Disable off-platform setting not working for me

[Trippetoe]

Hey there.

The automated visual regression testing of our Hub site started failing recently and i was to track the source of the failure to the new (as of 10/29/2020) 'off-platform sharing' button appearing on the pages.  According to the Hub change log, i should be able to disable that button in the site Settings page. There is indeed a 'Social Sharing' option in the 'Interactions' panel on the Settings dialog. Toggling the button, however, seems to have no impact on whether or not the Share button is visible - it's always visible regardless of the setting.   I am following the new 'Save' workflow of saving the draft, publishing the draft, and then view published.

How can i prevent the Sharing button from being visible?

[BrianRollison · Accepted solution]

Hi Tom Rippetoe‌ the capability targets the social buttons today; however, our next release will update that to target the entire button to clear up the confusion.  We haven't released yet this week as we are closely monitoring election traffic, but the change is ready to go once we have the green light.

Questions for you if you have a moment (feel free to email me at brollison@esri.com if you'd like)...

- What made you want to turn off the sharing button?

- Is there a difference in your preference when viewing your site on a desktop or mobile device?

- Do you always prefer all new functionality to be opt-in only?  If so, what manner do you feel is best for being updated around new functionality (ex. in-app, email you sign-up for, weekly checks of the changelog, etc.)?

Thanks and apologies for any confusion!

[Trippetoe]

Hey Brian Rollison Thanks for the info. We'll hold off on updating our visual regression tests until the green light is given.

For your questions.....

- One of the main reasons to turn off the button is get our visual regression tests passing again .  Additionally, its a new feature that we would likely need to take past our Product Owner as part of our regular product review meetings. Ultimately the PO would need to tell us that they wanted the button there.  I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with the Sharing button.

- For us there would be no difference in preference of desktop vs mobile.  But i could see where that level of control would be a good thing. You know, thinking about this some more, there is something unexpected about having that single button showing up along the side of a desktop screen.... it just kinda floats out there without any real context. The placement of the button at the bottom of the page on mobile devices does make more visual sense to me. So maybe i'll change my answer to yes - it would be useful to differentiate between desktop vs mobile (we might disable on desktop and enable on mobile). Of course that opens up the question about what is the threshold screen size for 'mobile', and all those types of questions.

- How best to enable new functionality and notify users is a great question. I guess my answer depends a lot on what the functionality is. In general, though, i think new functionality should be 'opt in' - and i don't have an idea about the best way to let people know. Currently i discover most new Hub features when one of our tests fail. Or if i'm really bored and distracted at work, i'll read the Hub Change Log page. That happens once a month or so - unless I'm working on a hub project, then i check every week. I recognize that neither of those approaches is efficient nor a good way to generate buzz or enthusiasm.  Maybe there could be some sort of 'follow' button or some other way to indicate that I am interested when the Hub team adds new features, and notify me.

Let me know if you have other questions. Thanks for asking for my input.

[BrianRollison]

Tom Rippetoe‌ this is amazing feedback, thank you for taking the time to write it all out.  We are planning a review of some of these more "system" buttons (tabs, bottom bar, etc.) as well as how to give users more control over their expressed intent on receiving updates, so your thoughts are both timely and well considered.  I might reach back out to you to get your thoughts on initial considerations from the outcome of that review.