Summit2008/Sessions/Proposals/Messaging Futures

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Thunderbird 3 is under way.

What next?

In this session, we're going to talk about everything except standard email. Instant messaging, twitter, social networking, etc.

We'd particularly like input from labs folks, UX folks, and anyone else with interesting ideas about where we could take messaging in the future.

It'd be also quite worthwhile to talk a bit about business model possibilities for Mozilla Messaging, to finance the crazy ideas.

Session Notes

Discussion Background

  • So far we have been focussing on TB 3.
  • MoMo cares more (about communications) than just the rich mail client project.
  • Not going to commit to anything at this stage (brainstorming session).
  • Will try and lay down an architecture to support improvement in communications.
  • Not a discussion about what should be in Thunderbird versus Firefox.
  • What are the problems we think we should solve?
  • Timeline - not looking at short term or very long term.
  • Some of this may go towards a concept series.

Discussion Notes

  • Manifest Values
    • Existing channels with better values/decentralised standards/privacy
  • Potential for web mashups (Thunderbird with web)
    • e.g. there is some gmail UI not available in Thunderbird, could this be made accessible from within Thunderbird, but using gmail's interface. Similar to the thunderbrowse extension.
    • Can we make it secure?
    • Potential different js sandbox.
  • Services Integration
  • Geolocation/Geoaware of people on weave
    • Use it to pick the communication type (e.g. IM, email etc).
    • Make Thunderbird context aware
  • The channel of communication isn't always important, but the time may be.
  • Direct communication versus broadcast
  • Communications search independent of channel (unified history across channels)
  • Search attachments in TB
  • Integrate web actions
  • Context relevant web browsing
  • Travelling and its effect on calendars & other things (i.e. time shifts)
  • Be able to open background tabs in browser - don't bring the browser forward
  • Background colour not necessarily white.
  • Reliable Message Transport
    • Spam
    • Filters
    • Authenticated
    • Potential to integrate with social network system
      • (Note starting to get "spam" on these
    • Competing desires
    • Social pressure if the other end knows you received the communication
  • Peer to peer email and transfers
    • "getting rid" of imap/pop etc
    • xmpp?
  • Web mail throws away imap/pop
    • tie user to data provider
    • can we get involved in standard for ways of doing things over http
    • Is there something like atom & RSS we could do to replace/implement light weight protocols.
    • Reduce lock in by allowing migration tools - make it easy
    • IMAP
      • Privacy & data
      • All mail sits in clear text on a server
      • P2P would get around this
      • Can we get around service provider problems? (i.e. encrypt the email?)
    • Unified Data Store
      • Don't need data store
      • Universal access to system
    • Client Learning from user behaviour
      • What use is seeing
      • Who are they communicating with who's a high priority.
      • Heuristic Client Behaviour
  • Sort to different types
  • Synchronisation
  • Build better interfaces for doing msg composition and audo/visual and video clips.
    • Doesn't all have to be based on text
  • Feeds need explaining to the users
  • Make technology understandable
  • UI for Feeds
    • There are no different ways to read it (but it could be read in different ways according to the feed).
  • Not all web sites provide feeds
  • Watching pages/Change detection
  • Bunch of use cases treated as mail don't need to be
  • Mailing lists are very different (to normal email)
    • Almost need to read like a newsgroup
    • Make it automatic
    • Could we do/implement a subscription interface
    • Unsubscribe button - get it to confirm as well.
    • If forwarded message from mailing list, provide a subscribe button.
  • Address Book
    • Currently forced to have lots
    • If the person is still the same, you shouldn't have to update your contacts (i.e. automatic contact update).
  • Is there a way to change dynamics?
    • Keep coming up with new was to deal with email
    • Volumes are big, email affects quality of life
    • Have a way to provide for vacation
      • e.g. disalbe emails for x amount of time.
  • Buying items cause multiple emails
    • Should be one transaction
    • Not a conversation, but needs to be summarised
    • Standardise email transactions
  • Messaging Schemas
    • Better microformat/schemas for messages* Shift thinking from needing to see every message
  • Enable pro users to share set-ups for things like filtering to help others with better email management.
  • Autotagging mechanism
  • Different data sources for bugmail
    • Do it similar to bots
  • Not just a list of messages
    • Interfaces/views for different situations
  • Trends/Channels we don't care about or re-prioritise away from the user
  • Summarise lists/emails in P2P format
    • meta data about public mail
  • We spend lots of time triaging - so be able to share it with others
  • Share decision making
  • Visualisation cloud for whilst been away
    • Zoom in on critical bugs, rather than one at a time
  • Solving the spam problem
  • Single text field for AB to parse into multiple fields
    • Show how it parsed it in case correction is needed