We already have zero choice (well short of not purchasing the device, but we’re all past that point, eh?) about the software selection for our device.
Could we at least have a rule in place that adding non-value (read: unrelated to the processing of the active job) components or overlays to the app requires an opt-in toggle? The forced interface for the Discord chat is - for at least some of us - either unwelcome, or even distracting.
And before anyone chimes in with “You can hide it with the ‘Hide’ button on the panel.” or “You can use browser extension to make it go away.”, please understand that’s not the point. The point is that I shouldn’t have to incorporate a single muscle movement towards disabling or hiding something that wasn’t requested - and again more to my core point, doesn’t add any value to the processing of the active job.
Requests:
Remove the overlay from the Print countdown panel as a “default.”
Add a toggle switch to show/hide “Chat.” Allow this toggle to be a saved setting so it’s not required to click it every job.
Add a direct link to join the Discord server to the main Dashboard.
There may be some more, or better refining of the wording for the above. But the core point should be straightforward enough. And besides, my stomach is growling, so it’s time to step away and take care of that.
As @eflyguy has pointed out, support does not monitor this forum. If you want them to know what you think, you need to use the support page to send them the message in the form of a ticket.
I get what you’re saying, but I feel like it’s an impractical position. I enjoy complaining as much as the next person. A lot more than the next person, I’d wager. It’s one of my primary hobbies and I’m very good at it. And I understand the feeling of just wanting to vent without everyone trying to respond with “well you should just”. But that’s usually for the small stuff. If something is causing me massive pain, I’m a lot more likely to listen to solutions, especially ones that involve barely lifting a finger to make it stop. (In addition to complaining, of course.)
What puzzles me here is the large contingent of folks whose position seems to be “the chat window is killing me and my family and my goldfish, but I refuse to press the button to make it go away because I shouldn’t have to”. It’s like smoke starts coming out of the TV – moral outrage at the manufacturer’s shoddy workmanship is justified, but that shouldn’t extend all the way to “and I’m not going to make a single movement toward the fire extinguisher because damnit, I shouldn’t have to!”
I don’t think anyone is saying “because you can use an ad blocker to remove the chat, you have no reason to be annoyed by it, and your complaints are invalid”. We’re just saying “if the chat is so detrimental that it’s putting your livelihood at risk, here’s a way to mitigate it”. I’ve given the instructions out several times and continue to be surprised when the response is “I shouldn’t have to do that!” I’m not sure when I said anyone should. Sorry for trying to help, I guess.
I submitted a support ticket and got a reply that they are looking into in, but for now I can click “Hide”. I pay Premium price to be able to see a chat on my work surface? Glowforge: I’m getting really close to abandoning this machine and going with a company that allows one to control their machine instead of relying on people sitting around a table deciding what I want and don’t want .
Put me down for one who wants the ability to TURN OFF THE CHAT.
There is no list to put your name on. We are other owners. If you wish to request something or complain about something, we can do nothing. Send your wishes to support.
There is no list to put your input on. We are other owners. If you wish to request something or complain about something, we can do nothing. Send your wishes to support.
Bugs the hell out of me too, because I have a hard time ignoring distracting screen activity.
I agree with your point that they need to fix it, even though we have potential workarounds. Nevertheless I’ll share the workaround I’m using, which is a style sheet rather than an ad-blocker:
Create a plain text file called “user-styles.css”, with the following text, and save it to your hard drive:
Set your browser preferences to use the file. Here’s how to do it in Safari (for other browsers, google “how to add a user CSS style sheet”):
Open Safari Preferences. Go to the Advanced tab. Where it says “Style sheet”, select your file.
(This rule won’t work forever, because they’re bound to change the page layout eventually and break it.)
My opinion on this thread doesn’t matter much, but I would like to be able to toggle it off. I don’t mind that it defaults on, but the fact that I have to hide it over and over and over again is too much. I hid that stupid thing a good 20+ times yesterday.
Hi everyone - We hear all of your feedback that you have posted here, through Support and on the Discord about the chat, and I’ve been monitoring all the comments on the forums and Discord, so your thoughts aren’t going on deaf ears!
All of your suggestions and thoughts are valuable as we work on planning and our improvements, so this is all being passed along to our team. Our philosophy is to update the community when the work is done and we have concrete info, so you will be the first to know when we have something to share. Thank you!
Same here. If I want to join glowforge discord I would do that through discord. It is distracting. So much so that I googled how to turn it off and found this post.
Personally, i would prefer to join the server thru Discord and i have no idea how to without first running a print job. I am currently not printing since i am redesigning my office but would love to chat but how the f do i get there?
Finally had enough of it myself tonight. Blocked it with an ad-blocker (Ublock Origin) and submitted my support ticket requesting a way to turn off the discord window permanently with a click.
Hi, I know I’m late to the party, but I have an additional piece to add to this that I haven’t seen in discussions yet. I’m a teacher, using this program with middle school students. If there is a chat, they will type in it. Yes, I’m watching them, and yes, I’ll tell them not to, but they’re 12 and meme culture is huge. It’s going to happen. I should have a way to easily block a chat.
It’s not an interactive chat in the print status panel, it’s just a read-only preview of a single channel to essentially market the existence of the chat. Your students would have to go open/install Discord in a separate window/tab, create or sign in to an account, and verify ownership of a Glowforge to actually join the chat. Unverified accounts cannot participate in the chat. That said, you’re not the first teacher to bring up potential issues with the chat preview in a classroom setting, the staff have noted that.