[guardian-dev] Gibberbot Updates

[Derek Halliday]

_hc has been pounding away with the Gibberbot updates, and we realized
it had been a while since we thought long and hard about the basics of
the account settings & sign in process. The goal is to push a new build
out in the next few days!

Since 'group messaging' and 'sms emulator' apps have been all the rage
recently, I did a quick comparison of how those apps behave - it's up on
the wiki at https://guardianproject.info/wiki/Mobile_IM_Review#Overview
if anyone else would like to edit or contribute.

Some basic discussions we've been having and the answers that I've
landed on (for now!):
Q Should the 'sign out' option be available to users? Or do most users
just want to log in and stay signed in for extended periods of time?
    A The 'sign out' option should definitely be an option from the main
menu. As long as the user doesn't select this option, the app should
seamlessly sign the user back in when it encounters instances of dropped
connectivity (i.e. riding subway).

Q Given the answer above, what should the behavior be of the 'sign out'
option? Take the user back to the sign in screen, or exit the
application completely?
    A Right now I still prefer the option to take the user back to the
sign in screen, but I understand the argument to the contrary. We could
go either way on this one.

Q The sign in screens are getting a bit cluttered. We need to find the
balance between ensuring people are happy with the level of easily
accessible security options, but can't have an unworkable UI.
    A This one is more of a concern than a question. It had been a while
since I looked at the basic home screen and login, so I updated the
mockups and comps for these (see latest in /doc).

Q We need to update the UI still!
    A We've been working towards moving the UI to the one reflected in
our comps / wireframes, and it's a bit slower going. I realized I hadn't
pushed my /assets folder to git. It's now up in /doc/assets for those
with some time to help update the UI.

-D

-- 
Derek Halliday
The Guardian Project
https://guardianproject.info