💬FamilySearch Chat is Now Live!!!
Comments
-
The new chat tool has effectively killed collaborative messaging. It seems to be patterned after X, with limited ability to communicate other than very short bursts, and increased non-intuitive, non-user friendly restrictions. To add a line, one has to shift + enter, as clicking return sends the brief message - even though there is a send arrow clearly visible. There is insufficient space to convey more than 2-3 sentences. Yet, multiple lines often are required to convey questions and information. Since users are world-wide, real-time chatting is often unrealistic. Please ask users what they want or would like before arbitrarily cramming somebody's trendy ideas down our throats. I wonder if the developers have ever used messaging or even use FS. ☹️
1 -
Sending a message by only entering a "Return" or "Enter" key is problematic and IMO the wrong thing to do. It is very difficult to format multi-paragraph messages in a readable form.
2 -
There was a (blessedly short) period where the old messaging system changed for some inexplicable reason to "send on enter", and it was miserable.
I really don't understand why they changed to a chat format. It's completely unsuited to the purpose: the chances of someone I want to send a message to being on FS in the same month as me, never mind the same hour of the same day, is approximately negative zero.
1 -
How exactly do I access FamilySearch Chat? I'm confused because right now, I don't appear to be capable of sending responses to anyone at all on FamilySearch Messages and while there was (I think) a chat window that I previously used to communicate with one FamilySearch user whom I did supercentenarian research with, that chat window disappeared yesterday evening for some reason. Why exactly? And how exactly can I send replies to people on FamilySearch again?
0 -
@DanielGonik, you should be able to re-open the chat interface using the chat button in the toolbar at the top right.
(This is on the website on a computer/laptop. I have no clue about mobile versions and apps.)
0 -
I got my first response today in the New Chat format.
I have two suggestions.
One is remove the "Enter" key as a send chat message. I like to use it to go to next line.
Two is put the question and answer side by side and not over the top of each other. I responded with a long answer, and it covered so much of the response I had to send chat just to read what was covered before.
Or you can fix it any way you want. I just need to see all of the chat past and present. My memory is not that good to remember it all.
Later Nolan
1 -
In the former Message dialog, <enter> resulted in a <newline>. In the current iteration of Chat, <enter> results in <send>.
I liked the former behavior better because I could format the message more clearly before I clicked on Send to actually <send> the message.
Please consider restoring the <enter> functionality to what it was before.
1 -
Yes, I can do that, but for some reason, I only see the Chat function when I am on certain parts of FamilySearch.org, not on others. I can't see it right now, for instance, but I can see it here: https://www.familysearch.org/en/blog/new-familysearch-chat#/DefaultPermission?c=1699823354735&vanilla_category_id=blog-comments-en&vanilla_identifier=00000188-591d-d561-adec-dd9f4dd90000&vanilla_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.familysearch.org%2Fen%2Fblog%2Fnew-familysearch-chat
0 -
Chat is a main-site-only function. Community (like this page) is a nearly-completely separate thing, so naturally there's no Chat here. You couldn't get to the old messaging system from here, either, only to the Community-specific messaging (same as now).
I suppose that may be the one advantage to relabeling it as Chat: it might reduce some of the confusion between main-site and Community internal messaging.
0 -
"The feature of turning on or turning off the "online presence indicator" when you have Chat loaded at FamilySearch is on our list of things to deliver."
Music to my ears! for some reason I never got a notification that you had responded, but thank you very much!!!
0 -
Could you PLEASE add the ancestor name to each chat. I have chats going back a year and a half and do not know which ancestors most are connected to. I want to clean up my "chat room" by removing chats that have ancestors with completed ordinances and those with issues resolved. Thank you for your timely consideration of this problem.
Gail Schwoebel
1 -
Unfortunately, the link to the ancestor was not preserved in the migration from the old Messaging system to the new Chat system. And since that was a one-time data migration, that's not going to change. But you can still preserve the link information by using the Download feature in the old Messaging system. I think you need to do this before the end of 2023. Here are some more details: https://community.familysearch.org/en/discussion/comment/529420/#Comment_529420
1 -
I am missing the capability to delete a chat in this new forum. I recognize I can Hide a Chat or Mute a Chat. But for some messages, I just want to be done and not have so many threads once the conversation is complete. Once in a while, you receive a not-so-nice message. I just don't need or want it. We could delete messages in the old system. Could we not have that option back? Please.
0 -
Actually, you couldn't completely delete messages in the old system. You certainly couldn't delete it for anyone else in the conversation. If anyone in the conversation (typically just one other person, but sometimes multiple persons) ever replied to you, the whole thread would reappear.
The new Hide Chat option really hides it, even if someone responds, so it's actually better than the old system in that regard. Is there some reason that option doesn't meet your needs?
1 -
Is there any consideration being given to eliminating the Enter key as a Send key. This gets me every time I want to insert a line or new paragraph.
2 -
Shift+enter will allow you to start a new chat paragraph
This even works on iPad/iPhone—when I remember 🤔
0
