Well, at least this thread is not completely outdated. 
@testbird like the suggested footer … note btw that we are currently moving towards avoiding pushing people directly towards using Delta Chat. The footer is to only answer the question “what is Delta Chat?” and not “how can i start using it”. and as link we intend to put FAQ - Delta Chat there, possibly with a better url like https://whats.delta.chat 
No more questions.
Sounds clear as a false hypothesis nobody ever made.
Sorry that we expected the app would be for its users.
Disabling “invite friends” doesn’t help in properly briefing users before installing.
For example, like providing a decent invite message template.
But never mind, for your goal, to make it easier for the other side, you will also have to disable the setup dialog, to finally get rid of all login details and completely diffuse the back-bone of deltachat.
But wait, that’s old news. The quality decision to drop support for existing email accounts had already been announced once, “going dedicated accounts sooner or later” after the decision was made internally.
There are no strong indications that “invite friends” is a feature that is successfully used.
do people here get friends to install delta-chat through the “Invite Friends” activity?
@testbird In any case, this has nothing much to do with the shared/dedicated accounts question. please try to remain on topic. FWIW shared account usage is not going away – it’s a primary way how Delta Chat is used. We just introduced a new feature related to it (https://delta.chat/en/2019-03-14-oauth2release#streamlined-contact-requests ).
But still this feature works and I use it as draft. Sometimes I add a personal salutation.
Yes, I think so.
As I said. It can be used as a draft.
Sorry, what do you mean by “as draft”?
As to invite-friends in the UX i’d still like to hear personal success stories with it 
OK,
I click the button “invite friends”.
Then share.
Then I choose the favourite app (SMS or messenger).
The invite text (Ich verwende nun auch den Delta Chat Messenger - https://delta.chat - und bin dort unter mailaddress@provider.org erreichbar.) will be copied into the input field of this messenger.
Now I change it e.g. to:
Hi Alice,
Ich verwende nun auch den Delta Chat Messenger - https://delta.chat - und bin dort unter mailaddress@provider.org erreichbar.
That’s my way to invite friends to use Delta Chat.
I hope we talk about the same “invite friends” feature.
And yes, I used this successfuly.
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The benefit of using it this way.
There is already the correct link to Delta Chat website and also the correct mailaddress.
So no typo is possible.
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It was a very simmilar type of illogical decision.
You say that now, after your conclusion was originally the opposite. Which is a positive development! (Support using existing email accounts (not requiring dedicated accounts))
However, what you call “streamlined contact requests” is again actually breaking the compatibility with standard email accounts.
The new default now ignores (blocks) all chat contact requests coming from classic email clients. It introduces a completely unnecessary configuration option and causes a hard fragmentation (configuration differences) among the installed Email-chat clients.
Instead, it would be possible (and this has been brought up sufficiently), to only consider very short newly incoming email messages to be potential contact requests for chatting (i.e. to introduce a default size limit of say 350 characters).
Back on topic, things aren’t right also, if devs don’t see or want to see how “invite friends” can help users with good templates. The template is actually even editable within deltachat, before it gets opened in the other app.
It may be a strong indicator to think about on what basis decisions, especially dismissing, closing and disabling ones, are made.
I don’t think it’s a good idea.
A short mail can also be a regular mail. And a longer mail can also be a chat message.
So users would not understand why one message come as a contact request and a other will not. It would be really confusing.
I first talked with people, and then sent a message with links and instructions. As the template of the invite feature was not available before v.0.100 (January 23)., it was compiled manually.
Wanting to “hear personal success stories with it” after disabling it after some unannounced two month availability, is a funny wish.
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Hello webratte,
The distinction between short emails and chat messages is what “contact request prompts” are actually good for.
The case is clear for emails with long texts and chat messages from Email-chat clients.
The difficulty lies only in the emails with short texts, independent from possibly larger attachments. All other messages can safely either be ignored, or opened in a chat, without ever having to bother the user with a question!
So the prompt would only have to ask something like
Start a chat to answer this email (it has less than 350 characters)?
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| Please call me on the phone, when you’re back. |
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And it’s a clear case for the user.
(This forum post is already a 934 character “email” text.)
Kind Regards,
testbird
Email Footer
4 footer street
Emailhills 90210
Oh, and with the email text limit to ask about opening new chats, the prompt will obviously only have to appear for much less messages than in the past (all emails from known contacts).
- All the full format emails can already get filtered out
- and chat messages can open a chat right away, by default.
(All the above only from known contacts of course.)
Email-responses to messages from an existing chat may of course be longer than the size limit.
Use-cases, chat rules and configuration options
Edit:
Longer and shorter email messages are no problem as replies to chat messages (as said). But only for short new incoming-chat emails. If one doesn’t want to be asked about them, it should be possible to reduce the “max. length for new-chat email” to zero, and then there would be no prompts about emails anymore (just as with the current “show no emails”.
@testbird I understand you, but please can we be more kind??? there is no need to get mad because a “invite friend” view, can we put clearly the pros and cons in a concise/short bullets points so it is easier for the devs and users to know what are the motivations of both sides?
we are getting really offtopic, I also think contact request compatibility is broken but why are we discussing about contact request here???
Regards,
adb
to be honest I think the invite friends can be useful but I had never used it, since I don’t use other messengers than deltachat
Because hpk cited “streamlined-contact-requests” above, trying to make that look like something apparently thinking that it would further email compatibility (which it actually breaks).
Maybe it was just an overlooked consequence.
It’s not the first time, discussions arise with reasons.
All the options and alternatives have been raised before, in issue reports that got closed pushing to the forum for “discussion”. Without much responses, questions or sign of consideration.
I even lined out a concise and consistent bullet point draft for a minimal set of options that are able to cover many, if not all use-cases, as a wiki page.
Then compatibility and usability is broken, and features get removed, without any prior question or discussion on the forum.
@testbird @hpk
I propose that you discuss this communication issue in a new meta post and talk it out there.
Sometimes developers remove features as they see fit, so opening a page/list/poll where people can rate vote for bringing features back would be helpful. So maybe the developers can add things they removed to the list and people can comment and vote why they want it back. (@testbird could develop that one)
But lets continue the discussion in a new meta thread dedicated to this problem.
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Yes, that’s what I meant with “sound better”, because people don’t really like changing their habits, even more when they’re not concerned with their digital rights.
So, the idea was to foment their wonder and suggest a change. They’ll like the practical advantages, not privacy respecting issues (sad but true).
Hey! BTW I liked your
and I would suggest putting a link to direct download there!
Wasn’t this a thread about ideas for improving the “invite text” template?
If the template feature is not there, will users know how to avoid the possible difficulties with sending a simple “let’s switch”, and know that it might be better to use a special link?
It should therefore be 100% fine to discuss the pro and con aspects of completely removing the invite text template, here.
Yes. I frequently tire of informing people about texting vs sms.
Do associate texting with DC to save people from the atrocity that is sms