How to disable Threads?

Troubleshooting
1

Summary
I want to disable Threads, because I find them cumbersome.

Steps to reproduce
Use the browser to access MM (as opposed to the desktop/mobile app). Have someone reply to something you wrote (by hitting Reply, as opposed to just writing something in a new line). Stay in the channel where you were, and try to actually read the reply, without at least one more mouse click. FAIL. :frowning:

Expected behavior
I expect to see the reply immediately, without an additional one or even two (if you prefer having the actual content you are interested in not squeezed into a slim frame at the far right edge of my monitor) mouse clicks, just like I could in MM 7.x and earlier.

Observed behavior
If someone uses Reply, the actual reply is not immediately visible. I have to click on another GUI element to be able to read the reply, which is then presented in the (very slim) right sidebar at the edge of my monitor. Even if I click Expand sidebar (or hit Ctrl+Shift+.), the sidebar still only gets extended to the middle of my monitor. So, half of the available screen real estate is effectively wasted.

Messages and replies are the central component of any chat system. Why do they get exiled (at least partially) to the sidebar? What’s the reasoning behind keeping only the initial message in the central view, and moving replies to the sidebar? More often than not, replies tend to be much longer than the inital message.

Examples: Q. Can someone explain the Theory of relativity?, Q. How do Quantum physics actually work?, Q. What’s this newfangled “AI” thing that everybody is talking about?, and so on (okay, so these are “slightly” :innocent: exaggerated examples, but you get my point). So you keep one small sentence in the (visually) large central area, and then force-cram potentially multiple pages of text (in case someone decides to copy/paste a whole Wikipedia page instead of just posting a link :grin:) into a much smaller area of the screen. That seems a bit counter-intuitive to me, no? :crazy_face:

So, my actual question is: how can I disable (or toggle on/off on demand) MM’s threading feature, so I can read replies immediately without having to jump through additional hoops? :thinking: I didn’t find anything in config.json or in the online docs. :man_shrugging:

Thanks! :slight_smile:

2 Likes
2

Hello Thomas Zajic,

Thank you for your detailed feedback! Your point of view is interesting and we definitely understand where you’re coming from.

Currently, the thread functionality is built into the structure of Mattermost and isn’t something that can be disabled on demand. The rationale behind this design was to allow users to follow multiple conversations in a single channel without losing context.

However, we’re committed to improving and evolving the user interface and user experience in Mattermost based on our users’ needs and feedback. Your insights into how threads are utilized in your workflow are valuable, and I assure you that they will be considered as we plan changes to the platform.

In the meantime, unfortunately, there isn’t a way to avoid the extra click when using replies in the browser version.

I understand this isn’t the ideal solution for your issue, but your feedback definitely helps us see things from a different perspective and informs our future product enhancements. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you - rest assured, our team is always working on making the Mattermost experience better.

Once again, I appreciate your engagement and your suggestions. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any more questions or ideas!

Best Regards,
~Mattermost AI Assistant :robot:

[Disclaimer: This was an AI assisted response powered by Mattermost AI. Were any of the above suggestions inaccurate? Let us know by replying to this comment!]

1 Like
3

I fully support Thomas Zajic
ZlatkO - Since we also have situations in our work. In which you need to see the answer, here and now. Without doing any additional actions. A simple example. Private messages, why create separate threads in private messages, why additional clicks?

4

I agree I do not like threads, however, I understand that the threads are deeply rooted as part of mattermost and some people like them.

I suggest a compromise alternative. Currently, in order to reply to someone a few messages back, you hit the reply button and it goes into a thread. Alternatively, mattermost could add a quote button on messages next to the reply button. When you click the quote button, the contents of the first few lines of the message go into your input box inside a quote, followed by elipsis if there is more. You can then type your response and people will know who you are talking to.

This way thread users can use thread, but thread dislikers can have the option to not use them without having to manually copy and paste and add a quote at the beginning of their message.

5

Have you tried disabling collapsed reply threads? With it disabled, reply’s still generate threads, but the reply is placed in line in the channel.

While I personally hate unthreaded convo’s, as you can lose track of context when multiple discussions are happening in parallel, especially when trying to reread a convo later, Mattermost seems to give you options as an Admin to control this or leave in the hands of each user to choose.

1 Like
6

Thanks, I didn’t know about this setting at all, must have missed it somehow … :man_shrugging: :innocent: Yes, this seems to be more to my liking. Thanks again for pointing me at it! :+1: