> Just try to get it to not start at login...
God, why do PMs push this crap. Like users are picking their communication software of the day based on what pops up into their face.
God, why do PMs push this crap. Like users are picking their communication software of the day based on what pops up into their face.
If I don't think some company's messenger application should run in the background on startup, it should not run in the background on startup.
For the majority of people it makes sense to have a comms app always running as they come to expect that from the smartphones.
Granted, there should be an easy way to configure this behavior for advanced users.
In contrast, I see a computer as a general purpose machine. Sure, I don't turn off the WiFi of my laptop, or the router/AP from my house, but those are means to many ends. When I want to check mails on my computer, I launch Thunderbird, and when I want instant mesaaging, I use whatever program/WebApp I need.
[0] As I am now doing, writing a comment in HN is a PITA in a smartphone.
Same thing with Signal. I routinely take/place calls with friends and family through the desktop client. If I'm on my computer and I've got my computer headset on, I might as well take the call on the computer instead of taking off the headset and using yet another device.
As my computer is a general purpose device, one of its many purposes is also a communications device.
Or do you leave it connected for long stretches of time to be ready to take an incoming call?
If you had a desk phone did you unplug it until you were going to make a call?
That would be a slightly different way of accomplishing what I already do (silence everything on my phone, and in general, try to prevent it from bugging me when I'm not actively using it).
It wouldn't be a bad approach at all if it made the phone shut the fuck up. The smartphone is one of the best examples on the market of product managers mistaking addiction triggers and "engagement" metrics for evidence of good user experience.
Yes, I do (effectively). My phone spends a large percentage of the day in airplane mode.
There are many people who need more personal discipline to not contact people constantly, but the software itself should be ready for the times when they should contact you, interrupting whatever it is you were doing.
Regardless of software, I decide when I'm available to be contacted... not somebody else.
I already mute all notifications/ringtones on the phone when I want to focus, why should we also start doing this on computers?
Pessimist view: Companies gain the ability to covertly track presence, which isn't feasible if Teams is left to the user to open.
You will get less done in total, but what you do get done is so much more valuable to humans as a whole that it is worth the loss of focus. It was a real mind blower when I realized that, I still get frustrated at times with my inability to get hard things done quickly, but in return I get much more important things done with the help of others.
That's a nice hypothesis. do you happen to have some research or such regarding this. that could be a nice read :)
And it seems you agree with the original intent of my message. There is a time a place for being focused/left alone. And it's not up to a piece of software (or other humans) to decide this on a permanent basis.
also regarding "You will get less done in total, but what you do get done is so much more valuable to humans as a whole that it is worth the loss of focus."
It's funny because I have the opposite experience. Guess everybody is different in this regard.
I hope every time you are in public (and even in your private life) that you are accosted by randos who are over eager to share whatever drivel comes to their mind. And if you complain they will retort with "as a human you need to be available to communicate with others the vast majority of the time".
Please answer ever spam caller, every JW/door-to-door salesman. You _need_ this. Please post your personal contact details in every public space. Everyone NEEDS to communicate with you. It's not up to you. It's up to them. They must be able to communicate with you whenever it suits them.