Public bug reported:
Hello friends. I'm writing this message as a proposal in regard to the
way notifications work in Ubuntu. For several years (I wish I wasn't
exaggerating there) I've noticed odd times where my notifications
seemingly did not work. I had difficulty isolating exactly when this
would happen. Given my work flow, I suppose it was difficult to identify
the pattern. Only recently I learned something and it all made sense:
Ubuntu notifications of the "normal" urgency do not work when videos,
such as local videos or YouTube, are currently playing.
For all but a minute, I was relieved, as I had finally understood out
the pattern. I never saw this documented elsewhere or spoken about. Once
that settled in I began finding myself somewhat disinterested in the
predictive behavior of the notification system. It doesn't take long to
identify a massive flaw in this design. Take for example a desktop with
dual screen, or even a laptop with a second monitor attached. Many
people are multitaskers. Earlier today I had a video playing on my 2nd
monitor. Somewhat ironically, it was an Ubuntu video podcast. Because of
the simple act of playing a video, I received no notifications in that
frame of time. I was actively working. I was constantly watching my
screen. I was doing things. The video was not my primary means of
computer usage at this point in time, however because of the design of
the notification system, it dictated that my notifications be silenced
-- yet I was there. I was working. Those were notifications that were
needed.
I can list countless other examples. Rather frequently I find myself
letting a YouTube music stream run, containing 3 hours of background
music while I worked. There was no video, but because it was YouTube,
notifications were silenced as per the guidelines of the notification
system. Other times I may find myself playing a live concert, or a video
with stand up comedy, etc. I know I'm not alone with this. For people
that actually depend on notifications, it's an easy majority that would
prefer this behavior didn't occur like this.
Upon tinkering with other distributions more, namely Gnome based
distributions as well as elementary Loki, I realized just how much more
logical other approaches are to the notification system. This assumed
behavior dictating what notification displays on the screen versus which
don't based on system processes is not helpful. It's obstructive to the
user experience, whether that be their work flow at their day job or
personal time on their computer. It casts more questions and frustration
than assistance. The ability to silence your notifications via a simple
drop-down slider is absolutely brilliant. It puts the power of the
notifications in the hands of the user via one, single, simple click.
Likewise, these other systems provide a history of notifications. The
act of walking away from my computer for all but 30 seconds can mean a
missed notification. I don't mean missed as in, "oh darn I didn't see
it", but I mean missed as in... it's simply *gone*. There is no history.
There is no retrieval. There are no means available to see what
transpired in that 30 second window. Meanwhile, on other platforms, I
walk away and look away from my screen with an odd sense of confidence
knowing for an absolute fact that whatever may happen that requires my
attention will certainly get my attention upon my return. With Ubuntu's
current behavior, it's a simple coin toss. If you're there at the time,
and of course not playing any YouTube music, a local video, or anything
else of that capacity, you can actually see what happens thanks to the
notification system. With videos playing on a second monitor or a
YouTube music track in the background, it's simply "tough luck."
This proposal is an attempt to encourage developers to strongly consider
altering this behavior. The current state of the notification system
simply feels like it was designed for a C+ grade, and stopped short of
an otherwise instant home-run. This degree of integration in other
environments really, really shines. Sadly, it makes Ubuntu look a bit
subpar in comparison. It pains me to say that, though the simple fact
remains -- I am not alone. In fact, it's a considerably popular opinion
that many others share.
I hope that this information provided an insightful look into the
usability of a user -- one who uses Ubuntu, thoroughly enjoys it, and
wants it to improve in any way possible. Thank you for your time,
patience, and consideration.
ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 16.04
Package: notify-osd 0.9.35+16.04.20160415-0ubuntu1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.4.0-36.55-generic 4.4.16
Uname: Linux 4.4.0-36-generic x86_64
NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia_uvm nvidia
ApportVersion: 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.1
Architecture: amd64
CurrentDesktop: Unity
Date: Thu Sep 15 21:46:52 2016
DesktopSession: 'ubuntu'
GtkTheme: 'Ambiance'
IconTheme: 'ubuntu-mono-dark'
InstallationDate: Installed on 2015-09-17 (364 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 15.04 "Vivid Vervet" - Release amd64 (20150422)
MachineType: To Be Filled By O.E.M. To Be Filled By O.E.M.
ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-4.4.0-36-generic
root=UUID=c25681e4-6e30-4021-ab9f-8937d41d8017 ro quiet splash nomdmonddf
nomdmonisw
RelatedPackageVersions:
xserver-xorg 1:7.7+13ubuntu3
libgl1-mesa-glx 11.2.0-1ubuntu2.1
libdrm2 2.4.67-1ubuntu0.16.04.2
xserver-xorg-video-intel 2:2.99.917+git20160325-1ubuntu1.1
xserver-xorg-video-ati 1:7.7.0-1
SourcePackage: notify-osd
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to xenial on 2016-05-24 (114 days ago)
dmi.bios.date: 04/10/2013
dmi.bios.vendor: American Megatrends Inc.
dmi.bios.version: P2.40
dmi.board.name: H61M/U3S3
dmi.board.vendor: ASRock
dmi.chassis.asset.tag: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
dmi.chassis.type: 3
dmi.chassis.vendor: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
dmi.chassis.version: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
dmi.modalias:
dmi:bvnAmericanMegatrendsInc.:bvrP2.40:bd04/10/2013:svnToBeFilledByO.E.M.:pnToBeFilledByO.E.M.:pvrToBeFilledByO.E.M.:rvnASRock:rnH61M/U3S3:rvr:cvnToBeFilledByO.E.M.:ct3:cvrToBeFilledByO.E.M.:
dmi.product.name: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
dmi.product.version: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
dmi.sys.vendor: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
glxinfo: Error: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: 'glxinfo'
** Affects: notify-osd (Ubuntu)
Importance: Undecided
Status: New
** Tags: amd64 apport-bug xenial
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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1624181
Title:
A proposal to improve the behavior of the notification system.
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