history to SL a text log on disk would be fine but a scrollback-able persistant history would even better!

How about a mute button for Group IMs. I think that would let groups have some good discussions without bothering someone who is busy, and you wouldn't have to keep closing the window. This should also reduce some network traffic.

Also as others have said how about a Busy mode that stops IMs coming through.

I Second this suggestion ^^

My prop. Prop 579... some dumb little options I thought up.

I'm also all for the simplifying of conference IMs... they are an ass to use set up now, quite frankly.

Also, as for 1.7, I'm not sure if it's me lagging, but it seems i have to double-click or hold down tabs to switch them. I don't like it. Too slow. It ruins my flow. All unstreamlined ~.~

I think Neo has a smart idea. I would join more groups if there was a mute option.

I would like to know when a user is typing a in an IM, a feature similar to MSN messenger, where you know if they are about to say something

I'm normally very fond of this type of feature, but I've grown to dislike them.

It creates awkward situations when soemthing is re-typed over and over again.

There are other reasons too.

But you'll have to find them.

^__^