I really don't understand how developers from Facebook, WhatsApp and other messaging platforms still didn't figure out that ever since they introduced message previews on push notifications that those "seen" check-marks became utterly useless in most of cases..

This COVID-19 quarantine just confirms it, since nobody is doing anything else except being on phones and computers whole day but somehow it still takes them several hours to "read" the message..

Having problems with the fucken bitches too huh?

The reason it's still there is to avoid "moving the user's cheese." The term comes from a book written in the late 90s titled "who moved my cheese," which analyzed how humans deal with change at work and in life, and effective change management strategies. Over the following two decades the term stuck and was adapted to be a generalized term for what happens when you change something users are used to. It's influenced a number of books, including Krug's seminal work "Don't make me think."

The theory boils down to:

"If your users become used to something, they will become emotionally dependent on it. If you remove something they're dependent on, they will hulk smash your ticket queue."

Given that, removing a feature oftentimes is impossible without alienating users, which is the only thing most platforms have. And in many cases the cost to remove a feature may be more than leaving it in place indefinitely, same reason doctors aren't wont to remove a mole if it's not cancerous. You have to analyze all the costs.

Refs:

https://experiencedynamics.com/blog...

https://uxmag.com/articles/...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

https://books.google.com/books/...

https://books.google.com/books/...

sounds like you are a manager who can't boss around anyone because people are just checking your message from notification and swiping out directly, therby giving them an excuse and you, a reason to scream xD

I'm not sure your theory confirms it at all. When I'm concentrating on coding, I'm rarely checking messages - it would often take me a lot longer than 3 hours to reply. That applies whether I'm at home or in the office.

When I'm not concentrating on coding, I'm either likely to be busy in the garden, doing some DIY project or playing with the daughter.

We're not all checking messages every 2 seconds just because we're at home...

Nah, those checkmarks are a privacy breach and should be taken out of every app. Just because messaging apps enable you to easily reach people anywhere, any time, doesn't mean they are available or by any way should be available at your convenience.

And if you're using WhatsApp to do business communication... well, just use something more professional that people can use on their computers without requiring a phone.

@SortOfTested really interesting story and it makes sense, thanks for sharing :)

@everyone_else idk where you got idea, but I'm actually talking about private use cases, not sure who in their right mind would anyways use platforms mentioned above for work-related communications..

@myss well, sorry if I came across as brash (...I was actually mad with work stuff, see my current rant lol), but the first paragraph of my comment was meant for personal communications

Sitting at home doesn't mean I check my messages constantly, or even have notifications on. I'm busy programming, spending time with my gf, playing video games or reading. My time and focus isn't less sacred just because I'm home.

@AlmondSauce This haha. With my work phone I check messages at least once every half hour but it goes off when work is over. With my personal phone, I always have it on DND... I'll check messages when I want to check my messages. And it greatly varies how often I do that.

Since I often want to read messages from specific people fast, I do check regularly but sometimes the phone just goes unchecked for even a day or so!

And I don't have those read receipts on because reading something doesn't mean I'm gonna reply right away.