# Inconsistent behavior with \`chat max direct message users\` setting
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/inconsistent-behavior-with-chat-max-direct-message-users-setting/369971
**Category:** Bug
**Tags:** chat
**Created:** [June 12, 2025, 10:39pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/inconsistent-behavior-with-chat-max-direct-message-users-setting/369971 "2025-06-12T22:39:04Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Moin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Moin)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2025, 10:39pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/inconsistent-behavior-with-chat-max-direct-message-users-setting/369971/1 "2025-06-12T22:39:04Z")
[How to disable Group chat? - #4 by sallypf](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-disable-group-chat/368709/4) has made me think about whether 1 or 2 is the correct choice to limit chats to two members. So I tried, and for testing purposes, I reduced `chat max direct message users` to two. Then I created two users and a group to which I added these two users.
I have the impression that the effect of the setting is inconsistent.
### Creating a group chat by adding individual users:
1. Click + to create a new chat
2. Select “new group chat”
3. Add the users you created; notice it says 2/2 members
4. Check the members of the created chat
Because you were added too, the chat actually has 3 members.
5. Try to add a member; it doesn’t work because there are 3/2 members
6. Remove one of the users
7. Try to add them; it doesn’t work because there are already 2/2 members
### Creating a group chat by adding a group:
1. Click + to create a new chat
2. Enter the group’s name; you aren’t allowed to create a group chat because the group has two members.
This makes me wonder: is the chat creator counted toward the limit or not?
When creating a chat by adding two individual users, it works - even though that results in 3 members once the chat is created (because I’m included too). But if I try to create the same chat using a group with two users, it’s not allowed. After creation, I also can’t add a second user if one is already in the chat with me, which suggests that I _am_ counted at that point.
The description of the `chat max direct message users` setting says that setting it to 0 means users can only message themselves. That would only make sense if the current user isn’t counted. So in that sense, the behavior during creation seems to match what the description says. But then I’d expect the limit _after_ creation to also allow 3 members total (me + 2), and that creating a chat with a group with 2 members should work the same way.
Right now, creating a chat with two users only works in one case — by adding them individually — and that feels inconsistent.
* * *
And by the way, I did all this as an admin, so I am not sure the
> Staff are exempt from this setting
in the description is true.
---
### Author:  [@Moin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Moin)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2025, 7:49am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/inconsistent-behavior-with-chat-max-direct-message-users-setting/369971/2 "2025-06-17T07:49:45Z")
> [@Moin](#):
>
> ### Creating a group chat by adding a group:
>
> 1. Click + to create a new chat
> 2. Enter the group’s name; you aren’t allowed to create a group chat because the group has two members.
>
> 
This is the same if you remove one of your test users from the group and instead add yourself. Then the group has two members, but one of them is you, so the chat created would only have two members. However, it doesn’t work to create the chat because the group has too many members.
---
### Author:  [@davidb](https://meta.discourse.org/u/davidb)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2025, 10:55am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/inconsistent-behavior-with-chat-max-direct-message-users-setting/369971/3 "2025-07-14T10:55:43Z")
> [@Moin](#):
>
> This makes me wonder: is the chat creator counted toward the limit or not?
Only other users is counted towards the limit, which is in line with the setting description. It mentions “ **number of other users** when creating a direct message”:
> [@](#):
>
> 
I think the bug here is mainly visual but I agree that it is very confusing.
We probably want to update all counts in the UI to be 3/3 for DMs (based on your example) to account to the current user.
---
### Author:  [@Moin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Moin)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2025, 11:20am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/inconsistent-behavior-with-chat-max-direct-message-users-setting/369971/4 "2025-07-14T11:20:33Z")
> [@davidb](#):
>
> I think the bug here is mainly visual
Why do you think it’s mainly visual? The fact that I cannot add a user after removing them is a functional issue.
> [@Moin](#):
>
> Try to add them; it doesn’t work because there are already 2/2 members
>
> 
And the fact that I cannot create a chat with a group that has two members isn’t just a visual problem either.
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### Author:  [@davidb](https://meta.discourse.org/u/davidb)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2025, 11:24am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/inconsistent-behavior-with-chat-max-direct-message-users-setting/369971/5 "2025-07-14T11:24:24Z")
Ah right, I see. It looks like chat groups is handling the limit differently than regular DM chats.
---
### Author:  [@Earnie\_Baird](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Earnie_Baird)
#### Post date: [August 5, 2025, 12:45pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/inconsistent-behavior-with-chat-max-direct-message-users-setting/369971/6 "2025-08-05T12:45:17Z")
hey @davidb - it looks like staff ARE affected by the setting on max direct message users as far as I can tell which seems like a bug. Staff are hitting the same limit that regular users do.
Any chance you can take a look at some point? Would be a great one to fix.
Thaks!