ChatWith

This page describes the proposed ChatWith feature.

Objectives

Improve the usability of opening a new chat with some contact from the roster.
- When the roster is too long to fit on screen.
- When the contact is not online.
Fix usability problems of the present roster search/filter implementation.
- Cannot set focus to the filter editbox with keyboard (or the keyboard shortcut is not discoverable).
- Cannot select a filtered item with keyboard, even if single, as the roster does not support selection.
- Cannot browse offline contacts efficiently.
- Open chats list does not obey filtering and distracts attention.
- It's hard to dismiss the filter, as the focus leaves the filter window when a new chat opens.
Eliminate the need to keep the roster window open. Typical roster usage scenarios should be supported in ChatWith.

These are the typical roster usage scenarios that should be supported by ChatWith.

Open a chat with a specific roster contact that is online, when you know at least a part of its JID or Nickname.
- Example: chat with a contact whose nickname is kostix.
Open a chat with a specific roster contact that is offline.
See whether the specific contact is online or offline.
Open a chat with a roster contact from a specific roster group.
- Example: need to talk to someone from Tkabber core dev team.
See whether there are any contacts online under the specific roster group, and who are they.
Edit a roster contact.