Show whois in active window (and default to server window on reload)

[AlMcKinlay]

Fixes #492

[xPaw]

Eh, we can afford to do this now.

[Klaas-]

Works fine ontop of 2.7.0 :)

[astorije]

We've discussed it a few weeks ago on IRC so it shouldn't come as a surprise to @thelounge/maintainers, but as it is, I'm very 👎 about this.

Having things that move location across refresh is something we should avoid at all cost, because it's very unpredictable, especially for new users and users with cognitive disabilities. I know we introduced this in #1380 and I'm still uneasy about it.
Also, over time, we should get away from adding general-purpose stuff to the server window, which is the most cryptic part of our client (and IRC clients in general), especially for non-technical users.

I don't like putting this in the middle of a channel either, I actually think that leaving it in the direct messages window is more appropriate.

That said, I'm not opposed to changing just because I don't like change, I just think it's not the direction we should take. I have something half-working locally (I might even have pushed a branch but I'm not sure, I'll check):

If/When this works, it opens so many possibilities for future features: refreshing on demand, having actions directly in there, having admin-only features, etc. The UI is also gross right now, but because it's bespoke to whois/user information, we can design it however we want, not be bounded by the canvas of messages.
You'll notice that at the moment it opens the info in the user convo still, which I understand is what this PR tries to avoid. My next step is to make this open in the current window. There are a couple paradigms we can use, I'll try until it fits.

[AlMcKinlay]

We've discussed this privately a bit, so as promised, here are my thoughts in hopefully a more understandable way, and also for public consumption.

I prefer the sidebar to how we are currently doing it, however, I don't think it should be how we do things 100% of the time.

1. When I click "user information" I don't want to suddenly pop the chat to a different chat window. That feels really wrong. I don't like the context switch there
2. Unless we are going to do whois everytime we open a query, then sometimes the sidebar won't be there, how do we feel about that?

I have previously really been pro the idea of showing it in a modal, but I understand the objections to that. However, how about doing something similar to how slack does it. You click on a user's information, and it shows in a context menu.

So how about, you click on the "whois" and it shows the information i nthe context menu? I'm not 100% sure about that, but it's a thought.

I'm not happy with any of the ideas we've come up with, tbh.

The other thing to discuss is showing the whois on reload. I think we shouldn't do that at all. My reasoning is that whois is a 1-time question, not something you will want to re-read later (apart from anything, it may have changed later) so if you want to do it later, you can redo it.

What should happen:

1. I click on whois (or type it)
2. It somehow shows me the whois
   3, I can dismiss it, or reload
3. I don't see it again until I ask for whois again

Now, part of the problem of not showing the whois again is because we show it as a message, but it isn't a message at all, is it? It's contextual information based on a request. I'm not sure how we do that, as I said, I like the idea of the sidebar, but I'm not sure I want to switch to the user's page when we request.

Maybe I can be convinced... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[astorije]

I'm gonna be short because reading your comment, it feels to me we are overall in agreement, just a bit of miscommunication and other minor details.

1. When I click "user information" I don't want to suddenly pop the chat to a different chat window. That feels really wrong. I don't like the context switch there

I understand and I think I agree. I actually mentioned that in my previous message, stating that what you can see in this GIF (the context switching you mentioned) is not what I'm trying to accomplish: "You'll notice that at the moment it opens the info in the user convo still, which I understand is what this PR tries to avoid. My next step is to make this open in the current window. There are a couple paradigms we can use, I'll try until it fits."

So, yes, my next step is to trying loading in current window and see how it goes.

2. Unless we are going to do whois everytime we open a query, then sometimes the sidebar won't be there, how do we feel about that?

IMO all variants are fine. It can be 1) the opposite of the channel list, which is open on first channel opening (and after #1606 would remember your choice), or 2) both channels and queries have sidebar closed on joining, open on request (my favorite option once #1606 is merged), or 3) sidebar always opens.
I think this doesn't have to be answered right away, a few UX decisions/changes I still need to make in this PR (+ #1606) will affect it anyway.

However, how about doing something similar to how slack does it. You click on a user's information, and it shows in a context menu.

Yep, as mentioned that's the goal I'm trying to reach. The only thing about the Slack way is that I've noticed people (and I include myself in it) being confused by that sometimes. I can't point my finger on it yet because I have never really cared, but now that I have a goal, I'll be more careful, looking at where people look/click/search/etc. when they use it (at my work), it will probably show a pattern.

Anyway, I'll try to get back to that soon, so I can push something somewhat usable at the very least.

[AlMcKinlay]

Probably no point in keeping this open just now. Feel free to open one when you get to your solution, @astorije