Most Lemmy UIs seem to have an inbox that works a bit like this:

Without context, I don't really understand what's happening. A link to the parent comment is usually available, but it takes me out of my inbox.

Here's how I approached it in Lemminator:

All context is right there, and I can work through my unreads one by one. A conventional compact inbox view is also still available:

Would this work for you? Do you prefer the classic inbox?

I sometimes open comment permalinks when going through my inbox on the official web UI. I wasn't completely satisfied with how they work so I wanted to rethink permalinks.

Here's what I ended up with for now: https://lemminator.netlify.app/c/lemmyapps/post/3425509/comment/2569266

Lemmy.world's officially supported web UIs:

• https://lemmy.world/comment/2569266
• https://a.lemmy.world/lemmy.world/comment/2569266
• https://photon.lemmy.world/post/lemmy.world/3425509?thread=0.2569136.2569266#2569266
• m.lemmy.world doesn't seem to support them
• https://old.lemmy.world/comment/2569266

Some design decisions I made (for better or worse):

• You can open a permalink by clicking a comment's timestamp. This minimizes UI clutter but trades off discoverability.
• The permalink page shows the linked comment near the top, skipping all post information except for its title
• The comment you link to is the one you'll see at the top (not the parent comment)
• Context is available behind a button

Are permalinks something you use at all? Do you have any opinions on how they should work?

I added keyboard navigation for posts and comments to Lemminator. These hotkeys will feel familiar to Vim users.

Here's how it works:

• j goes down, k goes up
• For posts: o opens the post page
• For comments: l goes to first child comment, h goes to parent
• More posts/comments will load if you step over a page limit
• Esc ends navigation

Keyboard navigation pairs well with browser plugins like Vimium, allowing you to reach features that aren't explicitly navigable with familiar key bindings. Just make sure to exclude the above hotkeys from Vimium.

I'd like Lemmy to attract a wide range of folks who contribute to a diverse range of communities. While the official web UI is very rich in features, I think it might be a bit intimidating for non-IT people.

So I figured: why not try to be the change I want to see in this world? Here's my attempt, implemented in SvelteKit.