Visual changes are unnecessary and unwelcome

[note: this was written before the last update became public but edited after. If it struggles to feel coherent, that's why]

I downloaded android the beta version to check for a bug. Certain things were indeed improved, such as the ™ symbol actually being readable (didn't check the black heart but you should fix that too). However, there were various other minor changes that just didn't do anything and made the interface feel off.

The new button (edit: apparently not new, uninstalled beta discord and it's still here, but it's less obnoxious now and I'm still sure it wasn't always this way) next to any emoji reaction to a message that allows you to add your own is unnecessary, you can already add you own via long press, and it really clutters up the whole thing when it shows up every time. It was already completely pointless highlighting your own reaction in a different color. This new feature isn't even useful as an accessibility tool. I'm a disabled user of discord and I find it difficult to imagine a situation in which someone isn't capable of uninterrupted touch to bring up the menu, but is capable of the fine motor control necessary to tap on a tiny tiny button. But if that person does exist, they have bigger issues than not being able to react to messages. My point being that I reject any defense of this change as an accessibility feature.

You also don't NEED to make offline friends names dimmer in the members list. Online friends already have the green/yellow/red dot to indicate they're online. The absence of that was indication enough. Even if you're colorblind, the dots are different shapes and if your eyesight is that bad the app is going to be set to zoom anyway. It was Pointless. You just made a change to make a change.

You changed the long-press menu for no reason. It's not better, it's just different. You are approaching app design like it's a divorced mother going through a midlife crisis. Change is not improvement. The pop-up window asking you to verify if you want to delete or pin a message looks awful if the message is longer than a few words, and it's huge and obtrusive and not necessary for some of us (or at least it wasn't back when the app correctly highlighted the messages you long-pressed. Feature currently broken). I know it's a good idea accessibility-wise, but it shouldn't be mandatory for all users and I especially can't forgive that when it looks this bad. Let us toggle it back to when it was a small message at the bottom of the screen before I throw up.

You didn't need to make the green dot smaller in the section above a dm than it is in the member list to the side. They used to match. You did not improve the UI by making them not match.

You didn't need to change font sizes. If we already have the option to change an aspect of the UI, which in this case we do, there is zero need for you to EVER permanently alter the default.

You changed the way the photos show up when you click on the relevant button to send one. That wasn't NEEDED, it doesn't do anything, you could've added buttons for camera and all (or even a n option to swipe from one to the other) without changing the whole look of the menu.

There's a bug where emojis don't match the in-app look but match my phone instead. A reinstall fixed it and then it broke again, and since I have to use a load of custom settings to make the app bearable now, I'm not reinstalling anything again.

Infinite scrolling and time stamps for old messages are gone. Awful. Taking away ui elements for no reason is trash.

Worst of all for me, the in-app message notification that comes down from the top of a chat when someone else DMs you now has a timer bar that runs down until the notification disappears. Whose idea was that? Don't promote them. It's so intrusive and stressful for no reason, and it doesn't do anything. The only way to get rid of it is to not let discord send any notifications while you're in the app. Gross. I liked having the notification, I just don't want it to be utterly obnoxious.

And we should be allowed to turn off the "message text copied" thing. I don't care for it. It's too big and obtrusive and my keyboard, which is a popular 3rd party app, displays the last clipboard item in the predictive text bar. I know if it copied or not. I literally don't need this. Let me turn it off.

You have got to STOP making irreversible changes to the user interface that absolutely nobody asked for. We are not entertained. If you actually read feedback you would see that nobody likes it when you change the way the app looks just because you feel like it. What are you trying to demonstrate? That you're in charge and we are not? We know. Fix the Problems, leave the rest alone. If you ask yourself why a UI change should be made and it doesn't solve an actual issue that negatively impacts use, fix a meaningful lack of visual consistency, or address a visual glitch, IT DOES NOT NEED TO CHANGE.

At time of editing I understand that you are trying to use the same code base as the IOS app now. That's a bad excuse and you're just cutting corners. Roll it back. I hope everyone cancels nitro.