I think it’d be useful to test how chat works when attached to a topic.
AI-generated summary
Users are testing and discussing the UX of attaching chat to topics in Discourse. Anton_Akhmerov initiated the test, noting its potential usefulness. debryc found the chat icon next to the topic title unintuitive and suggested adding a “Reply via Chat” or “Open Topic Chat” button below posts. They also noted confusion over when to use chat versus topic replies, suggesting clearer guidance from topic creators. sdpiowa believes the topic/chat distinction may vary by community or category and supports a clearer chat indicator, though notes potential issues with chat retention settings. debryc later tested the feature with a real use case and observed that users without chat access still see the chat icon — suggesting it should be hidden for them. Canapin echoed the confusion, noting the chat icon isn’t clickable in the topic list and only becomes interactive when hovering on the topic page — recommending more obvious UI cues. Jonathan5 requested a direct link from chat back to the topic, since currently one must use search to return. JammyDodger clarified that clicking the topic title in chat navigates back — demonstrated with a screenshot. Jonathan5 acknowledged this was obvious in hindsight, attributing their oversight to Discourse’s usual blue link styling, which the title lacks.
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I think a “Reply via Chat” or “Open Topic Chat” below the post would be very helpful. I didn’t find it intuitive to click on the chat icon next to the topic title.
My biggest challenge is figuring out what to put as a reply to the topic versus what to do with chat. Perhaps it’ll be up to the poster to clearly spell out which feature is used for what and perhaps I’ll find it easier to wrap my head around this when I test this with an actual use-case.
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I’m kinda guessing the topic/chat distinction will be highly community-dependent. Actually, I could see it being even category-dependent in my community, depending on the topics and users involved.
+1 on having a more clear chat indicator, though I suspect that might be problematic once the chat retention settings are implemented and old conversations start getting timed out.
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I now have a use case to test the chat on a topic functionality. Yay!
I noticed that a user that doesn’t have access to the chat feature will still see the chat bubbles next to the topic title. I think it makes more sense to hide that icon for people who cannot use the chat feature.
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It was even more confusing to me that the speech bubbles icon isn’t clickable in the topics list.
I opened the topic, and when hovering the icon on the title, the cursor changed to a pointer one.
I assumed that it was part of the topic title (which confused me since I couldn’t click on the topics list, as I said…), but it opened the chat when clicking on it.
I think as well that the chat-linked feature should be way more obvious.
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It would be good if there were a clickable link from the chat to the topic.
Currently you can go to the chat but need to use the forum search function to find the topic.
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That seems really obvious now! Thanks. Links on Discourse are usually a different colour (on Meta, blue) which may partly account for this oversight of mine…
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