While testing the P2P messenger app, I had the idea for a buddy list app.
Many old-school messengers, such as ICQ or AIM, had a so-called buddy list in which the online status of a contact was displayed. Users could select various status icons and write their own status message. Then the list was placed somewhere on the edge of the screen. I find this feature very useful and no modern messenger I know has anything like it.
The P2P messenger already shows which peers are currently online. Therefore, this idea could also be an extension of this app.
I don’t know exactly how IROH works, but I think it should be possible for a peer to send additional information about their online status. The simplest thing would probably be to use emojis as status icons.
These were the status icons in ICQ:
I think the following emojis would be quite good for representing the status:
Online
Free for Chat
Away
N/A (Extended Away)
Occupied (Urgent Msgs)
DND (Do not Disturb)
Privacy (Invisible)
Offline
An “invisible mode” is probably technically not possible, because a connection to the peers must exist. But it is not that important.
Users would create a group with all contacts who want to share their status and post the buddylist app there.
Of course, this app would only really make sense in DC-Desktop, because it allows multiple webxdc apps to be run in parallel, even from different profiles.
Originally I wanted to suggest that you could open an one-on-one chat with that contact by clicking on the “@” in the list.
The chat could be opened in a separate window like in this proposal:
As far as I know, since version 1.50 it is unfortunately no longer possible to access the email address.
Example Images:
The buddy list:
Select your status by clicking on the bottom icon (Online):
Create your own status message by clicking on the pen:
View a contact’s status message by clicking the name or status icon:
