Is it okay to display list of members/users in a modal?

Question

I'm currently designing an interface similar to Slack/Discord.

Is it possible to display the list of members in a modal? I've already checked multiple platforms (Discord, Slack, Quora, FB) but they display their user list on a designated page.

The main reason I would prefer a modal is to be consistent with other settings of a channel. Thus the question: "Is it possible to have a scrollable list of users/members with a search box in a modal?"

If this is not viable, would the option be to show the user list in a sidebar? I don't prefer this since it reduces the width of the main section of the screen.

Answer 1

It's not unheard of, but it depends a lot on the number of members. If the number is very high, then I would recommend a different solution such as what the other services you just mentioned did.

Answer 2

It is possibly a good solution to put your user/member list in a modal window, but to make that decision, ask yourself these questions:

1. Does the user need to read or engage with anything else on the page? Modals force attention on themselves and block the user from seeing what's behind them. They're not a good pattern for copying/pasting names from pages into search boxes, for example.

2. What is the user doing in the member list, and what do they need to do next? If they're likely just doing a quick check to see if a member exists in a channel, modal might be OK. If they're an administrator who is trying to clean up hundreds of "gone" people from a channel, a dedicated page would be better, because modal windows aren't good for complicated tasks.

3. Does the user need to really focus on one and only one task? Modals are great for this. But if not, there are other solutions, like the comment about placing user info in a sidebar.

It's okay to break consistency in how information is displayed to create a more ideal user experience.

Answer 3

Some things to think about:

The main reason I would prefer a modal is to be consistent with other settings of a channel.

Why is it important for the modal to be consistent? Does the need for consistency justify locking the user into a modal view?

I don't prefer this since it reduces the width of the main section of the screen.

Again, why is it important to not reduce the width of the main section? Does it justify locking the user into a modal view?

I'm not saying you should or shouldn't do it, but when you make a design decision like this, it always comes down to how the different outcomes affect the user and the way to determine which option to use is to be clear about what the user wants to do.