Mastodawn

Hot take, so controversial it counts as trolling: all notifications should default "off". Anything that can interrupt or distract the person using a computer or other device should be explicitly turned on by that person.

There are exceptions for things that can cause serious harm if ignored. "You've got mail" is not an exception. Neither is "someone liked your social media post".

"Musty Bits" McGee Feb 20

@liw man I wish. I feel like a reverse centaur lately

@liw i'd be ready to concede "there is a tornado coming to your block" and i'm not even sure of that one.

@Anarcat @liw Anarcat, happily notification-free

@cleeyv @liw i do, often, just put my phone on "do not disturb" mode, it's great (and yeah, i turn off those crazy emergency notifications, *except* the tornado warnings)

@liw agreed. notifications start as "with sound, banners, popups" and it should be the exact opposite.

@liw @bortzmeyer I do that on my phone with workarounds, and my desktop is always in do not disturb mode.

I agree this shouldn’t require workarounds.

https://ergaster.org/til/ask-smartphone-attention/

TIL that I can ask my smartphone to respect my attention

If my phone is making me miserable my constantly nagging me for attention, surely the solution must be to ditch it and take a dumb phone that can only place calls and send texts?Except calls are particularly intrusive interruptions, and the only texts I receive are from couriers. My family and friends use iMessage or Signal. And what about the pictures I can snap in a few seconds by pulling my phone from my pocket? What about GPS navigation? What about those parking lots where you can only pay with an app? What if I need to order a cab in a country I don't speak the language of? What about using my phone app as a 2FA from the bank as the PSD2 practically requires?

@liw I agree. I've had my devices on pretty much constant Do not disturb mode for the past 12 years.

@liw there seems to be a pretty big spectrum in how much individual people get distracted by notifications. I have notifications enabled for chat clients, email clients, fedi, etc (though on my phone without sound and mostly without vibration) and don't mind.

Andreas Sikkema Feb 20

@liw “$app wants to send you notifications, allow, don’t allow, settings” -> Don’t allow, *always*

Hylke Bons 🥜Feb 20

RE: https://toot.liw.fi/@liw/116103709639401895

agree. did this for all messaging apps 6 months ago and it's been such a difference for the better.

Haelwenn /элвэн/

@liw Yeah, hard-agree, only thing here that effectively has notifications is my feature phone.
Otherwise it's non-urgent pretty much by definition.

infinite love ⴳ Feb 20

@liw some mail is serious! but otherwise, yes, i should explicitly opt in to being notified about emails. (i filter out most "non-important" things from my inbox, so if it lands in my inbox, it's probably important.)

Joost van Baal-Ilić Feb 20

@liw could not agree more, tnx for stating this

Pilum::🌞Feb 20

@liw "Soandso is typing…"

Aaro Koskinen Feb 20

@liw I think terminal bell "on" is the most annoying default.

@aakoskin @liw I used to recompile the Linux kernel specifically to remove pcspkr. 😂

anyGould Feb 20

@liw Also - any audio notifications should have *some* way for me to ID what app did it.

@liw 💯 notification fatigue is so real

@liw I don't think this should be controversial at all. Life should not be spent under tech noise, ads, and other mental trash. I don't want my devices doing anything I didn't specifically tell them to do.

This is the first thing I do when I install something on my phone: turn off notifications. It's part of a good tech hygiene routine.

@liw I don't think it's that controversial, this is how all my devices work.

@liw this is my default response when prompted.

@liw my Desktop Environment (Pantheon from @elementary OS) has a Do Not Disturb setting that i have turned on most of the time. Most applications respect it.

Also my phone is silent most of the time.

I don't want to get distracted!