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Simple request, really.

Can we add a detection for the

Please avoid extended discussions in comments. Would you like to automatically move this discussion to chat?

prompt, so that if one of the users in the "extended discussion" has under 20 rep it doesn't appear? I think a lot of the users this apply to will have low rep and it may take some back and forth to get good info out of them.

New suggestion: how about if a sufficiently high-rep user is clicking on the link, the low-rep user gets a field promotion sufficient to chat? Low-rep users are particularly prone to post questions to lead in this direction of needing to move to chat.

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    If you click the link while the other user has less than 20 reputation, it doesn't invite the user. It instead informs you that the other user does not have sufficient reputation, and proceeds to do nothing.
    – Grace Note StaffMod
    Commented Jul 8, 2011 at 13:47
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    @Grace - would it not make more sense to do that detection beforehand?
    – JNK
    Commented Jul 8, 2011 at 13:49
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    I'm not opposed to the change you're suggesting - I'm just noting that your last paragraph is not accurate.
    – Grace Note StaffMod
    Commented Jul 8, 2011 at 13:57
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    @Grace - noted, I'll remove it. Thanks!
    – JNK
    Commented Jul 8, 2011 at 15:07
  • I would really like for this feature to be statically available as opposed to showing up only between the two corresponding authors.
    – M. Tibbits
    Commented Jul 9, 2011 at 2:27
  • I added a bounty to this because I REALLY would like to see it resolved. Thanks!
    – JNK
    Commented Jul 12, 2011 at 15:05
  • Please do this! Really, at least on SO and Meta. I just stumbled upon this and this is annoying!
    – H2CO3
    Commented Nov 3, 2012 at 17:44
  • The 'other user's rep' where? Going on just now: stackoverflow.com/questions/58237045/addition-of-two-numbers/… Other user has 29 rep (will rise soon, I'm sure) but still the annoying message. The chat link works, too - so why do I still get "Do you want to move...?" Grrr.
    – Adrian Mole
    Commented Oct 4, 2019 at 16:42
  • OK, now it's gone! What was the trick that worked?
    – Adrian Mole
    Commented Oct 4, 2019 at 16:51

2 Answers 2

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Alternatively, I would like to propose that we should allow the OP to be automatically invited/permitted to join the chat regardless of reputation. Not infrequently a low-reputation newbie asks a question, someone answers, and precisely because the OP is a newbie, they have lots of follow up questions unworthy of separate questions or even comments.

I just saw an administrator shut down the "comments" section of an answer (with instructions to that said "[for] extended discussions, please use chat"). Problem is

  • Because comments were shut down, there was no easy way to inform participants with the link to the chat.

  • Because the OP was a low-reputation newbie, they couldn't join anyway.

So even though there was someone there willing to help the newbie, the system forced the end of the assistance.

So, I'd suggest two things:

  1. Automatically allow the OP to be invited to the chat regardless of reputation.

  2. Give us a button that allows us to create a chat immediately, rather than either (a) keep posting comments until you get the prompt to automatically create a chat; or (b) going through the cumbersome process of manually creating a chat room.

This way, as soon as it becomes apparent that this is a newbie discussion, give us the option of moving it to chat, unclutter comments with the typical inane newbie questions, but let the person who is willing to take the time to help the newbie to actually help them.

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    there seems to be a dedicated feature request for this: Invite low rep users to participate in chat
    – gnat
    Commented Aug 3, 2012 at 8:34
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    @gnat Agreed. I may be splitting hairs, but I'm trying to take it a step further, not just allowing us to manually invite OP to chat, but rather automatically permitting them to join in. But I largely agree with that other proposal.
    – Robert Ryan
    Commented Aug 3, 2012 at 13:15
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    I would upvote this answer if I had a high enough reputation. I'm surprised how hostile stackoverflow is to newbies.
    – Vroo
    Commented Oct 11, 2012 at 17:06
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    @Vroo Thanks. I also couldn't agree with you more regarding the institutionalized and cultural hostility to the noobs.
    – Robert Ryan
    Commented Oct 13, 2012 at 21:07
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    I too would have upvoted this answer if I had enough reputation. I do have a fair amount of reputation (~160) on the main site, but not here. I don't think I would ever be able to ask enough good questions and provide good answers on meta. If the purpose is to prevent spamming as it claims, you have to admit it doesn't make sense that folks who have enough reputation on the main site should earn reputation separately on meta.
    – Masked Man
    Commented Dec 7, 2012 at 12:33
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    I just asked a duplicate question about this. I think it's the sensible solution, and no technical difficulties should stand in a way of such basic site usability; chat is a part of SO after all.
    – Bartek Banachewicz
    Commented Feb 4, 2013 at 13:30
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    It is a feature requests with status-planned that address this issue, and the solution is to open up for allowing low-rep users to access a per question specific chat by “invitation per SO question” feature.
    – awe
    Commented Sep 18, 2013 at 9:03
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This was implemented on February 9th, 2015, by Geoff Dalgas: Stack Overflow should not invite you to move a discussion to chat when one of the participants doesn't have enough reputation

Nothing fancy, I'm afraid - the system will simply refrain from giving you the option if either you or the other party in the conversation lacks the necessary privilege.

Note that this check is pretty straightforward if you have the Talk in Chat privilege. But if that's lacking, then you must have earned this privilege on at least one other site on the network. This check is conservative enough to avoid problems on most Stack Exchange sites, but can result in situations where you'll be prompted to move the discussion to chat on this site (Meta Stack Exchange) or on Stack Overflow, and yet the action will fail as you or the other party will lack the necessary privilege on the relevant chat server.

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  • Is this supposed to also apply in the case of a user who can't participate in Chat because of a ban?
    – Alex
    Commented Dec 6, 2018 at 2:20
  • No, there isn't an easy way for the main site to determine that, @Alex
    – Shog9
    Commented Dec 6, 2018 at 2:21

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