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If a moderator needs to contact a user (and it's not severe enough to warrant a moderator message), it's common to make a private room and ping them. The procedure is:

  1. Create a new chatroom (named "Room for UserA and UserB")
  2. Superping the user with some stub message so a chat account is created for them
  3. Find the user's chat account through the 'control access' menu of the chat room.
  4. Add them to the room's write ACL
  5. Make the room private
  6. Post the actual message

This takes more time than it looks like. Is it possible to add something to the chat room creation page that takes a chat ID or site+UID (same as the superping dialog) and automatically does all that?

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  • 3
    If anything, it probably should work similarly to how "let's take this to chat" link for comments on questions and answers is.
    – Jeff Mercado
    Commented Dec 1, 2011 at 7:34
  • 11
    Its so complex that I don't even bother. Would be nice if the process was streamlined so that it was as easy as clicking a link on their profile and adding a title to the room. Perhaps add a little "so mods" so that mods get pinged as well, thus keeping the discussion in the open as with "private" messages.
    – user1228
    Commented Dec 1, 2011 at 16:40
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    Has this not even been implemented yet? It'd be nice if it was simpler to start a private chat with a user for moderation reasons.
    – Alenanno
    Commented Feb 6, 2012 at 11:24
  • 2
    Related: Add "invite user to chat" function on main site
    – Shog9
    Commented Mar 24, 2012 at 16:44

3 Answers 3

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I agree that it should be significantly easier for moderators to create a chat with a specific user. I've gone ahead and written this up internally and thrown it into the backlog to be reviewed and possibly implemented. Once the team reviews it, then it will either move to the devs or be kicked to a later date.

I'll put a on this for the time being, and hopefully this will come to fruition soon.

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  • 1
    Two years later
    – Ryan
    Commented Sep 5, 2019 at 20:26
82
+1050

I would propose a link on the mod menu for a user

enter image description here

(super sensitive mod options, like merge, removed!)

That does the following things:

  1. Creates the chat room "Private chat with user Foo" if it doesn't automatically exist
  2. Gives Foo write access
  3. Opens that chat room in a new tab
  4. Automatically places a link in Foo's inbox telling him that he should join that chat room

This would turn a ten step process into a one step, and would also allow mods to forego leaving comments to reply to flags or other concerns.

Do this. I say so.

Also, I'll award the bounty to the best hand-drawn (in mspaint or other digital media--no hand drawn crap on notebook paper) image of a narwhal.
I will tineye that bastard, so don't cheat.

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    -1 This answer is currently not useful for me.
    – Tamara Wijsman
    Commented Mar 23, 2012 at 17:28
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    @TomWijsman Why do you care? It's not like you're a moderator. This is also a perfectly fine answer to a feature request.
    – CodesInChaos
    Commented Mar 23, 2012 at 18:07
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    OK, what is super sensitive in the "Submit" button? :)
    – avpaderno
    Commented Mar 23, 2012 at 18:16
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    @CodeInChaos: I think he was joking. This answer has no downvote.
    – user1228
    Commented Mar 23, 2012 at 18:35
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    @kiamlaluno: OMG SSSH QUIET!!!!
    – user1228
    Commented Mar 23, 2012 at 18:35
  • Can you tell them to do this too? meta.stackexchange.com/questions/63649/…
    – juan
    Commented Mar 23, 2012 at 20:52
  • @JuanManuel: Dude, you've got more meta rep than me. USE IT. Its worthless otherwise.
    – user1228
    Commented Mar 23, 2012 at 20:54
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    @CodeInChaos: Why do you care? It's not like you've put this answer. This is also a perfectly fine answer to a feature request. But yes, was a joke, because hey... It's Friday!
    – Tamara Wijsman
    Commented Mar 23, 2012 at 21:42
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    @TomWijsman I guess I need to recalibrate my humor sensors :P
    – CodesInChaos
    Commented Mar 23, 2012 at 21:55
  • "hand-drawn in mspaint image of a narwhal"
    – gnat
    Commented Mar 23, 2012 at 23:15
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    As a new Mod, I am seriously struggling to wrap my soft head around contacting users for a chat, rather than having to send a message that get's CC'd around every other mod. It's way too difficult. If the automation exists to create a room after too many comments on a question, it cannot be too hard to expose that functionality in the mod button as per this answer.
    – stuffe
    Commented Sep 6, 2013 at 11:41
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    @Wont - I noticed no one drew you a Narwhal! Well, free of charge ;) i.imgur.com/o9REnM3.png
    – Travis J
    Commented Dec 24, 2013 at 0:31
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I'm not sure that this would even be limited to moderators. Giving users the ability to create chat rooms easily from questions or answers and perhaps automatically generating comments directing users to those rooms might be a good idea, as well. I think that Chat is underutilized, and streamlining the process of creating chat rooms for extended discussion would be awesome.

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    This existed when chat first launched, and they got rid of it
    – Michael Mrozek
    Commented Oct 8, 2012 at 0:20
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    @MichaelMrozek I was unaware of that. Is there any reason given for why it was removed? A Meta thread or blog post that referenced it?
    – Thomas Owens
    Commented Oct 8, 2012 at 0:21

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