Overview
I would like to propose adding an interactive user profile image feature to Voyager for Lemmy, enhancing the user experience when viewing other users’ profiles.
Detailed Functionality
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Tappable Profile Image Section
- When users tap on a username and navigate to the profile page, add a dedicated section for the profile image.
- This section should be prominently displayed and easily accessible.
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Expandable Image View
- Implement a feature allowing users to click/tap on the profile image to expand it to a larger view.
- The expanded view should occupy a significant portion of the screen for better visibility.
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Mobile Zoom Functionality
- On mobile devices, enable pinch-to-zoom functionality for the expanded profile image.
- This allows users to examine profile pictures in greater detail.
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Desktop Zoom Controls
- For desktop users, add a dedicated zoom control bar.
- Include buttons or a slider for zooming in and out of the profile image.
User Experience Benefits
- Improved user engagement with profile content
- Enhanced ability to view and appreciate user avatars and profile pictures
- Consistent functionality across mobile and desktop platforms
Implementation Considerations
- Ensure smooth transitions when expanding/collapsing images
- Optimize image loading to maintain performance
- Consider privacy settings that might affect image visibility
I personally believe that this feature would significantly enhance user interaction and personalization within the Voyager for Lemmy platform.
Perhaps something like this:
(Source: Summit for Lemny)
I always assumed this was just copied from Apollo and that Apollo had it this way because there was no Reddit API call to get user avatars or something (but I ever only dabbled in creating bots so I wasn’t very interested in those features). I found out now that it could be done so that means it’s likely that it was a conscious design choice not to include it. I enjoyed Apollo in a compact and text heavy way and I have Voyager set up that way as well. What I’m trying to say is that I like it the way it is but don’t mind introducing avatars in some subtle way.
Yeah, this pretty much.
I consider features like user profile/bio to be consider “user clout” or “influencer” features.
That is, on Twitter/Mastodon, who you are (and how many followers you have) constitutes how much your opinion matters. On reddit/lemmy that’s much less true (no followers). In voyager it’s practically none, since your user profile is essentially equivalent to the content you post and there is no profile pics/bio.
There’s nothing really wrong with these ‘user clout’ features if you like them, but it is against Voyager/Apollo default UX. That being said, it will probably be a configurable option in the future just off by default.
Perhaps offer it as a setting, that users could potentially turn on/off?
It’s just that, IMHO, there’s no point in having Profile Images, if you’re not allowed to zoom in /out, and see them up close.