Open a thread, replying... too confusing.
current typing design in team(group) chat has two function;
1.open thread
2. reply to a tread
currently it is too confusing if someone is to start a chat.
So my team members make mistake in this way very frequently;
Open a thread, enter
Then open another thread, enter(even if they wanted to reply to the thread that they have just opened)
Eventually, rather than having one thread and one reply to add comment, we have two separated thread..
This happens a lot... I mean, almost everybody is confusing where they are typing.
So, how about move typing focus to reply field, if someone tries to type something right away?
Or, making a checking field(Okay,cancle) if someone tries to open a thread.
Or do some redesign over the UI.
Please.

9 comments
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Anonymous commented
I think MS should increase the white space between last Reply button and new conversation text box.
- Rahul
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Amin commented
I can see everybody in the company even myself sometimes have this issue. the nature of chat and thread for channels are confusing.
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GrahamA commented
Yes, this is an issue for us. It happens regularly, especially as we're going through an adoption phase - new users seem more drawn to the "start new conversation" box. Just had an example of a single topic of conversation appearing across 5 separate conversations so some way to re-parent a conversation (Owners have permission to drag the chat into a parent conversation perhaps?) and re-design the UI so that the difference between Starting New and Replying is more obvious. Thanks.
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Anthony Crain commented
If you haven't voted for this one, it asks for a drag and drop reparent to a thread option. No matter how good the interface, it will still happen. The reparent solution would fix the issue when all else fails!
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Anonymous commented
Agree. There should be some that differentiates or makes more visible to the person who is trying to reply to a thread. The 'Type a new message' box is default and seen at all times, which is likely why new threads are always started.
Suggestions:
-Make the Reply bold and bigger
-Make the shading stand out. Currently a light grey, make a something more eye catching.
- add verbiage in middle of 'Reply' bar stating to 'keep conversation threaded' or 'Reply here to continue chatting on this specific topic'. -
Thibault Durand commented
I agree that this is a big issue and probably the issue that spawned this idea:
https://microsoftteams.uservoice.com/forums/555103-public/suggestions/16930585-drag-chat-messages-to-merge-them-into-one-reply-thThis is a recurring issue here. Even with experienced user, users aware of the problem and users willing to reply to the thread (me included) happen to create a new thread instead of replying to the existing one.
As it is, the reply-GUI is confusing and that fact that this issue is widespread is proof of it.Please fix, "reply to thread" and "create new thread" GUIs look too similar.
I don't know how you could fix this. One way could be to remove the "New thread" interface at the bottom and add a floating "+ Add" button in the bottom right corner.
Regards
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Shawn Eftink commented
Perhaps remove the "Start a new conversation..." at the bottom and put a "Start New Conversation" button at the top so users are more likely to reply to an existing thread. The "Start New Conversation" button might pop-up a box to type in also showing a different UX between the two activities.
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Matthew Gruendler commented
We experience this issue frequently. I would love an indication that you are not replying to the latest thread message if you are in the channel bar, or some clear indication of channel versus an inline reply.
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Jason Almeida commented
This is a good one and we have the same issue. Essentially the new conversation bar needs a design tweak (more applicable for Channels instead of Chat) where it is collapsed, possibly to the bottom or right so that a user does not naturally click the box to respond.
This should hopefully make the reply button more obvious