Add context to forwarded messages

[pmarini-nc]

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Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe. When forwarding a message from a conversation A to a conversation B:

• in conversation A there is not hint that the message has been forwarded to conversation B

• in conversation B there is no hint that the message came from conversation A

Describe the solution you'd like The forwarded message should show some context about its origin, for example "Forwarded from Conversation A" in conversation B and "Forwarded to Conversation B" in conversation A.

Instead of text maybe we can use icons..

Describe alternatives you've considered

Additional context

[nickvergessen]

This is the current privacy-aware design decision. The other participants might not be allowed to know that ConvA or ConvB exists.

Also you can still copy around manually without that information being shown, so it doesn't give a guarantee either.

[pmarini-nc]

That's true I didn't think about it.

Still it would be great to have an indication that the message has been forwarded. For example ">>" for forwarded in, "<<" for forwarded out.

[nickvergessen]

Still it would be great to have an indication that the message has been forwarded. For example ">>" for forwarded in, "<<" for forwarded out.

I don't feel like exposing user to this. Especially since it was not done in the past it would be weird to start it now.

[pmarini-nc]

Fair enough. Then should we close this with rejected status? Thanks!

[marcoambrosini]

I think that the current implementation can be confusing, because for many use cases that type of context is needed. I don't think there's a privacy problem if we only add the label "Forwarded" on the message in the recipient's chat. I don't think there's the need for a forwarded out label.

[marcoambrosini]

adding @nextcloud/designers for more input

[nimishavijay]

Here's how others do it:

• Whatsapp shows a "Forwarded" label, I believe it was introduced to combat misinformation that spread through Whatsapp. It also has a "Forwarded many times" label for the same reason (side note: I found this interesting article that discusses whether it's actually useful in combating misinformation)

• Telegram shows the forwarded label and also the sender by default, but there is a (fairly hidden) option to remove the forwarded label

• Signal doesn't show the forwarded label

I would definitely not show the sender's name for privacy reasons. IMO, other than for preventing misinformation I don't see a strong need for a "Forwarded" label.

[marcoambrosini]

When I use this feature and forward a message to someone I always find myself having to provide this missing context in the following message in the form of "This message above has been posted in the X chat" or "he message that I just sent was sent to me by Y" Clearly indicating that the message has been forwarded allows us to shorten that form a bit by providing some context.

[nickvergessen]

You'd still need to provide the original author in that case.

[marcoambrosini]

Yes, that'd still be on you

[marcoambrosini]

Further references

Teams: Quote component and author

Slack: Also quote component and author + info about original conversation

I think we could also use the quote style to further differentiate it from other messages