Feature request: Improve error reporting

[andypiper]

Currently, if the config cannot be loaded from a remote source via the ?load parameter, the app falls back to default config, but the user is not told what has happened.

In addition, I don't think that specific instances that may be invalid, reject a connection, or be otherwise badly specified, are called out to the user / marked as bad.

[defnull]

We have to keep two (or three) target audiences in mind:

• The conference orga team that wants to display stuff on a large screen and not have to care about it during the conference.
• The average user who wants to have a tab full of cute cat images.
• A journalist or power user wanting to get real-time updates about some hot topic.

Disruptive error messages are only okay for the last kind, so alert() is out of the question. For conferences even a small error message may be too much. It should at east disappear automatically after some time.

So, that's the idea: Having a <div> below the top bar that displays errors in a small font, but only for a couple of seconds. Only the most recent error message is shown. Only actual errors are shown (e.g. no rate limit or temporary errors). There may be a ?debug switch that increases verbosity, though.

Sounds good?

[andypiper]

I think that idea works. It’s really to help with config, so that invalid domains etc can be caught (I think fediwall drops them from the list if they happen, but it may help an admin to see it)

[defnull]

There is now (v1.3) a small error symbol in the top left corner with a hover text, and a "Status" message at the very bottom. That's a start. I'll leave this issue open anyway, as this can still be improved.