DBabble is a popular tool used as an internal messenger in various companies and colleges. I know for a fact that both IIMB and IIMA use it. DBabble has this beautiful messaging feature, where messages are more like emails rather than chat messages. You send a message, and the other person replies to it in his/her own sweet time. There’s no chat window opened. And all such.
I don’t know why but in version 2.7 released sometime in 2004, DBabble introduced a “chat mode” which is similar to GTalk/Y!M. in that there is a chat window for every pair of users who are talking to each other. it’s actualy very similar to GTalk/Y!M.
Till our batch in IIMB, we used to use message mode extensively, and we still do (alumni have access to IIMB’s DBabble – called BRacket). However, from the batch junior to us onwards, the chat mode became popular. And thing is if one of the two people is using chat mode, it becomes very painful for the counterparty if he/she is using message mode. While talking to a first year student at IIMB (one of those people who doesn’t know any lingo and has never posted on arbit), I wrote the following treatise extolling the virtues of the message mode. I thought I should put it here in the larger interests of society.
basically bracket is supposed to be used in the “message mode” and not in the “chat mode“. for “chat mode” you always have things like GTalk. the beauty of the message mode is that it’s non-intrusive. you can take your own time to reply to each message, and you can still continue the conversation.
then, chat mode clutters up with your taskbar with too many windows. very tough to manage. again – it’s significantly inferior to GTalk in that sense. message mode, on the other hand, just flashes that nice red thing on the side bottom, and doesn’t clutter your comp.
another thing with message mode is that you can have N different conversations with the same person at the same time in parallel. BRacket message mode is the only uncluttering tool you have for this. you need to use this a few times to appreciate its beauty.
Message mode in BRacket was ultra-strong and definitely one of the key features…have abused the multiple message thingie so much, send hajaar arbit messages to junta to piss them off, they will pretty much read through all of them, more often than not. Of course you also had the option to “ignore” people wherein the message would never even come through to you. Man, I miss BRacket, and more importantly Arbit 🙁
i dont think there’s too much to miss about arbit anymore. it’s dead, for all practical purposes.
yesterday morning i logged on after some half a day, adn i had ZERO folders to unbold.
and i never used the “ignore” facility. though i used to get doubts that certain people would use it on me.
i remember getting that message from you.