Feature Request: Threads View Options

Features
1

It would be lovely if the Threads view within Flat would be able to show me all Threads that a user is simply mentioned in (in addition to the Threads that are assigned to them, which is already a feature). If it makes sense to send an email whenever a user is mentioned, it also makes sense to quietly notify the user in the Threads view within the app as well.

We often need to simply mention a user for visibility but don’t necessarily need to assign that blocker or thread to a person. Or we often need to mention multiple people in a thread. Simply typing @ and their names is quick and easy and get’s around the limitation of only being able to assign a single user to a thread. But the app doesn’t notify in the threads view when doing this.

If the threads view could show me all the blockers/ threads that are assigned to me at the top, and then below that, any threads I am mentioned in, that would be very helpful to stay organized. Often I am mentioned in multiple threads across different workspaces, it can be difficult to remember which ones and I have to go searching.

If the above feature request is not within the values that Flat operates by - at the very least, it would be helpful to assign multiple users to a thread. A keyboard shortcut similar to an “@” to assign a user could be helpful too. This way I could quickly assign two or three people as needed.

Some context - I initially thought this was a bug that “mentions” were not showing up in the threads view but after reading more carefully in the user guide, it became apparent that the threads view only shows assigned threads. You can see the support thread I made here for reference: Threads View Inconsistent - #7 by jdgerbs

Does this make sense to you all? I don’t think this goes against any methodology or values that Flat promotes. I know in the tutorial, you all mention that Threads are mostly for simple ad- hoc requests and that a-sync communication is a value (I do appreciate no sounds), but email notifications can be even more disruptive then a little silent ticker at the top of the window. And even a “simple ad-hoc request” might require me to step out of the topic and work on something before returning to it to resolve it. An easy way to track where this is would be helpful. Would love to hear your thoughts/ values about this idea.

Thanks!

2

Hi @jdgerbs thanks for taking the time to write this very clear and well-considered request. One of the core values of Flat is an aversion to clutter, and I worry that this could make for a very cluttered threads menu – was your thinking that you close threads quickly enough that this won’t be a problem?

3

Hi Seth, totally understand the concern here. For me, I think I often might see a “mention” in a thread and decide I will look back at that later. Or I need to go do a task outside of Flat and then I’ll come back to resolve it. If have 4 or 5 (or more) mentions that I need to resolve, it can be hard to find them scattered across various workspaces. I know that assigning a thread or a blocker is designed to help with this but sometimes multiple hands need to be on a single blocker. So this feature request was designed with that in mind. Hope this makes sense.

Right now, I have a dedicated flat window in slack that I am using as a hub for these notifications. This has mostly solved any workflow issues but I just wonder if something a little more native, in-app could be helpful.

Maybe more granular options for how notifications are given could allow people to choose. The default could be with Flat’s main core value but then a user can expand on it as needed. Thanks for considering this! Either way, the app is great.